Monthly Archives: August 2012

RVA-B-Que, Crab Freakout, and Pop-Up Dinner This Sunday

There’s no shortage of awesome food and beer events happening this Sunday August 12th.  The trick will be figuring out how to do them all.

RVA-B-Que — 17th St Farmer’s Market — noon – 6pm

Feed your local beer and barbecue addiction.

Legend Brewing                      Starr Hill                                  Devils Backbone
Brown Ale                                 Starr Pils                                   Vienna Lager
Oak Aged Dopplebock                Northern Lights IPA                    Azrael Belgian Golden
Oktobefest                                Belgian Dark Strong                   Ale of Fergus

Midnight Brewery                    Hardywood                              Brass Cannon
Rockville Red                             Singel                                       Hazelnut Coffee Brown
Watermelon Lime Kolsch            Belgian Double IPA                    Caliber Red                                                                                            Virginia Blackberry

Wolf Hills Brewing                   Bold Rock                                Bull and Bones
English Dark Mild                       Virginia Apple Cider                   Maroon Effect Brown
Nelson Sauvin Belgian Pale                                                        Lunch Pale Ale

Big Daddy Brewery                  Mad Fox Brewing                    James River
Black IPA                                  Molotov Hoptail Double IPA         Rock Island Red
Sunshine Belgian Wit                 Kolsch                                      River Runner Bitter

O’Connor Brewing
El Guapo IPA
Red Nun Red Ale

All this local beer plus barbecue from over twelve of the best in RIchmond including the llikes of Halligans, Buzz and Ned’s, Alamo BBQ, and Ronnie’s.

Crab Freakout! — Pasture — 4pm until

Head over to Pasture for $2.50 crabs and $8 half pounds of steamed shrimp and Rappahanock oysters.  The featured beers for the evening are both from Flying Dog: Gose (made with Old Bay) and Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout(Rappahanock oysters).  Rappahanock oysters are my new obession so I will definitely be checking this out. It’s just a question of when. 

‘And For The Last Course…..’ Pop-Up — Avalon — 5:30 – 9 (reservations recommended)

Richmond.com has the story on Chef Ethan “Knox” Vaughn’s last supper in Richmond.  You just might want to check it out.  I think I went to Avalon once for drinks but pretty sure I’ve never eaten there. Probably a shame if the brussel sprouts were as good as everyone claims. 

Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Night at Mekong

Mekong continues their celebration of Virginia Craft Beer Month with a night dedicated to breweries belonging to the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild.  The Guild is the group responsible for leading the charge to get SB 604 passed so that you can go into local breweries like Hardywood and order a pint of beer.  Mekong will be donating $500 to support the Guild’s future initiatives.  Breweries representing the for the night are:

Hardywood Park — Richmond, VA
Legend — Richmond, VA
Starr Hill — Crozet, VA
Devils Backbone — Nelson Co, VA
O’Connor — Norfolk, VA
Blue Mountain — Afton, VA
Bold Rock — Nelson Co, VA
Wolf Hill — Abingdon, VA
Midnight — Goochland, VA
James River — Richmond, VA

So head out tonight  Thursday August 9th starting at 4pm and support these wonderful local breweries.

Hardywood Virginia Blackberry Gets Randallized

Hardywood continues their celebration of Virginia Craft Beer Month with the official release of Virginia Blackberry today August 8th from 4 – 8pm.  Yes, it has already been on tap at the brewery for a few days now but it will be the first time the beer has been given the randall treatment.  I have the extreme honor of  crafting tonight’s randall with blend of dark Belgian candi sugar, fresh lemon, and fresh purple basil from my garden.

Here’s more about the release from Hardywood’s Facebook page:

Hardywood Virginia Blackberry is a Belgian wheat beer brewed with over 1 lb. per gallon of fresh, local Agriberry CSA and Farm blackberries. Agriberry will be on hand with some of their latest harvest, The Official Gelati Celesti Ice Cream Makers will be serving up a special batch of Hardywood Virginia Blackberry ice cream, and Station 2will be grilling up some delicious burgers. Growlers and bottles will be available to take home.Look for Hardywood Virginia Blackberry later this week at Richmond’s best restaurants and beer stores.

