gingerbread stout Archives

RVA On Tap: Thanksgiving Holiday Edition

Caley Sturgill | November 20, 2019

Topics: beer, beer column, booze news, Canon And Draw, Center of the Universe, craft beer, dark daze, final gravity brewing co, gbs, gingerbread stout, Hardywood, holiday, holiday beer, holidays, Isley Brewing Company, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, local beer, RVA On Tap, Starr Hill, Steam Bell Beer Works, Stone Brewing-Richmond, Thanksgiving, thanksgiving eve party, the answer brewpub, The Veil, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, Triple Crossing Beer, winter

What’s happening, craft beer lovers of RVA?! Welcome to this week’s RVA On Tap, RVA Magazine’s weekly column for all your craft beer-related events, releases, festivals, and all the booze news your hearts desire.

If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town, so hold on to your mugs.

This week, we’re gearing up for Thanksgiving and diving into events and beer releases from today through the holiday (so get your beer plans early, and make sure a few of these special brews make it on your calendar!) — plus plenty of celebrations and new beers all around town.

In our Booze News Holiday Edition, The Answer Brewpub kicks off Black Friday with re-releases of old favorites, plus Dark Daze beer releases with The Veil Brewing Co. and Center of the Universe’s SHUT UP beer for your holiday family woes. Hardywood drops their spicy-GBS Christmas Morning next week, and Steam Bell Beer Works has a Raspberry Tiramisu Stout up their sleeves. Don’t miss Rudolph The Red Ale Reinbeer from Isley Brewing Company, Thanksgiving Eve at Canon & Draw, Triple Crossing Beer’s Christmas market, and more with Stone Brewing Richmond, Lickinghole Creek, Final Gravity, and Three Notch’d RVA Collab House.

Kicking off our holiday events is the upcoming Black Friday at The Answer Brewpub. I don’t know about you, but Black Friday in my household is a time of avoiding the outdoors, staying in with the people I love, and waiting for Cyber Monday. But this year is different, because The Answer gave us something to have the best of both worlds.

Head over to the brewery next Friday (Nov 29) to kick it with your Answer family, enjoying all the excitement of Black Friday without all the stress. The Answer will have celebratory releases throughout the day, like bringing back some of their favorite stout recipes from their library and hosting two new glass releases. You’ll be able to grab the glass in the photo above, along with another special glass and a special beer release that you’ll find at the event.

Some of our favorite recipes will be back out for the event, with taps from The Answer like Bill Better Have My Money, Diablo Forever, At The Beginning Of The Day, Shrinkage, Jinxy Cat, and Fam Gotta Eat. See you there!

On the eve of Thanksgiving, something most delicious is returning to Steam Bell Beer Works: a Raspberry Tiramisu Stout. As far as raspberries and Thanksgiving go, I will never not associate this holiday with the fruit, thanks to years of my beautiful mother making her raspberry crumble each November.

The darker-tasting fruit is perfect for this time of year, with tangy, bold flavors that complement all the tastes of Thanksgiving. After all my dessert ramblings, if you think my dessert-crazed family should consult our dentists about our sweet tooth issues, you’re probably right. But if you want all the goodness of those treats without all the sugar, this brew is for you: Raspberry Tiramisu Stout brings the best of the chocolatey, raspberry-packed flavors together with beer. Grab your glass at the brewery on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov 27) and don’t miss music from the Pat Russell Band and eats with the Firesides Food Truck.

This week at Hardywood (Nov 23), the brewery is “recreating the best morning of the year” with Christmas Morning, a variation of their Gingerbread Stout with locally-roasted Mexican Chiapas Coffee. This brew, along with its many siblings, has been awarded time and time again for its exceptional tastes and named one of the Top 25 Milk Stouts in the world (BeerAdvocate).

All that’s to say: you need a taste of this beer. Christmas Morning is probably my favorite recipe along with Christmas Pancakes, and both of them bring out the best for sweet and spicy lovers. The same day, they’re hosting their GBS Fest (Nov 23) with all-things holiday and tastes from all their variations (tickets are here for the beer tasting panel). They’ll also have Christmas events like holiday carolers, Santa pictures, Santa’s Village activities (with gingerbread house decorating!) and many more — so if you’ve been looking for a place to get your holiday on while avoiding the mall, Hardywood’s got you covered.

