Virginia Craft Beer - Dec 2014/Jan 2015

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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DECEMBER 2014

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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ingredients PUBLISHER/EDITOR Jeff Maisey ADVERTISING/MARKETING Jennifer McDonald CREATIVE DIRECTOR Brenda Mihalko

6: Green Flash Breaks Ground 8: Mark Thompson 12: Malt 14: RVA Beer History 22: Midnight Brewery 24: Ardent Craft Ales 26: Devils Backbone 30: 2014 Impactful Breweries 32: Wild Run Brewing 34: South Street Brewing 36: Young Veterans Brewing 42: Brew Reviews 44: Keeping Tabs 47: Brewery Guide

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Diane Catanzaro Diane Flynt Jeff Evans Lee Graves Chris Jones Kim Kirk Robey Martin Joshua Rapp Learn Wade Reynolds Mark Thompson Chuck Triplett Michael Wingfield Dan Yarnall CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Kathy Keeney WEBMASTER Giorgio Valentini Copyright 2014 Ghent Media, Inc. Virginia Craft Beer Magazine is published bi-monthly by Ghent Media, Inc. PO Box 11147 Norfolk, VA 23517

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DECEMBER 2014

For advertising and subscription inquiries: 757.403.5852 jennifer.mcdonald@hotmail.com For editorial inquiries: 757.237.2762 jeffmaisey@yahoo.com virginiacraftbeer.com

publisher’sNOTE Season’s Greetings, Virginia’s craft breweries have reason to give thanks and celebrate the overall success of the industry this year. As 2014 draws to an end, we hope each of you will take a moment to breathe deep, exhale and admire the fruits of your labor and wise investment. These are exciting, unprecedented times in the Commonwealth’s brewing history.

In this issue of Virginia Craft Beer Magazine, we also pause to reflect on the past, present and future.

As noted in his column titled “Making an Impact,” Mark Thompson touts the emergence of Virginia’s craft breweries on the local, regional and national stage, and references Lee Grave’s new book – which we have a review of – documenting Richmond’s history of brewing to illustrate the trials, tribulations and perseverance of those who live to brew.

Had Biblical Moses been alive in pre-SB604 Virginia it is entirely possible he would have said, “Free my people. Let them brew.”

Speaking of history, we also have a fascinating look at Norfolk’s past and current climate of beer production.

Both Norfolk and Richmond were in the news this year as the two cities were Top 3 finalists amongst some 230 competitors vying to become Stone Brewing Company’s East Coast destination. RVA was selected.

With less fanfare, San Diego-based Green Flash Brewing Company officially broke ground in Virginia Beach, making it the first West Coast brewery to establish itself in Virginia.

Interestingly enough, all of this excitement makes Virginia seem like the New World all over again. Perhaps a Deja Vous Brew would be an appropriate collaboration ale given this is a new Age of Discovery as market share continues to rise for the sale of craft beer, which brings us to the topic of our cover story.

The last three years have been an amazing ride for Devils Backbone Brewing Company as they produced exceptional, award-winning beers and were crowned Best Small Brewery for two consecutive years (2012 and 2013) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. For the 2014 Festival competition, Devils Backbone was bumped up to the midsized brewery category because of its increased brewing capacity in Lexington. This is the top level for craft breweries. And wouldn’t you know it; they were awarded Best Midsize Brewery in October 2014.

For this reason, along with their Best in Show medal sweep in August at the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Festival, we have named them our 2014 Brewery of the Year, and I hope you will all agree.

Additionally, we give a shout out to those Virginia craft breweries that made an impact in 2014, whether garnering national and international acclaim or for making news that goes beyond the daily operation of a brewery.

Other highlights in this issue: Allen Young informs us of a possible shortage and increased pricing for malted barley in 2015; Josh Learn takes us off-the-beaten-path to Wild Run Brewing, in Stafford, where craft beer is brewed amongst the towering pine trees. We shine a light on Midnight Brewery, South Street Brewery, Ardent Craft Ales and Young Veterans.

Please note all of these can be found on our website – virginiacraftbeer.com – as well as a brewery guide with maps and events calendar.

The forecast for growth in 2015 is hot and sunny for the Virginia craft beer industry.

Happy New Year, Jeff Maisey & Jennifer McDonald VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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brewNEWS -6-

Green Flash Breaks Ground

BY JEFF MAISEY

Sthe first West Coast brewery to break ground in the

an Diego-based Green Flash Brewing Company became

brought our first visit. We became real excited after that to come to Virginia Beach.”

Commonwealth of Virginia during a ceremony following their The beach lifestyle connected to tourism as well as a strong Treasure Chest Fest fundraiser in Virginia Beach in mid-October. military community were assets that Mike Hinkley valued Mike and Lisa Hinkley established the brewery in 2002. Both because of the Virginia Beach market’s similarities to San Diego. were present for the two-day festivities. Invitations went out to the “It reminds us very much of San Diego,” said Hinkley, “and regional breweries, restaurant owners and dignitaries, including that makes us feel very comfortable.” city council members, Mayor Will Sessoms, state legislators “For Virginia Beach it’s going to mean 40 new jobs and a and the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Commerce and Trade, $20 million capital investment,” said Mayor Will Sessoms. “This Maurice Jones. location is supported by a lot of rooftops (residents) and it’s not Virginia State Senator Jeffrey McWaters is credited as the key far from the Oceanfront, so we’ll see a lot of tourists headed sponsor of State Bill 604 allowing this way.” breweries to sell beer directly to Hinkley is also impressed customers, but he admits he was with Virginia’s emerging beer hesitant to do so at first. culture.

“I had previously taken-on “The beer scene in Virginia several ABC legislation and is just growing by leaps and had two or three bills, and as a bounds,” he said. “Even in just young senator I didn’t want to that last couple of years since become known as the guy who we’ve been looking at it, it only cared about these alcohol has come so far. We think we bills,” explained McWaters. are only going to contribute “Some fellas came to me in 2012 to that.” and asked if I would consider Green Flash has been this, and I immediately said, laying the groundwork ‘no.’ About four months later on other fronts as well.

I was at a community event They joined the Virginia and one of them walked up to Craft Brewers Guild and me, introduced himself and brewmaster Chuck Silva said, “I thought you were an has been making the entrepreneur.” I said I was, and rounds, popping in to local then he said, ‘No you are not, restaurants and collaborating because you are not willing to with regional breweries like help us craft brewers.’ He was Smartmouth.

Green Flash owners Mike and Lisa Hinkley with direct. So we got behind it and The brewery is currently Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones learned that Virginia was really working with the city to finalize missing out in attracting these improvements to the site such types of businesses. We put SB604 together. Some beer guys as sidewalks, turning lanes and other infrastructure. call it Session Brew 604.”

“We expect the brewery to be up and running, fully functional After SB604, the number of craft breweries opening within by early 2016,” Hinkley said.

Virginia has greatly increased, and that is an important sign in Green Flash is known for its hoppy beers West Coast IPA, Hop the eyes of Secretary of Commerce Maurice Jones.

Head Red, Imperial IPA and Jibe Session IPA. It’s Le Freak won “We are developing a craft beer culture because we are a bronze medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival in developing critical mass in that industry,” said Jones. “Success Denver. The Freak is a Belgian-style trippel-meets-American breeds success. It is an industry that is in growth mode.”

Imperial IPA monster of a beer.

Secretary Jones also noted that Virginia is within a 10-hour Getting these beers to market quicker and fresher on the East drive of 60% of the popular in America, and that makes the Coast is a major reason why the brewery is establishing itself Commonwealth a geographically strategic location to do in Virginia Beach. But the beer brewed in Virginia Beach will be business. distributed beyond the Florida to Maine corridor.

Green Flash will construct a 58,000 square-foot building to “It will go further west than you might think,” said Hinkley. accommodate a 100,000 barrel brewery, complete with tasting “The beer will go from Virginia Beach all the way to Texas, room and outdoor beer garden.

Colorado and up to Minnesota because the freight rates are a lot The brewery had scouted several locations east of the less heading from east to west.”

Mississippi and was leaning towards North Carolina until SB604 Hinkley projects the price of beer to consumers will go down was passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed into on the East Coast due to lower transportation expenses. law in 2012.

“That should accelerate our growth,” he said. “Already the “We weren’t considering Virginia as a place to put the East Coast is a very fast growing territory for us. Passing those brewery until they passed SB604,” said Hinkley. “That then savings from freight on to the consumer will help.”

DECEMBER 2014

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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brewNEWS

River City Becoming Beer City: Legend Brewing Company celebrated its 20th anniversary this year in Richmond.

Making an Impact

BY MARK THOMPSON

TWhat began in earnest in the early 1990s as a small group of

he craft brewing industry in Virginia is beginning to come of age.

entrepreneurs attempting to bring more flavorful beer to consumers has matured into a multimillion dollar industry in the state. When you step back to look at where craft brewing started and where it is today, the accomplishments are amazing.

Throughout the 1990s and most of the 2000s the pace of brewery openings in Virginia was fairly static, with one or two opening and then a closing or two. Recently there have been some legislative changes that have dramatically opened up Virginia to become a real player on the national stage. Most notable of the legislative changes was the passing of Senate Bill 604, in 2012, that allowed breweries in Virginia to sell beer for consumption out of their tasting rooms. This bill helped to lower the barrier to entry in the state and has fueled the growth of the number of breweries. Virginia breweries have more than doubled in numbers over the last three years.

The growth and associated economic impact of craft brewing in Virginia is poised to reach a critical mass with the recent announcement that two large national west coast craft breweries are set to build new production facilities in Virginia. Two California breweries, Green Flash and Stone Brewing Company, have announced plans to build breweries in Virginia Beach and Richmond respectively that will add more brewing capacity to the state in one year than is currently being produced by all of the Virginia breweries combined.

Richmond Case Study To illustrate just how far craft brewing has come in Virginia in such a short time, Richmond gives a good reference point to start. The most recent history of craft beer in that city shows some starts and stops over the last couple of decades only to establish itself for the long term very recently.

In his recently published book titled RICHMOND BEER, noted continued

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DECEMBER 2014

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brewNEWS beer author Lee Graves gives a fascinating look at the history of beer in Richmond Virginia. The chapter on Craft Beers first wave into the Richmond market paints a very interesting story that illustrates just how far the industry has come in such a short time.

In 1982, the first commercial craft brewery in Virginia opened its doors in the Virginia Beach area. The brewery was called Chesapeake Bay Brewing Company and it brought home the first Great American Beer Festival medal for the state for its Chesbay Dopplebock Lager in 1986.

Richmond, Virginia got its first brewery in 1993 when Richbrau opened its doors in the Shockoe Slip area of downtown. That same year Legend Brewing Company began brewing on the south side of the James River. Richbrau and Legend were the anchor breweries of Richmond during the mid 1990s as America was experiencing the first wave of explosive growth in craft brewing.

Nationally, as well as in Virginia, this explosive growth was to be very short lived. Richmond added its third brewery in 1995 with James River Brewing Company; it only lasted two years. James River sold to Mobjack Brewery in 1997, which then went belly-up in 2003. 1995 also was the year that Richmond got its fourth brewery when Williamsville Brewery opened a brewery inside of Kings Dominion theme park.

Williamsville later went on to open up Main Street Brewery in 1999.

As the decade drew to a close, Richmond had established itself as a craft beer town on the rise supporting one production brewery and several brew pubs. The favorable winds were not to last. By 2004 there were only two breweries left in Richmond (Legend and Richbrau). Five years later at the end of 2009, Legend stood alone as the only viable craft brewery in Richmond.

It was not until two years later that Richmond would regain a second brewery when Hardywood Park Craft Brewery opened in 2011. For the first 18 years of craft brewing in Richmond, the number of breweries rose from one to four and then back to one again. Compare this with the last 3 years (2011-2014) when the number of breweries in Richmond now stands at 13 in operation. (List of active breweries in the greater Richmond area: Ardent Craft Ales, Center of the Universe, Extra Billy’s Smokehouse and Brewery, Hardywood Park, Isley, Legend, Lickinghole Creek, Midnight, Rock Bottom, Rusty Beaver, Strangeways, Triple Crossing. The Answer Brewpub next to Mekong is open as a food destination but is not yet brewing beer—equipment being loaded in any day now. ) Stone Brewing, the 14th brewery in Richmond, has the potential to not only change the brewing landscape in Richmond, but also in the state of Virginia. The Stone facility is slated to open in late 2015 or early 2016. The brewery will feature a full service restaurant and employ more than 288 people, according to the company’s press release.

When asked for comment on how he saw the future of the Richmond brewing scene, Lee Graves said, “Not all breweries are equal. The future belongs to folks who can consistently make excellent beer (not just good beer), have smart business plans and can establish a unique identity in the marketplace. The ability to utilize social media to good advantage also is essential. Continued cooperation from local and state officials is paramount. Elected leaders are realizing that craft breweries create jobs, create tourist destinations, provide family-friendly atmospheres and feed synergy with local restaurants, farmers and other businesses. Richmond is at a critical juncture where craft breweries and local restaurants are being recognized nationwide for excellence.”

