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RVA ON TAP: Adult Field Days & Weed Beer

Caley Sturgill | April 17, 2019

Topics: beer, Final Gravity, Hardywood, Intermission Beer Company, rva field day, RVA On Tap, strangeways, The Veil, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, vasen beer

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!

Last week, Richmond was so packed with events it was hard to pick which one to go to. The RVAMag team spent our afternoons with Legend Brewing Co. for their 25th anniversary party, and over at Richmond Raceway for the NASCAR race and their Craft Beer Fest. Where did your weekend take you?

Are you good at sports? Me either! Just kidding, I’m betting a lot of people here are pretty valuable on a team. If you’re not totally worthless with a ball, this totally-Richmond field day is all your childhood dreams come true…..but with beer.

The RVA Field Day is heading to the City Stadium this Saturday, and the festival is asking you to come be a part of the city’s newest favorite event. Field Day games include target football, a hula-hoop obstacle course, a tricycle/small bike relay rally, watergun cup races (!!!), giant Jenga and “MUCH MUCH MORE!” God, this sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait to see what happens when BMX-ers and football pros unite.

If you’re looking to drink, here’s the local breweries that’ll be in attendance: Legend, Lickinghole Creek, Strangeways, Star Hill, Steam Bell, Three Notch’d, Hardywood, Ardent, plus others from around the state like Devil’s Backbone, Allagash, Sweet Water, and more. Legend just turned 25 last weekend, so if you didn’t make it out to their party, this is a great spot to swing by and say happy birthday.

A major plus: tickets are $30 ahead of time, but you get unlimited booze. And god willing, I know most of you can put back a lot more than thirty bucks of craft beer in a day. Pay up front and drink to your heart’s desire.

Speaking of birthdays, here’s one you won’t miss! The Veil Brewing Co. is turning 3 next week, and you can catch their celebrations starting next Tuesday at the brewery. The Veil is a bigtime Richmond favorite, so I can imagine how pumped the beer scene must be getting for this one. The parties start with beer releases from April 23-28 with a bunch of bottles, cans, and drafts to get the festivities going. Starting that Sunday the 28th, the brewery will be hosting guest taps from their friends, plus tons of rad food from their favorite spots around town, like Cobra Burger, Intergalactic Tacos, and The Highroller Lobster Co. Be on the lookout with The Veil throughout the week for more info on the brews coming out this week, and see you there!

Edelgeist: your new favorite recipe from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. This white IPA is filled with “bright notes” of honeydew, white grape, and pineapple to grace your palate with the snowiest and tastiest of flavors. It’s also packed with a fusion of Huell Melon, Mandarina Bavaria, and Nelson Sauvin hops, and this 6% ABV brew will be out for the tasting starting this #FreshCanFriday at Hardywood. Hardywood’s got some more awesome flavors on the backburner right now, and next week you can look forward to the best creamy brew of your summer… but we’ll save that one for release week!

Hey Final Gravity Brewing Co. fans (aka everyone), one of your faves is back on tap this weekend! Wandering Star Double IPA is returning to the Lakeside spot on Friday, and this 8% DIPA radiates flavors like orange, lime, grapefruit, and notes of tropical fruit and pine as a finish from its dry-hopped Mosaic process. Brewed first in a whirlpool of Citra hops, the tastes are “illuminating” in this shiny 8% ABV beer.

Reefer madness? Yeah, us too. Actually though, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House is here with some madness of another style. Rye-fer Madness is a dank, West-Coast style Rye IPA made as a collab with Three Notch’d and Virginia NORML — your local heroes for marijuana law reform, right here in our home state. If you didn’t know already, the hops used in beer get their smell from the same substance as the aromas in marijuana (Terpenes), and this brew was packed full of it to get a nice, thick flavor. With its peppery, dry background, Rye-fer Madness was made in every way to “simulate the dank taste of your favorite strain.” Go nuts, y’all!

Are you ready to soak up the sun in the glory of springtime in Richmond? Warm days by the river, drinks from rooftop bars overlooking the city, strolls through Carytown and hikes through the James River trails… these are the things that make our great city so great, and all the best parts of RVA come out in the summer. Coming up tomorrow night, you can celebrate that weather in taste with Northern Equinox making its way to Väsen Brewing Company. Dry-hopped and flavored with Mosaic, Citra, Ekuanot, and Galaxy hops, you’ll find complementary aromas of mango, citrus, and passionfruit in this “complex and extremely hoppy brew.”

Hoppy, hazy, and delicious.

