If You Can’t Find Something To Do This Weekend, You’re Trying Too Hard

There is only one way to describe this weekend — jam packed! There are five festivals featuring Virginia beer so widespread this weekend you may not even have to leave your backyard to get to one. Meanwhile I will be geeking out at Wizard World Richmond part of the weekend so I need you to report back on everything.  Let’s not waste any more time…

Friday September 12th

Mystery Beer Release at Strangeways — 4PM

Even I don’t know the secret identity of Strangeway’s Mystery Beer. You’re going to have to go for yourself to find out.

RVA IPA Release at Hardywood — 4PM

Time to drink the hops you grew…

Wine & Beer Classic at Maymont — 7PM

You can hang out with your wine drinking friends…

Enjoy live music by Jubeus while sampling some of Virginia’s finest beverages from Ardent Craft Ales, Bold Rock Hard Cider, Center of the Universe Brewing, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery,Isley Brewing Company,Legend Brewing Company, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery,Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Midnight Brewery, Rusty Beaver Brewery, Smartmouth Beer,STRANGEWAYS BREWING, Triple Crossing Brewing Company, and Wild Wolf Brewing Company. Guests can partake in open cornhole play offered by BeSocial Richmond (for a fee) and enter to win a cocktail raffle prize featuring a home beer brewing kit and two tickets to the Richmond Beeristoric Tour, donated by Loveland Distributing and Brown Distributing- Richmond, VA.

Tickets are $35/person and include unlimited sampling of beers and wine. Buy tickets here.

Saturday September 13th

Richmond Spoke & Hop Fest at Hardywood — Noon – 9PM

Bike lovers this is especially for you though anyone is welcome. Tickets are $35/person and include unlimited sampling of over 50 Virginia beers including those from new to area taps, Heritage Brewing Co.  Before anyone complains, yes you must purchase tickets to enter Hardywood grounds on this day.  Who among us hasn’t spent $35 on beer?

Brew Jam Craft Beer Fest at Beaverdam — Noon

Head over to Beaverdam and sample beers from breweries such as New Belgium, Left Hand, Blue Mountain, Ommegang, and Brooklyn among others.

 

Beaverdam Brew Jam

Chesterfield Chamber Craft Beer Festival — Noon

Oktoberfest & Das Bier Run at Center of the Universe — 3PM

I really do like a good Oktoberfest. COTU’s is one of my favorites. Grab a stein…

Then maybe a bratwurst or two…

Oh and there’ll be German music…

Sunday September 14th

2nd Annual Tubes & Taps at Crossroads Coffee — 11:30AM

Float down the James  then enjoy a New Belgium and Foothills tap takeover at Crossroads Forest Hill.  Tickets are $40/person and benefit the James River Park System. You can get your tickets here.

Central Virginia Food Truck Rodeo at Chesterfield Town Center — Noon

30+ food trucks and 25 Virginia beers. What’s not to love?

 Hair of the Dog at Hardywood — Noon

After they’ve spoked the hop, Hardywood throws a brunch with five courses of music.

 

 

Bucket Trade Hosts Mini Three Brothers Tap Takeover For Fans Of Virginia Craft Breweries Meet & Greet

Members of the Facebook group, Fans of VA Craft Breweries will be heading down to Chester this afternoon Wednesday September 10th for a “Meet & Greet” at The Bucket Trade. For their part, Bucket Trade will tap four beers from Harrisonburg, VA’s Three Brothers Brewing including their latest rum barrel aged beer, Fierce Blonde.

Here is the complete list to be tapped at 5:30pm:

Hoptimization
Admiral IPA
PilsNerd
Fierce Blonde

Head over to the Facebook event for more information and updates.

The Bucket Trade
13131 Rivers Bend Blvd
Chester, VA 23836

Stepping Outside Richmond Dining For Fire, Flour, & Fork Culinary Tracks: Friday

Fire Flour Fork 2014

Ever since Fire, Flour, & Fork was announced, I have been struggling to choose a schedule from the culinary and cultural tracks.  With so many great choices, the task of narrowing down each time slot to a single talk became very overwhelming.  If you look at my printout of the schedule, there are several check marks all over the place.  Finally, I came up with a selection method that I thought would work that would satisfy my desire to learn new stuff and be in line with the goals of the event.

First I needed some rules:

  1. As much as I love our local dining talent, I will look for speakers coming from out of town.
  2. The topic needs to be of personal interest to me, in that maybe I could learn techniques to put into practice in my own kitchen.
  3. No beer. Yep, I said it. Yes, I could listen to our local breweries talk about beer all day long and sometimes I do.

Today, we will look to navigate a schedule for Friday October 31st.

10AM

My Pick
Relish Fork — I’ve always wanted to learn more about pickling and possibly get into canning so I thought this demo from Paul Virant of Vie would be a great choice.

Runner-up
Budino with Bereika — Do you have any idea how much I hate choosing against learning from Tim Bereika?!

11:15AM

My Pick
Pie for Breakfast — Um…I like pie! I like making them and eating them.  Maybe Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar will share her secrets for making Crack Pie. I hear it’s addictive.

