Virginia Craft Beer

PUBLISHER/EDITOR

Jeff Maisey

ADVERTISING/MARKETING

Jennifer McDonald

Brian Koski

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Brenda Mihalko

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Diane Catanzaro

Steve Deason

Jefferson Evans

Cathy Herbert

David Hunter

Chris Jones Alistair Reece

Annie Tobey

Chuck Triplett

CONTRIBUTING

Kathy Keeney

WEBMASTER

Giorgio Valentini

Tis the season for making merry by socializing with friends and family. Key to such warm festive gatherings is sharing the bountiful harvests gathered at your local grocery store, farmers market, specialty retailer, and, of course, craft brewery.

That we Virginians can today visit our favorite neighborhood brewery and purchase a six-pack to-go is an exercise worthy of celebration for as most of you recall was not always allowed by law. That freedom came just five years ago and perhaps should not be taken for granted.

My heritage is predominating English on both sides of the family. I grew up listening to the tales of merry ol’ England and often fantasized about living in the times of Charles Dickens and feasting upon roasted goose, Christmas pudding, and plenty of ale. Just imagine downing a pint in some snug, candle-lit pub to the sound of horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping outside on a narrow cobblestone road.

Looking back at my British ancestry, I noticed an interesting footnote in Britain’s history where Christmas activities, including dancing, seasonal plays, games, singing carols, cheerful celebration and especially drinking, were banned by the Puritan-dominated Parliament of England in 1644. The Puritans of New England following suit. I remain fixated on the spotlighted “especially drinking” part of this order. Make merry without drinking? How is this possible, we might jest?

But seriously, for me the holidays are equally a time to reflect upon the past year and look forward to the next 12 months while living in the moment. It’s a bit like Dickens’ Christmas Carol –past, present and future – I suppose.

Virginia’s craft breweries have created enviable opportunities in recent years causing Scrooge-like naysayers to gleeful anticipate a bursting bubble. From tourism to the creation of jobs, community pride to raising money for charity, craft breweries have led a positive revolution felt everywhere from downtown Richmond to sleepy Sperryville, small towns like Bedford to vacation hotspots such as Virginia Beach.

This holiday season, join Jennifer and I in raising a glass to the combined success of the industry where everyone from the customer to the investor, tasting room bartender to delivery driver played an important role.

Cheers,

Jeff Maisey Publisher/Editor Virginia Craft Beer Magazine

Virginia Breweries Score 4 Medals at GABF

By Jeff Maisey

Virginia craft breweries garnered 4 medals at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. The national beer compaetition is presented by the Brewers Association.

Winning the only gold medal for the Commonwealth was Norfolk’s Benchtop Brewing Company for its Mermaid’s Scorn in the Leipzig-style/Contemporary Gose category.

Silver medals went to Wild Wolf Brewing Company of Nellyford for its American Stout in the American Stout category, and Bristol-based Studio Brew’s The Ferguson in the Oatmeal Stout category.

Dulles-based Ocelot Brewing Company won a bronze medal for its Powers of Observation in the Baltic-style Porter category.

There was a total of 98 beer categories covering 161 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country.

Winners were chosen out of 7,923 competition entries from 2,217 breweries in 50 states plus Washington, D.C. (a 15 percent and 24 percent increase respectively from the 7,301 entries and 1,783 breweries in 2016).

The competition took place in six sessions over a period of three days and was judged by 276 beer experts from 13 countries, including the U.S. In addition to commercial brewery entries, the judging panel also evaluated 118 ProAm entries. The competition was made possible with the help of 365 volunteers.

Winning a medal at the Great American Beer Festival always brings a sense of validation for breweries, including those that make Virginia home.

“To be able to win this prestigious award and the recognition that comes with is very important for our brewery,” said Erich Allen, owner and brewmaster of

Studio Brew. “We knew we had a special beer when Studio Brew won a gold medal at the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild competition this year. As Pam and I were walking off the stage in Denver with our medal, my phone was blowing up with employees, customers and fellow brewers congratulating Studio Brew. When we returned to the brewery with our silver medal in hand, our customers and staff were gleaming in pride.”

Pride in the name of great beer was also the feeling at Wild Wolf Brewing Company.

“This is more of a personal win than anything,” said Wild Wolf founder Mary Wolf. “We work very hard every day to make great beer. Over the years, we’ve done a lot of things to make ourselves better and improve our beer. The Great American Beer Festival is one of the most prestigious competitions in the beer world, so it means a lot to get that recognition.”

It also meant an immediate boost in sales and interest for Studio Brew, which opened its doors just two years ago.

“The demand for our oatmeal stout, The Ferguson, doubled overnight and for our other brands as well,” Allen said. “Distributor orders increased and new distributors reached out to us wanting to represent Studio Brew. As one distributor stated, ‘You now have Street Credits.’”

Reflecting on how the industry has changed and become more competitive at every level since Wild Wolf opened in 2011, Mary Wolf said this: “Everyone in this business knows that the competition is getting tougher. There are new craft breweries opening every day and there are increasing numbers of amazing beers to choose from. The fact that there were 7,923 GABF entries this year and only four medals for Virginia just validates that it’s getting harder and harder. This all just forces us all to step up our game and continue to raise the bar – ultimately a win for the beer consumer.”

Mark Thompson Returns

By Jeff Maisey

He’s baaaaaack!

Mark Thompson will return to Virginia’s craft beer scene in 2018 after a threeyear contractual hiatus. Before his “retirement,” Thompson spent 23 years in the craft beer industry.

Thompson earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from James Madison University, and then moved to Portland, Oregon where he worked in the craft beer industry during the mid-1990s.

Thompson returned to his native Charlottesville, in 1999, and co-founded Starr Hill Brewery with Kristin Dolan. The brewery was named for the C-Ville neighborhood in which it was originally located. Starr Hill moved to its current location in Crozet in 2005.

Thompson was a pioneer in Virginia’s new Renaissance of craft beer and was instrumental in creating the Brew Ridge Trail (Virginia’s original beer trail) as well as the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild. It was the combined work of Thompson and a small group of Virginia breweries that garnered the introduction and passage of SB604, in 2012, that allowed for the successful explosion of the craft brewery industry today.

Thompson lamented late in his Starr Hill career that the success and growth of the award-winning brewery caused him to miss the days when he was just a small-time brewer, tossing kegs in the back of his pickup truck. He wanted one day to return to his modest roots. Now, that time has come.

On January 2, Thompson will take possession of the Blue Toad Hard Cider Pub & Tasting Room property in Afton, Virginia located on the famed Route 151 in Nelson County – yep, Brew Ridge Trail.

Thompson’s new micro-brewery is called The Brewing Tree. His focus will be on creativity and innovation, producing an ever-rotating assortment of beers to be consumed only onsite, with no plans to distribute. Thompson also plans to invite brewers from all over to collaborate on special, unique one-off beers.

The Brewing Tree is set to open in late April 2018. It’ll make full use of its 5-acre property with outdoor seating, lights and other amenities to provide visitors a memorable experience.

Mark Thompson’s voice, leadership, and vast experience will be a welcomed addition to Virginia’s craft beer industry.

Beers with Benefits

Beginning January 1, 2018, Starr Hill Brewery will partner with a different local charitable group every three months and donate 25 cents for every case of beer sold in Virginia of their top three flagship brands: The Love Wheat Beer, Northern Lights IPA and Grateful Pale Ale.

The brewery projects it will award $25,000 to Virginia charities. Now, that is sharing the love!

High-Flying Virginia Eagle

Virginia Eagle Distributing Company (VED) has expanded its realm in the Old Dominion with its acquisition of J.F. Fick, Inc. of Fredericksburg.

The new territory for VED will include the counties of Caroline, King George, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Stafford, as well as the city of Fredericksburg. Additionally, all military properties within those boundaries will be included.

“Expansion is nothing new to VED,” states Kenny Wheeler, President and CEO of Virginia Eagle Distributing.

“In a short seven years, our company has grown from a one warehouse location in Verona, Virginia to a six-warehouse distributorship that services the majority of the state.”

Prior to this acquisition, Virginia Eagle Distributing held warehouses in Verona, Charlottesville, Winchester, Pulaski, Lynchburg and Springfield and serviced four million Virginia residents.

Blue Mountain Wins Award

Speaking of the Brew Ridge Trail, longtime member Blue Mountain Brewery + Blue Mountain Barrel House was recently awarded Brewery of the Year (2017) honors by the Virginia Restaurant Lodging Travel Association. The Ordinary Awards, as they are called, are an industry-wide hospitality recognition. The Bartender of the Year award went to Mary Garriques of Capital Ale House Downtown Richmond. Williamsburg Winery and Copper Fox Distillery won in their respective categories.

State of The Commonwealth’s Craft Beer

By Jeff Maisey

It has become an annual tradition for us to sit down with Virginia Craft Brewers Guild President and CEO Brett Vassey to discuss the happenings of the current year as it draws to a close, and then to look ahead to the coming 12 months. Here’s our conversation.

From your perspective, how would you rate 2017 for the craft breweries of Virginia and what did you see as the year’s greatest accomplishments of the industry?

2017 was a good year.

Folks in 2016 were prognosticating a bursting bubble in craft brewing, and we just didn’t see that in Virginia. We saw continued growth.

We ended 2016 with 175 breweries and by July of 2017 we had 213. So, we clearly did not slow down.

We achieved one of the goals that the beer industry set back in 2011, which was to be one of the states with the largest number of breweries in the country. We’ve now surpassed every state in the South except for Texas. We can say we’re the Craft Beer Capitol of the Southeast, which is a pretty fantastic title.

This year saw some changes with the judging of the Brewers Cup as well as the change in venue for the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest. They seemed like smooth, effortless changes. Can you reflect of these?

We want to be like a duck where we’re very calm and collected on top of the water, but underneath our feet are just churning as fast as we can. That was this year. Selecting the new venue for the Fest in Charlottesville, a more urban

environment, was a big move. It turned out to have great results. The enthusiasts were surprised at how much space there was. People don’t realize there are 17 acres there in downtown.

We had great space, great turnout. We couldn’t be more pleased with the venue.

The challenge was that it was one week after the horrible events in Charlottesville. The low point was having to deal with folks who weren’t familiar with Charlottesville wondering if it was a safe place to come for an event. We spent a tremendous amount of time convincing folks Charlottesville was a vibrant, open community and this event was an opportunity to come out and show your solidarity for the Commonwealth. And that worked out well.

The Virginia Craft Beer Cup was our overwhelming success of the year. It just

keeps growing. We were over 400 beers being judged and are at the limits of the program. We’re working on some innovations for next year.

We did the ceremony again this year at Westrock. Westrock helped us create another award – a packaging award. We intend on continuing that every year. It’s a popular judging, not a critical judging.

For the future, we’re planning to add some additions to the Fest. We’re looking at doing more pairing with local food producers and local chefs.

With the Cup, we’re looking at converting to GABF rules and expanding and telegraphing the styles of beer we’ll be judging so members can better prepare and compete. That’s going to be a big change.

One of the important elements of craft beer is the marketing and positioning of that product, and the art that goes into it is often overlooked. We’re working on an award that will recognize and allow a juried competition for the art that goes into the labels and packaging.

One of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild’s goals in moving the awards Cup competition several months in advance of the Fest was to allow the medal winners an opportunity to promote their award-winning beer. Have you been able to evaluate the success of this initiative?

We did.

That was probably the smartest thing we did. It was a timecrunch to get the competition done in advance but it was something we always wanted to do so folks could market their beer all year.

You know the cycle in craft is so fast. They only have a limited time to talk about their award-winning beers. I’m glad you brought that up because not only were we able to put all the winners in a particular section of the Fest this year, we marketed it in advance as a Winners Circle. The winners were in one section, like a little village. If folks want to just cruise a couple aisles of Cup-winning beers, they could do that. It seemed like the enthusiasts enjoyed having that quick access and laser-in on some of the award-winning beers.

We’ve gotten great feedback from the members that they were able to market all through the summer and the fall. We’ve seen a lot of play on this in social media and at festivals. The breweries have their medals displayed.

Regarding the Craft Brewers Fest C-Ville location, the only complaint I heard from brewers was the camping element –having to catch a 30-minute shuttle ride to the campsite. Do you see that changing in 2018?

No. We took a little bit of a risk in this venue because we knew there was a large number of folks that did want to camp. I think we’re going to look at improving the number of shuttles that go out so that it’s more convenient.

What we did get was overwhelming feedback from the members who really appreciated being able to walk back or Uber to their hotel room. Enthusiasts said they appreciated not having to drive 40 minutes to a hotel.

That was always one of our worries in a rural location without a lot of venues (lodging) around – people in cars on those winding roads.

What are the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild’s goals for 2018?

Some of the things with regard to the Cup competition we’ve already talked about. One of the areas where we’re probably going to spend more time than we have in the past is in workforce development and in quality-related trainings.

We started a Quality Committee. We got ourselves off to a good start this year.

Everything in Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) is essential and a requirement for a brewery. To be a brewery you have to have good GMP plan filed for regulators to inspect if they ask.

Safety is a big issue in training. As we’re growing and new people are coming into the industry, you’ve got to make sure they know how to work in a safe space and work safely.

There are plenty of really good schools around the country and world for head brewers, but for the brewing technicians and people supporting them, there’s really no training. So, the Guild is helping to develop a Brewing Technicians certification and a variety of other

certifications in industrial hygiene and safety for members so they have basic training for new employees.

Our Quality Committee is going to be expanding a workshop series focusing on peer-to-peer professional development in the areas of quality. That’ll be everything from brewing to packaging.

Our big deliverables next year are going to be turning inward to our members around their workforce and in professional development and quality.

The national craft brands such as Sierra-Nevada have seen a decline in sales as the trend of consumers choosing local brands instead is strengthening. What are your thoughts on this?

That trend of buying local seems to continue to develop as folks are able to distinguish what’s local. In Virginia, at least, we don’t see that trend changing at all. Trends change all the time, but people are pretty particular about their food. They want to know where it’s made and who makes it.

We have an advantage in craft beer in that so many of our members can talk about how it is owned locally and independent. Often times, our members can source their materials locally too and can tell you what farm they bought the barley from. Some are growing the hops and fruit that goes into their own product.

Dirt Farm Brewing was able to produce a beer this year that came from their own farm. The water even came from their wells.

When we look at the growth of the industry, what we’re seeing more of is the hyper-localization of craft beer. If you look at most of the new start-ups, they’re not starting with the intention of being 50-barrel brewhouses and wanting to be a Starr Hill or Hardywood Park. They’re very pragmatic on purpose because the consumer is becoming more hyper-local.

In Washington, DC, consumers want to go to the taproom in their neighborhood. They won’t go to another neighborhood for beer. That is an amazing development of hyper-local.

The trend is the new breweries are small and they’re smaller by design.

Now Trending: Smaller, Hyper Local Brew

By Jeremy Bender

Several trends have emerged since Virginia’s craft beer industry exploded with growth following the passage of SB604 in 2012.