If you’re looking for variety, Strangeways Brewing has you covered. Head over this Saturday for a quadruple-release featuring Legalize It Bush Doctor IPA, Dyson Sphere Gose, Dyson Sphere Peach Gose, and Pet Sounds American Wheat Ale. To start the drinks off, Legalize It Bush Doctor is a Double IPA with fresh, resinous, tropical and dank hop profiles.

The Legalize It series from Strangeways is a family of beers that are all created to relax your body and open your mind, and Bush Doctor says no more need to smoke and hide, when you know you’re taking a legal ride!

If you missed the Brown Sugar Porter on its first time at Intermission Beer Company, your chance is back and it’s coming with a sibling: Honey Wheat debuts with the old fave this Saturday. Brown Sugar Porter starts off the Intermission releases with a dark, roasty malt, with a medium body and hints of molasses, according to its brewers. The new recipe is full of more summer flavors, brewed with Wildflower Honey and Virginia-grown red wheat. This 5.8% ABV beer is perfect for any day, and the brewery’s owner, Courtney White, made it in collaboration with the Pink Boots Society in Washington, D.C. to support women working in beer professions. So if you’re looking to drink for a good cause, you’re all set!

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: St. Paddy’s for Partiers, St. Paddy’s for Hikers

Caley Sturgill | March 13, 2019

Topics: events, Final Gravity, Hardywood, Legend Brewing, RVA On Tap, Shiplock Brewing, southern railway taphouse, st paddys day, Stone brewing, strangeways, The Circuit, three notchd, Triple Crossing Beer

This week, we’ve got several fresh beers coming to the local taps, and the part you’ve all been waiting for: St. Paddy’s Day events! A few more events are popping up this time around as well, and there should be plenty of green beer around town for the occasion.

In extra-exciting news to us here at the magazine, our longtime friends, Legend Brewing Co., are celebrating a quarter of a century and 25 trips around the sun this year. To add to the occasion, they made the cover of VA Growler this issue, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for their anniversary party coming up next month. Be sure to head over to Manchester for Legend’s birthday on April 13, and don’t forget the kids and the pups.

Coming up tomorrow (aka Pi Day, and my mom’s birthday — who consequently isn’t really into pie?) is the return of Defenestrator to Ardent Craft Ales. The annual brew has made its way back to the taps, made in collaboration with The Cask Cafe in The Fan. This ruby-brown lager doppelbock is a fan favorite: clean, full-bodied and full of a malty aroma with lesser fruity notes. Its flavor is on the nutty side (ditto), and its bready sweetness finishes off with a crisp feel for an easy drink. It’s 8.7%, so it’s a great way to dive straight into Thirsty Thursday.

The next day, head over to Hardywood for Fresh Can Friday’s Dreamlike can release. This perfectly-spring brew is a pillowy-soft DIPA that’s “bursting with tropical flavors” to get you warmed up for the warm weather we’ve been so luckily experiencing all week. Nice temperatures are set to continue into the weekend, so if you’re as excited as we are for the sunny days, Dreamlike is the perfect tip-of-the-hat to the season.

If you’re not-so-ready for the heat to return, grab a pint of Hardywood’s Apple Brandy Wee Heavy at its release on Saturday for a burst of the best fall flavors.

For those of you looking for more of a triple-whammy, The Veil Brewing Co. just released three beers yesterday: Step Dad³, ?, and American Luxury, in addition to the return of Crucial Taunt. I’m glad to see Crucial Taunt make its way back, because not only is this DIPA packed with awesome flavors with an extremely hoppy, juicy taste, it’s named after the band from Wayne’s World (one of the best movies to come out of the early 90s, obviously). Wayne’s girlfriend, Cassandra, plays in the punk band and is featured performing in the film. Grab a taste while you can, and check out their fresh releases like “?” — answer that for yourself when you give it a try.

In more new-brew-news and big releases, Final Gravity Brewing Co. is dropping a double-beer special on Friday. Ancient Mariner Gose and Low Earth Orbit DIPA are fresh to the taps this weekend, with Ancient Mariner coming back for more after its original release. The long-awaited return will catch you “by the spell of this refreshingly-fruity brew, with the perfect balance of tart and a tinge of saltiness,” and flavored with fruits like raspberry, blackberry, passionfruit, and mango at 4.5%. Low Earth Orbit DIPA, on the other hand, is made to enjoy after a heavy week, according to Final Gravity — the 8% Double IPA is flavored with passionfruit, grapefruit, and lime to “elevate your spirit and lighten your mental load”….. And isn’t that perfect for the end of the week?

