kindred spirit

RVA ON TAP: Lager World & Oktoberfest at Hardywood

Caley Sturgill | October 2, 2019

Topics: Ardent craft ales, Ballast Point Brewing, beer, beer column, Center of the Universe, Final Gravity, fine creek, Hardywood, Isley Brewing Company, kindred spirit, RVA On Tap, strangeways, The Veil, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, Triple Crossing Beer, vasen brewing

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’ve got more fall events and some amazing new beer releases from our favorite locals, plus a bittersweet goodbye to one of my favorite Virginia spots after their closing in Botetourt County.

If you’ve been enjoying the array of Oktoberfests around town this month, trust us that we’ve got one you won’t want to miss. Hardywood’s Oktoberfest goes down all day this Saturday at their West Creek spot, and they’re telling you to pull out your lederhosen, because it’s time to party!

The fest goes on from 1-10pm, with games, contests, live music with Elby Brass and the Harpoondodgers, and lots more. Some of our favorite eats are also going to be around, like Grandpa Eddie’s Alabama Ribs & BBQ (my personal favorite, as you all have heard from me a hundred times by now — try them!!), The Return of the Mac, Southern Spud, Dockery Farms, Candy Valley Cake Company, La Bete, Wigglestick Barbecue, and the Prost Food Truck. The PROST! Bar opens to kick off the day at 1, then Oktoberfest goes on with some extra-special barrel tappings and a parade of booze.

And the most important part: the beer! They’ll have “a whole slew” of German brews ready to go at Hardywood, like Smoked Marzen, Munich Dunkel, Doppelbock, Helles, and Hefeweizen. Don’t miss tons of awesome Oktoberfest-themed games with Shalom Farms as well, and traditional German dancing from the Alpine Dancers. See ya there!

We’ve got some awesome news coming this weekend from Center of the Universe, too. We all know the feeling of visiting our favorite breweries on a slow night and wishing there was more food around. Aside from a small few, most spots in Richmond don’t have food vendors stationed at their spots all the time.

That’s about to change again with our friends at COTU, who are celebrating the grand opening of the permanent Freekin’ Rican food vendor out at their Ashland brewery to occupy the “beer window” in the biergarten. The whole day will be full of activities and Puerto Rican-inspired food to commemorate the opening, with burgers, bratwurst, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, sandwiches, pork and chicken entrees, and more.

For the occasion, COTU is bringing back their limited return of Monkey’s Uncle Lemongrass Tripel and Summer Moon Raspberry, an Imperial Wheat Ale, for one day only! They’ll also be starting weekly specials the following week, like $3 tacos for Taco Tuesdays, Tapas Thursdays, and Island Sundays to bring out traditional Caribbean Island dishes — so if you miss the very-special returns of these two stellar brews, you’ll still have a reason to celebrate the new addition with them every week.

Three new brews hit the taps at Strangeways over the weekend, and we can’t wait to get our hands on these.

Fine Malt Lyrics Malt Liquor — which one might assume is a House Of Pain reference — kicks off the releases, and this high 9.1% ABV brew hits in at 30 IBU and has an “absurd strength,” according to the brewers. With a big malt-forward taste, it came together with both two-row and six-row barley, plus flaked corn to round out all its flavors.

Brass Monkey comes second, and this 7.3% ABV with 30 IBU recipe is a lot lighter — and might just be perfect for those friends of yours who tend to pick the brunch drinks over beer. This mimosa-style beer is Strangeways’ Fine Malt Lyrics mixed with orange juice to create the perfect beermosa blend (and it’s Beastie-approved).

Wizard Fight! is the lowest ABV of the releases, and at 7.0% and with 70 IBU has a “chewy malt character” that’s accented by its juicy fruit flavors and aromas. The Pilsner and white wheat malts come together with the Columbus and Azacca hops to combine the fruity with the crisp in the New England IPA.

More great brews are on the way this week with Fine Creek Brewing Company’s Chestnut Honey Brown Ale release on Saturday. The beer is coming as a collaboration with Elysium Honey, who are hosting a pop-up at the brewery from 3-6pm this Saturday as Fine Creek taps their brand-new brown ale.