Craft breweries born before that date not operating as brewpubs (brewery with full-service kitchen selling food) quickly added tasting rooms to accommodate walk-in consumers. Often, these makeshift “tasting rooms” were nothing more than a service bar and a few tables smackdab in the middle of the manufacturing space, or just off to the side of the fermenting tanks. You may recall having to step over a hose or two and getting your shoes wet sidestepping a puddle headed toward the floor drain on your path to the beer tap.

That’s all changed, of course, as breweries have constructed enclosed tasting rooms often separated from the production equipment through large glass windows. These allow guests to still see the brewing process and visibly illustrate where their beer came from.

Many breweries also sought to expand as quickly as possible. This was partially due to unforeseen demand and a somewhat limited number of breweries in Virginia. Remember, just over a decade ago, in 2006, there were roughly 26 craft beer producers in the Commonwealth. That number is now in the ballpark of 231 and growing.

It is often said the winner in this period of rapid growth has been the consumer. Abundant choice and better quality. Just walk into any Wegman’s or Total Wine & More location and be overwhelmed by the beer selection.

With the exception of a few craft breweries in Virginia who were “in the game” early enough to grab visible market share (O’Connor, Hardywood Park) in their neighborhood while striking a good deal with regional distributors giving priority to their products, all signs point to success resulting from a hyperlocal strategy. For this reason, the big losers seem to be the national craft breweries like Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Co) and Sierra-Nevada.

According to Marketwatch.com, “many craft brewers trying to push into regional and national markets are finding they hit a wall once they surpass 100,000 barrels. Some have stretched themselves too thin and lost ground in their home markets, while others took on too much debt to expand brewing capacity. As they expand, they also lose the cachet of being a local brand -- something many consumers seek out.”

Want to start a new craft brewery? Stay local and produce a rotating cast of beers.

An American Girl in Bavaria

By Bridgette Turner

Beinga woman in the professional brewing industry isn’t for every elegant lady, but for the past five years, I’ve dedicated my life to craft beer. From the beginning, I joined Pink Boots Society to link up with fun loving, beer making girls like myself. Pink Boots is an organization for women in the beer industry, and their main goal is to help women advance their careers through education. They offer a ton of amazing scholarships throughout the year. As I was perusing the Pink Boots website this summer, one of the scholarships jumped out at me. It was a trip to Germany for ten days to visit breweries and hop farms, and learn about German brewing traditions. I have a passion for traditional brewing, so I applied immediately. A couple of weeks later, I got the news that I was chosen for the scholarship along with six other professional beer ladies. It was off to Bavaria for us, and Germany did not disappoint.

As a professional brewer, I knew a little bit about German beers. The first thing to come to mind was the Reinheistsgebot law. The Reinheistsgebot is also known as the “German beer purity law.” It states that beer must only contain water, hops, and barley. It was written in Bavaria in 1516, before they knew

about yeast. Now it’s 500 years later and the laws are still strictly enforced. That means no cocoa nibs, no orange zest, not even a little sugar. Some people think you can’t make very interesting beers with such limited ingredients, but Bavarians are extremely proud of the Reinheistsgebot and the traditional beers they brew are complex and fantastic.

The other thing I knew about Germany is their intense love of lagers. Lager is king in Germany, and I was expecting to drink a lot of German pils and Munich helles. Neither style can hide behind an extreme malt or hop bill, so the beer must be brewed to perfection so no off-flavors are produced. Other German lagers include festbier and marzen, which Americans fondly know as Oktoberfest beers. Many American Oktoberfest beers are ales, but they’re all lagers in Bavaria. Some of the lesser-known styles include Munich dunkle, a dark lager, and radler, a refreshing mixture of German pils and lemonade. My personal favorite lager is rauchbier. It’s a dark, ruby colored smoked lager, and it’s especially popular in the small, quaint city of Bamberg.

While every German brewery is unique, there are an exceptional number of similarities. This was especially obvious

in the design of the breweries and their method of brewing and conditioning their lagers.

Every brewery design starts on the top floor with the grain mill. Before the days of electric pumps, brewers made the most of gravity. They milled in on the top floor, brewed on the second floor, fermented on the ground floor, and lagered the beer underground in the cellars. Nearly all the lager fermentation is open, and puffy happy yeast is visible in every tank. It’s a beautiful sight and you can feel the rush of CO2 when you walk into the fermentation room. Before CO2 monitors, brewers would light a candle in the room. If the candle started to flicker or burn out, they would evacuate because the oxygen was getting too low.

Lager fermentation is completed between 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit and takes 7-10 days. Then, the beer is transferred to the cellar for conditioning. All German cellars are dark and cold, filled with countless horizontal conditioning tanks. Horizontal tanks are preferred to upright tanks because the beer has more surface area and less hydrostatic pressure, which is better for the yeast. The conditioning schedule varies, but most brewers slowly decrease the temperature from 55 to 32 degrees over a 10-day period. Then the beer is lagered at 32 degrees for 4-6 weeks. The yeast is dropped out every other day to achieve optimal brightness. Beer served while it’s still conditioning is known as kellerbier or zwickelbier. It’s young, unfiltered, and only available on draft or straight from the tank.

Aside from lager traditions, I learned most breweries are passed down throughout generations, some as old as 1,000 years. Often, the breweries are family owned and run. In the

past, they were passed down to a male heir, but as times have changed, there are several family owned breweries run by women. They grew up in the breweries, attended school to hone their craft, and they’re proud to brew some of the same recipes as their ancestors. This tradition of passing down the breweries is also prevalent in the churches and abbeys. Monks were some of world’s first brewers. Many Bavarian abbeys are akin to small towns with bakeries, butcheries, schools, and breweries. Even today, they supply most of the beer for their town. We were even lucky enough to meet Germany’s last nun brewer, Sister Doris. She is a happy, endearing woman who loves her religion and beer. Her laughing face is on every bottle of beer she brews.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned in Germany is to embrace traditions and work to keep them alive. We don’t all have to follow the Reinheistsgebot or brew traditional beer styles, but it’s important to acknowledge where things started and have an appreciation for people who maintain those values. By no means am I a brewing “purist”. I love a beer with imaginative ingredients and experimental processes. But in the end, Germany has been brewing world-class beers for hundreds of years and I love everything about that too.

I would like to thank Pink Boots Society for sending me and the other women on this amazing beer tour through Bavaria. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I learned just as much from my fellow beer ladies as I did from Germany. If you’re a woman in the beer industry, you should absolutely look into joining Pink Boots. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones to visit Germany next year. Prost!

An Ever-Changing Beer

By Jeff Maisey

Center of the Universe Brewing Company (COTU) co-owner Chris Ray sees big change coming in 2018. Change in the form of a Chameleon.

On March 9, COTU will release Chameleon IPA, an ever-changing variation of a new IPA recipe and brand designed to capture the imagination craft beer consumers always chasing “what’s new.”

“Chameleon is unique because it has the flexibility to constantly change,” Ray explained. “This change could be driven through a number of things. First and foremost, change in the consumer’s tastebuds. We all know that the IPA market is king, but the segments within it have changed drastically over the last two years. The emergence of the New England style IPA, fruited IPAs, and experimental hop IPAs have fueled the IPA consumers thirst for new and innovative subcategories of IPAs. Chameleon will have the ability to adapt to these demands without losing its branding by only changing the base color. We like to think of it as an everevolving flavor carousel. The uniqueness in the liquid is that it isn’t static. We were also able to experiment at Origin Beer Lab to create a “juicy” IPA that was shelf stable which allows our retailer partners

to enjoy the excitement around this brand as much as we do. With the focus shifting somewhat to brewery only releases, we felt the retailers were getting left behind. We don’t forget that our retail partners were one of the driving forces behind the craft resurgence in the area and we want them to know we appreciate that. This product will carry a universal UPC and price to retailer, so in terms of setting up new products, all they have to do is do it once and we will take care of the rest.”

Just as a chameleon changes its colors, so too will the packaging of COTU’s Chameleon IPA. Only the goal is not to blend-in to the surroundings to hide from predators, but rather to stand out and be gobbled-up. Every time the beer recipe changes, the base color of the cans will be different to signal to consumers “this is new.” And, there likely will be many variations.

“The color wheel is our restrictor, which is infinite,” said Ray. “We are working with a label manufacturer that allows us to have this type of flexibility called Can Source. They have been great to work with. Consumers can go to www. ChameleonIPA.com and check to see what ingredients were used in the current color. We went with colors instead of

dates or numbers because, as we listen to the consumer, we will have the ability to bring a color back should its popularity and consumer request warrant it. We can also combine colors to show the use of a combination of two iterations ingredients.”

Last year, Center of the Universe opened Origin Beer Lab in downtown Ashland as a satellite location where experimental batches are hatched and new beer brands are born. Chameleon is its first “test tube baby” delivered for wide distribution.

“This is our first new brand in over 4 years, said Chris Ray. “We have spent the last year researching water chemistry, product stability, hoping rates and techniques, and yeast management during fermentation to get to where we are with Chameleon. The beer will always be consistently different but exceptional. This beer will always be new, but also have the brand confidence of the Chameleon name. These over-the-top hop explosions are expensive to make, and therefore expensive to purchase. I think the consumer will appreciate having a go-to brand that will give them that new and exciting feeling, but with buyers’ consistent confidence.”

Change you can believe in.

Tim Brady Owner Pale Fire Brewing Co.

Tim

Brady, Owner Pale Fire Brewing Co., Kurt Webber, President Blanco Labels, and Ben Trumbo, Pale Fire Brewmaster

“Blanco brings experience and knowledge about materials and equipment for production and great ideas for marketing. Working with Blanco has been a good experience. You just can’t beat their service,” Tim Brady.

Every week Blanco meets its commitments of millions of labels to manufacturers depending on them. Because at Blanco we believe service is as important as quality.

We select our customers so that we can be a perfect fit. We are small enough for their business to matter and large enough to make sure their job gets done.”

Starr Hill’s 12-Pack of Liquid Chocolate

By Jeff Maisey

Haveyou ever been at a loss for what to give grandma as a gift during the holidays and settled on one of those boxes of assorted Russell Stover candies?

Well, there’s a new chocolatier on shelves these days that might just warm your granny’s heart while satisfying the sweet tooth.

We’re talking Starr Hill’s Box of Chocolates Stout Pack, an enticing 12pack package featuring three unique variations of the brewery’s Double Bass Chocolate Stout, a rich imperial stout with massive additions of cocoa bringing forward aromas of dark chocolate, mocha and vanilla.

The beers included are a yummy Mocha Double Bass (made with whole coffee beans), refreshing Peppermint Double Bass (made with organic mint leaves), spicy Chipotle Double Bass (made with smoked jalapeno peppers), and, of course, the original.

It’s fun to setup your own taste test flights with friends gathered around the coffee table in front of the fireplace as each person can judge the difference in flavor.

Not a bad gift, either, for someone’s hip grandmother.

A First for Stable Craft Brewing

Waynesboro’s Stable Craft Brewing will have a new package for those looking for something specially to go under the tree this holiday season – the first-ever 750 ml bottle of barrel-aged brew produced by

the farm brewery.

Stable Craft will release Cavallo, a barrel-aged American Imperial Stout, at noon Saturday, Dec. 9 exclusively in the brewery’s tasting room.

“It is truly something sophisticated and beautiful to behold,” said head brewer Christopher Fann.

Cavallo was aged for one year in rye whiskey barrels made of oak and sourced from Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. in Purcellville, VA. The stout was specifically designed to age in these particular barrels and has embraced the subtle nuances of caramel, oak, and vanilla that come directly from the wood. Cavallo possesses the pitch black pour typical of an American Imperial Stout with rich roast, rye whiskey and vanilla aromas on the nose. This barrel-aged beer is thick and creamy with a big yet balanced body.

And it’ll warm you up this winter with an ABV of 12-14%.

Legend Refresh

Legend Brewing Company is going on its 24th year of operation and has remained a staple in Virginia’s Craft Beer Scene. With the changing tides, Legend has consistently adapted.

In 2013, Legend introduced its Urban Legend Series, a series of one-off beers that strayed from the brewery’s traditional German and English style theme. The Urban Legend series was the brewery’s way of adapting to the changing market then. Now, marketing and branding is the industry’s focus.

Legend has swapped out their classic Old English for a refreshing modernized style and is rolling out a new line of 6 packs, 12 packs and cases to go along with it. You may have already seen a few glimpses of the new design — the brewery’s past two Urban Legend releases showcased the new look.

Legend’s Oktoberfest will be the first brand to make it to the shelves with Brown Ale, Lager and Golden IPA to follow. Following the unveil of its core 12oz bottle brands, Legend will then introduce the new style to its 22oz products.

In addition to new marketing efforts, Legend is always working at new and better ways to improve Quality Control. Legend Beer is tested when it first makes it in to the fermenter, a few times after, again in the brite tank before bottling, and once more before the bottles are sent to the market. Legend recently invested in a CDR BeerLab, which allows testing on wort, water, process beer, and finished beer. This technology creates a more efficient way for Legend to provide consumers with the most accurate measurements of ABV, IBUs, and provides brewers with an exact count of fermentable sugars; Ultimately it contributes to the consistency of the product from the time its brewed to the time it’s consumed.

Remembering Rayner Johnson

By Jefferson Evans & Jeff Maisey

Rayner

Johnson was by most accounts Virginia’s Beer Ambassador.

The Springfield, Virginia resident seemed to know every brewer and tasting room manager in the Commonwealth – and they knew him. He was the man-incharge of Virginia Craft Beer Magazine’s Northern Virginia distribution route, no easy task given the region’s traffic nightmare notoriety.

Rayner was also keen to assist his local brewery, Fairwinds Brewing Company, on the canning line, and was a great promoter of their brand by wearing his Fairwinds baseball cap at every opportunity.

He ran the Blue-Gray Breweriana show for almost 40 years, which was one of the best shows for brewery collectibles in the country for many years. Ray was a member of the BCCA Hall of Fame and a former national Board member of BCCA and NABA.

Sadly, on November 5, Rayner Johnson passed away from complications of a sudden stroke at age 75. Ray had been helping out at Fairwinds the day he fell ill. He is survived by his loving and supportive wife of 44 years, Kathy; sons, Matthew and Charlie (Anika) and the grandchildren.

News of Johnson’s passing quickly spread on social media and many in the

craft beer industry were eager to share their memories of Ray.

Said Fairwinds brewmaster, Charlie Buettner, “Rayner Johnson’s passing is crushing to the Fairwinds Brewing Company team, my family and friends. The craft beer industry has lost one of the great ones. His message of kindness and craft beer support echoes in all the calls and messages received. This industry is strong because of him, but will never be the same without him.”

Strangeways Brewing Company owner Neil Burton commented, “Rayner Johnson taught so many, so much about this great hobby of imbibing and collecting beer and its accoutrements. His smile was infectious, and his ever present young at

heart mannerisms were ones to always look forward to on his many stops around the areas local breweries or at a collectors’ show.”