⟁ Over the weekend, Triple Crossing Beer had an especially-large release in Fulton. Starting with Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, this oak-fermented sour beer came out after several months of conditioning to make its perfectly-tropical tastes (like white grape, earthy citrus, and a tart, dry finish). Glass House DIPA is the newest in its variety from Triple Crossing, and it’ll leave you feeling just peachy with its ripe orchard tones in addition to mango, melon, and bright orange citrus. Interstellar Burst DIPA, on the other hand, is hopped with Galaxy, Citra, and El Dorado to give off “deep and plush impressions” with its passionfruit, pineapple, grapefruit, and mango tastes. Finally, Mosaic Triangles ⟁ IPA is named after what they call “the strongest shape in nature.” Triple Crossing notes that they named it for their favorite shape and their favorite hops, and the bright, soft-tropical orange and melon citrus will bring out those perfectly-crafted and balanced Triple Crossing flavors — because it wouldn’t be from Triple Crossing if it didn’t get that extra-special attention to detail. We love this brewery not only for their passion in brewing, but because every one of their beers is so damn good. Keep doing you, TC! ⟁

Alright, time to jump into the part you’ve probably been waiting for — St. Paddy’s Day, and what to do for ir. Don’t worry, craft beer enthusiasts and drunks alike, Richmond has something for everyone (as it always does). First up is the Ploughman’s Porter Release coming out from Three Notch’d RVA Collab House tomorrow afternoon for Tap That Thursday. This English Porter is “an ode to the old world, when St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were in their infancy.” This brew is based on an 18th-century recipe, to be lighter, less roasty and have more caramel flavors, they say “this is one ‘light’ dark beer.”

To keep the festivities going, celebrate all week long with Strangeways Brewing Company. They’ll have a special Lücky Charms beer ready in crowlers, growlers and grunts as well as shows and Intergalactic Taco celebrations throughout the week. Head over for live bagpipes and brunch with Spud Bucket for St. Patrick’s Sunday, where you can either keep the party going or recover from the weekend with the hair of the dog — in true Irish fashion.

For Saturday fun, check out the 6th Annual St. Patty’O Crawl with Southern Railway Taphouse and Shiplock Brewing. Make your way down to Shockoe for probably the most “lively” part of the city for this holiday every year, with tons of live music and beers galore. A note from the breweries: “We know it’s PADDY but it’s on our PATIO,” so hold the “well, actually,” bros — we see you.

This might be one of the best deals in the city…… $1 Green Craft Beers are starting at noon at Shiplock, so get there early if you want to grab a seat and get blitzed for the day, as many Shockoe residents do. There will be tons of awesome music to keep the party going into the night, with Zack Artist in the morning, Austin Ferguson Band in the afternoon, and East of Blueridge taking over for the evening special. The outside boundaries will be extra-big, too, so fear not that you’ll run out of room for shenanigans: They’ve got you covered.

Drink up, y’all!

If you’re really not in the mood for all the craziness of St. Paddy’s around town, Stone Brewing Company thought ahead. Take the day off from the crowds and the city and get out into nature to help the environment. Stone’s throwing a Capital Trail Clean-Up day for volunteer groups to avoid the mess and clean one up instead.

Volunteers get discounts at the after-party, a celebration dedicated to everyone who came out to help (and there’s BBQ!!) so it’s a wonderful way to still enjoy your weekend — and do something awesome — if you’re dreading the festivals.

The Circuit Arcade Bar partnered up with our friends at Triple Crossing this week to create SmashDown, a giant competition in Ultimate Smash Bros to slam your competition and bring back the best days of the early 2000s (and for many of us, our childhoods) in a mario-slam-galore. Head over tomorrow night to get your shot at crushing in this seriously-beloved game, and get famous on Twitch in the process (it’s livestreamed)!

RVA On Tap: Collab Season & Burlesque Beer

Caley Sturgill | March 6, 2019

Topics: Blue Bee Cider, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, king easy brewery, Steam Bell Beer Works, Stone brewing, strangeways, Väsen

This week, we’ve got plenty of new releases, and more notably, events! Spring is on its way, and the fun times of warm weather are coming with it soon, so get out there and drink, y’all.

On Saturday, Väsen Brewing Company sent their Savvon into the wild for its first bottle release. This 9.2% ABV farmhouse ale is packed with cherry pie and ripe pineapple from its dry-hopped Brettanomyces. The “funky flavors” come together with some more subtle flavors of passion fruit, raspberry, and white wine from its Galaxy and enigma hops from Australia, and it was aged over a year and a half in American white oak foeder with four additional months of bottle conditioning. Savvon came out alongside The Herbaceous Otter, a tart Otter Gose spiced with fresh lemongrass, ginger, and dried hibiscus calyces.