Chestnut Honey has a rich maltiness to its flavor, with fruit characters highlighted from the honey additions in its brewing process. With nutty and bready malt tones, the Elysium Honey has a fruity and herbal aroma that goes perfectly with the tastes of pumpernickel bread, coffee, and baker’s cocoa in this beer.

You can grab a glass of your own this weekend, and support Elysium Honey’s land and hive management work, alongside Damian Allen playing in the taproom through the evening.

Over at Final Gravity Brewing Co., Pulsar New England IPA made its way to the taps in all its 100% Falconer’s Flight hop glory recently.

The brand-new IPA came out as part of a triple-release with two siblings, starting with Retrograde Session IPA. Retrograde was brewed with all Mosaic hops in its return, and they also brought back The Doppler Effect in their latest batch. This new recipe added extra Mosaic hops to the original favorite, and double dry-hopped the hops in the fermenter *and* the kegs to bring out “that extra POW of citrus,” according to the brewery. Head over to get a taste of whichever suits your palate — or all three — and stick around for Dart Night if you make it out tonight!

Our buds at Triple Crossing Beer put something fresh on deck (and best enjoyed on the deck) this week as well. Czech Dark came back to the taps with Triple Crossing’s “hopes for the eventual end of summer,” and boy, are they preaching to the choir. With all these delicious seasonal beers coming out, we are anxiously awaiting a chilly day to drink them with.

Czech Dark pours with a black mirror deep-dark-ness that brings out subtle red tones underneath its fluffy head. You’ll catch some small notes of coffee in this easy-drinking 5.2% ABV lager, and the late-fall flavors are dry, toasty, and have a roast-forward finish.

It’s time for Lager World at The Veil Brewing Co.! This Saturday, head over to your favorite Scott’s Addition spot for The Veil’s second Oktoberfest-style jammer, with 12 special brews for the occasion, plus two extra releases.

If you’re in the mood for a lager, you’ll have more than enough to pick from: Hide, Child Support, Jackson Flavor, Rain, Coalesce, Numb, Love and Trust, Deathless, Thorn, Braühaüsenweisse (try saying that one three times fast), and Dwell, from both its first and second batches.

Special releases coming are Deathless in 4-packs and Batch 2 of Dwell in bottles that day, plus sausages from Cardinal State Butchers and the delicious Sugar & Twine pretzels. Something even more special: for $10 (16oz) or $14 (32oz), you can grab your own stein and fill ‘em back up with any beers available with no limit.

This Friday, a brand-new can release is going down at Väsen Brewing Company, and it’s right up my alley. This juicy Double IPA is called Mandarin Galaxy, and it’s “loaded” with Citra Cyro, Mosaic, Mandarina Bavaria, and Australian Galaxy hops.

You can get your own taste of it this weekend along with the perfect dinner to complement this brew: Intergalactic Tacos! Get spacey, Richmond. Both of these rule.

Got something on your mind lately? Here’s your chance to get it out with a Brainstorm. This collab brew comes fresh from our friends at Ardent Craft Ales, in collaboration with Narrow Gauge Brewing Company out of St. Louis.

Another delicious juicy Double IPA, Brainstorm is “bursting with flavors of orange and pineapple” from its double dry-hop process with Amarillo and Galaxy hops, and it’s the perfect way to close out these last super-hot days of summer and make them feel (and taste) a little better. With this soft, aromatic, smooth, and flavorful recipe, the 9.0% ABV beer hits in at 10 IBU and is available in both draft and crowler fills.

This Friday, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House is working with Dotted Line Collaborations to put out a new beer called Dot Your IPAs. This New England IPA will benefit the Shepherd’s Way Relief Center to donate a portion of their sales to the charity, which helps local impoverished citizens get back on their feet. The brews are $3, and for each one sold, $1 goes back to the organization — so head on out and drink for a cause!

In more collab news, Three Notch’d is also searching for more folks from organizations, companies, charitable causes and more to partner up and make collab beers to do good. If you or your place of work has any opportunities for collaboration, hit up Three Notch’d here and see what you can get rolling.

This one might be my favorite of the whole week. Isley Brewing Company just dropped Choosy Mother in-house and to-go — and this Peanut Butter Porter is all of the best parts of Reese’s and peanut butter pies wrapped up in one delicious brew.

