Hardywood is hosting their first ever Oktoberfest at their West Creek location today Saturday October 5th starting at 1pm. And judging from this video it looks like they are going all out. I mean look at that tent and that shirt!
I joked with Brian about cooking bratwursts at the festival but as it turns out my schedule will have me arriving late to the festivities. There would have been VIPA mustard.
So maybe don’t be like me and instead get there early. The schedule above is jam packed with fun. Maybe save me a bit of the oak barrel beers?
For a safe way home, use the code HARDYWOODFEST19 for 50% off a Lyft ride. Maybe next year Hardywood will offer this code for to and from the festival.
Check out the Facebook event for more details and updates.
Oh wait, that’s not right, is it? No matter, I’ve been waiting for the day when Hardywood would release the beers they brewed with the cast of Phantom of the Opera since December.
Join Hardywood on Saturday February 10th to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Broadway musical and try Drink of Me Fondly and Pint of No Return starting at 1pm.
DRINK OF ME FONDLY:
Brewed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Drink of Me Fondly is a festive and effervescent sparkling ale, with bright notes of tangerine zest bursting through subtle apricot and white grape undertones. Rose hips deliver a light floral aroma. 4.1% ABV.
PINT OF NO RETURN:
Pursue your deepest urge in this black Lager by Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, The Happy Hour Guys and The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. A paradox for the senses, Pint of No Return is a clean and crisp lager that pours as black as night with notes of toasted pecan, a mild hint of black currant and smooth roasted undertones. 5.5% ABV.
Pint of No Return is our official Broadway Brews beer, and will be available at The Majestic Theatre in NYC in mid-2018 (stay tuned for NYC launch updates!). A portion of the sales of Pint of No Return will benefit Musicians On Call.
Check out the Facebook event for more details and updates.
In the meantime, here are a few clips to put the phantom inside your mind….
Richmond, I have a confession to make. I’ve never had Gingerbread Stout. I know it is shocking but I have a good reason to avoid GBS and other milk stouts like it. Unfortunate as it is, that pesky lactose that makes a milk stout, well, a milk stout just doesn’t agree with my digestive system. I wish the solution was a simple as just taking a few pills but I’m afraid that will just not work for me like it might for others.
Fast forward to me discovering that Reservoir Distillery would introduce the second of Mash-Up Series with a spirit distilled from GBS during Hardywood’s GBS release party Saturday November 4th. My first reaction was excitement followed immediately by the question of whether I’d even be able to drink it.
Lucky for me, and for you, it was pretty easy to put my chemist hat on to dispel any fears I had. The main question I had was whether it was possible for lactose to be distilled over with the alcohol. The simple way to answer that question was to look at the boiling point of lactose which a Google search shows to be 1,236 °F (668.9°C). This means it would be impossible for lactose to be present in the final spirit; even if the distillation was performed under extremely low vacuum condition, the temperature required would still be too high. Yes, I went and used a nomograph to figure out the conditions that would be required but it was kind of crazy.
Ok that’s enough for the chemistry lesson, let’s drink some Christmas bourbon!
Head over to the Facebook event for more details and updates:
Specially available at Hardywood Brewery for the Hardywood Gingerbread Stout – Official Release Party!
Reservoir Distillery brings you a special collaboration with Hardywood Park Brewery and their famed Gingerbread Stout. Hardywood made the GBS and Reservoir distilled the stout beer and aged the whiskey in charred new American oak barrels just like the Reservoir Bourbon. The combination of the two styles created a beautiful whiskey carrying the notes of ginger and spices as Christmas in a dram!
Richmond, that time is upon us. Yes, the start of Gingerbread Stout season will begin this weekend but today is your chance to secure a bottle from every GBS release this year with Hardywood’s 2017 Gingerbread Stout: The Complete Set.
**UPDATED!**
ANNOUNCEMENT #2:
We are excited to introduce you to a new and exciting way to get your GBS fix!
2017 Gingerbread Stout: The Complete Set is your one-stop opportunity to collect each of our upcoming GBS variants with one simple online payment and one pick-up date. Please review this information carefully before making your purchase.
2017 Gingerbread Stout: The Complete Set will include ONE bottle of each of our eight 2017 Gingerbread Stout releases and one limited-edition gold metallic-printed GBS goblet. Cost (including tax): $127.92
The bottles include:
1 Original Gingerbread Stout
1 Bourbon Barrel GBS
1 Rum Barrel GBS
1 Apple Brandy GBS
1 Christmas Morning
1 Rye Barrel GBS
1 Kentucky Christmas Morning
1 Double Barrel GBS
IMPORTANT:
– THIS ITEM WILL NOT BE SHIPPED, IT IS AVAILABLE FOR PICK-UP ONLY.
– The listed price includes VA state tax. Retail value: $120.91
– There are only 225 Complete Sets available.
– The limit is ONE Complete Set per person, while supplies last. You will not be permitted to check out with more than one set in your cart. If you place more than one order, secondary orders will be voided.