David Hunter, founder of the Fans of Virginia Craft Breweries site, shared his first encounter with Ray: “I was just getting into promoting Virginia craft beer and Chuck Triplett and I had planned to meet at Midnight in Richmond. I hadn’t met Chuck yet. He was traveling with a couple of friends on a quest to hit every open and operating Virginia brewery that year. I showed up at Midnight to meet Chuck, and his friends were Jefferson Evans and Raynor Johnson.

“Over time, I got to know Ray well. Raynor was very meticulous in keeping

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his spreadsheet of open and operating breweries up to date. Breweries with just a license didn’t count unless they were open and brewing beer. When anyone asked me how many breweries there were in Virginia, I would just send them to Raynor. He knew. He always knew. I was so lucky to share a couple of pints with him at the end of September.”

Bill Madden of Mad Fox Brewing Company posted, “(Rayner) was a huge part of the Virginia beer community. Such a good soul. I will miss him a great deal and all his support for the last 22 years that started with ‘I want a keg of your beer.’”

Seems Rayner Johnson wanted a keg or pint of everyone’s beer. In 2012, Rayner and fellow everything-beer collectors Chuck Triplett, Greg Lenaghan and Robert Fondren waged a friendly competition to see who could visit the most breweries in one year. Ray won the challenge convincingly.

“We traveled the country visiting breweries,” recalled Triplett. “It was the most breweries I visited in a single year – 376. Ray blew me out of the water that same year. He hit 615.”

That was, indeed, one amazing year of beer for Rayner Johnson.

People have joked more than once that Ray must have cloned himself somewhere along the way given the way he seemed to be everywhere, all the time. Many a person made a Facebook post along the lines of “just walked into <insert brewery name here> and look who I bumped into,” a post invariably accompanied by a picture including a smiling Ray.

Ray was born in Ishpeming Michigan and graduated from Mechanical Technological University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering before serving just over five years in the army, including as a Headquarters Company Commander while serving in Vietnam. The army sent Ray to Fort Belvoir after he returned from Vietnam.

After meeting his wife Kathy, the two settled down in Springfield. Ray’s beer of choice was Stroh’s and it was the search for that beer that led him, in 1975, to become a regular at the Brickskeller, where he met future serious breweriana collectors Chuck Triplett and Jack Blush.

Rayner Johnson survived war and throat cancer while still managing a smile for everyone he met. We were all blessed in getting many more years of Ray’s indefatigable good humor and enthusiasm for all things beer.

The beer community has many amazing people in it, but Ray Johnson was truly, truly one of a kind. He will be dearly missed.

Chuck Triplett has organized a fundraising effort to help Rayner’s family with medical expenses. To contribute, please visit Gofundme.com/raynerjohnson.

MUG SHOTS

MUG SHOTS

brew to do blacksburg

BAR HOPPING THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA

tyson’s biergarten

A Sweet Treat!

Charlo�esville’s Gearharts Fine Chocolates has partnered with four local breweries to create a chocolate and beer lover’s dream come true. The assortment of cra� beer chocolates showcases the unique hoppy bi�erness, rich malt backbone, and aroma�c nose of each beer. Each box features Port City’s Porter, Devils Backbone Vienna Lager, Hardywood’s Singel Blonde Ale, and Champion’s Falconer Wheat Ale. 12 Piece Box, $29

Gearharts Fine Chocolates, Charlo�esville gearhartschocolates.com • 1.800.625.0595

These talented Virginians are getting their craft on in celebration of the beer lover in all of us!

It’s a Wrap

These cute bo�le openers are made from recycled wrapping paper. They are lightweight and durable . Plus, each has a removable keyring. They make the perfect stocking stuffer for the beer enthusiast on your list! $3.50 each or set of 5 for $15.

Katie Favors,Vienna • etsy.com/shop/katiefavors

Celebrate the season and trim the tree with these terrarium ornaments filled with authen�c Shenandoah Valley Virginia smoked barley! Ornaments are available in glass or plas�c with choice of colored ribbon. Plas�c $7, Glass $9.

Strong Designs Co, Virginia Beach etsy.com/shop/strongdesignsco

An Authentic German Christmas

The Bier Garden’s Gift Shop is open just in time for holiday shopping! You’ll find brewery gift packs, Weinachten (Christmas) items, German food items, advent calendars, beer glasses, and more!

Looking for the perfect present for your craft beer lover?

O’Connor Brewing Co. has got you covered with gift cards, 22oz Ibrik bombers, printed logo glasses and OBC tees. We’ve also got hoodies, ball caps and beanies for guys and girls. Plus: socks, ornaments, koozies, stickers, beer soap, growler kits and all sorts of other great stocking stuffers. Happy holidays from OBC!

O’Connor Invades Raleigh/Durham Market

By Jeff Maisey

Sinceits humble beginnings in 2010 producing Green Can, Norfolk Canyon and Red Nun from a small warehouse to its position today as one of the most successful craft breweries in Virginia, O’Connor Brewing Company has approached growth in a most methodical manner.

With high demand, the Norfolk-based craft brewery recently added to its brewhouse three 90-bbl fermentation tanks, two 90-bbl bright tanks, one 60-bbl conditioning tank, three 7-bbl fermentation tanks and one 7-bbl bright tank. These purchases will increase OBC’s fermentation capacity by 35% (or an additional 5,000 bbl/year).

With this additional capacity, O’Connor Brewing has now positioned itself to take a bite out of the crowded craft beer market in neighboring North Carolina with a new distribution deal with R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company and Harris Beverages.

R.A. Jeffreys is the oldest family-owned beer distributor in North Carolina and continues to grow by adding new product lines. It distributes products by Anheuser-Busch/InBev, Corona Brands and other suppliers across 36 counties in North Carolina.

O’Connor will enter the key North Carolina market with its core flagship beers led by El Guapo Agave IPA and Great Dismal Black IPA. El Guapo won a silver medal in the 2017 Tastings World Beer Championship and a bronze medal in the 2016 Commonwealth Craft Beer Cup. Great Dismal Black IPA earned a

gold medal in the 2017 Tastings World Beer Championship and a bronze in the 2014 Dublin Craft Beer Cup.

To get an update on the brewery’s new business move I spoke with founding owner Kevin O’Connor. Here’s our conversation.

Let’s start with your expansion into the Raleigh/Durham Research Triangle region of North Carolina. How long have you looked at that market and why did you decide to move on it now?

We’ve always had our sights set on Raleigh/Durham. We’re already on the Outer Banks. We’ve been down there a few years. The next logical step was to move west towards another metropolitan area.

We’ve been talking with them (distributors) for six months trying to work some logistics out – what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, and goals. It’s come to fruition, obviously, now. One of the key components was getting authorized in the grocery stores. That made the decision a lot easier for us.

We’re hoping for the best. You’ve seen some of the infrastructure work we’ve done here (at the brewery) with more tanks. I think we have a hot hand right now. El Guapo is doing very, very well for us. It was one of those things where we thought let’s keep striking while the iron is hot.

Raleigh was the best obvious step for us.

As you know the North Carolina craft beer market is rather crowded. Did you feel El Guapo and Great Dismal would have the greatest impact? Any other O’Connor flagships?

Yeah, we’re taking those and the Weekend Lager as well. Since we are new down there, we’re very cognoscente of the headwinds we’re going to get with “local,” so we’ve been realistic with our goals. It’s more so about what we can go in and offer to the market that we think the craft beer drinkers will drink, and I think El Guapo and Great Dismal are it.

Then we’re noticing some of the bigger brands down there are kolschs and lagers. That’s why we looked at lager.

To offer something different is also a seasonal program –getting things like Heavy Footer down there. I think it is going to keep us new and relevant for the first year. Then we can speckle the market with some new beers we’re doing R&D on right now.

What sort of resources in terms of promotional/sales reps are you dedicating to that market?

We’ve hired a rep down there. He comes from the beer-buying side and has some really good connections in the distribution networks down there. I think he’s going to add a lot of value to us. In this day and age, especially in opening up farther away markets, you definitely need feet on the street. He’s done a great job so far lining up events and getting some taps started.

So having monthly and quarterly goals for him, I think will direct where he’s going to go. And then the communication with our wholesale partners down there will help us track where we’re headed.

We put some digital marketing out. We’ve networked with other periodicals like All About Beer.

So, making new relationships and trying to stay in vogue down there is key.

Do you see O’Connor expanding its brand to other states in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond?

We’ve been in talks with Maryland for the past four months. That might be our next step. We’re already in Washington, DC. We’re developing good relationships with wholesale partners.

The one question I always ask myself and our marketing/sales team is “How do we come into a market where we’re never going to be local and take some of that proverbial buzz away from big nationals or position ourselves as solid craft?”

Luckily, Virginia is right down the street from Maryland. Networking with the right people is key, like the beer bloggers and the local beer writers, which we’ve already reached out to. Get them drinking the beer and hopefully liking it.

At the end of the day, Maryland is a different beast. The grocery stores up there don’t sell beer. It’s a big independent bottle shop, liquor store market up there. It’s also a big draft market. So,

brewNEWS

we would look to see where we’re going to divide our time onpremise verses off-premise.

You mentioned the new fermenting tanks and grain storage vessels on the outside of the brewery. How do you plan to keep up with demand with your current production and dry storage as you add more markets outside of Virginia?

The one thing I never thought I’d run out of in this building – at least not yet – is space. Putting the grain silo in was an efficiency improvement. It’s also a cost savings for us to get the grain delivered bulk. It also gave some warehouse space back to us. With the big orange silo, it looks like a brewery now instead of just a warehouse.

When we put the new (fermenting) tanks in, we went ahead and built the infrastructure out to be able to bring more tanks in when we need them. I think we’re outfitted pretty well now for the next two to three years.

One of the things we’re looking at is possibly leasing another building in the area to alleviate that warehouse space crunch. We are looking at every little aspect. We don’t like to over-spend if we don’t have to.

The one other new thing we’ve got is our 7-barrel pilot system. We’ve obviously become more of a factory as it pertains to beer, but this is really going to help cultivate innovation and creativity. I think it’s going to be fun for us. I think it’s going to be great for the guys to come up with some new, innovative ideas. It’s going to

give us time to really look at something. The way the craft market is going right now…a lot of my friends who are smaller really have that flexibility to make new and innovative beers. Making 90 barrels or more of a beer gives you no room for error. This will allow us to tweak new ideas and give us enough time to bring it to market with marketing and label design.

This whole business is built on creativity and innovation, and having the tools to do it is something I believe in and the brewing staff is happy about that.

Have you had to time reflect upon where you’ve come from and where you’re headed in just a few years, especially given the about of change that has occurred in the industry and with so much competition?

Well, really, I’m at an inflection point. Like, where do we go from here? How do we keep evolving? I’m excited about the craft beer industry like I was eight years ago when I first started.

Did I have a crystal ball and say this going to be so different in eight years? Or, hell, even the last two or three years? This industry has changed so much. I’m proud to be a part of it and proud to be the frontrunner or first one in the market, but it hasn’t been without its challenges.

The onslaught on new breweries and craft beer bars, and new styles are things that are nerve-racking and awesome at the same time.

With big tanks, we’re not as flexible. Seeing how the consumer is always looking for something new is something we have to pay attention to. We’ve seen a restaurant having stable taps online moving to rotation nation.

I think the tricky part in the next few years is how brands –especially new brands – are going to build their brands in a rotation nation type play where you’re “on” one minute and you’re “off” the next.

When I started the brewery, it was just let’s make beer and have fun with it. Now, it’s turned into a lot more data point and thinking about where we’re headed.

The one thing I’m proud of is we’ve been able to offer so many jobs. We have 45 employees now. As we grow and times change, as the president of the company, I’ve got to be constantly looking at the horizon of where I see changes happening and be able to act quickly. And that’s challenging for anybody. I’m much more busy now than I was eight years ago when I was working 18-hour days getting this beer off the ground. Now, it’s more busy work and inflection points.

Do you see O’Connor rejoining the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild for 2018?

Yeah. We’re going to rejoin.

I think with the challenges ahead for craft beer as a whole, Guilds, like the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild and Brewers Association, need to be strong. The sum is always greater than its parts. For me, being out of it for one year, it made me look back at what’s important and what I think is important to Virginia as an industry on the craft beer side.

It’s my hope that we can start to look at other things that we can start tackling. And then solidify that with one voice of who we are and what we’re doing.

Locally, my friends in the industry and I sat down and created a smaller association (Coastal Virginia Brewery Alliance) where we sit down once a month and talk about things. At the end of the day, it’s great to hear some of the similar issues and for me to try to help out some of my brewery friends.

2 Silos Elevates Brewery Experience

By Jeff Maisey with Jefferson Evans

If you’ve ever been to a traditional family farm, you might have noticed a number of buildings and spaces, each designated with a specific purpose. There’d be the main farm house serving as the family living quarters, an exterior chicken coop, pig pin, fields for crops and maybe a few cows. Another building might also be found on the grounds to shelter the animal feed, tractors and plowing equipment. Call it a multi-faceted farm complex designed to sustain a family and serve the surrounding community.

Similarly, when the ownership team of 2 Silos Brewing Company conceptualized what their rural Manassas, Virginia brewery should look like, the idea of creating a “campus” to service a multifaceted set of potential needs took shape.

“It really started with an idea to do something different for the state,” said 2 Silos co-founder and brewmaster Forrest Morgan. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a brewery in a warehouse, but we wanted to do something that was just different – a place where you can spread out and bring the family.

“It didn’t happen on the first try either.

There were quite a few design iterations. It kept growing.

We wanted a future purpose as well. That’s kind of the nice thing about having a blank canvas. On one hand, we didn’t have a road or utilities, but on the other hand, that was great, right? We were able to bring the adequate infrastructure to our facility – the campus – to get us what we need both for now and the future.”

The result is Farm Brew LIVE, which is anchored by Two Silos Brewing

Company’s production brewery, The Pour House (tasting room, bistro), an outdoor concert stage and grounds.

Phase two of Farm Brew LIVE will open The Great Hall Event Pavilion in early 2018. The final phase will be completed in Spring 2018 to include the renovated Thomasson’s Barn that will open as The Black Sheep whiskey + wine + noshery and employ another 100 local residents. The Barn will also feature a pair of underground dining rooms.

From the outside, the “campus” is easily identifiable with its – you guessed it – two silos. It is a converted structure originally known as the Thomasson’s Barn, a 1929 dairy farm barn that had been vacant for over 40 years. The barn was built on land that was originally cultivated by corn fields and owned by L.J. Hornbaker. Hornbaker sold off 39 ½ acres to William T. Thomasson in 1905. Thomasson was a wheat and corn farmer. He eventually saved enough money to buy a Holstein Bull to begin Dairy Farming. In 1929, Thomasson built the two-story barn for his dairy farm out of terra cotta blocks. The blocks were finished with a rough finish to resemble bricks. The barn still consists of the terra cotta blocks.