They also released Sir Falstaff this week, a West Coast Double IPA with a lovely golden amber color and 9.1% ABV.

It’s the season of Brown Ales, and I couldn’t be more stoked for it. An especially-awesome variation just came out at Kindred Spirit Brewing: Coffee Brown Ale, which comes in at 6.0% ABV and brings out all the best flavors in one.

Coffee Brown Ale brings together the creamy with the sweet in this coffee-toffee mixup, with a hint of chocolate to finish it off. They also dropped Project Pale Ale, a 4.6% ABV ale that was hopped with Centennial and “a little CTZ” that brings out a perfectly piney flavor, resiny and with hints of citrus for a crisp, refreshing drink.

Before we go today, I just want to say a quick (and very sad) goodbye to Ballast Point Brewing in Botetourt County. This brewery was pretty special to me, and while it’s not close to us in Richmond, I held it very close to my little mountain heart from good times spent drinking their amazing beers on chilly days visiting home over last winter. It was one of the prettiest breweries I’ve been in to date, and something about a cloudy day, all bundled up in flannels overlooking the mountains at Ballast Point, just felt right. They aren’t closed nationwide, but after a big uprising from the locals trying to get them to stay, Ballast Point ultimately said no and closed the location to pursue bigger things and more distribution. They poured their last beer here last week, and they will be sorely missed by my hometown. Cheers forever, Ballast Point, and thanks for the memories!

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 [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

RVA ON TAP: Pride in Richmond & Triple Releases

Caley Sturgill | June 19, 2019

Topics: beer, beer column, Castleburg, Center of the Universe, fine creek, garden grove, Hardywood, kindred spirit, Lickinghole Creek, RVA On Tap, Steam Bell Beer Works, The Answer, The Veil, Triple Crossing Beer

Did you miss me? This week, we’re jumping back in after a week off (thanks to all our beautiful beer people for being patient while I took my first vacation break from writing the column since last fall). I’m home from a lovely week with the fam, tanner than ever, and super stoked to be back to my beer world. We’re going to check out some extra-awesome events this week, and catch up on a few special releases that happened over my holiday. Local brewers are dropping tons of multiple releases this week, too, so if you’re in the mood to try something new, we’ve got you covered. Drink up, y’all!

Happy Pride Month, everyone! Your faves at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery are celebrating big. This coming Sunday, Hardywood is honoring all the folks over the years who have worked tirelessly, marched bravely, and stayed strong in the fight for human rights despite our nation’s enduring resistance to equality.

As Hardywood so notably stated, these rights are grounded “on the foundations of love and equity,” and they continue to write love into our future. Well said, y’all. And on that note, they’re throwing a party to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality with what they do best: beer.

For the high-spirited occasion, they’re bringing back a brew made for uplifting times like these. Tropic Like It’s Hot is Hardywood’s passion fruit, pineapple, and dragon fruit-laced sour recipe that comes along with a tart, dry finish to stay refreshed on hot days. During the event, they’re hosting three live bands plus two drag shows, and tons of awesome local vendors. Catch places like Dayum This is My Jam, Maven Made, Chop Chop RVA and more, plus food trucks like Haulin’ Balls and King of Pops. Yum!

The Veil Brewing Co. has more than one something up their sleeves. Cherry-Mang Tastee dropped last night, along with Taste Test and the return of Crucial Shredder.

Cherry-Mang Tastee started off the group, and it’s not your usual brew. This smoothie-style sour ale was created with milk sugar and cherry and mango purées. You can catch it at the brewery now (while they last), along with Taste Test: a West Coast-inspired Double IPA. Taste Test is fresh to the taps, a brand-new release brewed with Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial, and whole-leaf Cascade hops. The Veil’s third release in this week’s Tuesday night series, Crucial Shredder, is making its second debut at the brewery as a blend between two old favorites. I’m sure you remember Crucial Taunt, a fan favorite and delightfully-hoppy beer that’s now been blended with Master Shredder to create this 5.5% ABV collab brew.

Speaking of old favorites, Pegasus Double IPA is making its way back to Final Gravity Brewing Co. on Friday. This “mystical blend” of pineapple, citrus, and fresh pine was made to send your tastebuds soaring — and it’s meant to create a surge of flavor reminiscent of the magnificent beast it’s named after.