Economic Impact Information According to the Brewers Association, the craft brewing industry contributed $33.9 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012. The figure is derived from the total impact of beer brewed by craft brewers as it moves through the three-tier system (breweries, wholesalers and retailers), as well as all non-beer products like food and merchandise that brewpub restaurants and brewery tap rooms sell. The industry - 10 -

DECEMBER 2014

also provided more than 360,000 jobs, with 108,440 jobs directly at the breweries and brewpubs, including serving staff at brewpubs.

The economic impact from craft breweries in Virginia is estimated by the Brewers Association to have been about $623 million dollars in 2012. The industry has created 8,163 jobs both directly and indirectly.

The direct labor income of the industry in Virginia is over $273 million dollars with an average wage of roughly $33,500 a year. This economic impact is directly tied to the number of beer barrels sold each year.

In 2012, the state generated 84,907 barrels and that number rose to 129,103 for 2013. All indications are that 2014 will be another record year that will continue to strengthen the economic impact in Virginia.

Beer Production/Number of Breweries in Virginia Pinning down the exact number of breweries in Virginia and their associated barrel figures is not an easy task. Research for this article turned up a host of varying numbers for exactly how many breweries there are in Virginia at any one time. The Brewers Association’s website lists 143 breweries in Virginia, although many of those are “Breweries in Planning” and not officially making beer. The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild’s most recent 2014 number is 93 breweries in operation across the state. The number is a moving target and is sure to rise by the end of the year.

The state’s craft beer production and sales data statistics for 2013 that were collected by the Brewer’s Association show that Virginia ranked 15th in the nation with 61 active breweries. Those 61 breweries represented 1 brewery per capita (per 100,000 adults) which ranked 30th in the nation. A comparison would be Colorado which has 4.7 and Oregon at 6.3 breweries per capita. Virginia has a long way to go to

match the numbers of breweries in those two states.

The Brewer’s Association did not begin to collect statewide sales data until 2011. Based on that data, Virginia had 40 craft breweries in 2011 that produced 61,440 barrels of beer. That number rose to 50 breweries in 2012 producing 84,907 barrels. In 2013, the number rose again to 61 breweries and 129,103 barrels. The 2013 volume equaled 0.7 gallons of craft beer per adult in the state which ranks 33rd in the country.

Conclusion The wine industry in Virginia started in the mid 1970s with one winery and a lot of people who doubted that the industry would ever flourish.

Today Virginia has grown to become the 5th largest grape producing state behind California, Oregon, Washington, and New York. In many ways, the craft brewing movement in Virginia is poised to accomplish the same success as the wine industry did before. Virginia had only one brewery in the early 1980s that has now grown to almost 100.

An even more impressive feat is that in the last couple of years, the momentum of the craft brewing industry has continued to strengthen.

It took almost 30 years for Virginia to produce 130,000 barrels of beer a year from the time that the first brewery opened in 1982. That number is likely to double in just a couple of years.

It is clear that the craft brewing industry is making an economic impact in the state. The jobs that the industry is creating are significant and pay well above the minimum wage. In addition, the secondary economic impact of the industry continues to grow with the number of tasting room and the patrons that visit them. A typical tasting room will get visitors from all over the state that will eat a local restaurants and stay in local hotels as part of their visit to the brewery.

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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brewNEWS

Malt Shortage on the Horizon

BY ALLEN YOUNG

Bmaltsters face higher costs after snow, cold, and wet weather

eer prices in North America may rise next year as brewers and

damaged Canadian barley crops and left those farmers with the lowest yield in 46 years, and the worst harvest in the United States in 4 years.

While many brewers are focused on the recent hop harvest and all of the pressures to meet demand for highly hopped craft beers brewed with more pounds per barrel than ever in the history of beer making, it is the main ingredient that I wish to inform you all about this year – Barley malt! Malted barley, the foundation of most every beer style has felt pressure from similar demand like hops, from ever expanding craft breweries and new breweries entering the market. However, the North American crop has begun reporting a perfect storm of factors that have wreaked havoc on the barley crops. In short, this has been a terrible weather year. The early word from the fields is that this may prove to be one of the worst crops ever.

Canada, the world’s second-biggest exporter of malting barley, was already harvesting its smallest crop since 1968, before a recent dump of snow and freezing temperatures in Alberta, the biggest barley-growing province. The United States is seeing signs in North Dakota of a malt spoiler that is causing beer to gush out foam upon opening the package. Moisture levels are so high that the barley silos will have a tough time keeping the seed stored until malting without the seeds rotting first. And the barley crops in Montana and Idaho were hit with rain during harvest that also caused some sprouting activity in the grain prior to it being harvested.

The shortage will hit craft brewers the hardest, since they typically keep less malt inventory on hand and many use 100% malted barley to produce their brews without “stretching “ the formula with other starch sources such as rice, corn, or wheat. Import malts

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DECEMBER 2014

Allen Young is the Southeast sales manager for BSG Craftbrewing.

Young is a former brewmaster at Gordon Biersch in Virginia Beach.

photo courtesy ATR

may be a good alternative this year for many craft brewers, as the cost will get closer to the domestic grain prices here. The larger breweries that are also better able to absorb costs will likely use enzyme additives that will coax more sugar from the poor quality barley malts.

Additionally, for the craft brewer the quality of this expensive barley malt will be a major down side. The protein levels are very high which leads to a low yield on wort meaning more barley malt is used to keep the beer formulas in spec. as well as, the potential for a haze to form in the packaged beer on the shelf when the protein chill haze forms. Further bad news for the brewers in the brew house is much longer brew days ahead as a difficult gum called Beta Glucans are very high in this crop, which leads to very slow collection of the wort.

Much of Canada’s barley crop ended up covered in a thick layer of snow in early September.

The snow blanket was followed by freezing temperatures that may have killed any immature crop, leaving it unfit for use in brewing. The mature seeds do start to sprout and are too damaged to assist later in the malting or germination portion when converting barley into malted barley. The resulting sprout damage and high moisture content means most of the crop will be animal feed or an insurance right off.

European farmers, which are the biggest barley producers in the world, along with Australia and Argentina all expect to harvest smaller crops because of weather and other factors.

Let’s get through the next beer year and hope for clear skies, and perfect growing conditions for our farmers, maltsters, brewers and BEER drinkers!

1 Year Anniversary for RVA’s American Tap Room With 36 draft lines, one of the only 2-cask engines in Richmond and a selection of over 65 bottle beers, American Tap Room (affectionately known as ATR) is making waves in part of the revitalization of the Willow Lawn Shopping Center in RVA. According to operating partner Walter Donohue, ATR is keen on supporting local breweries such as Strangeways, Legend, Ardent, Isley and others.

The restaurant/beer bar features two tap invasions every month from different breweries as well as some one-offs, rare and hard to find beers.

“It’s not just about drinking the beer though,” said Donohue. “With our Chef de Cuisine and Sous Chef we are able to create custom menu items utilizing some of the great beer selection that we have.”

American Tap Room

1601 Willow Lawn Drive, Suite 840 Richmond 804.308.9013 americantaproom.com VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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brewNEWS

Proof Richmond is Beer City USA

BY JEFF MAISEY

Wpublicized search for an east coast location and the ultimate

ith all the hoopla surrounding Stone Brewing Company’s highly

Beer Surges” and goes into great detail about the city’s postCivil War days of the fallen Capital of the Confederacy and its selection of Richmond as its destination facility, perhaps timing undying thirst for beer. As Richmond was rebuilding, in 1866, 16 couldn’t have been better for the release of Lee Grave’s Richmond breweries were listed in the city directory. The chapter includes Beer: A History of Brewing in the River City. an advertisement from the directory illustrating a five-story factory Over the course of 150 pages, Graves takes readers on a building that was Continental Brewery, brewers of amber, pale ale, fascinating journey that begins in 1607 when English settlers first porter, East India Ales and others. made their way up the James River. Led by Captain Christopher As with any historical account, it is important to know where we Newport, the explorers carried vital supplies came from to provide a foundation for where such as weapons, food and beer. In fact, as we are going. And throughout Richmond Graves tells us, the English came ashore Beer, Graves provides a fun, yet educational near an Indian village and essentially partied lesson. hard with the Powhatan tribe members. As One such takeaway is that breweries have we learn, this is the hilly site where the city of come and gone, even before Prohibition. In Richmond would later be built.

1873, for example, a financial crisis led to the Beer, of course, was the best source of closing of all of Richmond breweries except hydration in those days as water supplies one, James River Steam Brewery, and it shut were often unfit for human consumption. down the following year.

Brewers were essential to the survivability of Before Prohibition went into effect on the colonists, and tragically the first wave of October 31, 1916, the Richmond Timesexplorers was without a brewer, so they soon Dispatch wrote that “extensive brewery sent for help. plants in Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke and Graves quotes beer historian Gregg Smith other points in the State, now doomed as writing, “Despite its foul appearance, under the prohibition law, may be spared people knew beer was good for them; annihilation” if the breweries were converted indeed, it was a major part of their diet and into producing non-alcoholic “soft drinks.” continued to be throughout America’s early But that notion was quickly nixed. Beer would years.” not pour from Richmond taps for another 17 So there it is folks. All the explanation and years. justification you’ll ever need for drinking The book picks up the pace of beer. beer’s resurgence in a chapter called Lee Graves, a longtime writer and editor at “Microbrewing’s First Wave Surges into the Richmond Times-Dispatch, began writing a City.” It begins in the 1960s and then gives Richmond Beer was released in late October weekly column on beer in 1996. He’s known an appropriate nod to Virginia Beach’s as the Beer Guy. Chesapeake Bay Brewing Company, which It was a decade before, in 1986, while visiting Munich’s became the Commonwealth’s first craft brewery in 1982.

Hofbrauhaus and a German monastery where monks brewed an That’s about the same time Richbrau Brewing Company opened exceptional schwartzbier that Graves became interested in beer. in Shockoe Slip, as Graves writes, “where taverns flourished in In the book’s second chapter – War Looms, Consumes – the colonial times and cobblestones still rattle cars today.” author gives a great description of life in Richmond during the Graves goes on to discuss the origin of Commercial Taphouse, 1800s. The strengths of the city during the early part of that century Legend Brewing Company, Mobjack Bay as well as State Bill 604 were education, river trade and tobacco. As Graves tell the reader, in a chapter titled “The Turning Point for Local Beer.” He devotes Richmond was the “industrial center of the South” and “stood out as sections to Hardywood Park, Legend, Midnight, Center of the a manufacturing center” in the years before the Civil War. Universe, Strangeways, Lickinghole Creek, Isley, Triple Crossing, Another interesting point is how important European beer Rusty Beaver, Ardent Craft Ales, Extra Billy’s, Rock Bottom, and even imported from Liverpool and London was to thirsty Richmonders The Answer Brewpub to give the contemporary craft beer scene is during the mid-1800s. Immigrants from Germany, however, due. accounted for roughly 25% of Richmond’s growing population and Beyond breweries, Lee Graves takes a broader look across the thus ushered a growing demand for lager brewed within city limits.

Commonwealth and discusses the source of ingredients from hops Graves credits author Samuel Mordecai as writing “lager has gone to yeast production. ahead of all other beverages.”

Richmond Beer: A History of Brewing in the River City is the Germans in Richmond owned and operated two primary types perfect complement to connect the dots between the past and of business: clothing stores and saloons, where beer was sold in present, and shows the current generation of craft brewers that they abundance. are part of a longstanding beer community that has evolved since The third chapter of the book is called “As Richmond Rebounds, the founding of America.

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DECEMBER 2014

Northern Virginia’s Favorite Brewpub Author Lee Graves

A Q&A with Lee Graves How did you decide to write a book on RVA’s beer history?

History Press contacted me. It sounded like a fun undertaking and a natural fit for all the beer writing I’ve been doing over the years (since 1996). Also, I love history.

How long did it take to complete?

October 2013 to August 2014.

What did you learn in the process about Richmond?

That’s a hard question to answer because I learned so much. The main thing I learned is that beer is a vital part of Richmond’s past, present and future. From 1607 to today — through colonial days, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, Prohibition, the advent of microbreweries, the current craft boom — beer has been a part of Richmond’s fabric and appeal. I came away thinking that Richmond might easily claim to be the most beer-historic city in the nation.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

I hope readers get a sense of what a fascinating, multifaceted city we live in and how the beer, brewers, entrepreneurs and beer-lovers have helped shape not only Richmond but also the U.S. There are some wonderful stories in the book — some that I hope will make people smile, some that are poignant, some that are inspiring — so I hope anyone who reads it will be entertained as well as informed. Maybe some folks will become beer adventurers, exploring new beers and visiting historic sites.

Where is it available?

Online (Amazon, History Press), at major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, at several Richmond bookstores (Fountain Bookstore, Chop Suey Books), numerous RVA breweries (Strangeways, Legend, Hardywood, Midnight, to name a few), and at some restaurants (Mekong, for example) and homebrew shops (WeekEnd Brewer in Chester). I’m sure there are others.