Also coming up at Hardywood, Saturday (Nov 30) is the release of Kentucky Christmas Morning, a Mexican Chiapas Coffee-spiced GBS brew with an extra kick from Kentucky’s own Heaven Hills bourbon barrels (and it hits in at 11.5% ABV).

We’ve been waiting all year for it, and it’s finally here! Starr Hill has finally set an opening date (Dec 7) for their Scott’s Addition Rooftop location.

It’s still a ways away, but soon enough that you can start planning to include it on your calendar. December 7 is the official opening day, and for the occasion, they’ll have plenty of their best brews along with music from the NO BS! Brass Band, Erin Lunsford, The Northerners Duo, and Addison Liming Music. You’ll also get to catch great food from Taqueria Panchito (a bigtime local favorite this year) and Curry in a Hurry.

Jumping back to Black Friday, Center of the Universe Brewing has a beer release and party you won’t want to miss. The Shut Up Imperial Stout, aged in bourbon barrels, debuts on November 29 to put all those Thanksgiving family arguments to rest.

“It’s that time of year again,” Center of the Universe says. “The family is in town… Awkward conversations… Random tiffs… and lots, and lots of noise. Time to take a minute for yourself, and take down a tall glass of SHUT UP!”

If it ain’t true. As much as we all enjoy seeing our loved ones each holiday season, *good lord* it can be stressful. Nothing like a little reunion in your hometown to remind you why you moved away, right? But fortunately for me, the good usually outweighs the bad. Whether you enjoy spending time with your relatives or you want to whip out the roll of duct tape when they start preaching about Trump, the 11.5% ABV content of this brew is probably enough to ease your mind. Godspeed, y’all.

Rudolph The Red Ale Reinbeer is heading to Isley Brewing Company this Saturday (Nov 23) in all its Christmas-themed glory.

The 5% ABV brew is nice and low, so it’s drinkable throughout the day (what else are holidays for?) and it’s packed with some great flavors. The cranberry-cinnamon Irish Red Ale brings the traditional Red Ale in, then balances it perfectly with warm cinnamon, fresh cranberry puree, and winter spices along with caramel. It sits right in the middle between sweet and hoppy, and with its deep, red copper color, it’s “the perfect treat for your winter woes!” according to Isley.

You’ll be able to grab this beer on draft at Isley this month, but if you want to take a pack home with you for the family gatherings, they’ve got to-go bottles available as well.

The Veil Brewing Co. has a long-awaited special event coming back for the holiday week. Dark Daze hits The Veil on (Nov 29) with more than 15 beer releases to get you through the holiday without getting stuck in any of the crowds.

First up on my list is Rye Whangdoodle (pictured above), an Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout that was aged in Buffalo Trace Rye Barrels for more than a year. Along with plenty of others, you’ll catch Rye Whangdoodle at the event in all its toffee, root beer float, chocolate-covered waffles, and sundae chocolate syrup glory… and you’ll probably only need one, because this guy hits in at 11.5% ABV. Around the holidays, it’s a good problem to have when you only need one craft beer — we’re all going easy on our wallets this month, anyway.

Other delicious brews releasing this Dark Daze include Bourbon Misery Wizard (an 18th Street Brewery Imperial Porter collab), Apple Brandy Stout (with vanilla, maple syrup, and cinnamon in Laird’s Apple Brandy Barrels), Ded Mon³ (the Citra triple-dry hopped 11% ABV Triple IPA), Bourbon Sleeping Forever (the 13% ABV Anniversary Imperial Stout), Bourbon White Russian Horns (a coffee and vanilla Bourbon Chocolate Milk Stout), Maple Apple Brandy Whangdoodle (the Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout with two rounds of Michigan maple syrup), and plenty more to fill all your holiday taste desires.

It’s Thanksgiving Eve at Canon & Draw Brewing Company! These guys have been consistently releasing some of the most delicious-sounding beers each week the past few months, and I’m more than impressed with them. In that spirit, I know their Thanksgiving bash will be one worth attending.