According to Final Gravity, much like the legend that “the winged horse struck his hoof to the Earth,” Pegasus DIPA will inspire its drinkers with the surge of flavor that comes from its Falconer’s Flight hops. It carries a golden haze in color, and it’s got a nice citrusy-hop flavor in its profile.

Richmond brewers are really upping their multiple-release game this week. First with The Veil and again with Canon & Draw Brewing Company, this trend is one I’m on board with. Canon & Draw is dropping their Peaches n’ Cream fruited IPA this Friday alongside their Sole Accomplice IPA, brewed with Simcoe hops and coming out as part of their fruited IPA series. Sole Accomplice is going to be a recurring theme over at the Main Street brewery, a rotating series that’ll highlight a specific hop with each new recipe it makes.

An extra-cool part of this week’s series is that Peaches n’ Cream is coming out on National Peaches n’ Cream Day. Who knew this was a thing?! Who’s been keeping this from me? I can’t wait to celebrate it.

While I was shoulder-deep in the ocean living the dream last week, The Answer got fresh goods in to your favorite brewpub in town. Everyone knows The Answer for their stellar glasses (let us not forget all the times they’ve excited gamers, fandoms and more with glassware for every interest) and they introduced a brand-new design. Their Platinum house glasses went on sale right after our last RVA On Tap together, so go grab one while you can!

In more news at The Answer, Medical Glycol Card dropped over our break as well. This Double IPA was brewed in collaboration with Burley Oak, and with its Cashmere, Enigma, and Cascade hops, the brewers noted its healing properties — but reminded us to “always consult your glycol shaman before you imbibe.”

Last Friday, in the spirit of more multiple releases, Triple Crossing Beer put out two fresh recipes and one beloved return in Fulton. Triple Crossing is already known for multiple releases, but they’ve set the standard for how to do it damn well every time.

Interstellar Burst started off last weekend’s new beers, a Double IPA with flavors of passionfruit, pineapple, grapefruit, and mango that was generously hopped with Galaxy, Citra, and El Dorado hops. It’s got deep and plush fruit flavors, according to the brewers, and it was the crowd favorite of the week. Nectar and Knife also made a new debut in Fulton, made with Simcoe and Mosaic hops to give off the bright, grapefruit-pulpy zest and softness of a DIPA well-done — and zero bitterness. Origins Double IPA returned to Triple Crossing as well, and it was inspired by the beautiful Northeastern U.S. It’s got a balanced caramel-malt sweetness to complement the bitterness of its hops — Simcoe, Centennial, Mosaic, and Amarillo — and its style was pioneered in the “densely-wooded” states it was made for.

In more events this week, don’t miss the Powhatan Music Festival with our buds at Fine Creek Brewing Company. Hosted out at the Village Meadow, the festival will be packed with live music all day long with artists like Maddie Leitch, East of Hollywood, PumpHouse Blues, Kyle Davis, and The Commonwealth Bluegrass Band.

You’ll get to catch some of your favorite local wineries in addition to the delicious brews served up by Fine Creek, and this “One Day of Music” will certainly be one for the books. Bring your kiddos along for cheaper tickets (and the littlest ones for free), and grab some grub and beer for the best Virginian-music spirit.

Kindred Spirit Brewing is dropping a new summer release on the first official day of the season, their Orange Dream fruity recipe. This orange and vanilla cream ale is designed to remind you of Dreamsicles and daydreaming under the clouds, and like Peaches n’ Cream, it blends the best kinds of fruit with the pillowy-softness of a cream ale. It’s coming out this Friday out at Kindred Spirit’s spot in Goochland, so head out west and start your weekend off right.

In *another* double release this weekend, Steam Bell Beer Works has two awesome recipes to bring to the table (or bar). On Friday, Idolic and Patchronce are coming out to the taps. Idolic is a complex malt, according to the brewers, with strong notes of caramel, raisin, and plum to give this Belgian ale’s yeast the room to work its magic. It’s “dangerously drinkable” at 10.7%, so don’t drink this one lightly — or do, and don’t remember your Friday. That’s on you, pal. It’s fruity and soft at the same time, and it’s coming out with Patchronce: A light-bodied French Saison that was brewed with raspberries and blackberries.