Come on out and try this beer for the first time again.

Tempting Goose Island Beer Dinner at The Magpie

The Magpie is having a beer dinner featuring Goose Island tomorrow Wednesday August 8th at 6pm.  The menu from Owen Lane sounds absolutely delicious. I really wish I could attend but a food allergy and another commitment will make me miss it.  This just means you will have to go for me.  The Magpie has long been on my list of need to check out restaurants in Richmond.  With a menu like this, I may have to check them out sooner rather than later.

MENU

Course One
Nelson county peaches, prosciutto vinaigrette, fresh mozzarella ice cream, fried basil
Summertime

Course Two
Butter braised lobster BLT, Pecan wood smoked bacon, heirloom tomatoes, romaine hearts, deviled quail eggs, caviar
Sofie

Course Three
Poblano braised Berkshire pork cheeks, banana encrusted smoked camembert, spiced rum reduction
Matilda

Course Four
Smoked pheasant sausage, sous vide black, sweet bleu cheese, basil, pecans
Pere Jacques

Course Five
Pepe Nero ice cream float, vanilla ice cream, art in the age root liqueur
Pepe Nero

The cost for the dinner is $60/person. Call the restaurant at (804) 269-0023 for reservations.

Maybe tweet me a picture or two so I can live vicariously through your meal.

The Magpie
1301 W Leigh St.
Richmond, VA 23220

Watermelon Beer Granita

The 29th Annual Watermelon Festival is tomorrow Sunday August 5th.  As is tradition, it is bound to be a hot one; it always is.  Whether you walked the streets of Carytown or decided to stay indoors, this recipe is for you.  I first discovered this concept of putting beer in a frozen dessert from Megan Powell’s Watermelon Beer Popsicles.  Desiring something that I could store more longterm, I attempted to adapt her recipe into a sorbet but it turned out to be more of a granita.

Watermelon Beer Granita

Ingredients

1 cup Agave Nectar
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 lime, zested & juiced
1/2 seedless watermelon, crushed
12oz can 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring Agave Nectar and chopped mint to a boil over medium-high heat.  Remove from heat and let come back to room temp.

Crush watermelon into large bowl. Puree with a stick blender until the watermelon is an even consistency.

Add agave mixture, lime juice and zest to watermelon followed by the beer.  Mix well.

Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator overnight.

Mix in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  It took my Cuisinart about 20 minutes.  Your granita will be ready to eat at this point or you can transfer to a airtight container an freeze for a firmer texture.

Yield: 2 – 4 quarts

Hardywood Hop Harvest Festival Featuring No BS Brass Is Tomorrow

How often do you get the chance to say you had a hand in helping to make a beer at your local brewery?  That’s the idea behind Hardywood’s RVA IPA – The Community Hopped IPA.  More from Hardywood:

In the spring of 2012, Hardywood kicked off a “Community Hopping Project” by giving out 1,000 hop rhizomes to local gardeners interested in growing hops and contributing to a commercially brewed beer. The project will culminate in this annual Hop Harvest Festival, where freshly picked local hops will serve as 100% of the hop bill of Hardywood’s RVA IPA. Given that most first year hop plants do not produce cones, the majority of the 2012 hop harvest will come from some more experienced local growers and a few progressive farmers who are working to bring hop growing back to Virginia.

Head out tomorrow Saturday August 4th from 2 – 8pm to see the hop bines come down and learn more about how hops go into making beer.  No BS Brass, one of my favorite local bands, will knock the party into the stratosphere when they take the stage at 3:30.  This is an event you are not going to want to miss.  Learn more at the Facebook event here.

And if you’re a hop grower yourself, read this.

Happy National IPA Day Richmond!

Credit: Dušan Gavenda

If hops are your thing, you’ll be happy to know today Thursday, August 2nd is National IPA Day.  I don’t know when we started dedicating certain days to a particular style of beer; last year is the first mention of it I can remember.  Here are a few places around town you can go to get your hop on:

821 Cafe
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin
Terrapin Hop Karma
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe
Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Bells Two Hearted
After killing those, they have Troegs Perpetual IPA, Smuttynose Homunculus and Hardywood Belgian DIPA.