Two of our favorite Scott’s Addition brewers are coming together this Saturday for a collab release. Isley Brewing Company and Blue Bee Cider are dropping their Apple Brandy Barrel Betty, an apple-brandy, barrel-aged Spiced Brown Ale. Isley brewed the first batch in their original spiced brown, then dumped it into the freshly-emptied Apple Brandy Barrels from their neighbors over at Blue Bee. According to Isley, what emerged is an “audaciously strong beer,” and full of awesome flavors like oak and vanilla blending in with the sweetness of their fresh-pressed juice. I’m extra excited for this one, since all these flavors of fall are long-gone after the holiday beers and long-to-come with the summer ahead. If you’re a fall fanatic like me, go grab some while you can, and hold on to the tastes of the best season a little longer!

Over at Steam Bell Beer Works, the glory of the 80s and 90s’ rock and roll is alive and well. The Here and Now this weekend is headed back to the brewery, and it’s a big celebration for everyone who’s not ready to let go of rock’s golden age. With a large group of musically-inclined individuals, they’ll bring back the best songs of 90s alt-rock and 80s new waver covers — albeit “beefed up” — with some other decade hits sprinkled in. Get your groove on, Richmond.

Yesterday, The Veil Brewing Co. debuted their Henok From Omnipollo…brewed for their friend Henok, who works at Omnipollo. That’s good stuff, man. Henok must have good taste, too, because there is *nothing better in this god-forsaken world than chocolatey, blueberry pancakes* (and my boyfriend, friends, and family will attest to the severity of that statement from me), and this brew has it all. Drool. With blueberries, double chocolate chips, maple (!!), marshmallow mocha, and triple-stack pancake flavors in this imperial stout, I might just roll over and die. Fortunately for you, you can drink this all up in a beer and probably save a little on the diabetes front. Fortunately for me, I can eat all that with the beer to wash it down, and I can die happy. Win win!

Stone Brewing dropped a special stout over the weekend, too, in addition to two IPA releases on Friday — and even though Stone is known across the nation, this brew is special to good ol’ RVA. Their Stone Triple Espresso Totalitarian Imperial Russian Stout may be a mouthful when you say it, but I’m betting it’s an even bigger mouthful to drink. Made from the original Totalian Imperial Russian, this Triple packs in even more espresso flavors, and according to Stone, it may be the perfect brew for the cold, rainy weather that Virginia can’t seem to give us enough of these days. While it looks like the clouds have parted for now, be wary, VA friends. The rain is on its way back this weekend, and so is our need to give this one a try!

Over the weekend, Hardywood dropped their None Of This Makes Sense can release for #freshcanfriday. Highly-rated by its drinkers, it’s named appropriately: “This beer blows my mind every time. Fluffy, not bitter, but so tasty! It truly doesn’t make any sense,” according to one. This New-England style Double IPA was brewed with Mosaic and Wai Iti Lupulin Powder, and at 7.5%, it’s on the higher ABV side without crossing over the one-and-done threshold, so it’s a great way to start off your weekend or finish off a long day at work.

Final Gravity has something similar brewing this week as well, with their Morning Glory Double IPA. This brand-new release is not only a fresh brew from Final Gravity, but their debut of using “the elusive Cashmere hops,” too. With flavors of cantaloupe, candied orange slices, and subtly coconut with creamy peach, tropical fruits, and sweet lime, its dry-hop process came out deliciously-fruity with an 8% ABV to top it off. Grab yours this Friday over at Final Gravity.

Our friends at Strangeways are throwing a show: this Friday, don’t miss a ticket to Burlesque Right Meow. The event’s back with a brand-new cast full of burlesque, circus arts, and comedy that’s “sure to leave you teased and pleased all night long.”

Next up at Strangeways is the release of two new beers on Saturday, Gaia Hypothesis and Martian Spring. The Belgian IPA Gaia Hypothesis is halfway between an American IPA and a Double IPA, often considered too hoppy by Belgian beer drinkers. Belgian IPA’s generally have a cleaner bitterness versus American, according to Strangeways, and they’re made with various malts but finished with bottle-conditioned Belgian yeast strains.

Martian Spring, on the other hand…….

“Gather ye Martians while ye may,

Saucers are still a-flying;

And this same Alien that brews today,

Tomorrow will be imbibing.”

Packed with Columbus, Simcoe, Citra, Galena, and Centennial hops, the flavors land with the light, fruity esters of its Bière de Garde yeast. The invasion begins, they say, as you embark on a thrilling wonder story with this Bière de Mars made in oak wine barrels.