*PHOTO: Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery*

Keeping the trend going: More double releases, and this one’s special. Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is proud to introduce Hemp in the Hills and Juicy #12 this weekend, with food trucks like Sandtopia and Firesides stopping by over the course of the weekend.

If you’re feeling the events and the new releases at the same time, Lickinghole Creek’s got you covered. These beers are coming out with live music to go along with them, like Dropping Julia on Saturday and Michael Melvin on Sunday.

Rather than a one-day double release, these two are being celebrated all weekend long (so if you’re trying to make it out to more than one boozy event like myself this weekend, you can put Lickinghole Creek on your books no matter what).

As if you didn’t need more reasons to wag your tail, Center of the Universe Brewing has a huge one for all of us: Dogs! Bring your pups out tonight for Tail Waggin’ Wednesdays, with food trucks and live music outside at your favorite Ashland spot to brighten up your mid-week blues.

Proceeds from these Center of the Universe events go back to the Friends of Hanover Dog Parks and to the Hanover Humane Society. Freekin’ Rican is coming out for catering, and Ryan Hearn Music will be out rocking the Biergarten stage.

In case you didn’t hear, there is a *ton* of awesome live music coming up at Castleburg Brewery and Taproom. In the next week, we’ve got a good group of upcoming shows to plan on: like Kate Stedelbaur live at Castleburg this Friday, The Embalmers go Surf-Psycho on Saturday, Jim Lord live on Sunday, and Miki Fiki coming up next Wednesday. Castleburg is getting in gear for a good time, as it seems, and they’re here to make sure hardly any nights of your week go unfilled with fun.

*PHOTO: Garden Grove Brewing & Urban Winery*

Head over to Carytown, my friends, and join Garden Grove Brewing & Urban Winery in collaboration with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for Brew For A Cure. JDRF is making their way to Garden Grove on Saturday to drink beer for a cause (what’s better than that?) and further their mission to find a cure for type 1 diabetes with research support from the event and its attendees. With raffles and live music from 1:00-10:00pm, you can swing by any time of the day to grab a brew towards making a difference.

RVA ON TAP: Wild & Weird With Virginia’s Best

Caley Sturgill | December 5, 2018

Topics: Ardent craft ales, Fine Creek Brewing Company, Hardywood, kindred spirit, RVA On Tap, Stone brewing, Three Notch'd Brewing

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 with news this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!

Last week, we saw some great award wins from local breweries, some drool-worthy beer releases, and lots of awesome events lighting up the city (literally) for the start of the holidays. This week we’ve got more events coming our way to keep up the trend, and a few great releases to pair with them.

Yay, it’s here! I’ve been waiting a good minute for the Wild & Weird Festival to make its way to town, and it’s coming up this Saturday at Fine Creek Brewing Company. This festival brings together the most extravagant brews of Virginia’s best breweries and cideries, all at one big party at an awesome spot. Tickets are cheaper in advance, so hit them up early. You can also get 20 percent off if you get a cottage(!!) for the festival, and plenty of awesome local brews will be available. Check out the event page for a full list of participants (with awesome spots like Triple Crossing, Strangeways, Final Gravity and more doing brews alongside Fine Creek).

Another bar crawl is on its way this week, with the Fan Fall Bar Crawl coming up this Saturday. This is another one of those golden opportunities in Richmond that lets our locals drink for a good cause: For Small Business Saturday, they’re encouraging us to support a local charity, a local distributor, a local brewery, and four local restaurants. Booze! What better way to celebrate a holiday? The event is sponsored by Ardent Craft Ales and Brown Distributing, and it’ll feature a different Ardent beer at each of its locations. The crawl starts at Foo Dog with Ardent’s Honey Ginger beer, then moves on to Home Team Grill for their Milk Stout and Petite Saison. It goes on to District 5 for Ardent’s Pilsner and Hazy, and closes off the day at PBR with IPA X, Dark Rye, and a special beer-cocktail nicknamed The Professor X by the brewery.

