Tag Archives: Hardywood

Virginia Cask Ale Festival Picks

Heading out to the inaugural Tap into Virginia Cask Festival today, Saturday, April 21st, at the Downtown Capital Ale House Music Hall. Here are my personal first six picks:

  • Hardywood Park Craft Brewery — Bourbon Barrel Quad Yes you could wait to get it next weekend but why wait?!
  • Mad Fox Brewing  — Wee Heavy Scotch AleNot available in Richmond; you’d have to drive up to NoVA to have anymore of their great beers.
  • Devils Backbone Brewing — 1)Wit Bier – 4.5% ABV, 15 IBU  Belgian-style witbier that is hazy straw in color, light in body, with a refreshing fruity spicy finish. Spiced with coriander, orange peel, szechuan peppercorn, and brewed with an aromatic Belgian yeast strain to create a complex yet delicate wheat ale.  2) White Stag IPA – 7.0% ABV, 50 IBU’s.  A wheat IPA that blends aspects of American IPA’s, British IPA’s, and wheat ales . Brewed with 4 types of malted & un-malted wheat, kettle hopped with both American and English hops, and dry hopped with East Kent Goldings to create a beer that’s uniquely its own. Choose between two Devils Backbone beers? Not going to happen.
  • O’Connor Brewing — Great Dismal Black IPA –  infused with “Old Havana Cuban Coffee Blend” from Virginia Espresso in Norfolk, chocolate and vanilla bean.  ABV- 8%. A personal favorite so of course it’s here.
  • Wild Wolf Brewing — Tom Tom Founders Festival Ale — White IPA with extreme citrus and tropical hop notes added to the flavor of a traditional belgian wit, dry hopped with a pound of cascade. The brew used more than 60 pounds of local VA wildflower honey.  70IBU 5.5% ABV White IPAs are a very new style so I’m looking forward to trying this one from another Nelson county brewery. 

Have fun out there!

Victory Pints, Community Chest, & Poplarless Hoplar

With so many things happening around town today, Thursday April 19th, there just wasn’t time for separate posts.  Here are three I thought sounded cool.

FW Sullivan’s Steal the Pint Night featuring Victory Brewing

Starting at 5pm, head out to F.W. Sullivan’s to enjoy Victory Headwaters pints and steal the glass!

F.W. Sullivan’s Fan Bar & Grille
2401 W Main St
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 308-8576

Community Chest Night at Capital Ale Innsbrook

Join Screens N Suds for Community Chest Night at Capital Ale House Innsbrook. Print this flyer, present it to the hostess, and 25% of your food bill will be donated to MS Society.

4024 Cox Road # A
Glen Allen, VA 23060
(804) 780-2537

Poplarless Hoplar at Joe’s Inn

Head by Joe’s Inn in the Fan at 7pm where Hardywood will be tapping a cask of their Imperial IPA, Hoplar. Poplar wood is not used in the cask because in order to make a true cask ale, the conditioning process needs to finish in the cask.

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

Thirteen Real Ales to be Tapped for Inaugural Virginia Cask Festival

Tomorrow, Friday April 20th, is the last day you can buy advance tickets to the inaugural Tap into Virginia Cask Festival.  The festival will be held at the Downtown Capital Ale House Music Hall for two sessions on Saturday, April 21st.

If you’re still on the fence about attending this Saturday, maybe this complete list of thirteen casks of real ale from eleven Virginia breweries will change your mind:

  • Legend Brewing — Golden IPA (dry hopped with Citra hops and aged with French oak chips)
  • Hardywood Park Craft Brewery — Bourbon Barrel Quad & Hoplar
  • Starr Hill Brewing — Double Platinum – dry hopped with Centennial hops
  • Mad Fox Brewing  — Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
  • Port City Brewing  — Monumental IPA
  • Lost Rhino Brewing — Face Plant IPA
  • Devils Backbone Brewing — 1) Wit Bier – 4.5% ABV, 15 IBU  Belgian-style witbier that is hazy straw in color, light in body, with a refreshing fruity spicy finish. Spiced with coriander, orange peel, szechuan peppercorn, and brewed with an aromatic Belgian yeast strain to create a complex yet delicate wheat ale.  2) White Stag IPA – 7.0% ABV, 50 IBU’s.  A wheat IPA that blends aspects of American IPA’s, British IPA’s, and wheat ales . Brewed with 4 types of malted & un-malted wheat, kettle hopped with both American and English hops, and dry hopped with East Kent Goldings to create a beer that’s uniquely its own.
  • Williamsburg Alewerks — Choco-Latte (Double Coffee Stout infused with Dutch chocolate and vanilla bean)
  • O’Connor Brewing — Great Dismal Black IPA –  infused with “Old Havana Cuban Coffee Blend” from Virginia Espresso in Norfolk, chocolate and vanilla bean.  ABV- 8%.
  • Wild Wolf Brewing — Tom Tom Founders Festival Ale — White IPA with extreme citrus and tropical hop notes added to the flavor of a traditional belgian wit, dry hopped with a pound of cascade. The brew used more than 60 pounds of local VA wildflower honey.  70IBU 5.5% ABV
  • St. George Brewing — Imperial Pale Ale – 10% ABV English style pale ale with 100% UK Fuggles and dry hopped with  UK Fuggles.

Remember, real ale is truly beer in its most natural delicious state. All proceeds from the festival go to support the work of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild.  What are you waiting for?  Get your tickets to the afternoon (noon – 4pm) or evening (6 – 10pm) session. Head over to the festival website or Facebook event for further updates.

Capital Ale House
623 E Main St.
Richmond, VA 23219
804-780-2537

Hardywood Park Singel Reuben Sandwich

What can I say about Cassie Keene? She is the beer goddess that has greeted me at every beer tasting at The Empress. She has been featured in Richmond.com’s 5Qs with a Foodie where we learned about her love of kimchi.  On heels of announcing her upcoming restaurant, GinkgoRVA, I also learned that she will be having a kimchi and beer pairing at Kitchen Thyme on June 10th.  Fast forward a few days when Cassie tweets:

Lucky for you, she agreed to share her recipe and boy did she deliver.  Cassie proves once again that beer is what’s for dinner.

Enjoy!

PS. Today is also Cassie’s birthday so if you see her thank her for this tasty recipe.

Hardywood Park Singel Braised Corned Beef
Ingredients
2.5 – 3 lb. corned beef brisket flat
2 garlic cloves
2 medium shallots, peeled and chopped
24 oz Hardywood Singel
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Put the corned beef fat side down, into a large dutch oven.  Add the garlic, shallots, pickling spice, and Singel.  Cover and place in oven.  Braise this for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Turn the meat.  Braise for another 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Turn meat again and add carrots.  Cover again and place back in the over for another 2 hours.  After 2 hours, check the brisket for doneness.  You should be able to puncture the roast easily with a fork.  Put it back in the oven for 30 minutes if it needs more time.  Remove the brisket from the pot and loosely wrap in foil.  I refrigerated mine overnight and then sliced it for Reuben sandwiches the next day.  It is much easier to slice thinly when it’s cold.

You can speed up this recipe by braising on the stove.  Braise on low heat for 90 minutes.  Add carrots and braise for another hour and a half.

I’m sure there’s a way to do this in a slow cooker.

*enjoy eating the beer infused carrots

Hardywood Park Singel Braised Sauerkraut

Ingredients
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1 dash dried thyme
1 lb fresh sauerkraut
6 oz Hardywood Singel
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add a 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions, season with salt and cook until the onions have turned golden brown. Add 1 clove minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon chopped rosemary, dash of dried thyme, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir continuously for another minute. Add 1/2 lb fresh sauerkraut and 6 oz Hardywood Park Singel.  Simmer at medium-low temperature until all the liquid has reduced.