Coming up this Friday, Castleburg has a tasty awaited release. His Majesty’s New Groove is a Jamaican-themed brew, back just in time for their Reggae Sunday events, they say, and the collab beer with King Easy is back on tap — with the idea to create a blazin’ beer, this IPA was put together and loaded all the way up with dank and resinous hops… sure to please even the headiest of hop heads.

“Jah bless.”

RVA On Tap: Grab Your Sweetheart and Get Chocolatey

Caley Sturgill | February 6, 2019

Topics: Ardent craft ales, RVA On Tap, strangeways, vasen brewing

This week, we’re heading into the most lovey month of the year with plenty of awesome brews and events to get you into gear for Valentine’s Day. Grab your sweetheart, and let’s go!

What a perfectly romantic way to start off Valentine’s month — chocolate and beer in one! Center of the Universe is dropping their The Box of Chocolates Stout this Saturday, at the first-ever COTU Chocolate Fest. All of the River City’s finest chocolatiers will be gathered, plus the very sweetest demo: Cooking With Chocolate! What’s better than that? The Publix Aprons Cooking School will be hosting this school for sweet-tooths, and setting up a menu for the day as well.

Handcrafted jewelry, artisan gifts, and flower arrangements will all be present (for your Valentine presents, of course), and it’s a perfect prelude to V-Day. If you haven’t been shopping for your sweetheart yet, be sure to swing by. Or, as COTU suggests, bring them on with you for an early celebration!

Oh, wow. Hardywood has done it again, but they do it every time, so no surprise here. I’m drooling over these two already and I haven’t even tasted them yet! This Saturday, their Bourbon Barrel Raspberry Stout is hitting the taps alongside Baltic Sunrise, a Baltic Porter brewed with locally-roasted coffee beans from none other than the very best coffee spot in town, Black Hand. YUM! I’m a sucker for raspberries and I’m a sucker for coffee. Blended with beer, they can’t get any better.

Their 11.4% ABV Bourbon Barrel Raspberry Stout is made with vanilla beans, and according to Hardywood, it’s a dessert beer to the core. It’s packed full with chocolate malt, cacao nibs, and local late-season red raspberries from Agriberry Farm. It’s finished with Madagascar vanilla beans after it ages for months in freshly-emptied bourbon barrels, which adds to its smooth, rich, chocolatey flavor.

Baltic Sunrise is a 9.4% ABV Baltic Porter made with coffee from Black Hand, as an “invigorating, full-bodied lager” that has notes of fresh coffee and bittersweet chocolate. Its mild fruit flavors come from dark cherries, and its taste delivers a malty, smooth finish.

Keeping close with the deliciously-dessert flavored themes of Valentine’s specials, Steam Bell Beer Works is releasing their Double Chocolate Tiramisu Stout this Friday. I know I’m over-excited on everything so far this week, but all the local breweries are making it hard to pick a favorite, because Tiramisu is my favorite dessert!

This stout is new to the taps and packed with nicaraguan cacao nibs, which gives it its chocolate flavor to pair with the Tiramisu’s coffee and vanilla staples through whole vanilla beans and fresh coffee from Ironclad Coffee Roasters. If you can’t pick one for your honey this week, I don’t blame you — and we definitely suggest mixing it up and trying them all.

Strangeways is starting off the Valentine’s events for us this week, with their Valentine’s Day Market coming up this Saturday.

“Looking to treat yo self? Need something for your Significant Other? Didn’t get what you really wanted for Christmas?”

Have no fear! Strangeways is here. Hit up the local vendors coming out to the brewery, and don’t forget to taste one of their new releases this week: Earth Abides is a 7.0% IPA with the fermentation profile of a classic lager, but with a fruity hop profile twist. It’s packed with tropical fruit, pear, and citrus and leaves a nice crisp finish. Under The Rose is next on tap, a 7.1% Wild Rosehip Saison brewed with foraged rosehips and featuring tea notes that are accentuated with lemon peel. Last up on the list for Strangeways this week is Sleeps With Angels, the chocolate stout with cacao nibs that delivers a big depth of flavor — and the perfect velvety feel for your favorite person this V-Day.

“I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me?” The Answer Brewpub has delivered a fantastic spin on a major early-2000’s classic, Meet The Fockers. I Have Coconut Nipples Greg dropped right as we came together for RVA On Tap last week, but boy, it is so worth the mention, so get them while you can! This 9.7% ABV is full of toasted coconut, with all the mouth feels. It’s super creamy with its coconut flavor upfront and “lingering vanilla,” and it’s absolutely one for the books to head out to the brewpub and try. The Answer not only has some of the best beer in the country, according to the nationwide beer scene, but it’s got the best humor in town.