A list of signings and receptions is on the book’s Facebook page (just search for “Richmond Beer”).

Award-winning handcrafted beer with a menu to match, appealing to craft beer aficionados and foodies alike. Upscale, but informal, always family-friendly.

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mugSHOTS Ghentoberfest (Norfolk)

Blue Ridge Trail Collaboration Brew Day @ Wild Wolf (Nellysford)

Fun Night Art Group @ Wild Wolf - 16 -

DECEMBER 2014

House of Blues and Brews at MOCA (Virginia Beach)

COME VISIT OUR ELEGANTLY RUSTIC CIDER BARN ENJOY THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN VIEWS FROM OUR DECK. SEE OUR CIDER MAKERS AT WORK CRUSHING LOCAL APPLES AND CRAFTING AWARDWINNING BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER. CHEERS!

Open Daily 11-6 | (434) 361-1030 | www.boldrock.com 1020 Rockfish Valley Highway (Rt. 151) Nellysford, VA 22958

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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mugSHOTS Roast and Toast @ The Hermitage Museum (Norfolk)

South Street Brewery Opening Party (Charlottesville)

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APRIL 2014 2014 DECEMBER

Green Flash Treasure Chest Fest (Virginia Beach)

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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beer CRAFT These talented Virginians are getting their craft on in celebration of the beer lover in all of us!

It’s SWEATER Weather! ...And Julie from ModJules wants only the best for you!

She’s making it easy by offering these hand-stamped caribiner keychain/bottle openers in her etsy shop. You can even get your name stamped on the other side to make sure everyone knows who is most deserving! $17.

ModJules | Herndon | etsy.com/shop/modjules

Good beer abounds in this great state, so each and every one of you should be displaying one of these handlettered prints from LeMonkey House. $20+. Custom sizes available.

LeMonkey House | Culpeper | etsy.com/shop/lemonkeyhouse - 20 -

DECEMBER 2014

Handmade Pint Glass Cozies

are the perfect accessories to keep the cold where it needs to be. IN YOUR GLASS! These tiny sweaters are crafted from natural alpaca wool (from the artist’s “3 girls”, Lucy, Alexa and Grandy), cottons and acrylics, Custom quantities and colors are available! $5/ea.

InspiredByOur3Girls Newport News etsy.com/shop/ inspiredbyour3girls

• Craft Beer Tasting • Stand Up Comedy • Corporate Tours • 21 Parties • Bachelor Parties • Bachelorette • Wedding Parties • Bar Crawls

Hop on in! Brew Haha is on the road!

For ticket info, visit us online @

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Midnight Brewery 2410 Granite Ridge Road Rockville804.356.9379 midnight-brewery.com

photo courtesy of Midnight Brewery

A fine pint.

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DECEMBER 2014

A Crazy Ride at Midnight Brewery

BY JEFF MAISEY

A

framed display with a golden shovel and photographs of the March 29, 2014 groundbreaking of Midnight’s new brewery adorns the baby blue colored wall of the tasting room. Large floor-to-ceiling glass windows provide a warm, natural light. Patrons stream in and belly up to the wooden bar just after 5 pm on a Thursday and scan the blackboard before selecting from a variety of sessionable beers such as Midnight Granite Oatmeal Stout, Head First Pale Ale, New Beginning Kolsch, Virginia Midway American Wheat, Purdy Mechanic IPA, Rockville Red and Not My Job, a Southern English Brown Ale. In 2011, Trae Cairns opened Midnight Brewery in Rockville, just on the outskirts of the bustling Short Pump commercial district. Cairns has twice upsized his brewery.

I caught up with Trae to learn more about his success. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation.

How did Midnight begin as a brewery and can you share with us the story of your rapid expansion?

I guess there’s a Northern and Southern English Brown. The big difference is usually the amount of sweetness in the beer. A Northern is less sweet.

When we started making that beer, it didn’t turn out the way I was aiming for but we put it out on tap to see what it would do, and people loved it. We made a couple tweaks on it but nothing major. It’s kind of hard to get rid of that beer now because we have such a following for it.

We use an East Kent Golding hop as well as two more hop additions in that beer; one is Willamette and the other is Liberty.

Your Rockville Red Irish Red Ale is also popular. It’s interesting that you have O’Connor Brewing’s old system and one of their star flagship beers is an Irish Red as well.

When I first opened, I needed another beer to brew. I like amber beers. So I decided to do an Irish Red. Ours is a little different in that it has a slight roast finish. You get a little bit of caramel notes up front and then when you swallow you get that finish that’s roasty. It became a very popular beer for us, though I think the Brown ale is starting to catch up.

The Irish Red, for me, is my go-to beer.

We moved into our space in September of 2011. That’s when we could start filing for all our permits. By February of 2012, we were licensed, started brewing and then opened in May of 2012.

SB604 had not come about until July Nearly half of all craft beer drinkers select of 2012. At that point we started growing an IPA. Do you get a lot of hopheads pretty rapidly with customers. It was really, coming in requesting your Purdy Mechanic in Richmond, just Legend, Extra Billy’s, IPA? Midnight Brewery tasting room Hardywood and myself at that time.

We soon realized we needed more space We get hopheads coming in. and had looked at the unit next to us to expand. We finally got that We found a lot of people are just being introduced to craft beer. A in March 2013, but we were already in talks with Kevin O’Connor Kolsch is a great style to start people on who’ve never had craft beer. about purchasing his system because he was expanding. We had Then once we get ‘em there we can work them into other beers. A lot of the building we’re currently in built for the arrival of that system. We people like flights. We explain the beers to them. Surprisingly, we get moved in the building on August 1 and started brewing so we could a lot of people who wind up liking the IPA. I would have guessed that open the tasting room on September 19. We have a 10-barrel system they’d need to drink a few more craft beers before going into the IPAs. with ten 20-barrel fermenters. We have the capacity to do about 4,800 The IPA we do is a sessionable IPA at 6% ABV. The IBUs are fairly to 5,000 barrels a year. moderate for an IPA. We get some Simco hops in there for a little pineiness and a little citrusy. I think it’s a well balanced IPA; nothing too The ABV on your beers is relatively low. Most are in the 5.5% range. extreme one way or another. It’s not overly malty or hoppy or bitter. It’s Is that a matter of your personal taste and philosophy to create a nice sessionable IPA to me. sessionable beers?

What is behind the “It’s been a crazy rye’d” slogan on your Yeah. I was looking to do more sessionable beers. That was what I was blackboard menu? going after. We have some beers that are 7% and the only reason we went to 7% was because that was the biggest beer we could do on the We did a rye lager for our grand re-opening. It was called Crazy Rye’d. old system.

Behind the scenes, we’ve had a crazy ride going from the small system, With the new system, we can do higher gravity beers, which we do growing into this building and getting all the equipment up and running. plan to do. Some brewers call me the Session Brew Guy. And that’s fine.

It’s been pretty crazy. We wanted a beer that was fitting for what we were My vision was we were going to have beers that were 5 to 6% alcohol going through. where people can sit down and have a couple pints. We pour a 16-ounce I look back three years ago when I started, I was scared to death to glass. If we go with higher alcohol beers we’ll reduce that size of pour to sign a lease; moving into a building just hoping we could pay the bills. balance things out.

Now here we are with a 10-barrel system. We’ve grown eight times what our capacity could do. The new building is more than twice as large as I was impressed with your Southern English Brown Ale beer called what we had. It has been a crazy ride for me and the people who have Not My Job. How did you develop the recipe? helped out around here.

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Tom Sullivan and Kevin O’Leary in the tasting room

Community Supported Ardent Craft Ales

BY ROBEY MARTIN

I

n early April 2010, an email went out to a select group. The email, from a gentleman named Paul Karns, loosely explained a forthcoming brewery plan between two friends and the direction they wanted to take to get to this pending dream. By setting up a makeshift brewery cooperative in Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood, the two friends wanted to start what would become affectionately known as a CSB or community supported beer program - think CSA (community supported agriculture) but with limited edition brews. Each week, this group would bottle a few beers for pick-up. They would take suggestions and welcome any volunteers that would be interested in the brewing process, either by helping or tasting. The Green Bay Packers of hyper-local brewery, if you will.

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Understandably, the support was prolific. And two years later when putting together a plan to build a brick and mortar spot (to brew for more than just members of the CSB), the same support poured forth, and Ardent Craft Ales was born.

Other than the first location, not much else has changed. The initial group, those two friends, has morphed a little. Tom Sullivan, who manages the day to day at the brewery, stepped in just a few months after the first email. He started as a contributing member of the CSB. Kevin O’Leary, a brewer who moved from Cambridge Brewing Company, serendipitously started hanging around, and after seeing his abilities firsthand, the decision to ask him to stay as full-time brewer was a no-brainer. The same pilot brewing equipment, similar to one used by Dogfish Head Brewery, made the move to the refurbished warehouse space in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition.

“It really was an organic progression,” said Sullivan over beers at Ardent recently. “We were taken aback at the amount of support that arose after we sent out a finalized business plan and the initial backers came through. We have such a great mix of investors who really allow us to keep creative control.”

Once funding and planning were finalized the build went quickly.

The first beer poured from the new space was in June 2014, almost four years exactly after that first email.

Ardent Craft Ales

3200 W. Leigh Street • Richmond ardentcraftales.com “The best thing to happen to us was Hardywood’s success,” said Sullivan. “They have been so important to Richmond beer as a whole.

That’s when things started to move a little quicker. They allowed us to take our investors and developers through their brewery. The investors were able to see where we could go and the developers could see fully realized production.”

O’Leary is quick to state that while Hardywood is definitely a pioneer, Ardent is also planning on doing some beer pioneering in Richmond.

“We liked this building [the current brewery] for its separate garage structure,” said O’Leary. “That structure is incredibly important if we want to have a sour program, which we do. I know other breweries are experimenting with sours now, and we definitely want to be a part of that. We have some barrel-aging happening currently and we want to do more.”

Among Ardent’s regular beer on tap in the tasting room are Common (a sessionable ale-lager hybrid, 5.3% ABV), a Saison (6.7% ABV), American IPA (6.8% ABV) and a seasonal Sweet Potato & Sage farmhouse-style saison (6.4% ABV).

As for upcoming beer at Ardent, brewer O’Leary has a few things up his sleeve. Next in line is a Rye Stout and a rotating IPA, based on available hops and their profiles. Additionally, he is looking to do a few more beer dinners stating he really thinks his last one was an eye opener to local chefs. “We gave them ingredients they weren’t used to working with,” said O’Leary.

The future for Ardent? “Right now, we just want to be generous employers and be able to provide a sustainable level of volume,” Sullivan said. “It is about balance in everything we do; balance in our beer and balance in our business.”

Kegs being filled at Ardent

Relax. Nelson Style.

On the Brew Ridge Trail. nelson county VIRGINIA

www.BrewRidgeTrail.com nelsoncounty.com Register for a weekend getaway: 800.282.8223

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Steve and Heidi Crandall with lead brewer Nate Olewine (right)

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DECEMBER 2014

Devils Backbone: 2014 Virginia Craft Brewery of the Year WORDS BY JEFF MAISEY PHOTOS BY KATHY KEENEY

W

hat kind of year has it been for Devils Backbone Brewing Company?

In April, the craft brewery’s Outpost (Lexington) and Base Camp (Roseland) facilities took home a Gold medal for Old Virginia Dark in the American-style Dark Lager category and a Silver medal for its flagship Vienna Lager in the Vienna-style Lager category at the 2014 World Beer Cup. Then, in August, the brewery swept the Best of Show category at the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest, winning the coveted Virginia Beer Cup for the third consecutive year.

But it was Devils Backbone’s performance in October at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival in Denver that really impressed.

In 2012, the brewery won Small Brewpub of the Year honors at the GABF. In 2013, after expanding production in a newly built facility in Lexington, they again enhanced their national prominence by scoring Small-Size Brewing Company of the Year in America.

With a brewing capacity of over 15,000 barrels of beer per year, in 2014, Devils Backbone was categorized as a mid-size brewery, the highest level for any craft brewery. The result: Devils Backbone was crowned 2014 Great American Beer Festival Mid-Size Brewery of the Year after winning four medals: Gold - Schwartz Bier (German-Style continued VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Schwarzbier), Silver - Turbo Cougar (Bock), Silver - Old Virginia Dark (American-Style Dark Lager) and Bronze - Alt Bier (GermanStyle Altbier).

To top things off, Nate Olewine, the lead brewer from the Outpost, and his team of 11 brewers were awarded Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year.

Since it opened in 2008, Devils Backbone Brewing Company has earned a stellar 27 Great American Beer Festival medals, 7 World Beer Cup awards, and 15 Virginia Craft Brewers Fest medals with three consecutive Best of Show titles.

