Monthly Archives: February 2012

Leap Day Appropriate Beer

An extra day in the month meant I was supposed to have extra time.  Somehow that did not happen. Well there’s no way I’m letting this 29th day of Februrary get by without having some fun.  This tweet from Dogfish Head had me wondering how many different ways could we celebrate Leap Day with beer. 

Let’s see how many different beers qualify if we use the numbers 29 and 60.

Anniversary Beers

Weyerbacher’s anniversary beers immediately came to mind.  You could have a Fourteen and a Fifteen, 4 Fifteens, 2 Fourteens and 2 Sixteens.

ABV

This one requires math but the end results are fun.

The Bruery’s Cuir comes in at 14.5% ABV so you only need two to get 29.

He’Brew Jewbelation Fifteen fits for anniversary beers, but it also works for ABV. With 15% ABV, you’ll need four to get to 60. 

Bell’s Amber is only 5.8% ABV so getting to 29 will knock you back 5 of these. 

Looks like that’s all I really could come up with but I think it’s plenty. Besides it’s not as if you really needed an excuse to drink great beer from me.

Southern Tier Tap INNvasion

Southern Tier Brewing will invade Joe’s Inn for a tap takeover Tuesday evening starting at 5pm.  This invasion will feature the Richmond debut of two Southern Tier brews, Eurotrash Pilz and 2X Milk Stout.  Take a look at the other beers that will be on hand:

2X Milk Stout
Eurotrash Pilz
Gemini
Creme Brulee
Iniquity Black IPA
Choklat

So shake up your Tuesday happy hour routine and come hang out at Joe’s! Head over to the Facebook event for more info here.

Joe’s Inn
205 N Shields Ave.
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 355-2282

Thank Goodness It’s Firkin Friday

Have you been in a funk all week and don’t know why?  Well, today is the perfect day to shake it off because there be firkins afoot. (Last part said in my best pirate voice.)

First off, today marks the start of a series of Firkin Fridays at TJ’s at the Jefferson.  They will have Highland Brewing’s cask-conditioned Kashmir IPA dry-hopped in the cask with Calypso hops, which add notes of apple, pear or lemon, depending on the beer. Have fun discovering the flavors that develop with Highland’s IPA.  Also being tapped tonight is Highland’s Cold Mountain Winter Ale, an amber ale spiced with cranberry, raspberry, and hazelnuts extracts.  This spice level in this beer is raised further with cinnamon and vanilla beans.

TJs will feature several appetizer specials throughout the evening as wells as charcuterie from Olli Salumeria in Manakin Sabot. Read more over at the Facebook event here.

The other firkin of the night will be at Capital Ale House Downtown.  They will have a firkin of Starr Hill’s  dry hopped Northern Lights filled with toasted oak chips.

Enjoying great food and beer should be just what you need to get out of that funk, plus you can fill your growler while you are at either location. Both firkins are supposed to be tapped at 5pm but I wouldn’t be surprised if they started a little early due to wonderful warm weather we have been enjoying.

Hardywood Beer Dinner at The Republic

Scratching your head trying to figure out what to eat tonight?  You might want to consider the beer dinner tonight at The Republic featuring Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. If you loved their Gingerbread Stout and want more, the only place to get it tonight will be at this dinner. Take a look at the menu.

MENU

Caramelized Scallops, Braised Citrus Fennel with Singel

Roasted Leek and Creamy Potato Soup with Gingerbread Stout

Grilled Buffalo Strip Loin, Ale Espagnol Sauce, Pesto Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes with Dry Hopped Imperial IPA

Triple Latte Mocha Cheesecake, Raspberry Coulis with Mocha Belgique

Four course all for $35/person including tax and gratuity.  Head over to the Facebook event to read more.

The Republic
2053 West Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 592-4444

After the Snow Bar Crawl

Celebrate Richmond’s first and possibly only snowfall this winter by going on a bar crawl tonight through three local spots on Broad St.  Each stop on the crawl will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the James River Outdoor Coalition.  Here are the stops:

The Republic — 5pm
Emilio’s —  6pm
The Camel — 7pm

So go out and have a few drinks to support a good cause.  Find more information on the Facebook event page here.

Capital Ale Anniversary Beer: Month 2

Capital Ale House continues their tenth anniversary celebration with another exclusive beer.  This time the beer is from a relatively unknown brewery, Wild Wolf Brewing.  They will gifting Cap Ale their 3 Legged Scotsman.  I haven’t been able to find out much about the style of this beer but I’m guessing a scotch ale or maybe a bourbon barrell stout.  Head out to the nearest Cap Ale location for the tapping at 6pm.  Fredericksburg, I hope to be stopping your way.

Valentines for Craft Beer Lovers

Are you in love with a craft beer enthusiast and haven’t figured out how to celebrate Valentine’s weekend? Don’t worry. I have a few options for you to consider.  You’ll have to act fast on this first one as it happens today.

Thursday February 9th

Devils Backbone Beer Dinner
TJ’s at the Jefferson is back for 2012 with a very special beer dinner with Devil’s Backbone! Come out and enjoy some delicious VA beers paired up with seasonal cuisine at TJ’s inside the Jefferson Hotel!  Dinner starts at 7pm and is $50 per person plus tax and gratuity. Please call 804.649.4672 or email at kibiloski@jeffersonhotel.com for more information.