Fresh to The Veil Brewing Co. yesterday, the debut of Delete My Number. Be sure to head to your favorite Scott’s Addition spot to give this one a try — Delete My Number is a brand-new TIPA that’s brewed with Galaxy, Citra, and Nelson hops to bring you the amped-up version of Do Not Disturb DIPA.

If there’s anything I love as much as I love booze, it’s a good hike. Väsen Brewing Company gets it. They’ve sponsored the RVA Environmental Film Festival this year, and they’re doing an awesome preview of it in their tasting room where they’ll screen An American Ascent, which takes viewers through the harsh, challenging conditions following a team up the mountain and chronicling their adventures climbing North America’s highest peak: Denali, Alaska. Nathan Burrell, Superintendent of the James River Park System right here in RVA, will be speaking to host the event.

⟁ This Friday, Triple Crossing Beer is releasing another double-whammy, starting right here with Nectar & Knife. This is the brewery’s first-ever DIPA that’s hopped and dry-hopped only with Simcoe and Mosaic hops, “for that signature bright, grapefruit pulpy-zest softness” and nada of the bitter finish. Head on out to their Fulton location this Friday to give her a try: she doesn’t bite, but she might cut! ⟁

Come out to pregame the weekend with Dunkel, Ardent’s dark, German-style lager this Thursday. This one’s a great way to jump into your days off and make Friday taste even sweeter — full of malty, nutty aroma with a light, smooth body, this 5.2% ABV is perfect for work-night fun and features Munich malts to give it its rich Amber color. Its complex flavor and clean finish will have you relaxed and ready to go for your weekend.

RVA ON TAP: New Brews, Beer Burlesque, & Boujee Boozey Pups

Caley Sturgill | January 9, 2019

Topics: ardent, Black Heath Meadery, Champion Brewing, Final Gravity, Hardywood, Isley, Potter's Craft Cider, RVA On Tap, shiplock, Stone brewing, strangeways, three notchd, triple crossing

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!

This week, we’re jumping into the New Year with tons of new brews from all your favorite spots around town, making our way from East to West across Central Virginia with all the new tastes you need to start fresh.

Hallelujah! My favorite Hardywood beer is out for a can release this week. Head out to the brewery on Friday to get a can of White Out, the 8.5% Wheat Double IPA. White Out is the classic white beer that I had too much fun with at the Heroes Run event at Hardywood West Creek last fall, and I am more than stoked to see it in cans. You can definitely bet this baby will be making its way to my fridge this week!

Ardent teamed up with Potter’s Craft Cider and Champion Brewing Company this season to bring back their annual Earl Grey Brown Ale. Earl Grey is such a unique flavor, I’ve never seen it in a beer before but this one is bigtime striking my interest! This 6.5% Brown Ale kicks off with a classic brown color and white, frothy head, according to the brewers — and the tea and citrus flavors give it a nice, easy-drinking feel down the hatch. Mmm, just like Earl Grey. It’s light-bodied smooth, and this perfect cloudy day brew will be debuting for its 2019 round this Saturday at Ardent. It’s also being served up with River City Wood Fire Pizza (yum!), so it’s a great way to start into this freezy week.

Black Heath Meadery is truly something special. Not only are they the only meadery in Central Virginia, they’re right in the heart of Scott’s Addition, and they’re ready to share their smarts with the public! Coming up next month, you can head to Richmond’s self-proclaimed booziest neighborhood and try your hand at brewing meads. Under the wings of Mead Mavericks Bill Cavender and Mike Palese, you’ll get to learn how to make this delicious honey wine straight from the beginning — so more on this soon!

Is it a super cool alien spaceship, or the weird guy at the bar sitting too close to you? Lucky you, it’s super cool aliens! Space Invaders is coming back to Final Gravity Brewing Co. this Friday, and this one sounds delicious. It’s full of 100 percent Mosaic hops, and this Double IPA don’t play. The 8% DIPA is packed with flavor, “blasting your tastebuds with mango, lemon, citrus, earthy pine, tropical fruit, herbal, and stone fruit notes.” What more could you want in an IPA?

Yay, another double release from Strangeways! If you’re looking for fun alongside your booze — and why wouldn’t you? — they’ve got brewery burlesque coming up this Friday! It’s a fundraiser for the 2020 Richmond Burlesque Festival, which already sounds like a blast.