Hardywood Park Singel Reuben Sandwich 

Ingredients
Rye bread
Thinly sliced Singel Braised corned beef
Swiss cheese
Singel Braised Sauerkraut
Thousand Island Dressing
Butter

Directions
Heat grill pan over medium heat. Assemble sandwiches. Butter both sides of the sandwich and grill each side until it’s golden brown and the cheese has melted

Richmond, Get Ready for Real Ale!

How fresh do you like your beer? If the answer is REAL fresh, then get ready for real ale Richmond!  The Tap into Virginia Cask Festival will be the first cask festival to happen in Richmond and most likely Virginia as well.  The festival will be held at the downtown Capital Ale House Music Hall for two sessions on Saturday, April 21st.

Not familiar with cask or real ale? There are three main points when talking about real ale:

  • Top-fermented beer that completes its secondary fermentation in the container from which it is served
  • Served at cellar temperatures and often dry-hopped
  • Not filtered or pasteurized

The festival will feature casks of real ale from eleven Virginia breweries:

Legend Brewing
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Starr Hill Brewing
Mad Fox Brewing
Port City Brewing
Lost Rhino Brewing
Devils Backbone Brewing
Williamsburg Alewerks
O’Connor Brewing
Wild Wolf Brewing
St. George Brewing

I am very interested in seeing what Mad Fox Brewing will have to offer. Here are three casks that have been confirmed:

  • Starr Hill — Double Platinum IPA dry-hopped with Centennial hops
  • O’Connor — Great Dismal Black IPA — Infused with “Old Havana Cuban Coffee Blend” from Virginia Espresso in Norfolk, as well as chocolate and vanilla bean.
  • Devils Backbone — White Stag IPA. A wheat IPA that blends aspects of American IPA’s, British IPA’s, and wheat ales. Brewed with 4 types of malted & un-malted wheat, kettle hopped with both American and English hops, and dry hopped with East Kent Goldings to create a beer that’s uniquely its own.

Remember, real ale is truly beer in its most natural delicious state. All proceeds from the festival go to support the work of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild.  So go ahead and get your tickets to the afternoon (noon – 4pm) or evening (6 – 10pm) session. Head over to the festival website or Facebook event for further updates.

Capital Ale House
623 E Main St.
Richmond, VA 23219
804-780-2537

Hardywood Mocha Belgique Waffles

Happy Easter weekend everyone.  I hope you’re having a relaxing time of it.  If you’re still planning for brunch tomorrow, you may want to add these chocolate beer waffles to your menu.  Of course, I am using Hardywood Mocha Belgique but feel free to use your favorite porter or stout instead.

Hardywood Mocha Belgique Waffles

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup porter beer
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Sift dry ingredients except sugar into large bowl.  Whisk sugar into the sifted flour mixture

Combine wet ingredients into small bowl.

Add wet to dry ingredients and whisk to combine but do not over mix.

Heat Waffle iron.  Cook waffles according to iron instruction.

Yield: 4 Belgian waffles

You can still get Mocha Belgique at Hardywood’s tasting room.  Go fill a growler today and you will be very happy tomorrow.

Public Sale for Savor Tickets Starts & Ends Today

If you were planning on following Hardywood to SAVORSM: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, the public sale for tickets start today April 5th at noon (10am MDT).  Tickets will sell out quickly as they always do.  To help you out, here are separate links to Friday and Saturday night sales:

SAVOR Friday June 8th Tickets

SAVOR Saturday June 9th Tickets

Still have doubts about how much fun there is to be had at SAVOR?  Here’s a little ode I wrote immediately after last year’s event.

Ode to SAVOR

SAVOR, how do I love thee, let me count the ways.

Yes, there was the outstanding American craft beer.

Yes, there was expertly crafted food.

Maybe, it was the new breweries beaming with pride.