Over at Three Notch’d Brewing, this Sunday brings more holiday markets with tons of handcrafted goods from folks around town. Three Notch’d has two separate markets, full of makers from Charlottesville to Richmond and throughout Virginia. Get your shopping done over a few beers and check out these awesome vendors: Craft Brewed Jewelry (BrewBracelets), CapWorks, Blair Made, Spearmint Spruce, Wren & Hide, The Vintage Nest, Zapantis Designs, You’re In Luck Farm, Hi Fiber Design, and Happy-Haven.

More awesome events are on the way this week, with Hardywood’s Vegan Holiday Pop-up + Shop-up. Hardywood started off the craft shows last week at their Richmond location, and they’re keeping it up this week with another awesome show. They’ve teamed up with Richmond VegFest to do an indoor market this time around, full of local “makers, artisans, and business owners that have a commitment to animals, wellness, recycling, and the world!” Mean Bird is catering the event with Dank Eats, both with awesome reputations around town for their recipes. Tons of great makers are coming out for the day, so be sure to check this one out on your list of shops this weekend.

In New-Brew-News this week, Kindred Spirit Brewing dropped two awesome releases. Rum Barrel Goodness is an 11% ABV imperial stout, and its super-smooth chocolate and spicy taste comes from being aged in dark rum barrels for four months. Deliciousness is the “lil bro” of Goodness, coming in at 5% ABV and with a chocolate-coffee taste, and “softly-sweet chewy finish.” Mmmmm, I want to take this one home and drink it by the fire.

A limited release of Stone Brewing’s Mikhail w/ Coconut stout is coming out this Friday, a special creation from their Stone Mission Barrel Warehouse. Their Small Batch Team brews up “a slew of unique and up-and-coming experimental and barrel-aged brews” at the Mission Warehouse, so these are about as limited as it gets. Mikhail w/ Coconut has an intense barrel character right up front, according to the brewers, with a strong woody-oak flavor and sweet coconut. It’s also got notes of vanilla, espresso, and roasted malt, to make a serious stout brewed with three pounds of freshly-toasted coconut. This is a major to-do on my list!

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 [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

RVA ON TAP: Thanksgiving, Boozey Black Friday & Movember

Caley Sturgill | November 21, 2018

Topics: Center of the Universe, Hardywood, holiday, isley brewing, kindred spirit, movember, strangeways, Thanksgiving, The Veil, three notchd, winter beer

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

Last week, we started jumping into some holiday brews and hit up some awesome festivals, too. Now it’s almost……Thanksgiving! Hallelujah! As much as I hate the history of this holiday, man do I love the food. And the family, and the love, and everything about the holidays. What’s your favorite yearly celebration? Thanksgiving is definitely mine. Hit up the comments on our Facebook post and tell me yours. I’d love to hear what gets you guys excited every year!

Do you have any Black Friday plans? …….Do they consist of avoiding every store in town and drinking about it? Me too! Thank god for The Veil, because they get it. To cater to the anti-BF lines crowd, they’re releasing their Bourbon White Russian Hornswoggler on the special day. One: Anything that sounds like a White Russian is my favorite thing of all time. Two: I can’t wait to drink beer at home while everyone else stands out in the cold and wrestles each other at Walmart. Count me out, and The Veil, count me in!

More awesome brews from The Veil on Friday come with Dark Daze, an annual fest for Black Friday with tons of awesome releases and brews on sale. Even Even More More is a 13% Double-Maple Imperial Stout (YUM!) and it’s rich, roasty, and sweet with maple flavor. There is nothing I love more than a maple beer, so I definitely want to give this one a try! Lord Whangdoodle (nice) is a unique Imperial Stout with a sappy, sticky-sugary sweetness. It’s got honey, cinnamon, vanilla, liqueur, baklava and candied-orange peel. Maple BA Whangdoodle (that word is never going to not-be funny) and Honey BA Whangdoodle are two more variations, one with layered maple flavor + chocolate character, and the other aged in honey bourbon barrels for over a year.

There are a TON more awesome beers coming up at The Veil on Friday. That’s only the beginning. This sounds like a blast, and most-definitely a much better way to spend Black Friday than out in the cold!