The principle 2 Silos Brewing Company team is comprised of Forrest Morgan, along with Marcus Silva (Chairman), Erica Davidson (Quality Assurance), Bill McHugh (Brewer), Joe Ortega (Director of Operations), Meredith Arnest (Director of Brand Development), Clarice Lelle (Director of Events and Sales), Vanessa Tewilliager (General Manager of The Pour House) and Nelson Garcia (Head Sous Chef).

The management team has hospitality top of mind as it is associated with Villagio Hospitality Group. This element sets 2 Silos apart from most other upstart breweries. In fact, Arnest has 20 years of experience in the field, having cut her teeth at Richmond’s Legend Brewing Company and then at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center – home of the Grand Ol’ Opry – in Nashville.

Indeed, beer, food and music are essential ingredients to Farm Brew LIVE.

The Yard outdoor music stage will feature many local and regional musicians and can accommodate up to 1,200 guests.

“We believe in creating a complete experience for our guests,” said Arnest. “Pairing the live music with craft beer and craft food brings the experience to another level. Farm Brew LIVE will soon become THE place to come f or families and friends alike; a place to enjoy time together while sampling

our big, bold beers, our hand-crafted food and enjoying the sounds of our local talent.”

The Yard also includes The Pit, an outdoor bar serving both beer and BBQ.

As for the brewery, 2 Silos Brewing Co. is a 30-barrel brew house, capable of producing 20,000 barrels per year at full capacity. “We are committed to promoting the craft beer culture by making our 2 Silos Brewing Co. beer selections the finest in Northern Virginia region,” said Morgan. “Currently, 2 Silos Brewing Co. features 300 barrels of cellar space with an additional 240 barrels of space arriving soon. The brewery was ordered from American Beer Equipment out of Lincoln, Nebraska. Even with the additional tanks arriving soon, we still have more space to grow within our current location with a plan in place that includes a 6-inch glycol main to accommodate the future growth. This is a steam jacketed brew house with 2 million BTUs of steam and 60 tons of chilling capacity that is able to grow to 90 tons.”

Out of the gate, 2 Silos Brewing Company’s flagship beers are as follows: Cream Ale, Black IPA, Imperial Stout, Pale Ale and Belgian White.

“The Cream Ale, to me, is something that’s not represented enough in this area of the country,” said Morgan when explaining why he chose the starting lineup of beers. “I think Hardywood is really the only other brewery doing a yearround cream ale. If you go up to New England or the Midwest, they are everywhere. We put our twist on it and tied it into the history of our site – the Thomasson Barn – by using milk sugars.

“The other beers,” continued Morgan, “we wanted to diversify. We didn’t want to come out with six IPAs or eight lagers. We wanted to offer something for everybody. It goes across the board in colors and IBUs.”

Forrest Morgan conducted focus groups of local beer drinkers before deciding on his flagships. When asked about

IPAs, roughly half of the sample group said they “hated IPAs.”

For the Belgian White, Morgan broke from tradition by drophopping it.

“The hops we selected do add the complimentary to the citrus and the spices without over-powering it,” he said. “It’s fun to watch people’s reaction.”

Morgan is working on a barrel-aged reserve series for the one-year anniversary. The bourbon barrels are from a local distillery, Smith Bowman Distillery, in Fredericksburg.

Erica and Forrest are researching possibly harvesting wild yeast from the site of the Thomasson’s barn to consider using in a recipe. The anniversary beer will be called The Silo-bration and released on October 25, 2018.

In addition to the core brands and upcoming barrel-aged releases, 2 Silos will rotate seasonals such as Gingerbread Ale, Coffee Stout, Blueberry Wheat, Dunkleweizen Dobblebock, Pumpkin Ale, Porter, and the 1776 Ale.

“We are excited about the Gingerbread Ale with all the Christmas seasonings that went into it,” said Morgan. “Some of the other fun ones will be variations of our flagships. We’ve been toying around with adding raspberries to the Cream Ale.”

The 1776 Ale will be considered a historical beer. Morgan will incorporate into the recipe ingredients used in ales during the time of the Founding Fathers.

2 Silos plans to use some ingredients harvested on its property. A portion of land around the primary yard will be used for growing hops.

“Our hops fields are about 1-acre of land where we are currently growing Cascade and Kent Golding hops,” said Morgan. “In 2018, Centennial hops will join as well.”

Each hop plant was hand-planted by Forrest Morgan and his team and they also planted clover as ground cover to deter deer. The support structure is built of steel piping and the twine that the hops grow up is made from coconut husk. It’s biodegradable and will be used in the compost in the hops fields.

There will also be a field called the Chef & Brewers Garden for plants used directly in the development of 2 Silos beer recipes as well as support Chef specials throughout the campus.

The only thing missing from Farm Brew LIVE is a lodging, but who knows? It’s a great experience for the whole family and a unique all-in-one destination to spend a few hours.

Guess Who’s Back?

Strawberry Milkshake is back at Kindred Spirit Brewing! The brew elves are hard at work to can a Christmas Miracle sized batch of Strawberry Milkshake. Stay tuned to KSB’s Facebook page for sale dates @ksbbeer.

Third Street Brewing Company

A Melting Pot for Farmville

By Steve Deason

The birth of Third Street Brewing Company is a tale with five viewpoints. One might say beer brought the five founders together but then you would be missing the other star of the show, the town of Farmville. As its name suggests, Farmville has long been the center of a farming community. The town is located on the Appomattox River which supplied power and water for many factories there long ago. Those factory buildings now house the enormous selection of the Green Front Furniture Company which attracts buyers from Richmond, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg; all of which are within 65 miles. Hampton-Sydney College was founded there in 1775 and Longwood University in 1839. John Dudley, Director of Social Media at HamptonSydney College and a Third Street co-founder, believes that Farmville is going through a renaissance. Dudley points to two events as catalysts for the recent business growth. In 2001, there was a fire at Longwood which forced students to find housing in town. In 2012, the High Bridge Trail State Park was completed. The 31-mile trail was an old rail line that ran through Farmville with the namesake bridge crossing the river there. The park added hiking and trail riding to the popular river based recreational attractions in the heart

of Farmville. The bridge and the town also attract those interested in the final days of the Civil War.

Dudley met co-founder Keith Rider over four years ago. Rider is a chemist by trade and home brewer by passion according to Dudley. The two agreed that it would be wonderful to have a brewery in town and started doing some research. Co-founder Chris Sadler is the president of a company that manages commercial real estate assets. He moved to Farmville to be nearer the Richmond based company and found that the town really didn’t have much to offer socially. He too decided a brewery would be a good addition to the town and when he discovered Dudley and Rider were agitating for the same, they joined forces. The team started looking for a location and additional investors. Meanwhile, Mark Kernohan and his wife moved to Farmville from Ohio for her new job. Kernohan was looking for work and a way to engage with the community when he met Darin Foor from Loose Shoe Brewery and decided to open his own brewery. Local professionals introduced him to Sadler and he joined on as co-founder and general manager. The fifth cofounder Gary Elder is a local attorney.

Third Street Brewer David Steeves grew up in

Charlottesville. He was a home brewer and a volunteer at Star Hill Brewery before completing the esteemed American Brewers Guild program in Vermont. As part of his studies, Steeves apprenticed at Flying Dog Brewery in Maryland. He was hired by Flying Dog and worked his way up to Lead Pilot Brewer. Steeves returned to Virginia to work for Trapezium in Petersburg but wanted something of “his own.” The equipment at Trapezium was from Deutsche Beverage Technology who also supplied the direct fire 7-barrel system for Third Street. The system includes two 15-barrel and six 7-barrel brite tanks that directly feed eight beer taps thereby eliminating the time and labor of kegging. The taproom has two other taps used primarily for sodas made in-house.

Although Steeves has brewed crazy recipes for years, he describes his preferred brewing style as traditionalist. He loves brewing consistent, high quality, clean beers to style as the Germans and Belgians have done for centuries. The five flagship beers for Third Street differ in style. They include IPA, Amber, Helles, Baltic Porter and a Belgium Blond with lemongrass. Steeves describes the IPA as a cross between New England and West Coast Styles. “It gets pine and the classic citrus tastes from Centennial Hops then the super juicy and tropical (tastes) from the Citra and El Dorado Hops … British Malts give it an interesting background.” The Amber has more chocolate notes than a typical American Amber according to Steeves. Several of the founders mentioned that the “rich chocolaty, coffee undertones and subdued hint of smoke” Baltic Porter as a favorite and were looking forward to enjoying it in cooler weather. At interview, the other three beers on tap were Rye Pale Ale, Oatmeal Red, and an ESB. Steeves also loves sours and wild fermentation. He had just acquired barrels that he planned to use for aging and to make a “wild” beer. Just to prove he can get a little wild himself, Steeves was also making a barrel aged Snickerdoodle Stout with brown sugar and cinnamon.

After looking at “every vacant building in town,” the team learned of the planned development of the old Southern States feed and seed building into condos for students. Sadler contacted the developer and

negotiated adding the brewery into an area of the building that was going to be used for storage. The building was built in 1901 as a prizery, a place where tobacco is pressed into barrels called hogsheads. Steeves says he loves the rustic feel of the building with its huge pillars of wood and exposed brick. There are large garage doors that open up to a great outdoor space with picnic tables as well as Bocce, Giant Jenga, and Cornhole game areas. The High Bridge Trail runs along the edge of this space so you can bike, hike or horse ride to the brewery! GM Kernohan says the park has been a great neighbor and even placed a bike rack and a hitching post nearby. As a thank-you, Third Street donates to the park from their High Bridge Helles proceeds.

The founders didn’t just want a brewery, they wanted a gathering place. They set out to create a place that emulates the “melting pot” pub atmosphere Sadler found in his wife’s native England. The vision was of a place where people from all walks of life can feel welcome and have a chance to meet new people. To promote socializing, the taproom has large tables that seat six or more and no TVs. Dudley asserts the “five (founders) brought different things to the mix, but mostly a passion for wanting to do this for the town. Whether interested in education, history, recreation or shopping, there are many good reasons to visit or live in Farmville.” Third Street Brewing has added two more: good beer and a wonderful place to mingle.

The Friendly Fermenter

Harrisonburg nanobrewery nurtures making, consuming flavorful beers

By Lee Graves

Tom Lantz, a silver-haired retiree who lives in the Harrisonburg area, eased down the steps of The Friendly Fermenter, walked past shelves of hops, yeast, malt and carboys, sat down at the taproom bar and said, “I hear this is the place for homebrewing equipment.”

The words were music to the man behind the bar. Shawn Gatesman opened The Friendly Fermenter in a basement space on Mason Street in downtown Harrisonburg on Sept. 26, and the buzz was yielding business. Lantz explained that he’s been interested in homebrewing but never made the leap, and the conversation quickly turned to kegerators, kettles, propane and other matters.

Homebrewing supplies are only part of The Friendly Fermenter’s draw. Gatesman offers five to eight beers at any given time from his one-barrel nanobrewery, and customers will soon be able to brew their own batches in 10-gallon pots at three stations in a back room. Gatesman is taking deliberate “baby steps” in launching the brew-on-premises operation; the first priority has been tending to the taproom and homebrewing operation. He hosts monthly meetings of the Harrisonburg Homebrewers club and teaches classes at the business.

As a destination for local craft beer, The Friendly Fermenter joins four other Harrisonburg breweries—Pale Fire, Brothers, Three Notch’d and Wolfe Street. None, however, offers the

combination that Gatesman has created. Response since the opening has been positive, he said.

“The homebrew shop [response] was definitely immediate, better than I expected right out of the gate,” he said. “And the taproom started out very good. I’ve been here almost 20 years; I know a lot of people. So far, it’s been nearly overwhelming.”

Gatesman’s background in business has taught him that the fervor of the initial surge, however, doesn’t guarantee success. A native of northwestern Pennsylvania and graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he has spent the bulk of his career in the veterinary industry, most recently as manager of Dr. Brian Arneson’s Heartland Veterinary Clinic. He’d knocked around at several jobs before taking that position. “My time at Heartland was a really big time—I feel like I became an adult during that time.”

He also became a brewer during that time. In 2013, he began making wine with wineberries growing wild on the Linville-area property where he lives with his wife, Julie, and three children. Beer batches followed, the first ones with an EZ Caps system that uses soda bottles for fermentation. “It just grew from there, from two-liter bottles to two-gallon pails to five-gallon buckets to carboys to stainless. And I never saw it coming.”

Now he’s eager to share his passion for brewing and drinking flavorful beer. The tap list at The Friendly Fermenter sports a range of ales designed to appeal to diverse palates. IPAs are the most popular style, which follows the national trend. Gatesman offers several, including an 80-IBU double IPA made with local honey called The Bees Knees. A Halloween offering, Zombie Kisses, featured Citra and Azacca hops; Golden Hopportunity double IPA, which uses half a dozen hop varieties, leans toward the New England side (cans of Heady Topper and Sip of Sunshine, iconic New England IPAs, sit atop one of the supply cases).

Lily of the Valley, an Irish blond ale, serves as a gateway beer for those new to craft brews (the name borrows from his daughter, Lily). Green Jacket features a blend of grains— barley, wheat, oats and rye—that puts it stylistically between a cream ale and an Irish red. Gatesman plans to embark on a program of sour beers using lactobacillus; look for a gose made with cantaloupe. “When I was growing up, my mom always put salt on my cantaloupe, so I have always wanted to do a cantaloupe gose.”

It’s important to Gatesman that the various beers have equal appeal among customers. “To me, that’s one of the things you go for as a brewer,” he said. “Even though I have a small tap list, I’d love to have an eclectic enough menu and the quality be good enough that they are equally popular with the clientele.”

So far, his customer base also has been diverse—college students, middle-age professionals, retirees such as Lantz and out-of-towners. Part of the draw is the taproom’s speakeasy intimacy (1,560 square feet of space) and low-ceiling, wooden-bar warmth. The shelves of homebrewing supplies invite browsing, and Gatesman’s affability promotes chummy conversation. Plus there’s just something fun about going down into a basement to drink beer.

“You come down here and nobody can see you and you kind of forget about what’s going on out there,” Gatesman said. “I think there’s a lot of unique flair here. [I’m not] tooting my horn—it’s not something that’s never been done. But it’s never been done here.”

Solace Zone

By

There is a feeling you get when you walk into a place and in relatively short order you realize the place is nice, well-designed and cared for. You notice the people working there are enthusiastic, genuinely like each other and are creating a product they enjoy and take pride in. Solace is such a place, and in the end, I came to consider the name ironic because, damn, if they don’t seem some pretty satisfied brewin’ folk who work in a brewery that might be better named Field of Dreams Brewing. Is this heaven?

No, it’s Sterling, Virginia.

Coulda sworn it is heaven.

Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but for now the motto remains “Find Your Solace.”

“We crazy over-engineered the floor,” said head brewer Drew “Wiley” Wiles. I add that to the notes about the overengineering of the chiller, and the aircompressor, and the boiler.