Before selecting Devils Backbone as Virginia Craft Beer Magazine’s own 2014 Virginia Craft Brewery of the Year, I caught-up with founder Steve Crandall to get his sense of the brewery’s success.

How satisfactory was it for the Devils Backbone brew crew to move up to the A-league and win top honor?

It’s an amazing accomplishment for our team, and especially in winning in three categories in three consecutive years these national titles.

We are amongst many great breweries across the country; we just happened to prevail on this day with more medal wins than they did.

Left Hand Brewing Company was breathing right down our neck. They had won three Silvers; we won a Gold and two Silvers. There were four of us that won three medals. What was amazing at this year’s Great American Beer Festival was there were roughly 260 medals given and 220 breweries won at least one medal. It was spread out. You don’t typically see that breadth of breweries winning.

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DECEMBER 2014

One of my favorite breweries is Firestone Walker out in California. They won the MidSize Brewery a number of years. For us to be able to win the Mid-Size Brewery competition was, like, “Wow. These guys are one of my idols. We’re rubbing elbows with those guys.”

Certainly there is Lagunitas and others. Some of these big companies making amazing beers don’t necessarily win many medals.

Somebody came out with a statistic the other day that we’ve won more medals than any other brewery in the country since 2008.

We are the most award-winning craft brewery.

here and couldn’t get a job here; they went away. For instance, our guy in the lab went to Colorado. We just got a brewer from Big Sky in Montana. Our lead brewer was with Victory.

These people are coming home. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said, ‘There’s no place like home.’ But now there’s an industry here where their home was that they can move back home to and excel in something that’s local to them. I find that amazing that it is happening.

You have experienced incredible growth that has exceeded your initial projections.

How do you handle the success and plan now for future growth and expansion?

The success of Devils Backbone has gone a long way in raising awareness to our dynamic, yet emerging craft beer culture in Virginia, and to the point where breweries in California are looking to build manufacturing plants here. What is your impression of how Virginia is doing as an industry?

We have some very talented people on staff and we are a growth oriented company. I’m a Boy Scout. I like getting merit badges. People have asked me in the past, ‘Do you want to get bigger?’ Well, yeah. Why not? It’s fun to hire people and have a big size staff. This year we hired an HR (Human Resources) guy. I’ve been in business for 30 years; I never had an HR guy. I initially said, “We don’t need an HR person. Are you crazy? We’ll just handle things ourselves.” Now when somebody has an issue, I say, “Hey, go back to the HR guy.” This is very liberating.

We have a full-time accountant on the staff; a full-time lab guy from Left Hand Brewing Company.

One of the amazing things that has occurred – and I’m sure I’m not unique in this in the east – but there really weren’t many careers in the craft brewing world up until maybe five years ago. There are people who lived

Yeah, I think it’s obvious why they want to come here. We are certainly growing in the state. SB604 was a great piece of legislation that allowed that to happen. It was only three craft breweries that were involved with and funded that legislation – Starr Hill, Hardywood Park and ourselves. We didn’t realize the significant impact that it would have. We were more interested in establishing ourselves and our taprooms, but it has been a great thing.

The Green Flash guys are great. We’ve done a collaboration with them. Stone has been a model brewery for me ever since I got into this business. They were part of my business plan. I chose a number of different breweries to equate my potential for success.

Stone was on that list. They’ve done a lot of really good, right things.

I’m a little mixed on the emotion part of the state rolling out this red carpet for them.

I would have preferred seeing them come

on their own a little bit more. I would have preferred actually seeing the state support the breweries in the Richmond area. The state has been somewhat difficult to deal with. I know Hardywood was running into a lot of problems.

At the end of the day, Stone is certainly going to be a benefit to the craft beer community in Virginia. They’re bringing a lot of excitement, I think, not that it wasn’t already there. I can’t tell you how proud I am of the 80-plus breweries we have in Virginia right now. They’re all doing things in a very different way. Everybody has a little different slant on how they’re doing things. It collectively makes the industry really exciting to be involved in.

It’s been interesting to see the history. It’ll be interesting to see how Green Flash and Stone affect things once they get in place.

SB604 was a game changer. What are the next legislative steps you’d like to see from the state level?

There’s some hindrance, for instance, in the events and festivals. Wineries can do remote licensing, which we (breweries) cannot do.

That would be nice to see.

There are a lot of mixed messages we get from the state (ABC) on what’s allowable in the state. It can be allowed in one part of the state but not in another. They have different agents doing that. That can be challenging especially when we are collectively as the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild trying to set direction.

To have festivals…in a lot of places it is required to have a non-profit run it or be part of it. That gets a little dicey at times and makes a sort of hindrance to the growth of the industry, not that it’s not important to support non-profits.

Virginia craft beer consumers are fortunate to have access to Devils Backbone beers, but I imagine other markets must be clamoring for your award-winning products. What are you future growth plans as a brewery?

Certainly we’re now researching North Carolina. We’ve been doing that for a couple of months. We met with all the distributors in North Carolina. Over the course of the next two months we’re going to be making selections.

There are some great things going on in West Virginia that we’d like to be part of.

Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania are all areas we’ve been in contact with distributors on and we’re getting a lot of feedback from those guys.

It’s hard to see beyond that. We’re having some fun with some overseas projects we’re doing. We’re doing one right now in England with JD Witherspoon in 930 pubs. We designed an American IPA for their market with 5.2% ABV. They go for lower alcohol and drink more beer. Typically, they have eight to 10 pints.

We have people from all over the world talking to us wanting to have some sort of collaboration. It’s hard to dilute your focus.

That’s a thing you have to be careful about.

We are from the Heartland of Virginia. The question comes: What is local? North Carolina is very local to us. We have beach cottages there. We’ve married people from there.

We’ve gone to college there. We have relatives there. And the same is true in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio. So we think local stretches beyond our home state. We’re excited about trying out those markets.

As large as your Lexington facility currently is will you have to expand even further to accommodate demand in new markets such as North Carolina and Tennessee?

Yeah. We’re in a constant expansion mode.

We never seem to be able to catch up with demand. Everybody tells me it’s a great problem to have, but it is a very worrisome problem if you’re under-serving your existing markets.

We’ve learned over the last couple of years how to minimize the impact of our growth on our existing markets. Basically we have to keep excess capacity to be able to fill the spikes we do get.

We’re continuing to grow in our existing markets in terms of different offerings and packaging. One of the newest things we’re introducing is 12-packs for both our Vienna Lager and 8-Point IPA. We have a variety pack, but we don’t yet have statewide distribution on those. We’re working on getting that nailed down.

The original building in Lexington was supposed to take us to 10 years and 30,000 barrels, but it took us to two years and 60,000 barrels. We built a second building mainly focused on packaging, and now we’re making additions to that building. We have a 120,000 barrel brew-house coming. We are looking at the infrastructure on the site and the placement of different pieces at this stage to not hinder us to reach what we think a maximum capacity is for the site, which is about 250,000 barrels. With that we’ll have 40 tractor trailer loads coming in and out every day. Logistically you have to understand how that impacts your facility down the road. It’s a big challenge and kind of exciting.

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Impactful Breweries of 2014

BY JEFF MAISEY

A

s we featured on the previous pages, Devils Backbone Brewing Company has had an amazing year, but there are many other Virginia craft breweries that have made an impact in 2014, whether garnering national and international awards or making news headlines with innovative techniques.

Following are some of the highlights in no particular order. There, no doubt, are others deserving of praise.

Breweries across the Commonwealth have increased capacity, packaged in bottles and cans, collaborated like never before, experimented with one-off cask ales, and enhanced and expanded tasting rooms.

Starr Hill Brewery (Crozet)

Crozet-based Starr Hill opened its stylish new tap room in April in the heart of the brewery with a 16 brand tap system, live music stage, food trucks and indoor / outdoor seating.

Here’s some of Starr Hill’s shining accomplishments in 2014: H Gold Medal at 2014 World Beer Cup for Whiter Shade of Pale Ale H Bronze Medal at 2014 U.S. Beer Open in Atlanta for Summer Seasonal “Soulshine” H Gold Medal at 2014 VA Beer Cup for best IPA in Virginia with “King of Hop” H Crafted and introduced 8 new brands to the market in 2014 H Awarded a grant from Virginia State Tourism Board for $25,000 H Very successful 2014 expansion into Georgia Market with rollouts into Atlanta and Athens H Expanded into new markets in North Carolina and Tennessee in 2014 H Preparing to launch into Alabama in early 2015 H Sponsored Lockn Music Festival for the second year in a row

O’Connor Brewing Company (Norfolk)

Talk about a beer-plex. Kevin O’Connor moved into his large factory and nearly 7,000 craft beer enthusiasts turned out on opening day.

Visiting the brewery is an entertaining experience. O’Connor has a concert-size stage inside for live music; a jumbo video screen showed World Cup soccer games this summer. An enclosed tasting room as well as long, Oktoberfest-style tables provide ample

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DECEMBER 2014

seating. The brewery has become a community gathering spot, and a variety of festivals are produced in the gated, outdoor parking lot.

At the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest, O’Connor’s Red Nun Red Ale won a Gold. At the Dublin Craft Beer Cup 2014 in Ireland, Norfolk’s O’Connor scored a Silver medal with its Red Nun, while its Dry Irish Stout and Great Dismal Black IPA garnered Bronze medals.

In November, O’Connor’s Hop Trick Triple Hopped IPA made its debut at Norfolk Admirals hockey games.

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (Richmond)

Hardywood won a gold medal at Great American Beer Festival for its Raspberry Stout.

“To my knowledge, it is the first brewery in the city of Richmond to win a GABF medal,” said author and beer columnist Lee Graves.

“This relatively new brewery has had a huge year, expanding into new markets and pulling in heavy weight collaborations with breweries like Cigar City,” writer Joshua Learn said. “They have also made solid inroads to the D.C. area where they have become ubiquitous on tap at many of the city’s best beer bars. They’ve also gone out of their way to make big beer styles, and have done a great job of it.”

Lickinghole Creek (Goochland)

“Lickinghole Creek’s Sean and Lisa Pumphrey helped spearhead legislation in the General Assembly that created a special license for farm breweries,” Lee Graves said. “Pretty cool.”

Joshua Learn agreed: “Virginia’s first farm brewery and the first to take advantage of Virginia’s new farm brewery legislation, which they helped to prompt through appealing to the Commonwealth which eventually passed SB 430 treating a farm brewery like a vineyard this year.”

Apocalypse Ale Works (Forest)

The world did not end, but it might have shaken a bit when Apocalypse Ale Works grabbed a Silver medal at the World Beer Cup 2014 for its Red Horsemen Scottish Style Ale.

Lost Rhino Brewing Company (Ashburn)

Lost Rhino made national and international news with its intriguing Bone Dusters Paleo Ale. Britain’s Daily Mail as well as Scientific American, NPR, and Fox News provided coverage.

“What happens when an amateur paleontologist with a love for beer teams up with a microbiologist? Bone beer, or beer made from yeast scraped from a 35-million-year-old whale fossil, to be precise,” wrote Nicholas St. Fleur on his official NPR blog.

Legend Brewing Company (Richmond) Legend celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. Congrats!

Midnight Brewery (Rockville)

“Midnight expanded into a new building, using a 10-barrel system purchased from O’Connor,” said Graves. “A big step for them.”

Strangeways Brewery (Richmond)

“This Richmond-based brewery has taken the sometimes chaotic approach of having only a few base beers but modifying them through dozens of variants. It’s the kind of approach that takes the concept of small-batch brewery to a whole new level,” said Joshua Learn.

The Hardwood Park crew at the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest

Nearly 7,000 people attend O’Connor’s opening day in Norfolk

Starr Hill at the 2014 World Beer Cup

Jasper Ackerboom of Lost Rhino Brewing Company

A proud team from Apocalypse Ale Works

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Wild Run Brewing Company

Josh Learn

photo courtesy of Wild Run

3071 Jefferson Davis Highway Stafford wildrunbrewing.com

Master brewer Matt King

Everett Lovell

Wild Run Brewing Takes Beer Back to Basics

BY JOSHUA RAPP LEARN t first, you’ll think you’re lost. You’ll pull off the highway into a tall copse of pine trees and see an unassuming wood-paneled lodge off to your right. You’ll see a sign reading “office and store” and an arrow indicating late-arriving campers should deposit their registration paper through a mail slot.

But just before you curse your Google maps and turn the car around, you’ll notice a sign: “Great beer served here!”

Camping has long been a stronghold of macro brewing. The image of cans of pale lager in a cooler full of melted ice is hard to shake from American consciousness – it’s fixated in our minds thanks to years of ad campaigns.

But good things are brewing in the aromatic pine trees near Stafford, Va. and they threaten to make excellent, old-school ales brewed perfectly to style the natural accompaniment to fire-roasted marshmallows and sausages.

Everett Lovell tapped the kegs of Wild Run Brewery on Memorial Day weekend on a mission to prove that sometimes the best thing for craft brewing is getting back to the basics.