The next day, they’ve got a double release with Brasetto and Natural Magic. Brasetto is a 9.5% Rye Tripel, brewed with rye and getting great reviews in the field and in the malthouse. This one will bring you a few different things: The complex flavors start off sweet and finish dry, with a “pleasant warmth that hints its ABV.” It’s fruity, spicy, and earthy, with notes of rustic bread crust and rye spice. Natural Magic, on the other hand, is a 6.3% Sour Saison — on the other end of the spectrum, this one hails from Virginia barley, Epiphany Craft Malts, and Virginia wheats from Murphy & Rude. It’s a saison set out to combine acidity with hoppiness, and it’s nice and tart.

The new brewery on the block is certainly starting the year off with a bang. Shiplock Brewing has $2 flights all month (!!!!!) to fill all your “I hate January” needs up with brand-new brews. I’m a big fan of filling the hole in my heart (and stomach) with a good beer, and I love this start from Shiplock. They’re floating our souls through a not-so-fun month and making sure we all enjoy it anyway… My heart’s happy. I’m definitely excited to see what else comes along from them throughout the season.

Earlier this week when we weren’t even looking, Isley Brewing Company went and dropped a banger! Holy wow, do I need to get my hands on this. Choosy Mother (nice), their Peanut Butter Porter, is on tap at the brewery and available to-go, too. It was fresh back to the taps on Sunday, so grab ‘em while you can — special brews like these only last so long before everyone wants a taste!

Another weekend debut-er came from Stone Brewing this week. Liquid Compass, a DIPA, is brewed with orange, juniper, and coriander — and this 8.5% ABV will really get your night going. Stone is known pretty well nationally for their classic brews that taste good in all varieties, and I’m sure Liquid Compass doesn’t disappoint.

*PHOTO: Stephenie Harrington. Miss Wrangler (left) and Miss Tesla (right) enjoying a Tangerine Express IPA after their hike through Dorey Park.*

Bonus points: It looks even better in the paws of two cute pups.

⟁ Our favorite East-Enders have something tasty up their sleeves. Green Dreams is coming back this Friday at Triple Crossing in Fulton, and like most of their brews, it’s been carefully balanced into perfection. It’s made with doses of Denali, El Dorado, and Citra hops, with their ever-rotating hop varieties to give this DIPA “impressions of fresh pineapple, orange citrus zest, and fleshy peach.” Cases are limited, so drink ‘em while you can!

Our buds at Three Notch’d have partnered up this week, too, with Secret Sandwich Society. Their custom brew Smoke & Mirrors is a smoky, robust porter, and it comes out this Friday. Secret Sandwich Society is hosting the release party at their Richmond spot, over on East Grace Street and full of all the sammies your heart could imagine.

Last but most certainly not least, Castleburg Brewery is bringing back their Murder Hole Mango DIPA this Friday! This intensely-hoppy, fairly strong DIPA is brewed with fresh mango to make this IPA very drinkable, according to its brewers. It won’t get too sweet on you, though — with an IBU over 100, it’s got everything you could need from fruits to deep flavor.

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: Fizz The Season! New Year, New Beer

Caley Sturgill | January 2, 2019

Topics: 2019, Black Heath Meadery, Castleburg, Final Gravity, fine creek, Lickinghole Creek, midnight brewery, new year, RVA On Tap, strangeways, the answer brewpub, The Veil Brewing Co., three notchd

Hope you’re not too beer-ed out from NYE, because we’ve got a lot of great new brews coming out this week and plenty of fresh recipes to bid the holidays adieu and start rolling towards spring.

Cheers to 2019! Fine Creek Brewing Company toasted the new year with their very own champagne of beers, Brut IPA. It’s extra carbonated to give that authentic champagne feel, and with its Lemondrop and Hallertau Blanc hops, it’s nice and fruity. With low bitterness and dry hops, this beer stays very crisp and dry according to its brewers, and has a sharp white wine flavor — perfect for the first moments of our next trip around the sun.

Congrats to Black Heath Meadery on finalizing their new production facility! The meadery is spreading its wings with the new space to bring their meads to new areas of Virginia, and expand their footprint here in town. As Central Virginia’s first and only meadery, Black Heath has always brought something special to the table in a crowded beer scene around Richmond, so I’m extra excited to see them do so well. The new beehive will grow the Scott’s Addition tasting room, and its fundraiser also helps them set up new beehives around Virginia. If you’re a big fan of meads, head over and donate. I hear they have a few perks up their sleeves, too!