“Getting the engineering correct and having in place a brewing process that is executed consistently, that’s what I’m OCD about,” said Wiles.

He and lead brewer Bridgette Turner both mention that the glycol system is already ready to handle eight additional tanks and that 80-barrel fermentation tanks are in discussion for future expansion.

Solace has over 15,000 square feet of space, with roughly 5K of that dedicated

to the tasting room and 10K dedicated to the brewing space. This baby has some serious growth potential, and part of the need for that growth will come from the intent, as Bridgette tells me, to “not be just a great tasting room but also be well-distributed.” The efforts of each of the owners – Drew, John Humerick (director of operations), and Mike Arms (director of finance) – towards this goal have so far resulted in over 100 accounts from Purcellville, VA to Washington D.C.

Solace makes its home in a new building that didn’t even have a roof when the fellows first laid eyes on it, though it was big, modern, and conveniently located almost halfway

between Drew and John’s houses. They signed a lease in October 2016 and opened to the public in June 2017.

The impressive facility sports a 20-barrel brew house outfitted with four 40-barrel fermentation tanks and one 40-barrel bright tank. The system is new and was bought from Craftwerk Brewing Systems out of Detroit, Michigan.

Mike said the brewery is approaching 1,000 barrels of beer brewed in 2017 and are on a 2,000 barrels-a-year pace.

As is most often the case, the paths that brought Bridgette, Drew, Mike, and John together were varied. John managed company-wide operations at a home healthcare company. Mike went

from public accounting to executive at an IT Company. Drew was a genetic medicine researcher whose family founded Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton, VA - the first farm winery in Fairfax County. And Bridgette had bartended for years when, during a “figure out what I want to do with my life” staycation, she saw a Samuel Adams commercial on TV that gave her an “a-ha” moment which lead to her researching how to get into the beer brewing business. Fate seems to have played a role in bringing three of them under the same roof when Bridgette, John, and Drew all ended up working at Sten Sellier’s Beltway Brewing in Sterling, VA. Bridgette worked in the tasting room and volunteered back in the brewery. John became director of operations, and Drew became the quality assurance/quality control manager and set up Beltway’s brewery lab. John and Drew became very good friends while working under Sten, with Drew overseeing production and John overseeing financials.

After 6 months, with Sten’s support, Bridgette left for the Brewlab Training and Analysis Services in Sunderland, England, where for 12 weeks she trained to be a brewer. She was the only woman student and finished first in her class.

After returning, Bridgette worked full-time in the Beltway brewery for a couple of years before taking a job in Florida as a brewer at Tampa Bay Brewing Company. In her heart, however, she knew she was likely to return, saying perhaps “it was naughty of me” taking the Tampa Bay job knowing it would be a relatively short stint.

She stayed in touch with John and Drew as they eventually left Beltway, teamed up with Mike, and began looking for the brewery space that would become Solace.

When Bridgette did return, the lease for Solace had been signed and that crazily over-engineered floor was being

finished. Drew handled the brewing of the first four beers, but Bridgette has been the lead brewer on every beer since.

The first beer she brewed was called “Long Vacation” as a humorous homage to her time away in Florida. She thinks it was helpful to have that time at Tampa Bay Brewing as it meant she was the only one in the group who had brewed professionally somewhere other than Beltway, and showed her that successful businesses can have significantly different approaches to the same process.

As for Solace-brewed beers, their stout, session IPA, wit, and brown ales have been the staples. Quickly gaining popularity is the lager. Beyond that, there is often a seasonal beer and at least an additional IPA/DIPA or two. The brewing philosophy at Solace is that they largely brew beers they enjoy and which are “fairly approachable.”

For their barrel-aging program, Solace recently had eight Cabernet Franc barrels from Paradise Springs Winery in which they were aging some of the Manhunt Stout. Next up will be aging some beer in bourbon barrels and doing a number of kettle sours. Canning is on the horizon and eventually bottling a few beers, such as high-gravity and/ or barrel-aged beers of the types appropriate for bottling in 750ml bottles.

Solace joins a cluster of craft breweries within close proximity. It is just 3 miles from Ocelot Brewing, 7.3 miles from Lost Rhino Brewing, 7.5 miles from Mustang Sally Brewing, and 9.5 miles from Crooked Run and Beltway Brewing. This community of breweries also help each other out. As an example, Jasper Akerboom of Lost Rhino has provided Solace with yeast. Being part of this brewing community is a slice of heaven.

“For me, it was the greatest thing ever,” said Bridgette.

Award Winning Beer, Locally Inspired Fare, and Live Entertainment

NEW SATELLITES Second locations for Richmond-area cidery and breweries

By Annie Tobey

Pluto may have been demoted from its previous planetary status, but Virginia satellites just keep rising above the horizon. In the Richmond area, three alcohol producers are opening second locations closer in to town.

MORE APPLES IN THE CITY

Courthouse Creek Cider is working on a new tasting room in Scott’s Addition.

The original Goochland tasting room opened in March 2017, though owners Eric and Liza Cioffi have been producing and selling their cider since 2016, primarily at farmers’ markets.

The Cioffis highlight stewardship of the land in growing their fruit and honor heirloom apples and other natural ingredients, such as lavender, berries and ginger, in the cider.

Their rural property houses the production facility and orchards as well as a tasting room, but it’s a bit of a hike for many people—30 miles from Richmond’s downtown and 17 miles from Short Pump in the West End. The new location in Scott’s Addition, on the other hand, is in the heart of the action, with five breweries, a distillery, a meadery and Richmond’s two other cideries in less than 50 blocks of commerce, and residences.

Theoretically, the new venue can serve two purposes: generate revenue from sales and foment interest in the Goochland location.

“The new tasting room will be sort of an advertisement for this one,” Eric Cioffi said from the Goochland facility. While providing gustatory delight, the ciders at Scott’s Addition can also inspire guests to visit the country. Though the Cioffis played with the possibility of having events, such as their cider club member-only events, in Richmond instead of Goochland, they have decided they would rather keep them in Goochland. After all, the town location can afford a taste of the cider, but the rural location affords fresh air, bird songs, orchards and nature therapy.

Eric Cioffi added that they’d offer some of the small-batch reserve ciders solely at the Goochland tasting room as well, to steer customers toward Goochland.

The new Scott’s Addition space will sport two levels: a bar-feel downstairs with standing room and high-top seating and a farm feel upstairs with communal tables.

Production will remain solely in Goochland. All Courthouse Creek ciders are fermented and aged in wooden barrels. To ensure sufficient product to meet demand with the new digs, Courthouse Creek is adding two 20-barrel foeders.

Cioffi is hoping for a March 2018 opening.

Goochland: 1581 Maidens Road

Richmond: 3300 W. Broad St. courthousecreek.com

GOOD WATER FOR JAMAICA FROM LICKINGHOLE CREEK

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is also bringing their products closer to Richmond, opening a new location, dubbed Lickinghole Goodwater, in Shockoe Bottom. Goodwater has a charitable angle, connected with a new business partner: Richard Booker, Bob Marley’s brother.

The original Goochland farm brewery is 40 miles from downtown Richmond, 25 miles from West End and 45 miles from Charlottesville. The new outpost will feature a tasting room, food service and a 3.5-barrel brewing system.

The name, Goodwater, emphasizes the attention to sustainability that the brewery has embraced from its inception. The name also highlights the primary philanthropic focus of the brewery: improving clean water access for Nine Mile, Jamaica, the rural community that Bob Marley called home. The first Goodwater beer reflects this focus: 9 Mile Goodwater IPA.

As an experienced restaurateur and businessman, Richard Booker will help create new recipes for Goodwater beer and support kitchen operations at the new tasting room.

“He’ll be our first concept chef artist,” said co-owner Adam Stockton. Or maybe the only chef, since the kitchen concept is still in flux. The building includes an equipped kitchen, and they’ll place a shell of a food truck in front of the kitchen, but whether they’ll use one chef or rotate others in is in the air.

The tasting room also includes a 12to 15-seat bar and community tables downstairs, TV monitors and loft seating. Goodwater will open with eight taps, part of a long-draw system installed by Draft Doctors. Downstairs will house the brewing system, barrels for aging and a small room for events.

“I know it’s vibrant down here [in Shockoe Bottom] at night,” Stockton said. “I feel like we’ll be the 9 to midnight crowd, and not the midnight to 2 crowd.”

“Supporting SB604 is important,” Pumphrey added, “so we’ll close at midnight.”

Since both locations are part of the same business, both can serve all Lickinghole beers. This will allow the

Bottom Goodwater bar to keep its lines flowing while allowing the brewers to make a variety of experimental beers downtown.

Pumphrey anticipates that brewers will shift between locations, enabling them to exercise their creativity and avoid brewer burnout.

Lickinghole owners have had other ambitious expansion plans, including expanded capacity at the farm, a Lynchburg satellite and other locations. “Tackling all at the same time would’ve been difficult,” admits Stockman, so they’ve backed off Lynchburg for now. They’ll expand at the farm next and then work on opening a brewery in Jamaica, for training, employing and serving the locals as well as tourists.

Lickinghole Goodwater opened on Nov. 24.

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery: 4100 Knolls Point Dr., Goochland Lickinghole Goodwater: 1717 E. Franklin St. lickingholecreek.com

Full Steam Ahead

The owners of Steam Bell Beer Works are working on a new brewery in Richmond’s Fan District, Canon & Draw Brewing. Although the Main Street brewery shares owners with the suburban Chesterfield County brewery, it’s not the same business. “The different branding, the different logo, the different beer, gives us the opportunity to tailor it to the area,” says co-owner Connie Cooper.

Brad Cooper is head brewer and primary figurehead for Steam Bell, joined in the business by his sister, Brittany Cooper, and parents, Tom and Connie Cooper.

The 7-barrel brewing system at Canon & Draw will feature more hop-forward beers than those at the suburban Chesterfield County Steam Bell, as well as some kettle-sour, gose and Berliner weisse styles. When the brewery previewed some of its beers at an early-November event, it served a dryhopped saison, double IPA and pale ale.

“We’re by no means trying to out-hop everyone else,” said Matt Shaw, brewer

at the new location, “because there are great options for that already [here in Richmond].”

“With 10 to 14 taps available, we’ll have five or six hoppy options,” tasting room manager Matt Lillard said, “but still cover more styles than just IPAs.” Four of the taps will pour Trussings Craft Fizz, creative, non-alcoholic, artificially sweetened sodas, also created by Coopers.

In addition to production, the 5,000-square-foot space will include a spacious tasting room with approximately a 300-person occupancy. The tasting room will sport two bars— one 20-foot and another 40-foot—on either side. The aesthetics are more polished than at Steam Bell, in keeping with the urban vibe.

Connie Cooper says that live music will be an important element of Canon & Draw, too. “We’d like to partner with VCU, to do some jazz, some blues, different things like that.”

Zoning doesn’t allow food trucks along Main Street, which undoubtedly suits the many restaurants in the immediate area just fine. Connie Cooper expressed her desire to maintain positive relations with local restaurateurs while determining a way to provide customers with food options. The Coopers are hoping to be open by December, contract brewing the first batches of Canon & Draw beers at Steam Bell.

Steam Bell Beer Works: 1717 Oak Lake Blvd., Midlothian, steambell. beer

Canon & Draw: 1527 W. Main St., Richmond Facebook @canonanddraw

Alewerks Successfully Launches Satellite Brewery and Taproom

By Jeff Maisey

The new trend gaining traction in the Virginia craft beer industry is satellite tasting rooms. Some breweries wanting to expand into other markets but lacking the distribution network to do so have begun opening a retail operation in other cities. This is allowed by state law as long as the brewery produces a small amount of beer onsite. It also allows a brewery to self-distribute from its manufacturing home in what’s called a brewery-to-brewery transfer.

Such a model has the potential to cause friction between breweries and their contracted territorial distributors.

With that in mind, when Alewerks, in Williamsburg, decided to open an off-site tasting room at the nearby Williamsburg Premium Outlets shopping center, it was keen on ordering its own beer through the distributor. Legend Brewing Company applies the same method for a similar reason: it forces the distributor to stock all of the brewery’s brands.

As competition for retail shelf space in grocery stores and taps at restaurants has intensified with a steady increase of new beers entering the marketplace, breweries with distribution deals find it harder to maintain their piece of the pie.

For Alewerks, the hope is that consumers who may not know of their brands will become exposed to the beers of Alewerks while shopping at the Bose or Columbia sportswear outlet stores, and then go to their local bar or grocer and request they bring-in an Alewerks beer.

Alewerks core brewery is located in an industrial park area parallel to the main route (Richmond Road) but obscured from passersby. It was built in 2006 as a manufacturing-only facility, prior to the 2012 state law allowing breweries to operate a tasting room.

“Here at the Outlets we’re in an area of high-volume traffic,”

said Alewerks operations manager Michael Claar. “This gives us a lot of exposure to a lot of eyes who otherwise would never see Alewerks.”

The Alewerks satellite tasting room (3,000-square-feet) is well designed and inviting to a general public audience.

From the outside sidewalk looking in, Alewerks has large glass storefront windows just like all the other outlet store brands. It has window displays. Enter and to the immediate left is a cozy lounge seating area. To the right is a premium merchandise display setup featuring stacked-in-a-circle cases of beer, and racks with everything imaginable from T-shirts, hoodies, and hats to dog collars, baby wear, candles, soaps, glassware, bottle totes, drink tanks, signs and posters –all with the Alewerks logo.

“We definitely wanted to expand our retail offering here considering the people coming here are in that mode,” said Claar. “It’s a much more open environment than what we have at the brewery. We’re expecting to see a 50% increase in merchandise sales.”

Sit and relax at one of several long, plank wood tables paired with modern metal stools. Sit in a leather bucket chair or stand and rest your beer on a wooden barrel.

Alewerks will operate a 3-1/2-barrel brewing system at the location, though brewing won’t begin until March. The plan is to brew experimental or trial batches exclusive to the tasting room. They’ll also use this small system for special one-off collaboration beers.

“We’re going to try a whole bunch of styles we’ve always want to do,” said brewmaster Geoff Logan.

While these unique beer opportunities will appeal to their diehard fanbase, Alewerks is dedicated to featuring its core beers such as Tavern Brown Ale, Weekend Lager, Superb IPA, Chesapeake Pale Ale, and seasonals like its Pumpkin ale.

According to Claar, the satellite location will largely attract new audiences while the main brewery and its tasting room will remain popular with locals. They’ll continue to do new release events at the mothership.

Alewerks has statewide distribution and can be found in Washington, DC. With tourists from all over the country and all parts of the state visiting Williamsburg year-round, the new tasting room brewery location at the Williamsburg Premium Outlets will truly attract new customers for the brewery.

“The outlet mall location is not here because it’s going to be a gigantic money maker in itself,” explained Claar. “The idea is the location will increase sales throughout the state and Williamsburg area. We get so many outlet mall shoppers coming down from Richmond who had no idea Alewerks exists. If they come here and enjoy what they taste, they’ll notice Alewerks the next time they’re in the grocery store back home.”