The event is going down next Wednesday (Nov 27) and they’ll have one of my personal local favorites out for music: Justin Golden. If you haven’t listened to his stuff, I can tell you that it’s extra-good in person. He played the first-ever River City Revue a few weeks back, and I saw him again opening for Tim Barry over last weekend (always a great time). Along with great tunes, Canon & Draw will be bringing back their original-recipe Milk Stout from their Just A Small Piece series, the Sweet Potato Pie recipe.

Out at Stone Brewing Richmond, Enjoy By 01.01.20 Unfiltered IPA is debuting this Friday (Nov 22) to pack in all the end-of-year tastes you’ll need this season with the most extreme freshness.

Unlike most beers, Stone’s Enjoy By series are unfiltered, meaning they have to be opened by a certain date to boost their freshness and bursting hop flavors. I’ve tried a similar brew at The Answer before, and it came with a warning from the waitstaff not to let it get too shaken up or too hot in my car on the way home (if that doesn’t say fresh, I don’t know what is).

Stone’s brew comes to us as a “golden beauty,” according to its brewers, with the intense Double IPA coming from more than 10 different hops. They’ve got the ultimate level of freshness nailed down, and this beer is packed with peach and tropical fruit flavors to make one of the best brews of the season… just make sure you drink it before it ends.

*PHOTO: Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery*

Winter is Coming: and that means awesome holiday festivities out at the farm at Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery. If you’re in the market for seeing Santa without going to the mall, this might just be perfect for you. The event is happening next Saturday (Nov 30), with Christmas tree vendors and awesome stout beers to keep you warm all winter.

Before you get in the Christmas spirit too much, though, don’t forget Brews-Giving. Lickinghole Creek is hosting it this Saturday (Nov 23), as a day to give thanks — especially to local first responders and charities. They’ll have plenty of good eats, plus a toy and clothing drive to help local organizations.

In the spirit of Christmas, if I could have anything I asked for, I think Final Gravity Brewing Co.’s ‘69 Plymouth Superbird could definitely make the list [even though the Superbird didn’t actually come out til 1970 -car nerd ed]. But for those of us who have antique muscle car dreams on a 2001 Ford budget, the brewery’s beer commemorating this vintage beauty will certainly do.

‘69 Superbird debuts at Final Gravity this Friday (Nov 22), and it came together with Azacca, El Dorado, and Citra hops to make the 8% ABV brew. You’ll taste tropical flavors with citrus and stone fruit in this one, and this hazy Double IPA is right up my alley with all the flavor of the hops, higher alcohol content, and minimal bitterness.

It’s (unfortunately) time to start shopping for the holiday season, which means busy malls and long lines for many of us. I’m hard-avoiding all that, as I do every year, but for those of you who can’t — here’s an idea you might like.

Get your shopping in with a beer at Triple Crossing next Saturday (Nov 30), and visit their Fulton Christmas Market. They’ll have tons of great local vendors out for the occasion, and everyone will be set up in a one-stop shop fashion in Triple Crossing’s indoor event space. They’ll be announcing their full list of vendors soon, so make sure to check back at their event page in a week or so and see who’s going to be in attendance.

Thanksgiving season also means football season, and Three Notch’d RVA Collab House is here for it! For all of the football fans out there, we know that the beer budget this time of year often grows exponentially for all those Sunday get-togethers among friends. If you’re looking for a place where you can enjoy a good beer and ditch the Miller Lite during the game without breaking the bank, head over to Three Notch’d for discounted brews. They’ve got deals running on all their drafts to celebrate America’s favorite sport, so drink happy (and we hope your team wins).

That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at caley@rvamag.com, and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

RVA ON TAP: Oktoberfests & Seasonal Brews Hit The River City

Caley Sturgill | September 25, 2019

Topics: anniversary, ardent, beer, beer column, Canon And Draw, Center of the Universe, gbs, gingerbread stout, Hardywood, Intermission Beer Company, Oktoberfest, RVA On Tap, Steam Bell Beer Works, strangeways, The Veil, three notchd, Väsen, wahoo cup

If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!

This week, we’ve got more coming for Oktoberfest celebrations, plus some delicious beer releases happening around town… like The Veil’s black-colored lemonade brew and the famous Hardywood Gingerbread Stout heading back to town.

The very beginnings of fall are still popping up, especially in regards to the Oktoberfests galore happening across the city. Over the weekend, a large festival came to the grounds around the VMFA, and this weekend another huge one is coming to Center of the Universe Brewing.