The tiny, one-room brewpub is only about the size of a living room but it’s a living room with windows overlooking pine trees, a bonfire and an outdoor swimming pool. If you’ve had a long day of travel to reach the place don’t fret – there are showers and laundry machines downstairs to help you freshen up. The pub is fitted with a row of old theater chairs that have been there from before Lovell bought the place 28 years ago.

And, of course, then there’s the beer. The

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DECEMBER 2014

Josh Learn

A

A welcoming sign in the great outdoors

Sterling Stout is roasty and rich – perfect for a cool night of fall camping. The SMASH IPA – a single malt and single hop made with sorachi ace – has a fresh dose of grapefruit-like hops with a touch of pine that melds perfectly with the aromatic conifers that tower over the campground.

And then there’s Ed’s Amber – a malty and disarmingly complex beer for its style. It’s named after Lovell’s father, who was born in 1914, a century before the opening of the brewpub.

“I remember him telling me his earliest memory in life is when he climbed on a neighbor’s pickup truck, which was probably a Model A or Model T flatbed truck, and people were dancing in the street because World War I had just ended,” Lovell, 57, said of his father.

Lovell said that Ed drank a lot of Pabst Blue Ribbon in his time, but he feels that if he were still alive, he’d like the beer named in his honor.

But aside from honoring past family members, Lovell is on a bigger mission: to prove the power of homebrewing.

Before Wild Run opened its taps to thirsty campers, the adjoining shop was a homebrew supply store, selling malt, yeast and equipment to anyone passing through the area. Lovell said that his mission in brewing beer is partly to show homebrewers in the area what’s possible.

“Our beers aren’t that complex, they have one malt and one hop,” he said.

In an effort to prove that anyone can do it, Lovell said he chose to use the same tap water as everyone else in the surrounding county so that homebrewers can’t blame the quality of his beer on some kind of mystic well water.

Right now they have five beer taps and one for home-made root beer, but plans are in the works to add an additional 10 lines to Wild Run’s repertoire. Lovell is already planning to brew a Belgian style dubbel and is thinking about creating a whole series that employs the same wort but uses different yeasts to show what kind of effect different strains of fungus have on beer.

He says he isn’t worried about competition from other homebrewers – he makes beer predominantly to supply campers, who can bring pitchers back to their individual campsites if they don’t want to be social around the larger bonfire or brewpub.

But as you pull logs from a wood pile and sip back on an expertly balanced ale under the open stars, it’s hard to reminisce for a cooler full of pale, fizzy lager.

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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South Street Brewery

106 W. South Street • Charlottesville

All Roads Lead South!

BY JENNIFER MCDONALD | PHOTOS BY TOM DALY

F

or Mandi and Taylor Smack, founders of Blue Mountain Brewery & Blue Mountain Barrel House, the purchase of Charlottesville’s South Street Brewery brings them full circle. You see, Taylor, started his brewing career at South Street in the early 2000s. Taylor reflects, “It’s really neat to go back to someplace that was so important to me.”

South Street Brewery holds many memories for Taylor as well as all of Charlottesville. It’s the oldest operating brewery in Charlottesville and is located in the old H. H. Hankins Hay and Grain warehouse which dates back to the 1800s. For Taylor, it’s where he was first exposed to the brewing process.

In the late 1990s, Taylor was working for an internet start-up company and hating it. In his spare time, he started volunteering at South Street. He did the grunt work like cleaning kegs for brew master Jacque Landry. Landry took Taylor under his wing and gave him a taste of what it takes to brew beer. The brewing bug bit and Taylor enrolled at the Siebel Institute, the country’s oldest school for the craft of brewing, in Chicago. After graduating, he landed an impressive job as head brewer at the Goose Island brewpub in - 34 -

DECEMBER 2014

Chicago. But, the cold weather was too much. As Taylor explains, “It was too cold. I met a pretty girl from Wisconsin (his wife Mandi) and we moved back South.” After a stint in North Carolina, Taylor ended up back at South Street as Head Brewer in late 2001 and stayed there for six years.

In 2007, the time was right for him to venture out on his own. He along with his wife Mandi and partner Matt Nucci opened Blue Mountain Brewery and later, opened their production facility and sister brewery Blue Mountain Barrel House in 2011.

Taylor left on good terms with South Street owners Fred Greenewalt and Jacque Landry. As a result, they approached him in early 2013 to see if he was interested in buying the business. After 16 years, it was time for Fred and Jacque to move on to the next chapter.

Taylor was hesitant at first, but eventually started to think that having a presence in downtown Charlottesville would not be a bad idea. He and Mandi purchased the brewery in March of this year, spent two and a half months renovating, and have recently just re-opened South Street Brewery.

Aesthetically, they changed everything except for the brewery and the things about the building that could not be changed like the large wooden beams that serve as structural support and the large fireplace. The new space is more open, bright, and modern.

Twelve beers are on tap at the brewpub – a combination of South Street originals and new creations. Mainstays include Satan’s Pony

(a medium-bodied amber ale), Barhopper IPA, Virginia Lager, and 365 Shandy, a beer / lemonade blend that’s light and refreshing and available year-round. Other current offerings include Browntown (a hoppy brown ale), Bumper Crop (a fresh hop ale), Hogwaller Kolsch, My Personal Helles (Helles lager), J.P. Ale (Pale Ale), Absolution (a medium-heavy bodied old ale with caramel and chocolate malts), Roux (Red IPA on nitrogen), and Anastasia’s Chocolate Fantasy (a big Russian Imperial Stout). They plan to offer seven or eight year-round beers at the brewpub and rotate four or five taps seasonally. Mitch Hamilton from Blue Mountain serves as the head brewer.

Taylor explains that the Brewpub gives them the opportunity to be creative. South Street is the smallest brewery of the three. It is a seven barrel system, half the size of their next smallest one in Afton. Taylor wants to use it as a reward system for their brewers at the other locations. He says, “Let brewers who are performing well go there and come up with a recipe. It’s not a huge commitment on our part.” He says that one of things that he learned from his time

New South Street Owners Mandi & Taylor Smack

at Goose Island is that the brewpub can be an incubator to try new things. He continues, “The brewer can get more creative and try different things. You can get instant feedback in the pub atmosphere.

The brewer can be right there at the bar and get feedback from the guests. It’s all starting to make sense. The smaller system completes the puzzle for us.”

Let’s talk about the food…

The new menu is radically different. Mandi worked closely with Blue Mountain Chef, Rob Bond, to create the new menu. It can be described as American Pub Fare with an extremely local twist. When they first opened Blue Mountain Brewery, it was before the hyper local movement became so trendy. It was easy to do in Nelson County because they had so many farms around. Now, it’s a huge food movement and one that is still important to them. They are using twenty local purveyors – everything from beef to bread to produce

and even local tofu! Come hungry because the portions are huge. As Taylor explains, “Chef Rob is a big dude.”

Hence, the big portions!

Appetizers range from flash fried calamari & peppers to dry-rubbed, beer-brined chicken wings to Veggie Wonchos, crispy wontons topped with house made vegetarian chili, smoked gouda cheese sauce, cilantro sour cream, and fresh herbs.

An entire section of the menu is dedicated to Mac N’ Cheese, local whole wheat pasta tossed in white cheddar, aged provolone and smoked gouda mornay sauce topped with bread crumbs. Dress up your Mac N’ Cheese with an array of tasty options such as applewood smoked bacon, lump crab meat, roasted asparagus, local pot roast, local apples, or broccolini just to name a few.

There are also a variety of sandwiches including Sloppy Joe, Toasted Avocado, Pot Roast Grilled Cheese, and Chincoteague Crab Cake, and Burgers such as the Vegetarian Black Bean & Quinoa Burger, Mushroom & Swiss, and the cure for what ails you - The Hangover Burger, local beef smothered with caramelized onion and white cheddar, topped with applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, fried egg, house dijonaise and bloody mary ketchup on a grilled challah roll. If that doesn’t make you feel better, I don’t know what will!

Main Dishes include specialties such as Wellington Farm Signature Pot Roast with baby carrots, celery hearts, caramelized pearl onions and mashed potatoes; Fish & Chips with hand-cut fries; and Vegetarian Chili, fresh veggies, beans, tomatoes, and spices.

Be sure to save room for dessert!

Satisfy your sweet tooth with temptations such as the Big Banana Split, New York Style Cheesecake, and the Confidential Donut Bread Pudding made with locally sourced donuts, raisins, apricots, crème anglaise, vanilla bean, and drizzled with warm caramel sauce. Or, our personal favorite - Anastasia’s Chocolate Fondue, a blend of chocolate, cream and Anastasia’s Chocolate Fantasy Stout served with fresh pineapple, strawberries, rice crispy treats, marshmallows and pretzels. Wow! Taylor reflects, “In this wild era of breweries opening every other day, South Street is a throwback – it’s a brew pub – it’s what worked in Virginia for so long because people had to work within the constraints of the law. It’s wild that we are still the only brewpub in Charlottesville. Given the choice, back in the day, I would have liked to have been more like a Champion or Three Notch’d, but that didn’t go that way for us. We found our success through brewpubs and restaurants. We have embraced that as our identity. South Street is a good match and extension of that.”

South Street Brewery is open 363 days a year (closed for Thanksgiving and Christmas), 11am-2am, and is located at 106 W. South Street, Charlottesville. southstreetbrewery.com VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Young Veterans Brewing Company 2505 Horse Pasture Road Virginia Beach 757.689.021 yvbc.com

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DECEMBER 2014

Young Veterans Exploding Pineapple Grenade WORDS BY JEFF MAISEY | PHOTOS BY KATHY KEENEY

I

n the theater of war battle plans must often be reassessed once the bullets start to fly. This is a concept Iraq War veterans Tom Wilder and Neil McCanon understand.

In October 2013, Wilder and McCanon realized their post-war dream of operating a brewery in Virginia Beach. With Wilder serving as owner and McCanon as brewmaster, Young Veterans Brewing Company opened its tasting room doors and legions of craft beer enthusiasts marched in for flights and pints of military-themed brands like Pineapple Grenade, Jet Noise Double IPA and Bravo Foxtrot, a strong Belgian-style ale.

Demand has been so high for Young Veterans’ beer – especially Pineapple Grenade – Wilder and McCanon are already developing expansion plans to handle the explosive growth.

“We definitely moved a lot faster than we anticipated,” said Wilder.

“We had a three-year plan when we first started. We surpassed our oneyear plan in six months. Now we have expansion plans in the works, and we definitely didn’t anticipate having to expand this quickly.”

Young Veterans originally wanted to operate a 10-barrel system, but due to the small brew-house space and fundraising limitations they settled on a 3-barrel system to kick-start the business. The comradesin-brewing are looking to upgrade to a 30-barrel production and in a new facility near their Virginia Beach industrial park location. In the meantime, they plan to increase production through some contract-brew alliance with Norfolk-based O’Connor Brewing Company to resupply the frontline of restaurant taps in need of YVBC beer.

“We’re good friends with him (Kevin O’Connor),” said Wilder. “We both kind of see this as an advantageous avenue. Kevin has spearheaded the craft beer mission here in Hampton Roads so we definitely want to team-up with him. Right now we just can’t keep up with the Pineapple Grenade demand.”

Pineapple Grenade is a highly refreshing German/American-style hefeweizen with a slightly sweet pineapple twist with subtle undertones of clove and cinnamon. At 5.6% ABV it is a sessionable sensation, accounting for half of Young Vets beer sales.

“It is easy to drink,” said Wilder. “It is flavorful and appeals to a wide variety of beer drinkers. Because there’s nothing else out there quite like it, I think people appreciate it as a nice, local beer filling that hefeweizen fruitiness.”

In addition to its core lineup, Young Vets has engaged in several collaboration beers. For Veteran’s Day, they worked with well-known brewer-turned-brew-supplier Allen Young to develop a recipe in partnership with Manassas, Virginia’s vet-owned Heritage Brewing Company.

“We call it DD214,” said Wilder. “DD214 is the form you get when you have left the military. It’s your proof that you’re a veteran.”

The brewery is frequently visited by current and former members of the military. Hampton Roads, after all, is home to the largest military base in the world.

“A lot of our military folks in Hampton Roads are pleased that this exists,”Wilder explained. “I’ve always felt this needed to be here for them. I’ve always liked breweries that are reminiscent of where they’re from, and we’re a military town. We have been under a spotlight a couple of times where people questioned whether our service was enough to be called young veterans, but there’s always going to be those people.”

One famous war vet to visit the brewery was Senator John McCain.

“It was an honor for us to have John McCain come in,” said Wilder.

“He’s a great and honorable veteran. We hear from all types of military members from all over the country.”

As Young Veterans continues to resupply the frontline of taps at restaurants and bars, we’ll keep you posted on their progress.