Brew News

By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones

Deadline Brewing Project is a brand new “nanobrewery” in Virginia Beach near the intersection of West Great Neck Road and Shore Drive. Anchored by two television news reporters and one former print journalist, Deadline’s grand opening was just a few news cycles ago on September 29. With the Lynnhaven Pub a short walk up the street, Pleasure House Brewing just a few blocks west, and Commonwealth Brewing a couple of miles away at Chic’s Beach, northeastern Virginia Beach is turning into a real beer destination. As the Chesapeake Bay is just a block away, both locals and visitors now have a Deadline they will be eager to meet on their way to or from the beach.

So, what’s a nanobrewery? A very small brewery. They make their beers using a two-barrel (62 gallon) system. The upside of a two-barrel system? You’re in the brewing game at a fraction of the cost of something larger, and you aren’t going to be married to any particular run or recipe since the quantity produced will be very small. This makes it easy to brew a lot of different beers and vary your offerings regularly. The downside? You’re going to be brewing a lot to keep up with demand!

The brew team at Deadline consists of Jason Marks (WAVY-

TV 10), Erica Greenway (WTKR-News 3) and Darrell Cuenca, a former writer for the Virginian-Pilot. They started the build-out of this facility in March and six months later they have opened for business. Darrell, who will be head brewer, learned his brewing licks at Big Ugly Brewing in Chesapeake. He told us he plans to brew five days a week. The tasting room is currently open Thursday - Sunday.

The tasting room features four taps (so far), a large pine bar with a shiny epoxy finish, and walls decorated with blow-ups of noteworthy headlines (“Man Walks on Moon!”) and quotes by journalists ranging from Barbara Walters to the gonzo Hunter S. Thompson. Peek around the corner and you will see the brewing and fermenting vessels, small but sturdy workhorses that will convert malt, hops, and yeast into liquid refreshment, which in turn converts staid imbibers into masters of happy talk.

So what kind of beers do these newsworthy folks make? Well, for their grand opening, there were four offerings on tap. There was probably a lot of “efforting” to get them cued up for opening day - all were very clean, crisp and tasty, if mildly under-carbonated. Their house yeast is a Chico ale yeast (homebrewers out there know this refers to Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast, not Chico Escuela, the fictitious New York Met), a versatile yeast that can be used to ferment a lot of different styles. Maybe it is like Mr. Escuela? Perhaps it’s the utility infielder of yeast?

OK, cut to the beer.

Pacer, a blonde, is a delicious beginning for your four-draft flight. Coming in at 5.5% ABV, it’s light, refreshing and easy to drink.

Next, cue up the Orange Vanilla Milk Blonde, 5.6% ABV, a mélange of flavors perfectly spliced into a light flavorful beer with an appealing creamsicle aroma.

These two beers were an excellent lead-in for the next two which are “above the fold” with bolder flavor profiles.

The Chocolate Porter, 5.6% ABV, has a dark roasted malt character, mild bitterness, and is made with cocoa nibs from Colombia. Aromatic and attention-getting, this isn’t a Hershey’s type of confection, it’s more like a semi-sweet nonpareil, but without the nonpareil. Would that be a nonnonpariel? In any case, it is unparalleled.

And finally, the wrap-up, their IPA. A bump-up in alcohol from their other offerings, somebody robbed the hop bank and stashed the loot in this keg. All late addition hops means lots of hops flavor and a lighter hops bitterness. Dry-hopped with two pounds of Citra and Falconer’s Flight hops per barrel, it tastes like a Shore Drive interpretation of a New England IPA with tropical and juicy notes.

The Deadline game plan is to rotate their product line, eventually brewing a Saison, a wheat beer, and some alternative IPA recipes, as well as expanding the number of taps. For now, the beers are only available in the tasting room, Thursday 5-10pm, Friday 3-11pm, Saturday noon–11 pm, and Sunday 11am-5pm.

Deadline is located at 2272 W. Great Neck Rd., Virginia Beach.

Out of the Ordinary

By David Hunter, Founder of Fans of Virginia Cra� Breweries

Located just outside Shenandoah

National Park, in Historic Sperryville, VA, you’ll find Hopkins Ordinary Bed & Breakfast + Ale Works located on, you guessed it, Main Street.

“It’s just an amazing place to be, we love it here,” said Kevin Kraditor, owner, head brewer and innkeeper at Hopkins Ordinary.

Before opening Hopkins, he and his wife, Sherri Fickel, who is also a partner in the business, would travel from DC to Sperryville to hike, camp or stay at other B&Bs. They always wanted to open a bed and breakfast for themselves but not in DC. They wanted a location where people liked to vacation, doing the things they loved rather than cater to political or business travelers.

On one trip to Sperryville to look at potential locations, they stayed at Bell Meade, a bed and breakfast just outside Sperryville. At breakfast the innkeeper asked, “Are you going

hiking today?” and Kevin replied, “No, actually we’re meeting with a realtor because we want to go into competition with you,” and the innkeeper said, “You wouldn’t be my competition, you’d be my colleagues.”

The innkeeper from Bell Meade helped them find their location and introduced them to the owner. “That’s the way things happen in Sperryville, it seems,” Kevin said. “It’s a very small community and we really feel at home here.” Kevin and Sherri also have plans of retiring in Sperryville. They just purchased some property just off Main Street for when that time comes.

Hopkins Ordinary opened in June of 2005, and at first, there were no plans of adding a brewery to the mix. Kevin didn’t start brewing until 2008. Before he started brewing, he made cheese and cured meats, “And that kind of morphed in to brewing beer,” Kevin said. He started brewing because he wanted to have something

he could share with his guests. His first 20 batches or so were from kits. Then he started looking at the recipes to see what ingredients he could start substituting in and locally source. He decided to buy base malts from Copper Fox Distillery, located just down the street. He then ordered specialty malts like Chocolate Malt, Munich Malt, Carafe and other things he wanted to put in the beer recipes to replicate the styles he wanted to make.

“After year four, I thought my beers were as good as, or better than most of the commercial beers I could find in a beer store”. Kevin performed side-by-side tastes of his IPA against IPAs he thought were very good and “usually I liked mine better,” he said. “I make my beer to my taste. Four years was enough to get my recipes where I wanted them and to get my methods down. Switching from my home brew equipment to the brewing equipment in the cellar, all the systems

changed, all the equipment changed, but it only took a couple of batches to get that under control. Once you understand how the equipment works and you tweak it, it was good to go after about three or four batches.”

The passing of SB604, in 2012, paved the way to opening their brewery, but since the brewery was located inside a residence, they had to get a special exception from TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau). The State Department of Historical Preservation also wrote a letter in support of the brewery. So, after approaching the ABC in 2013, it took about a year to get all the approvals they needed to open. In September of 2014, Kevin got his license to open the brewery.

The brewery and tasting room is in the cellar and the side entrance is easily accessible to the public and guests. The tasting room has an official

capacity of 20 but during my visit I noticed there was just enough room for 6 or 7 bar stools. When asked if he had any expansion plans, Kevin said, “It’s tempting to expand because we’re bumping up against our maximum output but I like being as small as we are. Having limited hours to brew, and the fact that our tasting room is very small, it’s cozy. I get to decide what to brew and when, and I like that. I don’t want to expand.”

Just up the stairs from the brewery and tasting room, you’ll find their outdoor beer garden, shaded by a colossal American Elm tree somewhere between 150 to 200 years old. The beer garden has about 40 seats and you can warm yourself by their fire pit on a chilly day. If you’re staying the night, you can take your beer up to your room or Kevin can have it delivered to your room.

Kevin brews about 25 beers each

year and typically has 9 on tap. His one flagship brew is their Innkeeper IPA which clocks in about 54 IBUs and 7.8% ABV. “An IPA is probably the most requested beer so we want to have an IPA on tap at all times. I strive for balance so none of my beers will come across as overly hoppy, even the IPA.”

Kevin buys local hops in season from local farmers and a friend who grows a few plants for him. He uses those fresh hops to brew a fresh hopped Pale Ale each year. Kevin also buys cucumbers from The Farm at Sunnyside for his Summer Saison along with herbs such as lemon thyme and mint grown in his own garden. Blackberries from his garden are used in his Blackberry Blonde and for his Wildflower Honey Brown and Little Devil Blonde, he locally sources honey from Windsong Apiaries in Castleton, VA. Kevin also adds, “I buy yeast from RVA Yeast labs and all my base malts from Copper Fox.”

“I try to make the best beer I can. Typically, I make predefined styles. I try to make beers true to style. I go crazy every once in a while, and come up with something that’s not a style. As an example, my Sassafras Smoked Rye which is not a defined style, it’s sort of like a Rauchbeir, sort of like an IPA, sort of like a Roguenbeir beer but it’s its own thing. Because I don’t distribute and I don’t want to get big I feel I have, I think, complete freedom to make whatever I want, and that might be something that sets me apart from other breweries. Not unique but unusual. I have another beer called Mary’s Rauch. I like Rauchbiers. Rauch means smoke in German and Mary’s Rock is a hiking trail nearby. It’s sort of an Altbier that I’ve modified. I make it with honey and smoke and it’s a great dessert beer.”

Local Attractions

If you’re staying at the Inn, there are many attractions in the surrounding areas to fill up an entire weekend. There’s hiking, biking, caverns, fine dining, antique shopping, farmer’s markets and fresh produce stands. There are also many wineries and breweries in the area you can visit. Pen Druid Brewing is just a half mile down the street next to Copper Fox Distillery. Hawksbill Brewing is a short drive to Luray and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can take the hour and a half drive to Loudon Country to visit many of the great breweries there.

More About the B&B

Hopkins Ordinary is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1820 by John Hopkins. The main floor is where guests will check in, relax in the living room and enjoy their breakfast. Coffee is available at 7:30am each morning and breakfast is served between 8:30am and 9:30am.

The second floor boasts 5 elegant guest bedrooms all named after herbs from their garden and outside you can find their Garden Cottage where guests traveling with pets and children can stay.

Hopkins Ordinary Bed & Breakfast + Ale Works 47 Main Street Sperryville, VA 22740 540-987-3383

innkeeper@hopkinsordinary.com hopkinsordinary.com

Hopkins Ordinary Ale Works Tasting Room Hours of Operation

Wednesday: 4-7pm Friday thru Sunday: 3-7pm

b r e w r e v i e w s

Elbow Patches Oatmeal Stout

The Virginia Beer Company Williamsburg

One of our longtime favorite oatmeal stouts comes from Tadcaster, England. You may have heard of the brewery –Samuel Smith. All others must be judged and compared to the granddaddy of the style. That said Williamsburg-based Virginia Beer Company does a pretty good job with its version. It maintains a decent head and its rich roasted malt aroma make Elbow Patches a pleasure to drink. The 6.2% ABV is a tad high for the style but doesn’t adversely impact the flavor. A winner!

6.2%

Harvest Fest

Blue Toad Hard Cider Nellysford

In case you missed the fall foliage in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we suggest you get a liquified taste of autumn and its crispness. Harvest Fest, in fact, brings together the freshest flavor of apples with clove, cinnamon and spices. It’s almost like a mulled cider but served chilled like the weather outside. A nice holiday season cider.

Lazy Flocculation

Benchtop Brewing Company Norfolk

The guys at Benchtop have concocted another delicious brew for your drinking pleasure. Lazy Flocculation is a double IPA heavily hopped with Mosaic and Galaxy. Notes of Tropical fruit, berries, and citrus are present. It’s time to flocculate with your friends and enjoy this tasty creation!

8%

Haze

of Future Past

Wild Wolf Brewing Company Nellysford

Haze of Future Past was released in November to celebrate Wild Wolf’s 6th Anniversary. This New England style IPA features aromas and flavors from the tropics. And, it’s no wonder why. Twenty-five pineapples are used in each batch. The pineapples are cored and roasted to caramelize the sugars and bring out the pineapple flavor. The blended pineapple is added to the kettle at the end of the boil to give this NEIPA its cloudiness. It’s brewed with NEIPA yeast, Citra, Centennial, and Simcoe hops and dry hopped with Southern Passion hops.

6.25%

Blonde

Reason Beer

Charlottesville

Before the official grand opening of their tasting room in September, Reason Beer could be found at select bottle shops in Charlottesville and Richmond. Blonde, an Americanstyle blonde ale, launched in August. This easy drinking beer combines the spice of Old World hops with fresh, citrusy notes from the New World. It has a smooth, clean, and crispy finish. Pair it this winter with spicy Thai food or smoky BBQ. If everything happens for a reason, then we were meant to drink this beer!

abv: 4%

Oaked Wee Heavy Ale

Mad

Fox Brewing Company Falls Church

The Mad Brewer has a fine barrel-aging program established and these larger bottles are now making their way to wider distribution points so everyone in the Commonwealth can enjoy. Several of our locallyowned bottle shops in Norfolk are well-stocked.

While any occasion in wintertime is appropriate to enjoy the Scottish-style heavy ale, we’re planning to uncap it on New Year’s Day. New Year’s, you see, is a high holiday in Scotland and we’re sticking with tradition by toasting the First Footer (Scottish Santa-like character) with the much heralded “oaked” version of this Wee Heavy Ale. ABV 8.6%

abv: 9%

Mist on the Mountain at Rising Silo Brewery Fri., Dec. 15; 7-9pm 2351 Glade Rd, Blacksburg risingsilobrewery.com

Dark Side of the Starr at Macado’s Thurs., Dec. 28, 4:30pm

Join us for an Ugly Christmas Pajama Party (complete with snowflake making station) and a brew from Starr Hill Brewery’s deep, dark setlist! 922 University City Blvd., Blacksburg starrhill.com

Annabelle’s Curse NYE w/ Virginia Ground and Fritz & Co. at Wolf Hills Brewing Co. Sun., Dec. 31; 8pm-12:15am 350 Park Street, Abingdon 276.451.5470 • wolfhillsbrewing.com

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Game Night at Garden Grove Brewing

Every Monday 3445 West Cary St., Richmond 804.918.6158 • gardengrovebrewing.com

Rib Night at Wild Wolf Brewing Co.

Every Monday, 5-10pm

½ rack of ribs served with beer battered fries.

2461 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford wildwolfbeer.com

$2 Tuesdays at South Street Brewery

Every Tuesday until 9pm

$2 draft beers (under 8% ABV) 106 South St., Charlottesville 434.293.6550 • southstreetbrewery.com

Oyster Night at Wild Wolf Brewing Co. Every Tuesday, 5-10pm Enjoy chef’s weekly creation. 2461 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford wildwolfbeer.com

Trivia Night at World of Beer

Every Tuesday, 7pm

District Trivia hosts trivia. Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

852 W. Main St., Charlottesville 434.760.0771 worldofbeer.com/locations/ charlottesville

Trivia Thursday at Castleburg

Brewery & Taproom

Every Thursday, 7-9pm

Teams of 1 to 6 compete for league points on a quarterly basis. Prizes are given out each week for 1st & 2nd place and Best Team Name.