Over the weekend, Triple Crossing dropped a surprise. 500 is their “cleverly-named 500th mash,” and it’s their first try at putting their purpose-built imperial stout into bourbon barrels. Through experimentation and evaluation, they came about two variants — one vanilla, one coconut — from the bourbon-aged brews, then blended each of those unique flavors with a brand-new, clean imperial stout. The candied, burnt vanilla bean flavor of 500 With Vanilla is laced with brown sugar ice cream, which gives off dark and cacao-like malt flavors. 500 With Coconut, on the other hand, comes across more as a dark chocolate-like devil’s food cake, with an unsweetened coconut, raw sugary bourbon finish. Both of these beers are complex (and look beautiful, to be honest), and the brewers put a lot of calculated effort into making them just right.

*PHOTO: Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery*

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is stoked on their redneck name: With the release of Redneck High Society, they’re wearing it proudly. This Belgian-style Quad is French Cognac barrel-aged, and these barrels add a grape tannin flavor to the mix. Proceed with caution, Lickinghole Creek says, and “You’re welcome, RVA.”

The Answer Brewpub gained a brand-new beer this weekend, as well. Slice of Beer is “something crushable after all of those glasses of pizza” — and thankfully, there’s no pepperoni to be found. If you’re looking for a nice flow down the hatch, Slice of Beer is your go-to Mexican-style lager, unfiltered and crisp to drink nice and easy.

The Veil Brewing Co. whipped up something special for the new year, too. Yesterday, the Scott’s Addition sweethearts brought back Dirt Nap³, a triple dry-hopped DIPA packed with Mosaic, Citra, Nelson, and Galaxy hops. This 8.8% ABV was probably a fantastic hair-of-the-dog for its January 1st drinkers, and the new version of this classic Veil brew seems as rich as its predecessor. The OG Dirt Nap is praised for having an “insane” aroma and flavor profile, and as the brewery’s second go at DIPA’s (after Crucial Taunt), it’s got an original feel. I’m looking forward to giving this one a try.

Every week, Three Notch’d Brewing Company hosts Tap That Thursday, and everyone in the taproom gets a free taste of the newest recipe on deck. This week’s release was a special one, with Fantom of the Hopera, an Imperial Red IPA. I had the pleasure last week of joining Three Notch’d at their location in Roanoke for the occasion, and although they took over a beloved spot of my parents’ since I was a kid, I was pleasantly surprised by how well I dig having Three Notch’d in the location. In Charlottesville, Fantom of the Hopera was released last Thursday after our RVA On Tap post-Christmas, with Three Notch’d Brewmaster Dave Warwick and their special guest, David Hunter (founder of Fans of Virginia Craft Breweries). It’s available at their RVA Collab House, so give it a taste while it’s still out there.

Coming up this Friday, a smoooooooth and hazy DIPA is heading back towards Final Gravity. Vapour Trail is filled with grapefruit, floral, and tropcial flavors, brewed with Falconer’s Flight and Citra hops. It first showed up earlier this spring, and like its first release, it’ll only be here for a limited time. Vapour Trail will “soon fade away, like voices in a hurricane” its brewers say, so grab a crowler while it’s around.

Two new brews popped up over the weekend at Strangeways. Bohemian Grove and Geomancy are both fresh to the taproom — Bohemian Grove is their new Lactose New England IPA, which marries a citrusy, dank hop profile to a lightly-sweet, full body. With notes of tropical fruit, black currant, pie, and gooseberry, this recipe is named appropriately. Geomancy is Strangeways’ new boysenberry table beer, a “refreshing and fruity Belgian style, brewed with Virginia-grown barley.” Strangeways has a wonderful tradition of brewing with Virginia-grown resources, and these hail from Epiphany Craft Malt and Murphy & Rude Malting Co.

Fizz the season from Center of the Universe! Bottle Poppin’ Brut IPA is here, and this ultra-dry, champagne-like beer has a light body full of lingering vinous fruit and minerality — but still full of hops. They made it with Simcoe and Mosaic hops, and get ready to pop bottles, they say. This one’s a celebration.

Midnight Granite is back at Midnight Brewery, and this rich oatmeal stout sounds like a dream. It’s a medium-bodied brew, and it comes alongside 623, Midnight’s mix of half-stout, half-Not My Job Brown Ale. With subtle roast and smooth chocolate notes, Midnight Granite will carry you through the coldest weeks coming up. Even though 623 isn’t listed on the board, its brewers say it should be easy to remember…..it’s the route number you’ll take to get there.

For the love of beer, Castleburg Brewery is bringing back a favorite. For the Love & Intrigue returns this Friday, and the cranberry and star-anise Saison will make you fall in love, they say. The 6.8% ABV recipe is also gluten-reduced, so if you’re trying to purge a few inches this month like everyone else, now’s your time to shine: For the Love & Intrigue should fit great in your diet.