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Norfolk’s

History

with

Beer

BY MICHAEL WINGFIELD

A

merica has always been referred to as a “melting pot.” Taking F. Trudewind was located from 37 to 43 West Main Street in Norfolk, into consideration the wide range and cultural influence of the essentially occupying the better part of a block on what is now the individual brewing cultures brought to this country by immigrant corner of Main and Granby Streets in downtown Norfolk. Handwritten stocks, perhaps a more accurate description would be a “brew kettle.” notes on the advertisement in the city directory have the German Legend has it that the famous pilgrims on the Mayflower were on their spelling of “Bier.” Could F. Trudewind have been a German immigrant, way to Virginia when their beer stocks ran low. They went ashore practicing his craft in post- Civil War Norfolk? The 1883-1884 Norfolk in Massachusetts to brew another batch. The famous landing on city directory lists a “J.F. Trudewind” as the proprietor of Concordia Plymouth Rock was essentially a beer run. Taverns in the early days Hall, a “Wine and Beer Saloon,”“With pool and billiard tables attached” of Colonial America were the testing ground of political thought and at 117 Church St. Perhaps the brewery was a smooth transition into the theory, and it’s not too much of a fanciful thought that conversations saloon business. Was this the same fellow? Was J.F. a son? Also listed in from Philadelphia to Williamsburg would find their way into our the 1883-1884 directory as “Brewers and Bottlers - Lager Beer,” were Constitution and Bill of Rights… all with The Bergner & Engel Brewing Co., on a tankard of ale close at hand. Beer is Madison St. (Near Water St.), and Robert the most egalitarian and democratizing Portner, of 83 Main Street. of beverages, and in the famous words Norfolk was the home to a number of Benjamin Franklin: “Beer is proof of breweries prior to the turn of the last that God loves us and wants us to be century. The 1895-96 city directory lists happy.” And then there’s Samuel Adams, a Bay View Brewery at 12 Hill St. and the described by Thomas Jefferson as Consumer’s Brewing Company. National “truly The Man of the Revolution,” who brands Pabst and Anheuser Busch also was known as a homebrewer, and breweries both had a presence in the thus celebrated in 1985 by the Boston area by then as well. The 1907 directory Beer Company. Stroll down the historic also includes Heurich Brewing, located Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial at 24-48 Nebraska, the Hoster-Columbus Williamsburg and view tavern after Assoc. Brewing Company on Matthews tavern. Beer is as American as the Stars (corner of Kelly), and Robert Portner is and Stripes. listed as operating a brewery at 16 to 24 The Budweiser brewery operated in downtown Norfolk A few miles south, Norfolk is, and Madison. Schlitz was another national where the USS Wisconsin is docked today. always has been, a thirsty port town, and brewery operating in the area by then. whenever there is work to be done, be it on the waterfront, in the fields, The Consumer’s Brewing Company (later to go by many names, or at a desk, someone has been there to provide liquid refreshment. including the Southern Brewing Company) opened in 1895. It From the ales that fortified our forefathers, to the artfully crafted brews operated on Washington Avenue in the Huntersville section until that satisfy more refined modern palates, beer has always played 1916 when Virginia voted to go dry. (Norfolk did so reluctantly.) The a part in our cultural history. Sure the rowdy sailor boys of the 20th brewery reopened just after the repeal of Prohibition as the Southern Century loved beer, but so did Norfolk’s citizenry.

Brewing Company in 1934 and operated under that name until 1942.

The earliest record of a brewery in Southside Hampton Roads is In 1942, Jacob Ruppert Brewing of New York purchased the facility located in the 1866 Norfolk city directory. A brewery registered to an and it operated under the name of Jacob-Ruppert-Virginia. They

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DECEMBER 2014

More than a half dozen local brewers of lager beer appear in the Norfolk city directory of 1900, the most prominent of which, or at least the most heavily advertised, was Consumer Brewing Company in the Huntersville section of then-Norfolk County. Consumer opened its Washington Street brewhouse in 1895 and advertised Bavarian beer, Elk beer, dark beer, pale beer and malt beverages, something for every palate. After Virginia went dry in November 1916, Consumer stayed afloat for awhile by turning over the plant to the Virginia Fruit Juice Company, which produced a fruit beverage there from 1917 to 1921. Southern Brewing Company bought the facility in 1936, producing Southern Beer, “The Pride of the South.” It was the first brewery to open in Virginia after the repeal of the 18th amendment. Southern Breweries sold the plant to Jacob Ruppert Breweries in 1942.

Champale Products, Inc. began production here in 1953. Later a subsidiary of Iroquois Brands, Ltd., Norfolk’s was one of only two Champale Breweries in the nation. Touted as the “champagne of bottled beer,” Champale operated here until mid-February 1980.

The brewery was located in Huntersville at 710 Washington Ave., east from 1448 Church Street. It was built on the site of the old Lesner Park, AKA “Lesner’s Maplewood Gardens,” once a fashionable gathering spot for Norfolk East Siders to meet, to stroll and probably to raise a frosty glass or two.

purchased the name and recipe of Red Fox beer from the Largay Brewing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut and produced it until 1953, when they ceased production in Norfolk.

The Century Brewing Company assumed production at the facility in 1953. They produced beers and ales under multiple brand names, and tended to specialize in low-priced, bargain beers, and produced many store brands. They produced Tudor Beer and Ale both under the Century name as well as under the brand “Tudor Brewing”.

Tudor was also produced for the A&P grocery chain. Among the brands produced by Century were: Banner, Embassy Club, Granay, Monticello, Red Fox, Regent, Spearman, Tudor, and Tuxedo. In 1967, Century began operations as the Champale Company, which ceased production and closed for good in 1980.

The Atlantic Brewing Company was founded in Atlanta in 1867 as

The City Brewery. It went through a number of name changes over the following decades. They operated in Atlanta alone prior to Prohibition, but after Prohibition ended, they expanded to several other cities throughout the South and operated in Norfolk from 1936 to 1949. In the 1940’s, Atlantic had become the largest regional brewery in the South.

An attempt at courting brand loyalty by emphasizing a regional affinity against national beers resulted in an unfortunate cultural legacy. One series of Atlantic cans featured a “Plantation” scene, and another of a “Darkie” (a popular advertising motif of the day) in a wig and waiter’s garb carrying a tray of beers. This affinity was echoed by the Mountain Brewing Company of Roanoke, Virginia (1958-59). Their “Dixie” can featured a Confederate hat atop crossed swords, and their advertising was Civil War-themed with a pointedly ”Southern” bias.

The loss of regional brewers was a nationwide phenomenon. The continued VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Southern Beer ad that appeared in the May 26, 1934 Virginian-Pilot just after the repeal of prohibition.

dominant beer profile in America was at the time (as it remains primarily) a pilsner-type brew, with little discernible character. It was easy to drink and provided no real challenge to the drinker.

The dominant brands became unwittingly engaged in a “race to the middle” to see who could develop a basic, non-threatening beer, palatable to the masses. As a result, the vast majority of American beer brands were essentially indistinguishable from one another. There was very little (save for a handful of brewers of specialty beers such as Bocks, Porters, and Stouts) to make a local or regional brewer stand out from its competitors. The large national brewing companies with their near-bottomless advertising budgets were able to dominate the then-new medium of television. The mass-marketing of brand-specific beer as a personal identifier was born. The smaller local and regional breweries, with their hometown affiliations weren’t as sexy or attractive as the lifestyle being sold on TV, radio, or in glossy magazines. A large number of local breweries closed their doors, dooming America to a decades-long diet of homogenous brews.

The recent groundswell of popularity in local craft beer is not an overnight sensation. In other areas of the country, local and regional breweries captured the taste buds and budgets of beer drinkers.

Locally, it has been more of a slow process. There have been others who ventured into the local brewing game with limited success. So let’s raise a glass (mine is an O’Connor Norfolk Canyon Pale Ale) to other local brewers who once slaked our thirsts, but are no longer in business.

Chesapeake Bay Brewing Company, under the tutelage of local brewing legend Allen Young began brewing the iconic Chesbay Double Bock, a Gold Medal winner in their first entry into the Great American Beer Festival in 1987. Popular among the beer cognoscenti, Chesbay did not receive enough support among the rank and file beer drinkers of the region for it to be commercially viable.

The Old Dominion Brewing Company opened in 1989, and was later purchased by a joint venture between Fordham Brewery of Dover Delaware and Anheuser Busch. Dominion Beer retained its branding - 40 -

DECEMBER 2014

and is still produced by Fordham.

19th Street Brew Pub: Perhaps this was an idea ahead of its time.

This location had a lot of potential, but did not catch on. (The brewery was in operation in the late 1980s. The Commissioner of the Revenue’s office in Virginia Beach could not locate the exact dates for when this brewery was in business.) The location then became the lauded, yet also defunct club The Abyss.

Steamship Brewing: Located on 24th Street in Norfolk, Steamship opened in 1995 and was operational for just under two years. Local brewing kingpin Kevin O’Connor got his first commercial brewing experience here, and the O’Connor Brewery is located almost exactly a block away from the former Steamship location.

Hilltop Brewery, Laskin Road, Virginia Beach: This now-closed brewpub in the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach enjoyed a moment in the sun with their German-styled brews and a strong following with local and military clientele. Their Navy SEAL-themed “Frog Grog” was popular.

Alt Platz Brewery & Pub, Portsmouth, VA: This small operation opened in 2006 on High Street in Downtown Portsmouth. An ambitious, but short-lived brew pub, Alt Platz was easily recognized by their military-themed label art, and their wide range of beers. The pub was hindered by early and inconsistent operating hours, and wasn’t able to gain a real foothold. They produced a dizzying array of beers for such a small operation.

Today O’Connor Brewing Company and Smartmouth Brewing Company have renewed the brewing tradition in Norfolk. These breweries are part of a new wave of craft beer manufacturers revolutionizing brewing culture coast to coast. Other locally-owned breweries in Hampton Roads include St. George Brewing Company, Williamsburg Alewerks, Beach Brewing Company, Young Veterans, Brass Canon, Pleasure House Brewing and Back Bay Brewing Company.

From the clay pots of ancient Egypt to the gleaming stainless brew kettles of today who work tirelessly to provide us with the best quality product possible, beer is indeed a living thing. It is the People’s Drink.

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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brewREVIEWS BLITZEN

Blue Mountain Barrel House • Arrington ‘Tis the season for big full flavored beers and Blue Mountain Barrel House does not disappoint with their Belgian inspired Biere de Noel (Christmas Beer), Blitzen. This dark ale has complex flavors derived from the spicy Belgian yeast, special biscuit malt, Belgian candi sugar made from sugar beets, and French and German hops used to make this seasonal brew. Be sure to share this 22 ounce with a friend or you might get blitzed!

SNOW BLIND

Starr Hill Brewery • Crozet Break out your Black Sabbath vinyl, crank up the volume, and ease your needle into the heavy groove of “Snow Blind.” That ought to set the tone and provide an appropriate soundtrack for which to crack off the beer cap and enjoy this fullbodied German-style doppelbock lager from Starr Hill. The flavorful beer is brewed with Pilsner, Munich and Carafa malts. Pour reasonable hard and be rewarded with a nice head. ABV 7.4%

PILS Hardywood Park • Richmond If you’ve ever visited Prague and appreciate a good, crisp Czech or German pilsner, this version from Hardywood Park will more than satisfy. It is classic in every measurable way: gold in color, white head, and thirst quenching.

The use of German Noble hops is an excellent choice. 5.2% ABV. Highly sessionable.

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DECEMBER 2014

VIRGINIA BLACK BEAR RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery • Goochland Beware the bear if you’re driving. This big, 9.5% ABV Russian Imperial Stout is dry and plenty roast and toasty with a flavorful dark coffee and chocolate highlight. Pour heavy and this black as night brew will form a satisfying head.

We sampled bottle number 2,239 of the 750 ml beer. High alpha hops give this bear more bite than you’d expect from an Imperial Stout. Big and bold.

CELESTIAL MERRET CIDER

WINTER SCOTCH

St. George Brewing Company Hampton St. George’s latest creation, Winter Scotch, is a Scottish Ale with a deep amber/copper color. It is full -bodied with a malty, caramel flavor. Hints of smokiness linger in the mouth.

Pair with aged cheeses and roasted or grilled beef, lamb, pork, or salmon and snuggle up by the fire and enjoy!

6% ABV

KILT FLASHER WEE HEAVY SCOTCH ALE

Devils Backbone Brewing Company • Lexington Let’s start with the humorous label artwork: A highlander raises his kilt to flash livestock out in the wilds of Scotland. It brings to mind a scene from Braveheart when Scottish warriors flashed the English as an act of defiance before the ensuing battle. As a beer, Kilt Flasher is equally bold with a surprising malty taste with a delightful toffee finish. Delicious and perfect at a warming 8% ABV.

Castle Hill Cider • Keswick Castle Hill’s Celestial Merrett Cider is rich in history. Not only is it made at one of the oldest cideries in the state (Castle Hill dates back to 1764 and was once the home of Thomas Jefferson’s mentor), but it also pays tribute to 17th century Englishman Christopher Merrett who made fermenting in a bottle possible. This pale yellow cider is made from a blend of Albemarle Pippen, English Bittersweet, and Winesap apples. It is refermented in the bottle giving it crispness and buoyancy.