1626 Ownby Ln., Richmond castleburgbrewery.com

Wing Night at Wild Wolf Brewing Co.

Every Thursday & Sunday, 5-10pm

Enjoy a pound of wings with your choice of sauce.

2461 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford wildwolfbeer.com

Friday Cheers at Blue Mountain Barrel House

Every Friday, 5-9pm

Enjoy live music from 6-8pm and food trucks 5-9pm 495 Cooperative Way. Arrington 434.263.4002 • bluemountainbrewery.com

Friday Night Music at Legend Brewing Co.

Every Friday, 8:30pm 321 West 7th St., Richmond 804.232.3446

Steal the Pint at Wild Wolf Brewing Co. Every Wednesday, 5-10pm

Receive a pint glass with purchase of house crafted beverage.

2461 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford 434.361.0088 • wildwolfbeer.com

Trivia Night at Garden Grove Brewing

Legendbrewing.com

Full Nelson Fridays at Blue Mountain Brewery

Every Friday, 6-8pm

Enjoy live music! 9519 Critzer Shop Rd., Afton 540.456.8020 • bluemountainbrewery.com

Live Music at Castleburg Brewery & Taproom

Every Friday & Saturday

1626 Ownby Ln., Richmond castleburgbrewery.com

VA Beer & Wine Tasting at Michie Tavern

Every Saturday & Sunday, 1-4pm

Enjoy tastings from VA craft breweries and wineries.

683 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy., Charlottesville 434.977.1234

Brunch at Blue Mountain Brewery

Every Sunday, 11am-2pm

Enjoy live music 2:30-5pm

9519 Critzer Shop Rd., Afton 540.456.8020 • bluemountainbrewery.com

Local Bucket Sunday at World of Beer Every Sunday

Get specials on local beers on the local beer bucket offering. 852 W. Main St., Charlottesville

BLUE RIDGE HIGHLANDS

Tacos & Troubadours Night at Wolf Hills Brewing

Every Tuesday, 6-9pm

Featuring delicious tacos by Toni’s Hawaiian Tacos & open mic night hosted by KT Vandyke.

350 Park Street, Abingdon

276.451.5470 • wolfhillsbrewing.com

Trivia Night at Wolf Hills Brewing

Every Wednesday, 6-8pm

350 Park Street. Abingdon

276.451.5470 • wolfhillsbrewing.com

Trivia Night at Creek Bottom Brewing

Every Thursday, 7pm

307 Meadow Street; Galax

276.236.2337 • cbbrews.com

Beer Geek Night at Wolf Hills Brewing

Every Thursday, 5-9pm

New firkin or small batch beer released every Thursday.

350 Park Street. Abingdon

276.451.5470 • wolfhillsbrewing.com

Live Music at Creek Bottom Brewing

Every Friday, 7pm

307 Meadow Street, Galax

276.236.2337 • cbbrews.com

Live Music at Wolf Hills Brewing

Every Friday

350 Park Street. Abingdon

276.451.5470 • wolfhillsbrewing.com

Live Music at Damascus Brewery

Every Saturday, 7-10pm 32173 Government Rd., Damascus

Every Wednesday 3445 West Cary St., Richmond 804.918.6158 • gardengrovebrewing.com

Geeks Who Drink Trivia at Pro Re Nata Brewery

Every Thursday, 7-9pm

Pub Quizzes & Trivia 6135 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Crozet

Happy Hour at Blue Bee Cider

Every Thursday

Featuring new ciders on draft as part of the small batch cider draft program. 212 W. 6th St., Richmond 804.231.0280 • bluebeecider.com

Pinball League at Center of the Universe

Every Thursday, 6:30-9:30pm

Bring your quarters, lucky hat, and a thirst for victory (and beer!). Prizes awarded. 11293 Air Park Rd., Ashland cotubrewing.com

Trivia Night at Random Row Brewing Co.

Every Sunday, 5-7pm

Hosted by Geeks Who Drink with prizes awarded to the best teams. 608 Preston Ave., Charlottesville randomrow.com

Tapped and Wrapped at The Veil Brewing Co. Fri., Dec. 1, 4-10pm

RVA’s one stop holiday shop where you leave with gifts, wrapped! Over 17 vendors with local goods and gifts! 1301 Roseneath Rd., Richmond theveilbrewing.com

Handmade Holiday 2017 at Hardywood Sat. & Sun., Dec. 2-3, 11am-6pm

Handmade Holiday is back! Richmond Craft Mafia’s annual indie holiday craft show is filled with over 80 of the best local, regional, and national artists, makers and designers we can find. 2408 Ownby Ln., Richmond hardywood.com

Live Music at Triple Crossing Brewing - Fulton Sat., Dec. 2, 3-5pm 5203 Hatcher St., Richmond 804.495.1955

Dark Side of the Starr at Starr Hill

Thurs., Dec. 7, 5pm

Join us, as part of Brew Ridge Trail Week, for discount pints and special flights, a showing of The Wizard of Oz paired with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, and a brew or two from our deep, dark setlist! 5391 Three Notched Road, Crozet starrhill.com

Cider Tasting at Once Upon a Vine (North) Fri., Dec. 8, 5-8pm

Sample a selection of Foggy Ridge Cider. 4009 MacArthur Avenue, Richmond

Redleg Huskey at Castleburg Brewery and Taproom Fri., Dec. 8, 6-9pm 1626 Ownby Ln., Richmond castleburgbrewery.com

Pints and Pancakes at Blue Mountain Brewery Sat., Dec. 9, 9am-noon

Celebrate Brew Ridge Trail Week at the BRT Breweries. Special appearance by Santa at 11am.

9519 Ctitzer Shop Rd., Afton 540.456.8020

Pints & Pizza at Bald Top Brewing Co. Sun., Dec. 10, 1-6pm 1830 Thrift Road, Madison 540.999.1830

Dark Side of the Starr at Jack Brown’s (RVA) Mon., Dec. 11, 5:30pm Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 5810 Grove Avenue, Richmond starrhill.com

Paint Night at Strangeways Wed., Dec. 13, 5:30-7:30pm

Artist will walk you through the featured painting – Birch Forest in Winter. No experience necessary. 2277 Dabney Road, Richmond atoasttocanvas.com

Dark Side of the Starr at Water Dog Wed., Dec. 13, 5pm Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 1016 Jefferson Street, Lynchburg starrhill.com

Christmas Market at Center of the Universe Brewing Sun., Dec. 17, 1-6pm

Looking for something unique for that hard to buy for person on your list? Or, are you just looking for a little something for yourself!? We will have 13 handcrafted vendors at the brewery for a one day market for all your shopping needs. Admission is free and proceeds will benefit a local charity! 11293 Air Park Rd., Ashland 804.368.0299 cotubrewing.com

Box of Chocolates Party at Filling Station Wed., Dec. 20, 5-8pm

You never know what you are going to get at the Filling Station! Join us for football, confections courtesy of a local chocolatier, and a brew from the Starr Hill Brewery Box of Chocolates Variety Pack. 102 Lexington Turnpike, Amherst starrhill.com

New Year’s Day at Blue Mountain Brewery Mon., Jan. 1, 9am-noon

Start the New Year off right with us at Blue Mountain Brewery and enjoy our all you can eat brunch buffet! We will have a special brunch buffet as well as our regular menu, mimosas, and plenty of craft brews! 9519 Ctitzer Shop Rd., Afton 540.456.8020

One Year Anniversary at Bald Top Brewing Co.

Fri.-Sun., Jan. 19-21

1830 Thrift Road, Madison 540.999.1830

Pints & Pizza at Bald Top Brewing Co. Sat., Jan. 27, 1-8pm 1830 Thrift Road, Madison 540.999.1830

COASTAL VIRGINIA

Trivia Night at Wasserhund Brewing Co.

Every Monday, 7-9pm 1805 Laskin Rd., Virginia Beach 757.351.1326 • wasserhundbrewing.com

Quiz Night at Green Flash Mon., Dec. 18; 6-7:30pm

Bring your smarts for Quiz Night at the brewery and you could win some great Green Flash prizes! Arrive with a team (of 5 members or less), or find your team on the spot. The games begin at 6pm sharp! Admission is free and no registration is required.

1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach

Trivia Night at Home Republic

Every Tuesday, 7pm

Featuring Smartmouth Live Trivia. 328 Laskin Rd., Virginia Beach 757.226.9593 • homerepublicvabeach. com

Who’s on First, I Don’t Knows at ExceptionALE

Join us the first and third Tuesday of each month for our tasting series; each will feature a different brewery or style of beer.

2200 Colonial Ave., Norfolk 757.233.3900 exgrowlers.com

Big Ugly Running Posse

Every Wednesday

Join Big Ugly Running Posse for a 1, 3, or 5 mile run starting at Big Ugly. Then, reward yourself with a beer!

Big Ugly Brewing Company

1296 Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake biguglybrewing.com

Trivia Night at Alewerks Taproom

Every Wednesday, 7pm 189-B Ewell Rd., Williamsburg alewerks.com

Team Trivia at Pleasure House Brewing

Every Wednesday, 7pm 3025 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach pleasurehousebrewing.com

Team Trivia at Tradition Brewing Co. Every Wednesday, 7pm 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News 757.303.3415 • traditionbrewing.com

It’s the most wonderful time for beer at Chaos Mountain!

Join them on Sunday, December 17 for their 4th Annual Ugly Christmas Party. Prizes will be awarded for the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place Ugly Sweater winners. Enjoy food by Oi Polloi and Rick’s Wrap It Up and music by The Harwell Grice Band.

Starr Hill invites you to come over to the dark side! Join them at tap takeovers at bars, restaurants, and bottle shops around the state and enjoy a brew or two from their deep, dark setlist! Plus, join them at the Tasting Room in Crozet on Thursday, December 7 for discount pints and special flights and a showing of The Wizard of Oz paired with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

Weekly Tasting at bottleBOX

Every Wednesday 5:30-8pm

Join your favorite brewery’s representative as they walk you through a free sampling of new and exciting beers.

325b W. 21st St., Norfolk

757.918.9932 • bottlebox.beer

Expedition Beer Release at Bold Mariner Brewing Co.

Every Thursday

Featuring a new expedition beer each week.

2409 Bowdens Ferry Rd., Norfolk boldmariner.com

Monthly Trivia Night at Benchtop Brewing

Thurs., Dec. 14; 6:30-8:30pm

1129 Boissevain Ave., Norfolk Benchtopbrewing.com

Trivia Night at Brass Cannon

Every Thursday, 6:30pm 5476 Mooretown Road, Williamsburg brasscannonbrewing.com

Virginia Craft Beer Thursday Every Thursday

Enjoy local VA brewed beers for $3 a pint. Tapped Gastropub 1550 Laskin Rd., Virginia Beach

757.965.5585 • tappedgastropub.com

Firkin Friday at Cogans North Every Friday

A new firkin is tapped each week. 4311 Colley Ave., Norfolk 757.627.6428 • coganspizza.com

Live Music at Alewerks Taproom

Every Sunday, 2pm 189-B Ewell Rd., Williamsburg alewerks.com

Poses and Pints at O’Connor Brewing Co.

Every second and fourth Sunday; 10:30-11:45am

Alicia Morris will be leading a class followed by the opportunity to have a couple of post-yoga beers at a great discount. Class is donation-based with a portion going to charity. Please arrive 15 minutes early as space is limited.

211 W. 24th St., Norfolk oconnorbrewing.com

Annual Artisan Market at Commonwealth Brewing Co.

Sat., Dec. 2

Kick off your holiday shopping and support your local artists and craftsmen.

Live music and food trucks on site. 2444 Pleasure House Rd., Virginia Beach commonwealthbrewingcompany.com

Craft Beer Dinner at Corner Cafe Tues., Dec. 5, 6-9pm

5 Course Beer Dinner featuring beer from The Virginia Beer Company. 5203 Center Street, Williamsburg 757.345.3144

Dark Side of the Starr at Cogans North Wed., Dec. 6, 6 pm

Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 4311 Colley Ave., Norfolk starrhill.com

2nd Annual Santa Speedo Run Sat., Dec. 9, 12:30-6pm

One mile course and participants must dress in holiday festive attire (speedos preferred!). Live music by Jesse Chong and food by GastroHub. Bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys-For-Tots. The Bold Mariner Brewing Company 2409 Bowdens Ferry Road, Norfolk boldmariner.com

Coelacanth Second Anniversary Sat., Dec. 9, Noon-10pm

Join us to celebrate 2 years of Beautiful Beer. To make it even more special we will have some very special beers from some of our brewery friends from around the state! 760-A W. 22nd St., Norfolk coelacanth.com

Jingle Bell Run After Party at Tradition Brewing Co. Sun., Dec. 10, 11:30am-2pm

Official Jingle Bell Run after-race spot. Awesome beer, food trucks, music, and much more.

700 Thimble Shoals Rd., Va. Beach traditionbrewing.com

Veer Magazine’s 2017

Golden Tap Awards Ceremony

Tues, Dec. 12, 5-9pm

Celebrate the best beer, breweries, beer bars & restaurants, food trucks, bottle shops, and festivals Hampton Roads has to offer! Enjoy beer from local breweries. Free admission. Beer sales benefit Hope House Foundation.

O’Connor Brewing Co.

211 W. 24th Street, Norfolk

Dark Side of the Starr at Tapped Gastropub

Wed., Dec. 13, 5pm

Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 1550 Laskin Rd., Va. Beach starrhill.com

Caroling at Big Ugly Fri., Dec. 15, 7-9pm

Great Bridge United Methodist Church will lead the Christmas carols. Big Ugly Brewing Company 1296 Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake biguglybrewing.com

1 Year Anniversary Party at Benchtop Sat., Dec. 16, 12-10pm

Enjoy a block party featuring new beer releases, guest taps, food trucks, live music by Travers Chandler & Avery County.

1129 Boissevain Avenue, Norfolk

Big Ugly Ornaments

Wed., Dec. 20, 6-8pm

Make an ornament for your favorite elf. All supplies included. No experience necessary. Limited space. Get your ticket today!

Big Ugly Brewing Company 1296 Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake biguglybrewing.com

Big Mama Shakes Holiday Homecoming Beer Release Fri., Dec. 22, 12-9pm

The heavily dry-hopped Holiday Homecoming Experimental India Pale Ale hits the taps at noon. Music kicks off at 5pm and features Big Mama Shakes, The Southern Belles, Super Doppler, My Funky Brethren, and Lightfoot Revival. Plus, there will be food from Slideways Mobile Bistro.

The Virginia Beer Company 401 2nd Street, Williamsburg

Brewery Christmas Party at Oozlefinch Sat., Dec. 23, 6-11pm 81 Patch Rd., Ft. Monroe oozlefinchbeers.com

XMAS EVE EVE at O’Connor Brewing Co. Sat., Dec. 23, 8:30pm-12:30am

Our first and hopefully annual cancer research benefit concert featuring DJ Williams Projekt & @Lilinternet.