On Friday and Saturday, head out to our favorite Ashland spot for this free event packed with traditional live German music, German-inspired food, German-style brews, plus the 2019 Das Bier Run on Saturday and more surprises. Friday’s music will be provided by The LOW’n’BROWS — a German “Oompah” band from Fredericksburg who, after 21 years professionally playing the music style, specialize in polkas, waltzes, and other traditional “hofbrauhaus” music, according to COTU.

“Grab your lederhosen and your beer steins!” says the brewery, because Saturday keeps the party going. All day long from 12pm-10pm, the inside of COTU’s taproom will be turned into a traditional German festhalle as the Das Bier Run gets started. And the best part: the beer! Oktoberfest, their take on the classic Munich fest biers, will be on draft. It’s made from German Munich and Vienna malts to add a sweet, malty flavor to its toasted notes. Also brewed with Czech yeast to bring out the malt, German hops were added to give it just enough bitterness to round out the flavors.

See you there!

Canon & Draw Brewing has *really* been killing the new brew game lately. With stellar variations all over the board, this week they’re dropping a special one on Friday.

Coffee w/ Room, an American Milk Stout, is a juiced-up version of the classic stout DNA. This 8% ABV milk stout starts off with a roasted-chocolate base that brings in several caramel malts, which gives it a rich and complex foundation. Next you’ll taste its creamy sweetness, made with a large addition of lactose and packed with locally-roasted and coarsely-ground coffee from Rostov’s.

Full of dark chocolate flavors and its delicately-roasted Ecuadorian coffee, this beer has a “light and bright” acidity, according to the brewers, from coffee blending seamlessly with the malty chocolate base and sweet cream finish.

Happy Richmond birthday, Three Notch’d! Their RVA Collab House turns three on Saturday, and they’ll have everything — food trucks, beer releases, re-releases, games, and more.

If you’re a football fan and you’re trying not to miss the game, they’ll have three TV’s out so you can drink and enjoy while catching every minute. They’ll also have games like foosball, darts, arcades, corn hole, and more to entertain attendees, plus prize pack giveaways with free merch, glassware, and gift certificates.

Cafe 804 will be providing the eats for the occasion, so come out to grab one of your favorite Three Notch’d brews and celebrate with them.

Hardywood’s got a great new beer coming up this Friday, with their Benny & The Fest can release. Also — did you know that Hardywood was recently voted Richmond’s favorite brewery? No surprise there, because everything they do is delicious, and this one’s no different: Benny & The Fest is a lighter 5.8% ABV marzen lager, and it’s malt-forward with a nice, light sweetness. As the crisp air of fall starts rolling in early next month, it’s “a great treat to pair” with the cooler temperatures of fall.

And in even *better* news, Hardywood’s Gingerbread Stout series is back!!! Pre-sales began this Monday, and complete sets are on sale now. They’ve got seven new variants for 2019, and they sound even better than last year: with special variations like Christmas Pancakes with maple syrup, Christmas morning with Mexican Chiapas coffee, Fluffy GBS with marshmallows, and Frosty GBS with white ginger and local honey. Also, all the whiskey-lovers out there can look forward to Kentucky Christmas Pancakes (take your regular pancakes, and add bourbon to them), Christmas Island with Toasted Coconut, and the classic Bourbon Barrel GBS.

Also this week, Hoax comes out at Hardywood on Saturday! This 13.5% — yeah, you read it right — Barrel-Aged Milk Stout just spent 9 months in freshly-emptied brandy barrels, and it’s a “behemoth” of a beer according to the brewers. It joins their crew of misfits, Trickery, Foolery, and Ruse, which are some of the highest-rated milk stouts in the world. Now’s your chance to come get a fresh taste of their next sibling, so don’t miss it this weekend!

Coming up on Saturday, the 5th Annual Wahoo Cup Craft Brewers Invitational is also coming to Hardywood. This yearly event benefits the Richmond Cycling Corps, which brings competitive cycling and educational possibilities to “tough city neighborhoods.”