The Camel All Virginia
Alewerks Caledonia
Hardywood Belgian DIPA
O’Connor Great Dismal Black IPA
Roanoke Railhouse IPA
Blue Mountain Full Nelson

Station 2 All Virginia
Alewerks Caledonia
Wolf Hills Troopers Alley IPA 135 IBUs!
Blue Mountain Full Nelson
Olde Richmond Batch #11

Mekong All Hardywood
Belgian DIPA
IPA aged on peaches
Serrano Pepper IPA (by Rachael & Friends)
Super Dank West Coast Extra Pale IPA (by Nick Danger & Friends)

BlowToad
Old Dominion Hop Mountain
Dogfish 90 Minute IPA
Avery IPA

Capital Ale House Midlothian
Wolf Hills Wolf Den
Wolf Hills Troopers Alley
Port City Monumental IPA
O’Connor El Guapo
O’Connor Great Dismal Black IPA
Starr Hill Double Platinum
St George English IPA
Olde Richmond Batch #11
Legend Golden IPA
Blue Mountain Full Nelson

Whole Foods Short Pump
Founders Devil Dancer
Troegs Perpetual IPA

Legend Brewing
Golden IPA
Imperial IPA — Small Batch

I’ll try and add more places as I hear about them today.

Hardywood Calling On All Richmond Hop Growers

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From Hardywood:

Calling all RVA hop growers!! The time has come for our inaugural Hop Harvest Festival. Bring in any freshly harvested hops (please note the varietals) to Hardywood Park Craft Brewery this Thu, Fri, or Sat from 9AM – 8PM and you’ll get:

  • Your signature included in the first ever label for Hardywood RVA IPA, “the community hopped India Pale Ale”
  • Invitation to private first tasting of RVA IPA to be held mid-September at Hardywood
  • “I Grow Hops” sticker
 

Old Dominion Tap Takeover at BlowToad

There is no shortage of tap takeovers happening  around the city today and Carytown is no exception.  BlowToad features seven beers in an Old Dominion Brewing tap takeover.  Brewery rep Craig Machenry  will be there talking all things Dominion. Here is the list of beers being tapped:

Oak Barrel Stout
Baltic Porter
Double D Double IPA
Hop Mountain
Oktoberfest (just released this past week)
Millenium Barleywine
Gigi’s Farmhouse Saison

It’s A Hardywood Kind of Week!

Hardywood has a lot going on for the rest of the week.  I’ve got the day by day rundown for you .

Wednesday August 1st

Over in Midlothian, Sedona Taphouse will be hosting a Hardywood tap takeover and glass giveaway. Co-founder Eric McKay and head brewer Brian Nelson will be hanging out as well.

Belgian DIPA
Hoplar
Singel
Virginia Strawberry
Pin of SB 604
Pin of Belgian-Style Witte with lemongrass and black peppercorn

Thursday August 2nd

Mekong kicks off VA Craft Beer Month with a bang with Gingerbread Stout, first blackberry  sighting, and a variety of IPAs.  

2011 Gingerbread Stout
Singel
Hoplar
Mocha Belgique
Bourbon Cru
Virginia Strawberry
Virginia Blackberry
Belgian IPA
SB 604
IPA aged in peach
Serrano Pepper IPA (by Rachael and Friends)
Super Dank West Coast Extra Pale IPA (by Nick Danger & Friends)
Mystery Pin of something excellent

Friday August 3rd

First Friday Firkin with Sean O’Hern

Sean O’Hern, from Commerical Tap House, created the inaugural firkin in Hardywood’s First Friday Firkin Series which will feature a firkin created by a different local beer enthusiast each month.  Sean has  selected a blend of sage, ginger and lemon zest to create an one of a kind version of Singel. A matching Randall will be on hand as well.

Wow, that’ was a lot to take in and  there is still  Saturday to deal with….

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