Canon & Draw Brewing Co.

RVA #31: Fine Creek Winter Releases, Lickinghole Creek Expands, & Triple Crossing 2018 Brews

RVA Staff | December 28, 2017

Topics: Canon & Draw Brewing Co., Fine Creek Brewing C ompany, Garden Grove Brewrry & Urban Winery, Hardywood, Legend Brewery, Lickinghole Goodwater, RVA beer, RVA craft beer, RVA On Tap, Steam Bell, triple crossing

These blurbs originally appeared in the RVA ON TAP section of RVA #31 WINTER 2017. You can check out the issue HERE or pick it up around Richmond now.

Canon & Draw Brings Steam Bell To A New Neighborhood Under A New Name

Chesterfield’s Steam Bell Beer Works is expanding into the Fan, albeit under a different name: Canon & Draw Brewing Company. Although the brewery was originally scheduled to open in late summer or early fall of 2017, construction did not begin until mid-October. Canon & Draw is now scheduled to open down the street from Foo Dog and Heritage in January of 2018, and will launch with ten different beers, as well as a variety of craft sodas also produced by Steam Bell. Steam Bell’s Trussings Craft Fizz craft soda brand, which produces intriguingly flavored fizzes like Berry Basil and Apple Sage, recently received a Made in Virginia award from Virginia Living magazine. The brewery has plans to begin canning the sodas in early 2018 and distributing them to local grocery stores and other retail locations.

On the Steam Bell beer side of things, the brewery has some exciting releases planned for the early part of next year as well. Tiramisu Stout, one of the brewery’s flagships, recently saw a bottle release. The coffee- and vanilla bean-aged imperial milk stout proved quite popular, selling out on release day. While the brewery already bottled two variants in November, one with coconut, and one aged in rum barrels, there are still plans to keep releasing variants in the early part of 2018, although details on those variants haven’t been hashed out quite yet. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Elliebell, Steam Bell’s collaboration with Ellwood Thompson’s. Elliebell is a light-bodied saison made with local red beets, which lend an earthy sweetness to the beer; and local turmeric, which adds a zesty bite.

Garden Grove Adds Wine To Their Already-Impressive Brew Offerings

Richmond’s first winery opened on Oct. 21, when the rebranded Garden Grove Brewing & Urban Winery launched in the Carytown neighborhood. Joining their diverse beer selection are a wide range of wines, from the traditional Chardonnay and Petit Verdot to sparkling and still honey wines and even pyments, a grape and honey hybrid. Some of the wines will be available in bottles, but most will be served by the glass, an approach shared with their beer offerings.

If the move seems unusual, it’s worth noting that co-owner Mike Brandt is a studied viticulturist and winemaker, who previously worked at Naked Mountain and Linden Vineyards before starting Garden Grove with Ryan Mitchell three years ago. The grapes are grown on a half acre leased from Arterra Wines in Fauquier County before they use them for wine — and the occasional beer, such as Death, a Belgian-Style Quad made with Petit Verdot grapes.

Powhatan’s Fine Creek Brewing Company

In the last few years, Richmond has seen breweries crop up and flourish beyond its city limits. Goochland’s farm brewery Lickinghole Creek, fellow Goochlanders Kindred Spirit Brewing, Midnight Brewery in Rockville, and Steam Bell Beer Works in Chesterfield County, just to name a few, have made a name for themselves with unique beers, drawing the craft beer lover out of their comfort zone. One that’s managed to fly under the radar a bit is Fine Creek Brewing Company, Powhatan’s first brewery.

Located off Huguenot Trail, the brewery is operated by the folks that own The Mill at Fine Creek, a Southern wedding venue that opened in 2004. Co-owner/manager Mark Benusa and his family, along with Head Brewer Gabe Slagle, decided to expand with a farmhouse brewery, taproom, and beer garden on a separate five-acre property back in May.

Fine Creek launched with a solid lineup of brews like Tractor Juice, a DIPA fermented with Fine Creek’s house saison; a tart farmhouse ale Grisette; a Pale Ale; and Tiger Yum Yum, a Thai Tea Milk Stout which blends flavors of a creamy Thai iced tea with roasted chocolate and vanilla notes. They’ve quickly expanded with their weekly beer releases, regular live music, and a seasonal, locally-sourced menu including the new addition of brunch, gaining support and appealing to local residents as well as city dwellers.