DEVIL’S BACKBONE
“WELCOME TO RICHMOND”

Thursday, February 9th at 7pm
TJ’s at the Jefferson

MENU

Salad of Winter Baby Roots with 8 Point IPA
Composed Greens, Pumper-Nut Soil, Malted Barley Vinaigrette

Hay Smoked Duck Breast with Vienna Lager
Braised Escarole and Leeks, Duck Confit & Yukon Potato Cake

Schwartz Braised Lamb Osso Bucco with Schwartzbier
Chestnut Spaetzle, Charred Brussels Sprouts and Pearl Onions, Natural Jus and Toasted Cream

Winter Fruit Compote Financier with Scotch Ale
Brown Butter Ice Cream, Maple Crumble

$50.00 Per Person
Plus Tax and Gratuity

Please contact Jonathan Kibiloski at 804.649.4672
or by email at kibiloski@jeffersonhotel.com

Friday February 10th

Sweethearts for the Arts: Speakeasy

Gallery 5 hosts a night of burlesque and booze to benefit Art on Wheels. If I didn’t already have plans out of town, I would most likely be heading to this event.  Gallery 5 is the only gallery in Richmond where you can get craft beer.  For that reason alone, it has been one of my favorite places to go in the city.  Read more about the event here.

Saturday February 11th

Mad Fox Brewing Barleywine Festival

Looking to get out of the city? Try heading up to Falls Church, VA to sample at least 28 barleywines. This is the second year for Mad Fox Brewing’s Barleywine Festival.  This is actually part of my weekend plan.   Not only do you get an amazing selection of barleywines, but you get the top notch food from Chef Russell. Here are a few barleywines that caught my eye:

  • Mad Fox Oaked Slobberknocker Barleywine 2011 Draught 8% ABV
  • Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine 2010 Draught 15% ABV
  • Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine 2011 Draught 10.2% ABV
  • Hebrew Genesis 15:15 2011 Draught 13.4% ABV
  • Terrapin Beer Company/Brasserie Franches Montagnes Spike & Jeromes Cuvée Délirante, Rum Barrel-Aged Rye Barleywine 2010 Draught 12%+ ABV

Check out the rest of the list here.

Can Can Virginia Tap Takeover

Starting at 5pm Can Can Brasserie will feature draft beer selections from eight of Virginia’s finest breweries. A silent auction and raffle featuring donations from local businesses and artisans that will benefit the Pink Ink Fund set up by Amy Black of Trademark Tattoo in Carytown.

Draft Selection:

Legend Pilsner
Hardywood Park Singel
Devils Backbone Vienna Lager
Roanoke Railhouse IPA
Starr Hill The love
O’Connor Great Dismal Black IPA
Bull & Bones Maroon Effect
Wolf Hills Wolf’s Den Double IPA

 

Urge VA Senators to Consider SB604

The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild is a coalition of independent, small (AKA “craft”), commercial breweries who share the following goals: 1. Defending Virginia based craft breweries against potentially harmful state legislation and 2. Promoting Virginia Beer.
 
Mike Killelea is one of the brewers at Legend as well as Chairman of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild. The VCBG has their first bill before the General Assembly is asking for your help to get this passed. Take a moment and read his letter.
 
Dear Craft Beer Enthusiast:

The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild needs your help. As you may know, the Virginia General Assembly is currently in session. What you may not know is that there is a bill, SB604, before the Senate that would greatly benefit many of the craft breweries in Virginia. This bill will be heard in the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services committee this Friday, February 10th at 8:30am.

SB604 allows a brewery licensee to sell beer at retail at premises described in the brewery license for on-premises consumption and in closed containers for off-premises consumption. In layman’s terms, production breweries would be allowed to sell pints to customers. If passed, you could tour a Virginia brewery and enjoy a pint afterwards, much like how you can enjoy a glass of wine at a Virginia winery. More importantly, this would put us on even footing with some of our neighboring states.

Craft breweries are an emerging manufacturing base in the Commonwealth of Virginia that generate good paying jobs. A tap room at a production brewery would create more jobs and badly needed revenue for the Commonwealth and local municipalities through existing sales and excise taxes. It would also help promote beer tourism.

I would urge you to contact your state Senator TODAY and ask them to support SB604. You can find you legislator by clicking on the following link – http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

Thank you.

Cheers,
Mike Killelea
Chairman – Virginia Craft Brewers Guild

 
Learn more about VCBG here.

One Night at BlowToad…

 

Late Friday night, I decided to check out BlowToad to see if it was worth the hype. I am really glad I did.  As you can tell from the picture above, BlowToad has a diverse selection of craft beers on tap.  Most beers are available as 10 or 16oz pours.  One surprise I found was Devils Backbone Kilt Flasher, as it was only available in small quantities for the Richmond kick off. BlowToad also has a pretty sizable bottle collection right below the taps.

I was also pleasantly surprised that vegan cheese was an option for pizza.  I found my vegan cheese with pepperoni, black pepper sausage, and surry bacon to be quite tasty.  In talking with the staff, I came away with a couple of their future plans:

Beer Tasting Classes: Soon on Saturdays, BlowToad will offer two ounce pours of beers along with free pizza to participating guests.

Growler Fills: Look at the top of that pic again.  Yep, those are stainless steel growlers identical to Hardywood’s but with the BlowToad logo.  They have not set growler prices but expect to do so soon.

In the meantime, cozy up to the bar for a few brews and try the pizza.  Check out BlowToad’s Facebook page for updates.

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