8.5% ABV VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Virginia Craft Beer has an eye on the upcoming beer related events and festivals throughout the state BLUE RIDGE HIGHLANDS

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Craft Beer Holiday Market Sat., Dec. 6, 11am-2pm Grab a pint of Starr Hill Brewery, Devils Backbone, Blue Mountain, South Street or Wild Wolf while you shop at Nelson County’s only indoor winter market. Dozens of vendors offering an eclectic variety of goods, including local produce, meats, cheeses, jams & jellies, baked goods, plants, greenery, and arts & crafts. Live bluegrass music will be provided by the River Runners.

Rockfish Valley Community Center 190 Rockfish School Lane Afton

Ladies Night at Legend Brewing Co. Wed., Dec. 3, 10, & 17, 11:30am9pm Featuring a variety of specials just for the ladies!

Legend Brewing Company 321 West 7th Street Richmond legendbrewing.com

Screens ‘n’ Suds at The Answer Brewpub Sat., Dec. 6, 1-6pm Celebrate beer and art! Proceeds benefit National MS Central and Eastern Virginia Chapter, Gallery 5, and other local charities.

The Answer Brewpub 6008 W. Broad St. Richmond

Shootin’ LOCKN’: Milo Farineau Photo Exhibit Fri., Dec. 5, 12-8pm Experience an amazing art exhibit

by Milo Farineau. Grab a pint of local craft beer and check out his incredible work!

Starr Hill Brewery Tap Room 5391 Three Notch’D Road Crozet starrhill.com

Step Into Mystery at Three Notch’d Brewery Mon., Dec. 8, 7-9:30pm Experience a mystery game where guests are the characters and they solve clues and talk to suspects to find the criminal and the motive.

Admission: $35 and $4 pints 946 Grady Avenue Charlottesville stepintomystery.com

Foggy Ridge Cider Holiday Season Finale Sat. Dec. 20, 11am-5pm Come celebrate the holiday on our last open day. Enjoy cider, holiday snacks and music of the season. $5 tasting 1328 Pineview Rd. Dugspur 276.398.2337 foggyridgecider.com

1

Appalachia

Blue Ridge Highlands

2

Shenandoah Valley

4

Northern Virginia

5

Chesapeake Bay

6

Eastern Shore

7

Central Virgnia

8

Southern Virginia

9

Hampton Roads

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DECEMBER 2014

2

Holiday Yuletide Extravaganza at Blue Mountain Brewery Wed., Dec. 10, 3-7pm.

Fun for the entire family. Enjoy holiday music & hot chocolate with Santa & his Elves.

9519 Critzer Shop Rd. Afton 540.456.8020 bluemountainbrewery.com Holiday Beer Pairing Dinner at Wild Wolf Brewing Company Wed., Dec. 10 4-course gourmet dinner comprised entirely of local ingredients. Each course will be paired with one of Wild Wolf’s hand-crafted beers.

Tickets: $40 with beer pairing; $50 with wine pairing 2461 Rockfish Valley Highway Nellysford 434.361.0088 wildwolfbeer.com Twelve Days of Christmas at Devils Backbone Basecamp Sat., Dec. 13 – Wed. Dec. 24 Each day, the Brewpub will feature a specially priced pint of a selected beer.

200 Mosbys Run Roseland 434.361.1001 dbbrewingcompany.com

4 3 7

1

Santa at Wild Wolf Brewing Company Sun., Dec. 7, 14, & 21, 11:30am10pm Come visit Santa and be sure to bring your wish list!

2461 Rockfish Valley Highway Nellysford 434.361.0088 wildwolfbeer.com

8

5

6 9

Brunch with our Brewers Sun., Dec. 14, 12pm Our brewers will in the tasting room helping you pair the food you chose with our brews. Food Truck – Dressed N Pressed Isley Brewing Company 1715 Summit Ave. Richmond 804.716.2132 isleybrewingcompany.com New Year’s Eve Party at Blue Mountain Brewery Wed., Dec. 31, 3-8pm.

A family friendly celebration with music, face painting and 2 sparkling cider toasts at 5pm and 7:30pm. Full menu & kids menu will be available.

9519 Critzer Shop Rd. Afton 540.456.8020 bluemountainbrewery.com Simply New Year’s at Devils Backbone Basecamp Wed., Dec. 31 Basecamp Brewpub serves up New Year’s Eve dinner and champagne specials.

200 Mosbys Run Roseland 434.361.1001 dbbrewingcompany.com New Year’s Eve at Wild Wolf Brewing Company Wed., Dec. 31, 7pm-midnight Ring in the New Year with great food and drink specials and live music.

2461 Rockfish Valley Highway Nellysford 434.361.0088 wildwolfbeer.com New Year’s Hair of the Dog Brunch at Blue Mountain Brewery Thurs., Jan. 1, 11am-2pm.

9519 Critzer Shop Rd. Afton 540.456.8020 bluemountainbrewery.com

Shhh!!!

Santa will be taking free photos with kids naughty and nice at Mad Fox in Falls Church on Sunday, December 7, from 2 to 4pm.

All ages welcome.

HAMPTON ROADS Hardywood Tap Takeover & Pint Night Thurs., Dec. 4 Live Music on the patio and Devils Backbone on tap (buy a pint of Devils Backbone beer and keep the glass, limit one per customer)!Live Music on the patio and Devils Backbone on tap (buy a pint of Devils Backbone beer and keep the glass, limit one per customer)!

Home Republic 328 Laskin Rd. Virginia Beach 757.226.9593 homerepublicvabeach.com Virginia Craft Beer Thursday Every Thursday, all night Enjoy local Virginia brewed beers for $3 a pint.

Tapped Gastropub 1550 Laskin Road Virginia Beach 757.965.5585 tappedgastropub.com

Brew Ha Ha Brewery Tour Sat., Dec. 6 Tour Backbay Brewery, Young Veterans Brewing Co. & Beach Brewery and enjoy dinner at Tapped Gastropub. $65 per person 1550 Laskin Road Virginia Beach brewhahatours.com Growler Power Hour at Beach Brewing Company Sun., Dec. 7, 14, 21, & 28, 2-4pm Discounts on all growler and grenade fills!

Beach Brewing Company 1505 Taylor Farms Road Virginia Beach 757.563.2337 beachbrewingcompany.com Smartmouth Pint Night at Lagerheads Sun., Dec. 7 Lager Heads 3315 Atlantic Avenue Virginia Beach 757.995.1400 lagerheadsvb.com

New Beer Release: Ibrik, Turkish Coffee Imperial Stout Wed., Dec. 10, 4-5pm Be the first to taste Ibrik, our smallbatch, brewery-only releases.

O’Connor Brewing Co. 211 W. 24th Street Norfolk oconnorbrewing.com Lickinghole Creek Tap Takeover & Pint Night Thurs., Dec. 11 Live Music on the patio and Devils Backbone on tap (buy a pint of Devils Backbone beer and keep the glass, limit one per customer)!Live Music on the patio and Devils Backbone on tap (buy a pint of Devils Backbone beer and keep the glass, limit one per customer)!

Home Republic 328 Laskin Rd. Virginia Beach 757.226.9593 homerepublicvabeach.com

virginiacraftbeer.com Submit your upcoming event to Jennifer.McDonald@hotmail.com

Holiday Open House at Smartmouth Fri., Dec. 12 Join neighbors and friends at the Chelsea Neighborhood Holiday Open House.

Smartmouth Brewery 1309 Raleigh Avenue, Suite 300 Norfolk smartmouthbrewing.com Brew Ha Ha Tours Sat., Dec. 13, 20, & 27 and Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24, & 31 A private party bus takes you to exclusive brewery tours with plenty of samples. Hosted by an established comedian. Top off the tour at a relaxing venue with a hot meal! brewhahatours.com Fans of Virginia Craft Breweries “Fans Night Out” Thurs., Dec.18 Featuring Parkway Brewing and Lee Graves will be on hand selling and signing his new book “Richmond Beer” a History of Brewing in the River City.

AW Shucks 2200 Colonial Avenue, Ste. 14 Norfolk 757.664.9117

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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Foothills Tap Takeover & Pint Night Thurs., Dec. 18 Live Music on the patio and Devils Backbone on tap (buy a pint of Devils Backbone beer and keep the glass, limit one per customer)!Live Music on the patio and Devils Backbone on tap (buy a pint of Devils Backbone beer and keep the glass, limit one per customer Home Republic 328 Laskin Rd. Virginia Beach 757.226.9593 homerepublicvabeach.com OBC’s Tacky Sweater Party Fri., Dec. 26, 4-9pm Wear your tackiest holiday sweater and get ready to get down! Live music, delicious food provided by Hashi Food Truck, door prizes, and special seasonal beers.

O’Connor Brewing Co. 211 W. 24th Street Norfolk oconnorbrewing.com Pints & Pairings Sat., Dec. 27, 2-4pm Micro-brews and craft beers are paired with products from local farms and artisan food crafters.

Colonial Williamsburg 310 S. England Street Williamsburg colonialwilliamsburg.com

What the Truck?!

Sat., Dec. 27

Celebrate Karnage Asada’s 1st Birthday! Up to 10 food trucks and beer from O’Connor Brewery O’Connor Brewing Co. 211 W. 24th Street Norfolk oconnorbrewing.com

Hogs for Hope Thurs., Jan. 1, 12-5pm New Year’s Day Pig Pickin’ and Oyster Roast to benefit Hope House Foundation. $20 in advance; $25 at the door Belmont House of Smoke 2117 Colonial Avenue Norfolk 757.623.4477 belmonthouseofsmoke.com Pint Nights at Whiskey Kitchen Tues., Jan. 6, 13, 20, & 27 Tap takeover by a local brewery.

Enjoy a beer with the featured brewery’s Brewmaster or representative.

Whiskey Kitchen 2149 General Booth Blvd.

Virginia Beach 757.689.8860 thewhiskeykitchen.com DoG Street Pub’s Big Bold Beer Bash Sat., Jan. 17, 11:30am-1pm (VIP); 1-4pm As part of the Winter Blues Jazz Fest featuring local, national, & global craft breweries, rare & aged beers, and gourmet street food.

Merchants Square Williamsburg dogstreetpub.com winterbluesjazzfest.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA Woody Stout Returns at Lost Rhino Wed., Dec. 3, 4pm Woody Stout (bourbon-barrel aged stout) returns to the Tasting Room Lost Rhino Brewing Co. 21730 Red Rum Dr, Suite 147-157 Ashburn lostrhino.com

NOVA BrewBus with Reston Limousine Sat., Dec. 6, 11am-6pm Brewery tours and tastings at Mad Fox Brewing Co., Port City Brewing Co., and Forge Brew Works. $55 per person www.restonlimo.com First Saturday Brewery Open House at Mad Fox Sat., Dec. 6 Take a free brewery tour with your friends scheduled for noon, 2:00pm and 4:00pm. Onsite registration required.

444 West Broad Street Falls Church madfoxbrewing.com Santa Appearance at Mad Fox Sun., Dec. 7, 2-4pm Bring the whole family to take pictures with Santa for free.

444 West Broad Street Falls Church madfoxbrewing.com Beer Yoga at Port City Mon., Dec. 8, 7pm Yoga at the brewery and post-yoga pint! $10 per person Port City Brewing Company 3950 Wheeler Ave. Alexandria 703.797.2739 portcitybrewing.com Ugly Sweater Party + Belgian Triple Release Dec. 17 Lost Rhino Brewing Co. 21730 Red Rum Dr, Suite 147-157 Ashburn lostrhino.com Holiday Brewers Party at Mad Fox Thurs., Dec. 18 444 West Broad Street Falls Church madfoxbrewing.com Festivus Party at Mad Fox Tues., Dec. 23, 3pm Celebrate Festivus with ½ price growlers from 3-9pm 444 West Broad Street Falls Church madfoxbrewing.com New Year’s Eve Celebration at Mad Fox Wed., Dec. 31, 8pm Ring in 2105 Mad Fox style with a performance from Tom Principato and his band, plus dinner and dessert buffets, midnight toast and award-winning craft beer. Cost $80 per person (includes tax and tips).

444 West Broad Street Falls Church madfoxbrewing.com

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DECEMBER 2014

SHENANDOAH VALLEY Sweetwater Tap Takeover at Jolly Ox Grill Thurs., Dec. 4, 5-8pm Jolly Ox Grill 25 Willow Springs Road Lexington jollyoxgrill@gmail.com Live Music at Devils Backbone Outpost Fri., Dec. 5, 5:30-8pm Live music by Merle Swagger 50 Northwind Lane Lexington 540.462.6200 dbbrewingcompany.com Champion Tap Takeover at Jolly Ox Grill Thurs., Dec. 11, 5-8pm Jolly Ox Grill 25 Willow Springs Road Lexington jollyoxgrill@gmail.com Growler Girls & Santa Gift Exchange at Devils Backbone Outpost Thurs., Dec. 11, 5:30-8pm 50 Northwind Lane Lexington 540.462.6200 dbbrewingcompany.com Cask Day at Devils Backbone Outpost Fri., Dec. 18, 2pm Tapping a cask of Kilt Flasher aged on Bourbon barrel wood with maple syrup from Highland County.

