Tag Archives: oysters

Celebrate The Virginia Oyster Trail With Farmhouse & Wild Virginia Ales At Rappahannock Thursday

Credit: Andrew Cothern

Credit: Andrew Cothern

Earlier today Governor McAuliffe named Virginia as the oyster capital of the east coast with seven flavors of oysters found in seven different regions.  These regions make up the newly named Virginia Oyster Trail along the Chesapeake Bay.  The trail will serve as a major tourism development project to connect travelers to Virginia oyster purveyors, raw bars, and restaurants, and the watermen culture throughout Coastal Virginia, the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

“Virginia produces the best oysters in the world and as the oyster industry continues to grow, we want to let it be known that Virginia is also the Oyster Capital of the East Coast,” said Governor McAuliffe.  “In addition to growing, harvesting and selling the best oysters, our watermen are providing good jobs in their communities, generating revenue and tax dollars throughout their region, and helping improve the environment of the Chesapeake Bay as their oysters filter millions of gallons of water each day.”

Credit: Virginia Tourism

Credit: Virginia Tourism

Rappahannock River Oyster Co farms four different varieties of oysters, each from a different region:

  • Rappahannocks (the 1899 original) from Topping, VA — sweet, buttery full bodied taste with a refreshingly clean, crisp finish
  • Stingrays from Ware Neck, VA — sweet and mildly briny with a clean, crisp finish
  • Olde Salts from Chincoteague Bay, VA — bold sea-side brininess with a smooth, clean follow-through
  • Yorks from the York River — sweet and buttery with a mild brininess

McAuliffe also declared November as Virginia Oyster Month.

If you are like me, you can’t wait over two months to celebrate (read: devour) Virginia oysters. And you won’t have to!

Head over to Rappahannock Restaurant Thursday August 21st starting at 4pm as they tap some Virginia farmhouse and wild ales.

Here are a few of the beers to be tapped:

  • Ardent Craft Ales Saison
  • Lickinghole Creek Rosemary Saison
  • Strangeways Wild Wallonian Dawn Saison
  • Three Brothers Virginia Wild Blend
  • Triple Crossing Single Hop Saison

There will be some other surprises in store so grab a beer and down a dozen oysters or two.

Birthday Weekend Roundup 2014: Rappahannock, Crossroads, RVA Earth Day, Hardywood, & Strangeways

Where did the time go? It is time to celebrate three years of great beers, food, and everything in between.  Here are just a few things that caught my eye this weekend.

Thursday April 24th

Devils Backbone Auster Brau Release at Rappahannock — 4PM

What is Auster Brau?

In addition to their collaboration beer, they will have:

Azrael
Dark Abbey
Gold Leaf Lager
Schwartz Bier
Striped Bass Pale Ale

A beer specifically made to pair with oysters? Sign me up!

Heavy Seas Tap Takeover at Crossroads — 5PM

If you live in Southside and have not check out Crossroads Forest Hill, then you are really missing out.  One visit had me addicted to pistachios with my beer.  Today, six of their sixteen taps are being takeover by Heavy Seas beers.

There will be glassware to steal with these beers on tap:

Black Cannon IPA
Riptide
Peg Leg
Small Craft Warning
Big DIPA
Loose Cannon IPA

Head over to the Facebook event for more information.

Strangeways Tap Invasion at AW Shucks Country Store — 6PM

AW Shucks Country Store
6100 Pouncey Tract Rd
Glen Allen, VA 23059

Saturday April 26th

RVA Earth Day Festival, Manchester — 11AM

Style Weekly is proud to bring you the city’s favorite celebration of earth day again this year. Musical entertainment from critically acclaimed local bands, tasty local food, eye-popping local art, thirst-quenching Virginia craft beers and more. In all, you can expect a beautiful day. And it’s FREE to attend.

If you’ve been to the festival in any of the past four years, we’ll be at the SAME GREAT LOCATION — in Manchester, from riverside through Plant Zero. The fun starts on the south of the 14th Street Bridge and continues from East 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th streets, from Hull to Decatur, including riverside and flood wall activities. Look for new activities on Mayo Island.

Benefitting FeedRVA, RVA Earth Day Festival will feature all nine local Richmond breweries with the following beers on tap.

Center of the Universe — Ashland Hardywood — Richmond
Ray Ray’s Pale Ale Singel
Main Street Hoplar
Isley Brewing — Richmond Legend — Richmond
The Bribe – Oatmeal Porter Brown
Lickinghole Creek –Goochland Maibock
Magic Beaver Pale Ale Hopfest
Midnight — Goochland Lager
Rockville Red Strangeways — Richmond
Triple Crossing — Richmond Albino Monkey
Falcon Smash IPA Phantasmic IPA
Devils Backbone — Roseland Bold Rock — Nellysford
Vienna Lager Virginia Apple
Starr Hill — Crozet
RooStarr Coffee Cream Stout

Make sure to head over to the Legend Lounge to continue their 20th Anniversary Celebration and for a special treat.  Legend Brewing will be the site of the official after-party from 7:30 – 11:30pm.

Hardywood x RVA Beard League Barleywine Release — Noon

To celebrate the 3rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Beard & ‘Stache Championships, Hardywood and RVA Beard League created a small batch of bourbon barrel aged barleywine that they are releasing in capped and waxed limited edition 16oz growlers.  

Sunday April 27th

Strangeways B-Sides Honey Bock Release — 11AM

The trend of a beer being released on my actual birthday continues this year.