– Complete Sets will be available for pick-up at Hardywood’s Richmond brewery on Friday, Dec. 15, during taproom hours. We will NOT be able to accommodate pick-ups prior to Dec. 15 and we will not be able to accommodate pick ups in Charlottesville.
– After Dec. 15th, Complete Sets must be picked up by appointment and must be collected by Sunday, Jan. 7. You will be given instructions on setting appointments after purchase.
– Proxies are permitted.
– Your purchase is non-refundable.
– Must be 21+ to purchase, valid ID will be checked upon pick up
Christmas Pancakes is Hardywood Gingerbread Stout refermented on maple syrup. Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? Join us for the draft only release to kick off the Gingerbread Stout season! Available for growler fills to go!
If you have to have every single variant, the GBS complete set sounds like your best option to scoop them all in one fell swoop. In case you missed it, here is the complete GBS bottle release calendar.
Triple Crossing has gone binary with their beer names. Don’t worry, I’ve done the work for you. “01100111 01110010 01101001 01100100” translates to GRID.
Hardywood has a new sipper coming your way in the form of Brandy Cru this Saturday September 23rd. Sounds like it will be a nice beer to curl up with by a fire as the nights get colder. Head over to the Facebook event to learn more.
HeART & Soul Brew Fest returns for its second year at Hardywood this Saturday July 29th starting at 1pm. If you missed it last year, you missed some of the best soul food Richmond has to offer served with that delicious Hardywood beer. Personally, it was one of my favorite events from last year. I’ve said it before but it was very uplifting to see more African Americans like myself at a beer event even when I honestly didn’t know it was something missing from my life.
I for one look forward to getting down on some Mama J’s catfish but here is the full food lineup for this year.
Kelli S. Lemon has the reasons you should check out each of these spots.
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This year the festival will also be paired with the release of Cuvée Gold, a remix of Hardywood’s Vinalia Urbana.
Hardywood Cuvée Gold artfully blends the elegance of French wine country with the gentle and balanced characteristics of a traditional Belgian-style Golden Ale. Combining both young and mature vintages aged in freshly emptied Sauvignon Blanc barrels, Cuvée Gold offers light earthy aromatics, a subtle sweetness and a hint of toasted oak that are delightfully dry and delicate on the palate, with lasting white grape and stone fruit undertones.
Head over to the Facebook events for the festival and beer release, here and here, for updates and more.
Following on the heels of 2016’s Virginia Pride collaboration beers, Georgie and Porgie, Ardent Craft Ales and Center of the Universe have been joined by Hardywood to create this year’s beer. “Tropic Like It’s Hot” is a German-style wheat beer brewed with passion fruit, pineapple, and lime.
In conjunction with Virginia Pride, Hardywood, Ardent Craft Ales, and Center of the Universe will feature “Tropic Like It’s Hot” at events hosted at each brewery leading up to September’s Pride Festival and invite you to “Live Free. Live Proud.”
Credit: Hardywood
Learn more about Hardywood, COTU, and Ardent’s respective events: here, here, and here.
Richmond, another Memorial Day weekend is upon us! Whether you’re just looking for a beer to take a cookout or if you’d rather leave the cooking to the professionals, I have your look at the days ahead.
Steal the Vessel at Strangeways — ALL WEEKEND
This actually started yesterday but I missed it earlier:
It’s the Thursday before a long holiday weekend. If you’re headed out of town or headed to a backyard barbeque, you need to stock up on the juice that keeps the party going. Lucky for you Steal the Vessel day has arrived. Purchase To-Go beer for a Growler, Grunt, Blue Ball mason jar, or CAN-ABLE Crowler, and receive the vessel for free every Thursday. Already have plenty? Bring back in your Strangeways glass for discounts on refills. For all you holiday travelers coming through RVA, stop by… we’ve extended Steal the Vessel for the entire holiday weekend. Take a little strange on vacation or home with you.
She’s more lethal than ever. Double citra and double mosaic for an even heavier hop punch. Available for the first time ever in cans, this Friday in Fulton, 5/26. 4x 4packs per person limit.
COTU has prepped the soundtrack for your weekend with their 5th annual Summer Moon Music Festival featuring two days of 13 local bands battling to support the charity of their choice. New to the festival this year is the addition of an acoustic stage to up the live music factor.
In addition to the regular lineup of beers, COTU will be pouring their Summer Moon Raspberry Lemonade Wheat Ale, a summer ale brewed with 600 pounds of fresh raspberries and the zest of 700 lemons.
I have been waiting very patiently for this beer to come out. Cuvee Peach is the newest addition to Hardywood’s barrel series line. Rather than beer from barrels aged the same amount of time, Hardywood has taken a blended barrel approach where their Peach Tripel was aged in chardonnay barrels anywhere from 10 weeks up to two years. Ethen Adams, Hardywood’s Wood Cellar Manager, explains more on that here.
It’s the second Saturday in Virginia Craft Beer Month and things are rolling by so quickly August will be done before you know it. Here are a few things to keep you busy this weekend.
Contact me at rvabeermeister@gmail.com to send recommendations on beers to try, places with a beer selection I should check out, or upcoming beer events.
Richmond Beermeister 