Maybe, it was the educational but entertaining salons.

In the end what, I really think makes Savor a great event were all the people I talked to on the sidelines, asking them what they tried and recommending some favorites of my own!

2012, here we come!

Good luck in getting tickets this year.  Hopefully, I will be joining you as well.

Hardywood Park News Roundup

image

If you follow them on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve seen a lot of news come out of Hardywood this week. I’m going to do my best to summarize it all.

First off, Thursday March 29th from 4 – 8pm, Hardywood will launch their Pilot Series.  The Hardywood Pilot Series  will initially feature Strawberry Basil Witbier, Cedar IPA, Grand Cru, Bourbon Mocha Belgique, Bourbon Singel, and Bourbon Imperial Milk Stout. This exercise in creativity for the brewers will give them the opportunity to gather feedback on potential future commercial-scale releases.  So head up to the tasting room and weigh in on which beer Hardywood will send up to the big leagues.  I really want to taste the Strawberry Basil Witbier so I hope there is some Friday or Saturday when I’m able to make it by.

That’s not all Thursday has to offer from Hardywood.  Whole Foods Short Pump will be having a local cheese and beer tasting with Hardywood’s Patrick Murtaugh as a special guest.  The tasting goes from 5 – 7pm.

Probably, the biggest news of the week is the next entry in Hardywood’s Reserve Series, Hoplar.  Hoplar is an imperial India Pale Ale (IPA) conditioned on Virginia Tulip Poplar wood.  In keeping with their local and environmental focus, Hardywood is using Tulip Poplar recycled from trees that fell during Hurricane Isabel on Bell Creek Rd in Mechanicsville.  Richmond-based CitiWood Urban Forest Products helped transform the fallen Poplar into custom designed infusion sticks to enhance both flavor and aroma. You’re first chance to get this beer will be Saturday, March 31st from 2 – 8pm.

Remember how awhile back I was very excited over Hardywood going to SAVOR? Well, the time is coming up fast on when you will be able to buy tickets if you plan on joining them in Washington, DC.  Here are the details on how to get tickets from the Brewers Association:

Tickets On Sale April 5

Tickets to the 2012 edition of SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience go on sale to the public Thursday, April 5 at 10:00 am MDT.

SAVOR takes place June 8-9, 2012 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. All tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster. Each individual may purchase a total of four (4) tickets to any combination of the Friday and Saturday night sessions. Ticket buyers may only purchase a Salon ticket(s) for the night that corresponds to their general admission ticket(s).

Membership Status for Presale

Members of the Brewers Association (BA) and the American Homebrewers Association® (AHA) are eligible to purchase tickets during the members presale, April 3 at 10:00 am MDT. You must join or renew (AHA; BA) before March 30 to be eligible for the pre-sale. Tickets will likely sell out the day of the general public sale.

Belgian Beer Dinner at The Blue Goat

There are only a few seats left for The Blue Goat’s Belgian Beer Dinner on Tuesday March 20th.  If you’re still on the fence about this dinner, take a look at the tasty course from Chef Kevin LaCivita.

MENU

Melitzano Eggplant Caviar : Roasted then blended and served chilled with extra virgin olive oil, parsley & lemon over bruschetta
Hardywood Singel

Moules-frites. Sauteed with Belgium Beer with garlic butter in a fînes herb sauce
Westmalle Dubbel

Pollen dusted seared scallops, basil oil drizzle with tallegio cheese
Weyerbacher Merry Monks

House made Ravioli stuffed with braised goat, ricotta, Swiss chard with sage brown butter sauce and shaved Pecorino Romano
La Trappe Quadrupel

The dinner starts at 6:30pm and costs $45/person excluding tax and tip . To RSVP: call (804) 288-8875 or email chris@bluegoatva.com but make sure  you act fast.

The Blue Goat
5710 Grove Ave.
Richmond, VA 23226
(804) 288-8875

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

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