The brewery has eight beers constantly rotating, and their most recent draft lift included the Sweet Potato Old Ale, made with sweet potatoes grown on their property; Fresh Pots! Breakfast Stout, made with Blanchard’s Dark As Dark Cold-Brew Coffee; the Turf and Twig Brown Ale; and Game Winner, a juicy, hazy IPA made with Citra and Amarillo hops.

And don’t sleep on them this winter because Fine Creek is stocked to go with new brews, as well as more releases in the coming months. The Powhatan brewery has added some darker styles and more IPAs to its diverse lineup including a dark saison, brewed with dates. Their Imperial version of Tiger Yum Yum Thai Tea Milk Stout (pictured up top) and Powhatan Mimosa, a Belgian beer with Citra hops and orange juice, made their debuts recently, and be on the lookout for an imperial peated porter and an imperial stout made with molasses, both aged in whiskey barrels, which are slated to drop soon.

Plans are also in the works this winter to start bottling some of their sour and wild ales, along with the whiskey barrel stouts and porters. Expect to see a limited amount of each on draft each weekend starting in the late winter and early spring.

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is celebrating Black Friday with the opening of their Goodwater Brewpub in Shockoe Bottom. Unlike Lickinghole Creek, which is known for saisons and big beers, Goodwater is serving up more accessible, lower-ABV beers, such as the Maidens Blonde Ale, Scarlet Honey hoppy red, and 9 Mile Goodwater IPA.

Across town in Newtowne West, Hardywood is heading into the holiday season with multiple variations on their popular Gingerbread Stout. The first two variations are Christmas Morning, a coffee-conditioned version, and Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged GBS. On Dec. 9 they’ll release Kentucky Christmas, a Kentucky Whiskey barrel-aged version of Christmas Morning, followed by Double Barrel GBS, a mix of rum barrel- and bourbon barrel-aged Gingerbread Stout, on Dec. 16. This last release is timed to coincide with a public art project where visitors will be invited to paint on four barrels.

The winter seasonal at Legend Brewing Company is an English-Style Amber, named Ember Ale. They also have a limited variant of their flagship Brown Ale for Jan. 16.

In keeping with the name, Triple Crossing Brewing Company is issuing three releases for the beginning of 2018. The line-up consists of Interstellar Burst Double IPA, Clever Girl IPA, and a new fruited variant of their Waxing Poetic Berliner Weisse. This will be the first appearance of Interstellar Burst since it was awarded second place in Paste Magazine’s taste test of 176 IPAs from 170 different breweries.

Blurbs by Cody Endres and Amy David

RVA #29: Steam Bell expansion, Legend’s Portsmouth location, & Hardywood’s summer releases

Cody Endres | August 24, 2017

Topics: Canon & Draw Brewing Co., Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Legend Brewery Co, RVA beer, rva beer news, RVA craft beer, RVA On Tap, Steam Bell Beer Works

This article was featured in RVAMag #29: Summer 2017. You can read all of issue #29 here or pick it up at local shops around RVA right now.

Steam Bell Expanding

Last winter, I visited Steam Bell Beer Works in Chesterfield and spoke to head brewer and founder Brad Cooper about Steam Bell’s unique lineup of beers, and their desire to expand. Although the kind of expansion Cooper mentioned to me was one meant to increase the amount of beer that the brewery could produce in Chesterfield, the expansion currently being planned is of a different sort. Speaking to Brad and his sister/business partner Brittany Cooper recently, I learned that Steam Bell is branching out of Chesterfield and into the fan district of Richmond. Blackwood Development has been restoring the future brewery, Canon & Draw Brewing Company, site since 2011, a building near Baja Bean, Foo Dog, and Bellytimber, putting the new brewery right in the middle of what is a strip of already popular weekend drinking spots. The Coopers pointed out that there are no breweries that are actually in the Fan, and this spot will provide a walkable option for students and families in the area that want fresh craft beer. While Steam Bell’s Chesterfield location tends to produce farmhouse ales and malty beers like the Brindled Brown, the fan location will focus more on hop-forward beers and lagers, as the brewery hopes to meet more craft drinkers in the fan. This fan location will feature a completely different beer portfolio, as it’s intended to be hyper-local, a location built for the neighborhood; the Chesterfield location is meant to suit the tastes of that area’s beer drinkers. On-site consumption will be another emphasis of Steam Bell’s new spot, as the production space will be smaller at seven barrels (as opposed to the Chesterfield location’s ten barrel system), while the taproom will be bigger at 4,000 square feet. Live music and food trucks are parts of what makes Steam Bell a unique place in Chesterfield; the fan location is hoping to keep something similar going. Artists that have played Steam Bell in the past should show up at the fan location, along with new musical acts, and while food trucks wouldn’t exactly be a practical option for the fan location, the brewery is in talks with local restaurants about providing some food options. Steam Bell’s new location is set to open late summer or early fall 2017.