Over at Hardywood, the party continues on Saturday with their Apple Brandy Gingerbread Stout release. Hardywood has been releasing awesome GBS beers all month, and man, I’ve never had a Hardywood beer I didn’t like. Apple Brandy “blends in perfect harmony with the cinnamon-kissed oak staves of the apple brandy barrels,” and has notes of honey, chocolate, and fragrant cinnamon. It’s 10.4%, and it sounds delicious! If tomorrow is Thanksgiving, then Hardywood, I’m thankful for you.

If you need to keep the party flowing even further past the holiday (I don’t blame you), hit up the brewery on Sunday for their post-Thanksgiving dance party with Afro-Zen. Global grooves, cold beer, and good friends — what more could you need?

Ooooooooh, I! Want! This! Center of the Universe always knows how to hit me right in the tastebud feels and they even got the mean humor down this time, too. Mmmmm. This Friday, Shut Up releases and it’s all my favorite things in one — brewed to drink in front of your obnoxious family members over the holidays and give them the little reminder everyone needs: shut your pie hole, and eat some pie. There’s always plenty around at Thanksgiving. Shut Up is aged in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels with cold brew coffee, then blended together and full of chocolate, coffee, vanilla and bourbon. I am so happy about all these winter beers, I can’t say it enough. Cold weather flavors RULE, y’all!

The Veil wasn’t the only one to get their post-Thanksgiving plans in order the right way this year. Isley Brewing Company is also celebrating the dreaded Black Friday in the most-awesome of ways this year, with their release of Apple Brown Betty. Holy wow, this sounds tasty. The English nut brown ale has an addition of Blue Bee Cider fresh-pressed apple juice (drool), caramel, buttery cinnamon, and mulling spices for an All-American apple pie flavor profile. It’s a rich, dark mahogany color with a cream-tinted head, and this 6.6% beer is 100% on my to-do list.

Over at Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, Masterclass is new at the brewery. It’s a Saison-infused herbal recipe with spiced notes just in time for the holidays. If you didn’t make it out to the release party in time, you can grab a crowler for your family dinner, or “watching the game at home in your stretchy pants” if you go too hard on Thanksgiving.

In more Black-Friday-news, Strangeways is hosting a Black Friday Local Market for all your small business needs. Shop local! Richmond really does a great job of supporting its own people, and here’s your chance to do it and drink some tasty brews at the same time. Head on over to Strangeways this Friday and get a jump on all the holiday shopping (and beat the lines!) with one of our favorite spots.

Kindred Spirit is in the spirit this holiday. For Movember (men’s health awareness month), they’re kicking off some special events to recognize the men growing beards and moustaches to raise awareness. There’ll be live music by Bobby Baine, prizes, giveaways, and a special Movembeer Beer release at the party. It’s going down on Sunday after Thanksgiving, so boys and all beard-growing people, resist the family pressure from Mom to trim that beautiful facial hair this holiday, and go treat yourself with a prize for sticking it out!

That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your new 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 [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

RVA ON TAP: Winter Brews, 90’s Video Games, Axe-Throwing & Juicy IPAs

Caley Sturgill | November 7, 2018

Topics: ardent, Final Gravity, Hardywood, intermission beer, kindred spirit, Lickinghole Creek, midnight brewery, strangeways, The Answer

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

Last time we caught up was on Halloween, and even though it’s only been a few days, the holiday season is already upon us (apparently). I’m not ready to let go of fall anytime soon, but three cheers for holiday beers! At least the year’s best month coming to an end means its best eats are on their way.

In new-brew-news, Midnight Brewery skipped Thanksgiving and went straight to the big one: Christmas At Midnight returns this Saturday, ringing in the season at their Rockville spot. The English mild ale is packed with winter’s best Christmas spices, and tastes a lot like “a liquid Snickerdoodle in a cup.”

Getting so bored in the woods that you start throwing axes at stumps: few things are so unapologetically southern. This rural tradition is one of the South’s best, in my humble opinion — and if you’re looking to try your hand at it, head out to Midnight Brewery tonight in Goochland to jump in on their axe-throwing night. It’s harder than it looks.

The event is 21+, which is probably a good thing, as long as you get your slinging-heavy-weapons fix in before your beers. Halloween might be over, but the scare of axes rebounding at crowds post-beer is very real in these games (been there, trust).

I hit up Hardywood again this week and fell for White Out all over again, but the new-news from the brewery is their Bourbon and Port Barrel Gingerbread Stout release this Saturday.