Runners-up

  • Chocolate Packing Heat — Yes, I could eat chocolate all day but somehow pies won out.  Maybe because my favorite pie is a Kentucky Pecan Pie with chocolate and bourbon.
  • Meat Fork — Jason Alley will teach you how ham is made. Have you had the ham cured ribs at Pasture? Delicious!

2PM

My Pick
Professor Pitmaster — I have been working on my barbecue skills but still have a long way to go before I’m ready for competition.  Help me Tuffy Stone, you’re my only hope.

Runners-up

  • Rise of Richmond Brewing — Did you really think beer wouldn’t be mentioned here? Mike Gorman will make you love the history behind our growing beer town.
  • Oyster Fork —  Did you hear about the Virginia Oyster Trail? Now is the time to fall in love with them.
  • Pickle Fork — Who knew you could pickle things other than cucumbers?  David Schulz of Pickled Silly, that’s who.

3:15PM

My Pick
From Farm to Fork — Ok, I might be breaking rule #1 with this one. Nicole Lang is local but Craig Rogers of Border Springs Farm is not. Lamb is also one of my favorite things to cook.

Runners-up

  • Charred Ordinary — Yes, Richmond has a local cidery!
  • Fork Tender — Kendra Bailey Morris will change your perception of the slow cooker.  I have used my slow cooker a lot more since buying her book.

That’s one possible plan for get through Friday’s culinary tracks for Fire, Flour & Fork. Use my plan or make your own rules then pick out a schedule.  Tickets are $70 for one-day Friday or Saturday tracks or $130 for both Friday and Saturday tracks. Get your tickets here.

Come back later this week to see what I pick for Saturday.

Hardywood & Starr Hill Collaboration Amped Up Ale Only At Fall Line Fest This Weekend

Fall Line Fest Amped Up AleFall Line Fest rolls back into town Friday and Saturday nights with 50+ bands at six local venues turning the weekend into musical insanity.  You’re going, right? I had a blast last year.  Head over to RVA Playlist’s Fall Line Fest Beginners Guide to get started.  I’m working on my schedule as I type this — so many choices!

Building on the success of last year’s exclusive Fall Line Fest ale from Hardywood, organizers have raised the bar by teaming with Hardywood and Starr Hill breweries to collaborate on this year’s beer.  Aptly named by RVA’s own Page Hayes, “Fall Line Fest Amped Up Ale” is a Farmhouse ale, dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace and Mandarina Bavaria hops and spiced with fresh local ginger. I’m hearing from multiple sources that it is quite delicious. The beer debuted for a short time in Starr Hill’s taproom but will be served exclusively at Fall Line Fest venues as well as key accounts involved with the festival.

Hardywood’s head brewer, Brian Nelson, had this to say about the beer:

I think for us, collaborating with Starr Hill was probably long overdue. When the idea was proposed to create a beer together for Fall Line Fest, you could see and hear the excitement building as we all discussed what was possible…In the end, I think we captured the brewing styles and concepts of both breweries in the Fall Line Fest Amped Up Ale. Cheers to Robbie O’Cain and the Starr Hill crew for helping to make this beer excellent—the only thing left to do now is bring on the music!

Robbie O’Cain, Starr Hill’s Manager of Brewery Operations, relayed:

It is always great to work with Virginia brewers, especially when it involves new ingredients and new processes. One of the great things about the industry, especially in Virginia, is that we share ideas and process knowledge while maintaining our own unique way of doing things…Brian Nelson and the brewing team at Hardywood did a great job with the pilot batch, which allowed us to hone in on the final recipe. We are excited to present this beer in collaboration with our good friends at Hardywood, and we hope Fall Line Fest patrons will enjoy this brew while listening to some awesome music.

Get you tickets here, drink the beer, and have an awesome time!

At Long Last, The Answer Brewpub Grand Opening Is Tonight

It mAnswer Brewpub2ay have felt like forever but you can finally get a look inside The Answer Brewpub at their grand opening tonight Tuesday September 2nd starting at 4pm. They will be serving up street food like a Vietnamese tamale and banh mi sandwiches.  They are still working on the brewing space so for now you will have to choose from 36 guest beers.

Here is the tap list for tonight:

On The Wings of Armagedon – DC Brau
Corruption – DC Brau
Public Pale – DC Brau
Citizen – DC Brau
The Tradition – DC Brau
Straffe Hendrick Quad – De Halve Maan
Pacific Pear – Crispin
Double Trouble – Founders
Rubaeus – Founders
All Day IPA – Founders
Brainless Raspberries – Epic
Brainless Peaches – Epic
Admiral – Three Brothers
Gingerbread Stout – Hardywood
Great Return – Hardywood
Great Return firkin – Hardywood
Belgian Dubbel Pilot – Hardywood / The Answer collab
Goudenband – Liefmans
Curieux – Allagash
Hop Nosh – Uinta
Go To IPA – Stone
Street Cred – Triple Crossing / The Answer collab
Witte – Ommegang
Sweet Baby Jesus! – DuClaw
Cappuccino Stout – Lagunitas
Night Time – Lagunitas
Oarsman Ale – Bell’s
Earth – Blue Mountain
Enlightened Despot – Lickinghole Creek
To Peach His An – Strangeways / The Answer collab
Heiss Señorita – Strangeways / The Answer collab
Wampus Cat – Strangeways
Uberlin – Strangeways
IPA – Ardent
Racer 5 – Bear Republic
Dragon’s Milk – New Holland
Killer Kolsch – Champion

FYI…the entrance to The Answer is from the parking lot behind the building.  Enjoy!