Legend’s Portsmouth Location

In early July, possibly as soon as the first of the month, Portsmouth’s first brewery will open: Legend Brewing Depot. Located on the south landing of the Waterside to Portsmouth taxi at One High Street, Legend’s new location will feature not only a great view of the Elizabeth River, but a full-service kitchen as well. The menu will feature pub fare similar to that of the Richmond location’s restaurant, with the addition of more seafood dishes, as befits a restaurant so close to the ocean. As for the beer, the brewery will be employing a small three barrel brewing system, which will be used to make beer exclusive to the depot. According to Legend Vice President of Operations Dave Gott, an oyster stout and a kölsch are among the planned Portsmouth brews, two styles that should go well with everyone’s favorite bivalve and other seafood. Due to the small size of the brewing system, the company decided not to hire a dedicated head brewer for the new location. Legend Richmond’s head brewer John Wampler will head up the brewing operation, and will be joined Smitty Jacocks and PJ Seay, also of Legend’s Richmond location. While the brewery is still several months away from being open, Gott says Portsmouth locals are already excited. Who knows — maybe Legend’s Portsmouth location will be as groundbreaking as the Richmond one, and inspire more breweries to open in the area.

Hardywood New Summer Releases

Hardywood has an exciting summer full of new releases ahead. In June, the brewery will release three new beers: a rye whiskey barrel-aged barleywine, a banana cream ale and an Irish chocolate stout. Barley in the Rye is Hardywood’s Barleywine aged in rye whiskey barrels for 18 months, adding plenty of spicy rye and hearty barrel character to the already formidable beer. The banana cream ale and Irish chocolate stout are collaborations with Florida brewery Funky Buddha, and while both beers will be great apart from one another, the breweries encourage mixing the two to create a chocolate-covered banana black and tan. June ninth sees the release of Andrea’s Ale and Bob’s Brew, Hardywood’s contributions to the Ales for ALS project. The two beers were inspired by two personal connections to the fight against ALS, for whom the beers are named. The following day, the brewery will put out another collaboration, this time with New Belgium: Savor X, a baltic porter brewed with cacao husks. The name comes from the fact that Hardywood was selected to brew the commemorative beer for the tenth annual Savor: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience in DC. A variant with coffee and coconut, Baltic Sunrise, will also appear on the tenth. On July 7th, Hardywood will put out a new twist on their Berliner Weisse, one dry-hopped with Mosaic hops, with passionfruit added. The light, tart wheat beer should benefit from the exotic aroma added by the Mosaic hops, and the sour, tropical flavor of passionfruit. July 29th is the debut of Cuvée Gold, a blend of multiple vintages of Vinalia Urbana, Hardywood’s Sauvignon Blanc barrel-aged Belgian-style golden ale. The resulting beer should be rich and complex, perfect for savoring on a late summer day.

Steam Bell Beer Works to open brewery in the Fan

Amy David | May 4, 2017

Topics: Canon & Draw Brewing Co., craft beer, RVA breweries, RVA craft beer, RVA On Tap, Steam Bell Beer Works, the Fan

Craft beer lovers prepare yourself, because another brewery is squeezing itself into Richmond. The owner behind Steam Bell Beer Works in Chesterfield is planning to open Canon & Draw Brewing Company this year in the Fan.

The 5,000 square-foot space on West Main Street will have a taproom, eight taps when it opens, a seasonal menu and a space for private events. Brad Cooper, Steam Bell’s Owner and Head Brewer said expansion in the area was always the plan.

“Since the beginning, we knew that we wanted to expand, we just didn’t really know what was the best way to do it, we found this niche out here in Midlothian, setting up this tasting room where there’s events, live music and food trucks and that was something this area of town was missing,” Cooper said.

Steam Bell Beer Works opened in June 2016 at 1713 Oak Lake Blvd. off Genito Road, the first stand-alone production brewery for Chesterfield. The brewery has since built up quite the following with a focus on farmhouse ales and sours.