Oyster Roast Tomorrow at Whole Foods With Devils Backbone & Rappahannock Oysters

Whole Foods Short Pump, Devils Backbone, and Rappahannock Oysters have teamed up for an outdoor oyster event to benefit VCU’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program. Reps from Devisl Backbone and Rappahannock Oyster Co will on hand to answer your questions about beer, oysters, and how well they go together.

Devils Backbone beers to be tapped for the event are:

Tasmanian Pale Ale (Galaxy Single Hop)
Trail Angel Hefeweizen
Striped Bass Pale Ale
Vienna Lager

Check out the Facebook event for more information and updates.  This is a cash only event so make sure you come prepared.

The Story Behind Legend’s Teach’s Oyster Stout. Try It Tonight at Pig & Pearl.

Legend Teach's Oyster Stout001Legend Brewing has teamed up with seasoned brewers from around the state for their 2014 Urban legend Series as part of their 20th Anniversary celebration. Each collaborator is coming up with an urban legend from their brewery’s area and choosing a complementing beer style.  Andy Rathmann, brewmaster of St George Brewing, is the first of the series and brings the story of Blackbeard to create Teach’s Oyster Stout.

Here’s more on that story from Legend Brewing:

The story behind Teach’s Oyster Stout is based off the story of Blackbeard’s capture in the Ocracoke Inlet. Blackbeard was history’s most widely recognized pirate who lived by his alias, Edward Teach. Leading up to his death, Blackbeard terrorized ships up and down the East Coast, pillaging vessels and causing trouble. Supposedly, Blackbeard was cornered and met his death at the hands of a Virginia naval crew; and to flaunt their triumph, the crew mounted Blackbeard’s head on a stake in the Hampton seaport. This urban legend argues that Blackbeard’s body still swims those waters in search of his severed head.

Andy Rathmann (Brewmaster, St. George Brewing) and John Wampler (Brewmaster, Legend Brewing) decided, almost instantaneously, that they wanted to make an Oyster Stout due to the close proximity of St. George to the Hampton waters. Andy had a buddy in the area who he visited frequently for fresh seafood, so he picked up 300 oysters from him to throw in the boil. The brewers were also really amped to tread in unfamiliar waters and brew a style of beer neither of them had brewed before.

What to expect from the beer: a smooth roast body balanced by the pleasant spiciness of East Kent Golding hops. You’ll notice a hint of brine and subtle sweetness from the shellfish.

Ready to taste?  Your first chance to try the beer will be tonight Monday February 24th at Pig & Pearl starting at 5pm.  Of course, you will be able to select from Potomac River Whitecaps, Choptank, James River, or Rappahannock River Oysters ($2-3/shuck) to have with the beer.  Head over to the Facebook event for more information.

Richmond Saturday Beer Roundup

It is already the second week of September and the summer of 2012 may be coming to a close but beer events in Richmond are only ramping up.  This weekend is a prime example. Richmond, here’s your roundup for Saturday, September 8th.

Libbie Market Ridgefield — 12PM

Newly opened Libbie Market Ridgefield  will be the focus of a Local Patronage MOB and a pumpkin beer tasting.

PumK’n Smash Tasting line-up:

Southern Tier PumKing
New Holland Ichabad
Dogfish Head Punkin
Terrapin Pumkinfest
Longtrail Pumpkin
Buffalo Bill’s
Longtrail Imperial Pumpkin
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
Shipyard Pumpkin
Tommyknocker Pumpkin
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
Brooklyn Post Road
Starr Hill Boxcar Pumpkin Porter

Growler Feature: Introducing Virginia’s Wild Wolf Pumpkin

If you’re looking for beer your Halloween party, I hear there will be case deals available for booking for Halloween Parties on Saturday.

Libbie Market
10470 Ridgefield Parkway
Henrico, VA 23233
(804) 741-0063

Hardywood RVA IPA Release— 2 – 9PM

Did you pick or donate hops at Hardywood’s hop harvest festival at the beginning of August?  Come taste the fruits of your labor with the release of Hardywood’s RVA IPA — The Community Hopped IPA this weekend.  RVA IPA used more than 300 pounds of local Cascade, Columbus, Chinook, Glacier, Magnum, Nugget and Centennial hops to produce a 40-barrel batch of beer.

TJ’s Charity Oyster Festival — 4PM

TJ’s at Jefferson will reopen their freshly remodeled bar with a Flying Dog tap takeover and oyster charity festival.  You will  have to go to the Facebook event to see the awesome food menu but here are the beers:

Sour Cherry
Gose (with Old Bay)
Citra Imperial IPA
Imperial Red
Disobedience Abbey Dubbel
Barrel Aged Gonzo
Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout Nitro
Underdog Atlantic Lager
Doggie Style Pale Ale
Old Scratch Amber Lager
Wildeman Farmhouse IPA
Inheat Wheat

Plus a Firkin of Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout

Help Wish TJ’s A Bar Voyage

TJ’s at the Jefferson is giving their bar a facelift and needs your help to close down the old bar in style.  Head out todayt Saturday August 25th to help them clear out the shelves and empty out the fridges for one last night. Food and drink specials will be available  all day long as they prepare for the remodel of the bar and lounge. 
 
TJ’s will debut the upgraded bar on Saturday, September 8th with a Flying Dog tap takeover and Charity Oyster Festival.

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. 

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