Tag Archives: craft brewery

Striped Bass Pale Ale: Beer On A Mission

Two weeks ago, Devils Backbone tweeted this picture of a new beer they were bringing to market, Striped Bass Pale Ale.

Of course, I was ready to make a lame joke about bass per gallon ratios.  How was I to know the noble intentions behind the production of this beer?  Proceeds from the sale of this beer will benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

CBF endeavors to restore and protect clean water in Virginia’s streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay by actively working with the region’s landowners, businesses, residents, and local governments.

Devils Backbone founder Steve Crandall, an avid outdoors man,  conceived the  idea of Striped Bass Pale Ale on an island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay while fishing for stripers in near gale force winds.  He has teamed up with his distributors to actively contribute approximately $30,000 this year.   Devils Backbone’s commitment to clean water and a healthy environment leads it to share proceeds from the sale of its Striped Bass Pale Ale with CBF, whose mission to “Save the Bay” extends throughout the Bay’s watershed and into the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Richmond, here’s where you come in.  Look for 22oz bottles of Striped Bass Pale Ale to be for sale in stores around town starting this week .  Go buy yourself one, make that two and share one with a friend.

Want to experience the beer on tap?  Join Steve Crandall and members of the CBF at Conch Republic on September 12th at 6pm for a special party/check presentation where the only 3 kegs filled will be tapped.

Hope to see you at the party.

Steal Some Tap Takeover Glasses

If you are looking to steal a glass tonight August 28th, there are some very unique tap takeovers going on around town where you can do just that.

Midlothian

Sedona Taphouse will feature Wolf Hills Brewing for their tap takeover.  Claim a glass with one of these  brews:

Trooper’s Alley IPA
Wolf’s Den Double IPA
English Dark Mild
White Blaze Honey Cream Ale

Downtown

Capital Ale House is having Blue Mountain Barrel House Extravaganza where you can get your hands on the very limited Barrel House stemmed glassware.  Here are the featured beers:

Dark Hollow firkin with Espresso beans added
Local Species
Isabel
Mandolin
Full Nelson

Innsbrook

Meanwhile, Cap Ale Innsbrook is being taken over by Ommegang.  They will be giving away a gold-rimmed BPA glass for one of eight Ommegang beers including the brand new Scythe & Sickle, which is brewed with a blend of four grains: barley, wheat, oats and rye.  Here are the rest of the beers they will be tapping:

BPA
Abbey Ale
Three Philosophers
Gnommegang
Adoration
Witte
Hougoumont

Flying Dog Lands at Sedona For Tap Takeover

Sedona Taphouse is having a Flying Dog tap takeover today August 21st from 5 – 10pm.  As with all of their past tap takeovers, they will be giving away glasses as well.  The beer list includes multiple brew house rarities:

Sour Cherry
Gose
Single Hop Citra Imperial IPA
Horn Dog Barleywine
Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout
Imperial Red
Disobedience Abbey Dubbel
Barrel Aged Gonzo
Pearl Necklace on Nitro
Pin of Raging Bitch with mango and habanero
Underdog Atlantic Lager
Doggie Style Pale Ale

Virginia Beer Makes The New York Times

Great article in the New York Times focusing on Virginia craft breweries:

From industrial outskirts of Richmond to the pastoral landscapes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and beyond, an army of artisans are turning their love of beer into business.

Armed with an arsenal of barley and hops, these craft brewers are looking to cash in on a growing interest in all things local, including alcoholic libations. And recent changes to state law are helping craft brewers grow their business.

Read more of the article here

Dark Horse Rides Into Richmond

Dark Horse Brewing rides into town this week bringing their Beer Advocate 100 rated Crooked Tree IPA along with several of their other beers. They are known for experimenting with anything from baby formula to doughnuts.  Obviously, these guys are crazy; I mean, come on baby formula?!  Anyways I think their beers will fit in just fine in Richmond.  Thanks to Brown Distributing, Dark Horse will be exclusive to Richmond for the entire state of Virginia.

Here are a few place where you can try their beers on for size this week:

Tuesday August 21st

BlowToad will host the draft debut with a tap takeover of five Dark Horse beers:

Boffo Brown Ale
Kmita Kolsch
Reserve Special Black Ale
Sapient Trip Ale
Crooked Tree IPA

Wednesday August 22nd

Head to Whole Foods Short Pump at 4pm to sample some Dark Horse brews and fill your growlers.

Friday August 24th

Total Wine West Broad will have a tasting of Dark Horse beers from 4 -7PM.

Friday is RVA Day at Station 2

Head out to Station 2 Friday August 17th to support two hometown breweries.  Station 2 will feature six taps each from Legend and Hardywood.  That’s twelve taps of Richmond craft beer.

Legend                                              Hardywood
Oktoberfest                                         Belgian DIPA
Imperial IPA                                         Mocha Belgique
Bourbon Barrel Doppelbock                   VA Strawberry
Pale                                                    VA Blackberry
Pilsner                                                Bourbon Barrel DIPA
Brown                                                 Singel

 

But that’s just their Friday plans;.  If you go to Station 2 tonight August 16th, you will get to experience a pin of Bourbon DIPA stuffed with brown sugar local grilled peaches, vanilla bean, and cinnamon.

Center Of The Universe Taps Mike Killelea as Head Brewer

Wow, what a day!  RVA-B-Que packed 17th Street Farmers’ Market with loads of people hungry for Virginia beer and barbecue.

After the festival, I had the opportunity to chat with Phil Ray, one half of the brotherly team behind Center of The Universe Brewing (COTU).  He shared the exciting news that their new head brewer would be none other than Mike Killelea.  Mike, a brewer at Legend Brewing since 2006, also serves as chairman of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild.  You might know him as the guy behind a little bill called SB604.  A new head brewer position sounds like a sweet reward  for the guy who helped lead the charge for us to enjoy pints at our Virginia breweries.  With a location found and equipment purchased, it looks like things are coming together for  COTU and I for one can’t wait to see what comes next.

Congrats Mike!

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.

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.

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
 
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