Cooper said after looking around at some buildings in the city about fourth months ago, they fell in love with a space located on West Main Street near Belly Timber Tavern and Baja Bean Company.

“It was when they were renovating it that we found it,” he said. “We were looking for something in the city, a different part of town, an area like Chesterfield, that’s underserved by a brewery.”

Initially, Cooper said he was looking at renting the smaller of two spaces located at 1527-1529 West Main St., a building that was once home to Eclipse Laundry, but since August has been under renovation by Blackwood Development and P&J Properties to bring apartments and more commercial space to the area. Read Richmond BizSense’s article on that here.

Cooper soon realized they could use more room so they decided to lease both spaces.

“It’s all going to be open, were going to have the ability to close off that smaller space and host private events,” Cooper said.

The brewery is still in lease negotiations for the space.

Canon & Draw Brewing Co. will have at least eight beer when it opens, including a selection of lagers, saisons and IPAs. And Cooper said craft beer enthusiasts coming to the brewery can expect a different lineup of brews at this brewery than are seen at the Chesterfield location.

“This brewery is going to be more IPA-heavy than what Steam Bell currently is,” he said. “Since Steam Bell has been open, we’ve offered at least five different IPAs. We’re looking at a few lager varieties which Steam bell has not gaveled in yet, so I’m really excited to try some new stuff out there.”

Their Time is Money, Money is Power, and Power Corrupts have been their core IPA series, and the brewery recently released a new IPA called Old Beau.

In addition to beer, Steam Bell Beer Works recently launched a line of craft soda in their taproom called Trussing Craft Fizz, with four flavors including Ginger Lime, Mint Tea, Blueberry Basil & Apple Sage that will be available at the new brewery as well.

“We make the sodas in house it doesn’t use any other added sugars,” he said, mentioning it offers an alternative to designated drivers and people who don’t fancy craft beer.

Canon & Draw will serve a small seasonal menu, but Cooper said they are still working the details out on what that will be.

“We have a little bit of room that we may be able to squeeze a small prep kitchen it, but its one of those things we’re still trying to figure out,” he said. “We don’t have any intention of offering a full menu, just some small bites that would pair well with our beer.”

The Fan location will operate on a 7 bbl brewing system, a copper-clad brewhouse which is a little over 200 gallons at a time. Cooper said it will be on display in the front window so any people passing by will be able to catch a glimpse of the inner-workings.

And this time around, it will be a family affair with Brad’s sister Brittany Cooper, a partner at Steam Bell, leading all brand, partnership and operational efforts at Canon & Draw, their father, Tom, who will serve as the Director of Sales and their mother, Connie, as the Director of Finance.

#cooperfamilyselfie: @trussingscraftfizz launch day edition.

A post shared by Steam Bell Beer Works (@steambellbeer) on Apr 29, 2017 at 8:19pm PDT

“The space is such a great spot, it’s on the larger side for a space in the Fan, it’s really centrally located between VCU and the residential areas within walking distance of a lot of great restaurants,” said Brittany. “I feel like it’s just primed and ready to be one of those great neighborhood spots,” Brittany said of the forthcoming brewery.”

“We’re going to have regular like music like we do at Steam Bell, some private event space, I’m sure the need and use for it well grow and evolve.”

Steam Bell has a rustic no-frills vibe, decorated with pallet wood for tables, wooden taps, old photos, metal bar stools and bistro lights. Brittany said the look of Canon & Draw will be much different.

“The look and feel is going to be a little bit higher-end, we’re looking at doing some leather sofas, wood will still be incorporated, the feeling we wanted we want to evoke is high-end, but very comfortable, southern place to grab a beer.”

The name Canon & Draw stems from the French word for barrel (canon) and one of the primary tools used in the barrel making process, the draw knife. Steam Bell actually has a connection with the brewer’s last name. A steam bell is a machine coopers or barrel makers, used to heat up wooden staves of a beer barrel to bend them together into the curved cask shape.

The brewery has Garden Grove Brewing as a neighbor over in Carytown, but this will be the first for that neighborhood. It is also the latest in a slew of breweries slated to open this year in Richmond including Vasen Brewing Company, Twisted Ales, and Intermission Brewing.

Canon & Draw Brewing Co. is set to open in late summer or early fall. You can follow their progress on their Facebook page here and their Instagram here.