The Answer Brewpub
6008 W Broad St
Richmond, VA 23230

Two Years In The Making: Hardywood First Wild Ale, Snapdragon Soars Next Saturday

Remember some two years ago when we were enjoying our first sips of Virginia Blackberry? Well, Hardywood had been secretly and quietly planning their first wild ale.

Maybe you remember this photo of head brewer Brian at Barboursville Vineyards steam sanitizing two of their wine barrels.

There was no indication what was going into those barrels but now I know that the first batch of Blackberry found a resting place in these red wine barrels. We are so used to instant gratification these days, it is hard to imagine waiting two years to release a beer.

I know a lot of you have been waiting for Hardywood to release just such a beer.  It will just be a little while longer now.  Hardywood Snapdragon will be released next Saturday September 6th starting at 2pm with 375-ml bottle sales for on and off premises consumption. Only about 1000 bottles were produced so sales will be limited to 4/guest.

Credit: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Credit: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Spurred by the natural flora of our region, the beautifully tart character of Hardywood Snapdragon is achieved through extended interplay with wild yeasts and acid forming bacteria for over a year of conditioning in Virginia red wine barrels.

Enjoy music from Exebelle & The Rusted Cavalcade as they fill the last moments of summer with country-rock inspired by Virginia’s folk tradition starting at 6pm.

Head over to the Facebook event for more information and updates.

Strangeways Presents The Fruits of Their Labor With Mekong Today

Strangeways Fruits of LaborJust in time for Labor Day, Strangeways is releasing two brand new beers, Still Life With Peaches Saison and Eternal Youth Biére d’Abricot,  today Thursday August 28th starting at 4pm. Along with their new beers, Strangeways will re-release two of their most popular beers, Wampus Cat Triple IPA and Überlin Berliner Weiss. There will also be bountiful fruit-inspired Curiosities emerging through the weekend.

Still Life With Peaches Saison
This is the story of a brewer who walks into the National Gallery of Art while in Washington D.C. for SAVOR to gain inspirational ideas for new beers to brew. As he admires the bountiful works of art, he settles into a calming bliss that leads effortlessly into a trance-like state of utter tranquility. His mind expands as he strolls and peruses the masterpieces before him. In time, he is lured to a painting that quietly yet assuredly speaks to him and, posthaste, he becomes infatuated with its display of simplicity coexisting with great detail. What better artist to settle on but one whose vision evoked the same response from great masters such as Matisse and Picasso, who remarked that Paul Cézanne “is the father of us all”. Still life artwork was prevalent in this French Post-Impressionist painter’s repertoire. The result of this inspiration is a Saison that blends a classic Saison DuPont yeast with yellow peaches added during fermentation. The elixir is then aged in oak barrels to enhance its complexity. “A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art”. -Cézanne
4.3% ABV~15 IBU

Eternal Youth Bière d’Abricot
In search of healing waters and gold, 16th century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon traveled to what is now Florida. Many have followed in his footsteps, as human kind perpetually seeks out magical potions to restore their youth. While consuming fresh, local beers such as Eternal Youth Bière d’Abricot will not turn time eternal, it may help one more effectively reflect on the good times experienced throughout life. And within these encapsulated memories, one can live in a certain utopia of Eternal Youth. This French farmhouse style incorporates a bière de grade yeast as well as apricots, which are purported to promote health and long life. Then this elixir of life is garded in oak barrels to execute complexity in this sessionable, late-summer delectation. Bathe in this fountain of juvenescence, and discover your Eternal Youth.
5.2% ABV~15 IBU

But wait, there’s more!  In addition to the releases at Strangeways, Mekong will have their own selection of Strange curiousities.

Here is what they will be tapping:

  • Überlin Berliner Weiss
  • To Peach His An — fresh Virginia peach Berliner Weisse
  • What Is Peach in German? — Strangeways sour peach variant
  • Heiss Señorita — Mango Tango Style; spicy mango Berliner Weiss
  • Still Life with Peaches — Wood Aged Belgian Style Saison with Peach
  • Put Some Peach on that Peach — amped up peach variant
  • Eternal Youth Biére d’Abricot — Wood Aged Biere de Garde with Apricot
  • Vaassup I’m Bruno! — Sour apricot blend
  • Wampus Cat Triple IPA

So head out and taste what An Mekong, Brandon Tolbert, and Mike Hiller have concocted in the lab.  Strangeways will have special hours of Noon to 9pm  Sunday and Monday for Labor Day weekend and will close out the “steal the vessel” special they’ve been running all month on Labor Day. 

Check for updates at Facebook events at both Strangeways and Mekong, here and here, respectively.

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