50 Northwind Lane Lexington 540.462.6200 dbbrewingcompany.com “Growlers in the Round” Songwriters Showcase Thurs., Dec. 18 Parkway Brewing Co. 739 Kessler Mill Road Salem parkwaybrewing.com Three Brothers Tap Takeover at Jolly Ox Grill Thurs., Dec. 18, 5-8pm Jolly Ox Grill 25 Willow Springs Road Lexington jollyoxgrill@gmail.com Growler Grab Day at Devils Backbone Outpost Tues., Dec. 23, 1-6pm All Outpost brewed beers featured in Growler Grab.

50 Northwind Lane Lexington 540.462.6200 dbbrewingcompany.com

Order a Flight at Three Brothers Brewing Company in Harrisonburg

brewery GUIDE BLUE RIDGE HIGHLANDS Bull & Bones Brewhaus 1470 S Main St., #120 Blacksburg 540.953.2855 bullandbones.com Callaway Brewing Company 21 Woodwinds Road Callaway 540.267.6733 callawaybrewingco.com Chaos Mountain Brewing Company 3135 Dillons Mill Rd. Calloway 540.334.1600 chaosmountainbrewing.com

Creek Bottom Brews 307 Meadow Street Galax 276.236.BEER (2337) cbbrew.com The Damascus Brewery 32173 Government Road Damascus 540.314.2782 thedamascusbrewery.com Old Glade Brewery 217 Town Square St. Glade Spring, VA 24340 Oldgladebrewery.com River Company Brewery 6633 Viscoe Rd. Radford (Fairlawn) 540.633.3940 therivercompanybrewery.com

Sunken City Brewery 40 Brewery Dr. Hardy 540.420.0476 sunkencitybeer.com Wolf Hills Brewing Company 350 Park St. Abingdon 303.5508762 wolfhillsbrewing.com

CENTRAL VIRGINIA Apocalypse Ale Works 1257 Burnbridge Rd Forest 434.258.8761 endofbadbeer.com

Ardent Craft Ales 3200 W. Leigh Street Richmond 804.359.1605 ardentcraftales.com Beer Hound Brewery 201 Waters Place Culpeper 22701 540-317-5327 beerhoundbrewery.com Blue Mountain Brewery 9519 Critzer Shop Rd. Afton 540.456.8020 bluemountainbrewery.com Blue Mountain Barrel House 495 Cooperative Way Arrington 434.263.4002 bluemountainbarrel.com VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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C’ville-ian Brewing Company 705 W. Main Street Charlottesville 434.328.2252 cvillebrewco.com Center of the Universe Brewing Company 11293 Air Park Rd. Ashland 804.368.0299 cotubrewing.com Champion Brewing Company 324 6th St SE Charlottesville 434.295.2739 championbrewingcompany.com Devils Backbone Brewing Company Basecamp 200 Mosbys Run Roseland 434.361.1001 dbbrewingcompany.com Double Dizzy Brewery Amelia Court House 804.505.0109 doubledizzy.net Extra Billy’s 1110 Alverser Dr. Midlothian 804.379.8727 extrabillys.com/ ExtraBillysBarBQ2.htm Hardywood Park Craft Brewery 2408 Ownby Ln. Richmond 804.420.2420 hardywood.com Isley Brewing Company 1715 Summit Avenue Richmond 804.499.0721 isleybrewingcompany.com James River Brewing Company 561 Valley St. Scottsville 434.286.7837 jamesriverbrewing.com

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DECEMBER 2014

Jefferson Street Brewery 1309 Jefferson St Lynchburg 434.455.1514 jeffersonstreetbrewery.com

Triple Crossing Brewing Company 113 S. Foushee St. Richmond triplecrossingbeer.com

Legend Brewing Company 321 W. Seventh St. Richmond 804.232.3446 legendbrewing.com

Wild Wolf Brewing Company 2461 Rockfish Valley Highway Nellysford 434.361.0088 wildwolfbeer.com

Licking Hole Creek Farm Brewery 4100 Knolls Point Dr. Goochland 804.314.4380 lickingholecreek.com

HAMPTON ROADS

Midnight Brewery 2410 Granite Ridge Rd. Rockville 804.356.9379 midnight-brewery.com Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery 11800 W. Broad Street Richmond 23233 804-237-1684 rockbottom.com South Street Brewery 106 South Street Charlottesville 434.293.6550 southstreetbrewery.com Starr Hill Brewery 5391 Three Notch’d Rd. Crozet 434.823.5671 starrhill.com Strangeways Brewing 2277 Dabney Rd. Richmond 804.303.4336 strangewaysbrewing.com The Answer Brewpub 6008 West Broad St. Richmond facebook.com theanswerbrewpub.com Three Notch’d Brewing Company 946 Grady Ave Charlottesville 434.293.0610 threenotchdbrewing.com

Alewerks 189-B Ewell Rd. Williamsburg 757.220.3670 williamsburgalewerks.com Back Bay Brewing Company 614 Norfolk Ave. Virginia Beach 757.531.7750 backbaybrewco.com Beach Brewing Company 2585 Horse Pasture Rd., #204 Virginia Beach 757.563.2337 beachbrewingcompany.com Brass Cannon Brewing Company 8105 Richmond Rd., #105 Toano 757.566.0001 brasscannonbrewing.com Gordon Biersch 4561 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Virginia Beach 757.490.2739 Home Republic Brew Pub 328 Laskin Road Virginia Beach 757.226.9593 O’Connor Brewing Company 211 W. 24th Street Norfolk 757.623.2337 oconnorbrewing.com Pleasure House Brewing 3025 Shore Dr. Virginia Beach, VA 23451 757.647.8597 pleasurehousebrewing.com

Smartmouth Brewing Company 1309 Raleigh Ave., #300 Norfolk 757.624.3939 smartmouthbrewing.com St. George Brewing Company 204 Challenger Way Hampton 757.865.7781 stgeorgebrewingco.com Young Veterans Brewing Company 2505 Horse Pasture Road, Ste. 104 Virginia Beach 757.689.4021 yvbc.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA Adroit Theory Brewing Company 404 Browing Ct., Unit C Purcellville 703.722.3144 adroit-theory.com Adventure Brewing Co. 33 Perchwood Dr. Fredericksburg 540.242.8876 adventurebrewing.com BadWolf Brewing Company 9776 Center St. Manassas 571.208.1064 badwolfbrewingcompany.com Barnhouse Brewery 13840 Barnhouse Pl. Leesburg 703.675.8480 barnhousebrewery.com Battlefield Brewing Company 4187 Plank Rd Fredericksburg 540.785.2164 chancellorpub@msn.com The Beer Joint 50 Catoctin Circle NE, Ste. 100 Leesburg 703-777-2169 go2thebeerjoint.com

Beltway Brewing Company 22620 Davis Dr. #110 Sterling 571.989.2739 beltwaybrewco.com Blue & Gray Brewing Company 3300 Dill Smith Dr. Fredericksburg 540.371.7799 blueandgraybrewingco.com Caboose Brewing Company 520 Mill Street NE Vienna 703-865-8580 caboosebrewing.com Capitol City Brewing Company 4001 Campbell Ave. Arlington 703.578.3888 capcitybrew.com Corcoran Brewing Company 205 E. Hirst Road, Suite 105 Purcellville 540.441.3102 corcoranbrewing.com Crooked Run Brewing 205 Harrison St. Leesburg 571.978.4446 crookedrunbrewing.com Forge Brew Works 8532 Terminal Rd., Ste. L Lorton 703.372.2979 forgebrewworks.com Gordon Biersch Tyson’s Corner Mall McLean 703.388.5454 gordonbiersch.com

Heritage Brewing Co. 9436 Center Point Lane Manassas 800.432.1792 heritagebrewing.com

ciderGUIDE

Hops Grill Brewery 3625 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Alexandria 703.837.9107 hopsonline.com

BLUE RIDGE HIGHLANDS

Lost Rhino Brewing Company 21730 Red Rum Dr., Ste. 142 Ashburn 571.291.2083 lostrhino.com Mad Fox Brewing Company 444 West Broad St., Ste. I Falls Church 703.942.6840 madfoxbrewing.com

1

Appalachia

2

Blue Ridge Highlands

3

Shenandoah Valley

4

Northern Virginia

5

Chesapeake Bay

6

Eastern Shore

7

Central Virgnia

8

Southern Virginia

9

Hampton Roads

8

Potter’s Craft Cider Charlottesville potterscraftcider.com

Old Hill Cider 17768 Honeyville Rd. Timberville 540.896.7582 oldhillcider.com

3

2

Castle Hill Cider 6065 Turkey Sag Rd. Keswick 434.296.0047 castlehillcider.com

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

4

1

Albemarle CiderWorks 2545 Rural Ridge Ln. North Garden 434.297.2326 albemarleciderworks.com

Bold Rock Hard Cider 1020 Rockfish Valley Hwy. Nellysford 434.361.1030 boldrock.com

Old Bust Head Brewing Company 7134 Lineweaver Rd. Warrenton 540.347.4777 oldbusthead.com

5

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Blue Bee Cider 212 W. 6th St. Richmond 804.231.0280 bluebeecider.com

Mad Horse Brew Pub 34 E Broad Way Lovettsville 540.436.0669 madhorsebrewpub.com

7

Foggy Ridge Cider 1328 Pineview Rd. Dugspur 276.398.2337 foggyridgecider.com

6

Winchester Ciderworks 2502 N. Frederick Pike Winchester 540.550.3800 WinchesterCiderworks.com

9 VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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DECEMBER 2014

Old 690 Brewing Company 15670 Ashbury Church Road Purcellville old690.com

visit us online for up-to-date news, info and more

virginiacraftbeer.com - 50 -

Wild Run Brewing Company 3071 Jefferson Davis Hwy Stafford 540.659.3447 wildrunbrewing.com

Old Ox Brewery 44652 Guilford Dr Unit 114 Ashburn 703.729.8375 oldoxbrewery.com

Port City Brewing Company 3950 Wheeler Ave. Alexandria 703.797.2739 portcitybrewing.com Rock Bottom Brewery 4238 Wilson Blvd., Ste. 1256 Arlington 703.516.7688 rockbottom.com/arlington Rusty Beaver Brewery 18043 Jefferson Davis Hwy Ruther Glen (Ladysmith Exit off I-95) 855.478.7892 rustybeaverbrewery.com Sweetwater Tavern 14250 Sweetwater Ln. Centreville 703.449.1100 greatamericanrestaurants.com Sweetwater Tavern 45980 Waterview Plaza Sterling 571.434.6500 greatamericanrestaurants.com Sweetwater Tavern 3066 Gate House Plaza Falls Church 703.645.8100 greatamericanrestaurants.com

SHENANDOAH VALLEY Backroom Brewery 150 Ridgemont Rd. Middletown 540.869.8482 facebook.com/ BackroomBrewery

Parkway Brewing 739 Kessler Mill Rd. Salem parkwaybrewing.com Queen City Brewing 834 Springhill Road Staunton 540.213.8014 qcbrewing.com Redbeard Brewing 120 South Lewis St. Staunton 804.641.9340 redbeardbrews.com

Big Lick Brewing Company 135 Salem Ave. Roanoke, VA 24011 540-562-8383 biglickbrewingco.com

Roanoke Railhouse Brewery 3106 Franklin Road Roanoke 540-293-2423 roanokerailhouse.com

Blue Lab Brewing Company 123 S. Randolph St. Lexington 540.458.0146 bluelabbrewing.com

Shenandoah Valley Brewing Company 17 Middlebrook Ave. Staunton 540.887.2337 shenvalbrew.com/

Devils Backbone Brewing Company - Outpost 50 Northwind Lane Lexington 540.462.6200 dbbrewingcompany.com

Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers 523 Shenandoah Avenue Roanoke 540.529.2140 soaringridge.com

Flying Mouse Brewery 221 Precast Way Troutville 540.992.1288 flyingmousebrewery.com

Three Brothers Brewing 800 N Main Street Harrisonburg 540.432.8940 threebrosbrew.com

Piccadilly’s Brew Pub 125 E Piccadilly St. Winchester 540.535.1899 piccadillysbrewpub.net

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Company 209 Trade St. Danville 434-549-BREW (2739)

Is there someone we’re missing?

Email Jennifer.McDonald@hotmail.com with any additions or corrections

VIRGINIACRAFTBEER.COM

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drink it

while you can limited supply DRAFT and 22oz BOTTLES

55+ pounds of hops, lots of honey and a liile citrus just for some added kick. Golden in color with a nice round malt middle, ending with a huge punch of hop biierness.

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DECEMBER 2014

wildwolfbeer.com 2461 RockďŹ sh Valley Hwy. Nellysford, VA 22958 | 434-361-0088