Gingerbread Stout is “freagin’ Christmas in a bottle,” according to BeerAdvocate. The imperial milk stout is drool-worthy like several of last week’s brews, and it’s made with vanilla beans, cinnamon, fresh Casselmonte Farm baby ginger, and Bearer Farms wildflower honey. Mmmmmm. This one matures in Virginia bourbon barrels with oak, caramel, and bourbon undertones, for a rich, chocolately stout that “warms the palate and the soul.” I….need it.

The stout is available aged in bourbon or port barrels, and available at both locations. If you’re looking to hit the downtown spot on Friday, you can also check out their #freshcanfriday release of Citraweisse, a Hefeweizen ale dry-hopped with Citra hops.

Calling all gamers: The Answer Brewpub gets it. Chasing Rings dropped this Sunday, and the 90’s-Sonic homage features “Golden Promise in the grain bill” for deep, golden-ring hues. Its Supersonic amounts (nice) of tropical aromas are made to burst out of the excessively dry-hopped pour, according to its brewers. The Answer is famous for its glasses, and this is one worth getting: especially with this 100% Mosaic DIPA from one of Richmond’s favorite spots to fill it.

Speaking of games, Final Gravity Brewing Co. is bringing back their game-themed Asteroids double IPA this week. On Friday, swing by Lakeside to give it a try for the release. This one will “send you into hyperspace,” with a triple-hit of hops and crowlers for the high score. Its Columbus, Mosaic, and Citra hops are full of stone fruits, florals, and citrus tones to bring this IPA full-circle (and full-flavor). Yum!

Over at Ardent, Dark Rye is returning tomorrow. The American imperial stout is 9.8%, and balances its rye spiciness with roasted notes for a deep black stout with a long-lasting tan head. It’s full bodied with a chocolatey finish, and you can try it out with a side (or three) of Continental Divide tacos in Ardent’s beer garden during the release. Reviewers have noted this one is “pretty dang black” with a nice, subtle aroma of malt, chocolate, hops, and rye — and a hint of licorice and espresso. Dark Rye is on draft and comes in 4-packs of bottles, so you can drink it as you please.

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery has been working on their Juicy IPA series for a while now, and this Friday marks number 7 in the bunch. Something Loyal is their newest addition on the farm, with a Huell-Melon hop profile. The release is this Friday, with the Sandtopia food truck to accompany the new brew. Past releases include Something Better, Something Royal, Something Sneaky and more, and tasters have sung the praises of most beers in this series.

If you’re down with The Answer Brewpub’s Chasing Rings gamer-beer, but you didn’t master Sonic in the 90’s, Intermission Beer Co.’s got you covered. The Glen Allen Brewery has board games every Sunday now for us analog-gamers (I’m right there with you), and you can bring your own game or try something new when you get there. No friends needed: Intermission will provide them. Or bring your own of those, too. It’s fine either way. Old friends are the best friends, but new friends also rule. You can never have too many!

Also at Intermission this Friday is Stitch & Bitch, in case you need to vent about your life and want to get creative with it. Every two weeks, you can bring your projects and your woes for Hooks & Hops at the brewery along with your appetite for some delicious beer. Between board games, crafting, and trivia, Intermission is killing it at the fun-game lately.

Along with Gourd of Thunder came Crystalis at Strangeways Brewing Co., and a big congrats to their Fredericksburg head brewer, Brian, because it’s his first official personalized release. This classic American IPA is packed with citrus, pine, dank earth, and subtle floral notes to pull it together with a spicy, earthy flavor. Crystalis is primarily hopped with Columbus, and has supporting tones from Citra and Centennial hops as well. The 7.2% IPA is great for anytime — so drink up!

Strangeways also has a few exciting events coming up next week, so stay tuned for our next go-around for some awesome news.

For everyone feeling generous (btw it’s the holidays, so you should be), head to Kindred Spirit and join in on their goal: to feed 300+ families this year for Thanksgiving. The West End spot is partnering up with Goochland Cares this year to do their part, and it’s a great way to do yours, too. There are plenty of ways to get involved in the Richmond community with so many locals involved, and Kindred Spirit wants to make it easy (and tasty).