Tons of local breweries will be in attendance, like Ardent Craft Ales, Bingo Beer Co., Fine Creek Brewing, Hardywood, Lickinghole Creek, Kindred Spirit, Starr Hill, and Three Notch’d — plus some of my faves from elsewhere around the state, like Blue Mountain Brewery, Random Row, and more!

Fresh out at Väsen Brewing Company this week is Mosaic Secrets, a brand-new brew hazy Triple IPA that keeps these last warm days of the year alive with its mango and passionfruit aromas.

The flavors were created through the hopping process with Vic Secret and Mosaic hops, and if you’re looking for a taste of your own, you can get one at the brewery after its release last night. Head over to the brewery for board games with friends, one of Väsen’s favorite pastimes, or bring your own games instead of diving into their “treasure trove” with a beer in hand.

Another recipe of my favorite brew style is making its way to Steam Bell Beer Works this Friday evening. Subrosa, a New England-Style Double IPA, was created with what Steam Bell calls a new-to-us hop combined with a decadent hop-bomb:

“Cashmere hops are fairly new on the scene, but making a splash (pun intended) in the IPA game.”

In Subrosa, you’ll catch some deliciously tropical notes to complement its higher 8.9% ABV, from peach to tangerine, and pineapple to other citrusy fruits. It was also double dry-hopped with Amarillo and Mosaic to bring out an extra dose of fruit.

Another Oktoberfest is in line, and it’s happening all month long at Strangeways Brewing. Our buds at Strangeways have specials running all month long on Oktoberfest beers, and you can catch any of these delicious brews at their locations:

Albino Monkey Belgian White Ale, Fest Bavarian-style Lager, Helles Frozen Over Munich Helles Lager, Playday Pilsner, Überlin Berliner Weisse, and the Woodbooger Belgian-Style Brown Ale.

More news at Strangeways this week brings the release of SMaSHing Simcoe, a Double Dry-Hopped IPA (my favorite!) that came out over the weekend, brewed with a single malt and single hop variety to showcase the character and versatility of its ingredients. You’ll catch an aggressive bitterness from the Simcoe hops, rounded out with a resinous, piney and dank flavor through its double dry-hopped process.

Fresh to Ardent Craft Ales is Old Molasses Ale, a historical combination that was brewed up in collaboration with the John Marshall House. The ale was based on a recipe from John Marshall’s cousin, Mary Randolph, “that she brewed in the late 1700s and featured a late addition of molasses in the boil.”

This 4.6% ABV Brown Ale drinks easy, according to the brewers, and has a low bitterness that brings out its delicious notes of molasses both in its taste and its smell. There’s only one keg available of this special brew, so make sure you get a glass while you can!

Last night at The Veil Brewing Co., another multi-release went down, with brews I can’t wait to get a taste of. First up for us is Use Me, a Double IPA (yum) brewed with Mosaic, Motueka, and Nelson hops, along with its large additions of oats and wheat — and at 8.5% ABV, this one’s riiiight up my alley.

They also released Charcoal Yella Lambz, a Charcoal Lemonade-inspired Sour beer that was brewed with milk sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, activated charcoal, and lemon purée. Could there be any more awesome ingredients in one beer? This one comes in lower, at 4.5% ABV, so it’s the perfect beer to drink like a glass of lemonade and keep things light — although it’s completely black in a glass.

Not quite like its redmiata sibling, greenmiata is a luxuriously-hopped IPA that returned to The Veil last night in all its flaked barley, Simcoe, and Citra-hopped glory. At 6% ABV, greenmiata comes in somewhere in the middle on alcohol percentage, so it’s a good brew for most folks looking for a taste.

Now here’s a phrase I know a few people could stand to hear: Who Hurt You? This brand-new Double IPA debuted at The Veil last night and, brewed with malted oats and raw wheat, its taste is as delicious as its wheaty, creamy color. It came together with Galaxy, Nelson, and Citra Lupulin Powder to hit in at 9% ABV.

This Friday at Intermission Beer Company, ArtoberFest is dropping as a new release in their variation of an Oktoberfest beer. This one was brewed up in collaboration with CultureWorks and ArtoberVA, and a portion of its sales will go back to the organization at CultureWorks, too — and what’s better than drinking for a cause? You’ll get to grab food from the Good Doggie! food truck at the release as well, with German Beer Brats and German Pretzel Dogs.