Tickets $20 at Eventbrite.com. 211 W. 24th St., Norfolk oconnorbrewing.com

New Year’s Eve Party at Big Ugly Sun., Dec. 31

Tickets sold at the Brewery - $75. DJ, Food, Beer.

Big Ugly Brewing Company 1296 Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake biguglybrewing.com

Big Ugly Pilsner Painting Party

Jan. 28

It’s a party with paint and pilsners. Paint a pilsner glass with a great design. All supplies included. No experience necessary. Limited space. Get your ticket today!

Big Ugly Brewing Company

1296 Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Citizen’s Choice Randall Beer Infusion Night

Every Monday, 3-7pm Brew Republic Bierwerks 15201 Potomac Town Place, Woodbridge

Guerilla Series Release Night at Brew Republic Bierworks

Every Monday 12-10pm

The Guerrilla Series is Brew Republic’s pilot/experimental program — with a new release every Monday in the tap room. These beers are brewed in extremely small batches, so no growler fills, no keg sales, and no distribution. 15201 Potomac Town Place, Woodbridge

Team Trivia at Ornery Beer Co.

Every Monday, 7:30pm

Happy Hour extended to 9pm. Weekly prizes!

14389 Potomac Mills Road, Woodbridge

Beer Yoga at Port City Brewing Co.

Every Tuesday, 7-9pm

$20 includes the class and post-yoga pint. 3950 Wheeler Ave., Alexandria portcitybrewing.com

Local Heroes Night at Adventure Brewing

Every Tuesday, 3:30-9pm

20% off all beer, merchandise, snacks, and goods to military, police, fire, emergency, and teachers.

Adventure Brewing Company

33 Perchwood Dr., Unit 101, Stafford 540.242.8876

facebook.com/adventurebrewing/

Team Trivia at Brew Republic Bierwerks

Every Tuesday

15201 Potomac Town Place, Woodbridge

Trivia Night at Wort Hog Brewing Company

Every Tuesday, 6-8pm

41 Beckham Street, Warrenton

Vinyl Night at Lost Rhino Brewing Co.

Every Tuesday, 6-9pm

Bring your own vinyl!

21730 Red Rum Drive, #142, Ashburn

Bingo Night at Crooked Run Brewing Co.

Every Wednesday, 7-9pm

22455 Davis Drive, Sterling crookedrunbrewing.com

Flight Night at Bad Wolf Brewing Co.

Every Wednesday

Happy Hour pricing on flights. 8420 Kao Circle, Manassas

Trivia Night at Old Bust Head Brewing Co.

Every Wednesday 7134 Lineweaver Rd., Warrenton 540.347.4777 • oldbusthead.com

Happy Hour & Growler Night at New District Brewing Co.

Every Thursday, 3:30-7:30pm

Happy Hour specials and 64oz growler fills are $2 off.

2709 S. Oakland Street, Arlington 703.888.5820

Indoor Putting League (Disc Golf)

Every Thursday, 6-9pm

Meet interesting people, throw frisbees, and drink beer with them! $5 entry with teams drawn at random.

Vanish Farmwoods Brewery 42245 Black Hops Lane, Leesburg vanishbeer.com

Open Mic at Bad Wolf

Every Thursday Bad Wolf Brewing Company 8420 Kao Circle, Manassas

Thirsty Thursday at Fair Winds Brewing Co.

Every Thursday

$4 pints, trivia at 6:30pm, and food from Savory Delicatessen 7000 Newington Road, Lorton 703.372.2001 • fairwindsbrewing.com

Trivia Night at Belly Love Brewing

Every Thursday 725 E. Main Street, Purcellville bellylovebrewing.com

Firkin Friday at Fair Winds Brewing Co.

Every Friday

A new firkin is released every Friday. Food from Savory Delicatessen 7000 Newington Road, Lorton 703.372.2001 • fairwindsbrewing.com

Justin’s Flavor Infusion Night

Every Friday, 3:30-10pm

We combine off the wall ingredients with one of our beers to create a one-of-a-kind beer.

Adventure Brewing Company

33 Perchwood Dr., Unit 101, Stafford 540.242.8876

facebook.com/adventurebrewing

Live Music at Adventure Brewing Co.

Every Friday 8-10pm

33 Perchwood Dr., Unit 101, Stafford 540.242.8876 facebook.com/adventurebrewing

Live Music at Lost Rhino Retreat

Every Friday, 7-10pm

22885 Brambleton Plaza, Ashburn lostrhino.com

Food Truck Saturdays at Solace Brewing Company

Every Saturday, 12-10pm 42615 Trade West Drive, Suite 100, Sterling

Live Music at Brew Republic Bierwerks

Every Saturday; 8-10pm 15201 Potomac Town Place, Ste. 120, Woodbridge 703.594.7950

Live Music at Lost Rhino Brewing Co.

Every Saturday, 7-10pm

21730 Red Rum Drive, #142, Ashburn

Art Opening at Adventure Brewing North First Sunday each month; 12-3pm

The 1st Sunday of each month, Adventure Brewing North will feature a new local artist.

33 Perchwood Dr., Unit 101, Fredericksburg adventurebrewing.com

Hangover Brunch at Lost Rhino Retreat

Every Sunday, 11am-2pm 22885 Brambleton Plaza, Ashburn lostrhino.com

Solace and Food on Sundays at Solace Brewing Company

Every Sunday, 12-8pm 42615 Trade West Drive, Suite 100, Sterling

Sunday Funday at Brew Republic

Every Sunday 12-10pm

Join us every Sunday for football, board games, hot and BBQ chicken wings, $5 mimosas, and of course, beer!

15201 Potomac Town Place, Ste. 120, Woodbridge 703.594.7950

Yoga at Wort Hog Brewery

Every other Sunday; 11:30am-1pm 41 Beckham Street, Warrenton 540.300.2739

Ugly Sweater and Tree Trimming Party at Brew Republic Sat., Dec. 2, 7-11pm

The shame of a sweater could win you a major award (by popular vote)! We’ll be

decorating our tap room tree during the party — you can receive a discount in exchange for an ornament!

15201 Potomac Town Place, Ste. 120, Woodbridge 703.594.7950

Toy Drive at BadWolf BrewHouse Sun., Dec. 3- Sun., Dec. 17

Bring a new unwrapped toy and receive a beer ticket valid for one pint (one per person.)

8420 Kao Cir., Manassas 9776 Center St., Manassas badwolfbrewingcompany.com

Detox to Retox at Brew Republic Bierwerks Sat., Dec. 9, 10:30am-12pm

Yoga experts from WheelHouse Mind

Body Studio will conduct a yoga class in the tap room. $20 includes the class and a beer.

15201 Potomac Town Place, Ste. 120, Woodbridge 703.594.7950

Hampton Roads Brewers and craft beer lovers come together on Tuesday, December 12 from 5:00 to 9:00pm at O’Connor Brewing Company for

Veer Magazine’s Golden Tap Awards

presented by The Vanguard. The Golden Tap Awards celebrates the best beer, breweries, bars & restaurants, bottle shops, and beer festivals Hampton Roads has to offer. Enjoy beer from local breweries. Beer sales benefit Hope House Foundation.

Holiday Art Show at BadWolf BrewHouse Sat., Dec. 9, 4-8pm

8420 Kao Cir., Manassas badwolfbrewingcompany.com

Hops for Hope at Ocelot Brewing Co. Sat., Dec. 9, 1-10pm

2nd annual Hops for Hope to benefit The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. With every glass of HOPE, a donation is made to NCMEC. Specialty pint glasses and NCMEC merchandise will also be available for purchase. Information at www.missingkids.org/ hopsforhope.

23600 Overland Drive #180, Dulles Yoga+Beer at Fair Winds Brewing Co. Monday, Dec. 11, 6:30pm

7000 Newington Rd., Suites K&L, Lorton fairwindsbrewing.com

Dark Side of the Starr at Sedona Tues., Dec. 12, 5:30pm

Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 5312 Wyndham Forest Drive, Glen Allen starrhill.com

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Team Trivia at Winchester Brew Works Every Monday, 6:30pm Teams of 6 compete for gift certificates and prizes! 320 N. Cameron St., Winchester winchesterbrewworks.com

Randall Night at Wolfe Street Brewing Every Tuesday

Enjoy a specialty beer we infuse using our randall!

120 W. Wolfe St., Harrisonburg wolfestreetbrewing.com

The Virginia Beer Company

Big Mama Shakes returns to The Virginia Beer Company for their 2nd Annual Holiday Homecoming on Friday, December 22. In celebration, The Virginia Beer Company will release the heavily dry-hopped Holiday Homecoming Experimental India Pale Ale at noon. The music starts at 5pm and the line-up features Big Mama Shakes, The Southern Belles, Super Doppler, My Funky Brethren, and Lightfoot Revival.

Virginia Craft on Draft

Every Tuesday, 3-5pm

Enjoy all Virginia pints for $4 and all Virginia Belgians for $5.

Brew Ridge Taps

11 E. Nelson St., Lexington 540.461.8012 • brewridgetaps.com

Backs to Basic Yoga Night at Basic City Beer Co.

Every Tuesday, 6-7pm

$10 includes yoga and a pint.

1010 E. Main St., Waynesboro basiccitybeer.com

Bingo Night at Wolfe Street Brewing

Every Wednesday

Winners of each bingo round receive $15 gift cards to the tasting room.

120 W. Wolfe St., Harrisonburg wolfestreetbrewing.com

Open Mic Night at Queen City Brewing

Every Wednesday

834 Spring Hill Rd., Staunton qcbrewing.com

Live Music at Woodstock Brewhouse

Every Thursday, 6pm

123 E. Court St., Woodstock

OM Brew at Seven Arrows Brewing Co.

Every Saturday, 10:30-11:30am

$10 includes yoga and a beer after class.

2508 Jefferson Hwy., Waynesboro sevenarrowsbrewing.com

S’mores & Sunsets at Stable Craft Brewing

Every Sunday, 5-8pm

With purchase of a meal, receive an s’mores kit.

375 Madrid Rd., Waynesboro stablecraftbrewing.com

Basic City Burn at Basic City Beer Co.

Sat., Dec. 2, 10am-1pm

Just under 3 miles, the course climbs a quad burning 300 feet to the highest point in Waynesboro - the future home of Sunset Park. All runners get panoramic mountain views, a performance genderspecific shirt, commemorative tasting glass and a post-race party with beer tastings from Basic City. Information at www.corkscrewracing.com.

1010 E. Main St., Waynesboro basiccitybeer.com

SCB’s Old-Fashioned Farm Christmas Sat., Dec. 9, 12-9pm

Get into the Christmas spirit with horse and carriage rides, an old-fashioned Christmas tree lighting ceremony and a visit from Santa Claus.

We will be releasing a winter warmer beer designed to capture the very essence of this wonderful winter season.

Stable Craft Brewing

375 Madrid Rd., Waynesboro stablecraftbrewing.com

Dark Side of the Starr at Cork Street Tavern Wed., Dec. 13, 5pm

Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 8 W. Cork Street, Winchester starrhill.com

Holiday Dinner & Variety Show Sat., Dec. 16, 5:30-11pm

Join us for Dinner and a Christmas Variety Show featuring singing, dancing, and holiday music.

The Mimslyn Inn 401 West Main Street, Luray mimslyninn.com

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Yoga, Beer and Pizza at Ballard Brewing

Every Wednesday, 5-6pm 600 Craghead St., Danville balladbrewing.com

VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS

Parkway After Dark- Murphy’s Kids Sat., Dec. 2, 9-11pm 21 & Over only! $10 Cover includes your first beer.

Parkway Brewing 739 Kessler Mill Road, Salem parkwaybrewing.com 540.483.9293

Shine Runners Club Thurs., Dec. 7, 6pm

3 miles, 5 miles, or just walk and then socialize at the brewery.

Chaos Mountain Brewing 3135 Dillons Mill Rd., Callaway 540.334.1600

STEM Tavern at Soaring Ridge Craft Brewery Wed., Dec. 13, 5:30-7pm

Monthly STEM Tavern featuring a fascinating science presentation plus good beer! 523 Shenandoah Ave., Roanoke smwv.org

Dark Side of the Starr at Corned Beef & Co. Thurs., Dec. 14, 5pm

Starr Hill Brewery dark beer tap takeover. 107 S. Jefferson Street, Roanoke starrhill.com

Shine Runners Club Thurs., Dec. 14, 6pm 3 miles, 5 miles, or just walk and then socialize at the brewery.

Hammer and Forge Brewing Co.

70 Main St., Boones Mill 540.483.9293

4th Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Sun., Dec. 17, 3-7pm

Oh…It’s going to get Ugly!

Chaos Mountain Brewing 3135 Dillons Mill Rd., Callaway 540.334.1600

Bristol

Bull

Creek

Studio Brew 221 Moore Street Bristol studiobrew.net

Wolf Hills Brewing Company 350 Park St. Abingdon 303.5508762 wolfhillsbrewing.com

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

7 Hills Brewing Company 115 S. 15th St. Richmond 804.716.8307

AMMO Brewing Company 235 N Market Petersburg 23805 804.722.1667 facebook.com/ammobrewing

Apocalypse Ale Works 1257 Burnbridge Rd Forest 434.258.8761 endofbadbeer.com

Ardent Craft Ales 3200 W. Leigh Street Richmond 804.359.1605 ardentcraftales.com

Bald Top Brewing Co.

1830 Thrift Road

Madison 540.999.1830 baldtopbrewing.com

Beale’s 510 Grove Street Bedford 540.583.5113 bealesbeer.com

Black Narrows Brewing Company

4522 Chicken City Road Chincoteague blacknarrowsbrewing.com

Blue Mountain Brewery 9519 Critzer Shop Rd. Afton 540.456.8020 bluemountainbrewery.com

Blue Mountain Barrel House 495 Cooperative Way Arrington 434.263.4002 bluemountainbarrel.com

Castleburg Brewery & Taproom 1626 Owenby Lane Richmond 23220

804.353.1256 castleburgbrewery.com

Center of the Universe Brewing Company

11293 Air Park Rd. Ashland 804.368.0299 cotubrewing.com

Champion Brewing Co. 324 6th Street Charlottesville 434.295.2739 championbrewingcompany.com

Champion Brewing Company

401 Grace Street

Richmond

804.344.5108

championbrewingcompany.com

Colonial Beach Brewing

215C Washington Avenue

Colonial Beach 540.226.2114

colonialbeachbrewing.com

Devils Backbone Brewing Company - Basecamp

200 Mosbys Run Roseland

434.361.1001

dbbrewingcompany.com

Extra Billy’s 1110 Alverser Dr. Midlothian

804.379.8727 extrabillys.com/ ExtraBillysBarBQ2.htm

Final Gravity Brewing Company 6118 Lakeside Ave.

Richmond

804.264.4808

Fine Creek Brewing Company

2425 Robert E. Lee Road Powhatan

804.372.9786

Finecreekbrewing.com

Garden Grove Brewing 3445 West Cary Street

Richmond

804-918-6158

gardengrovebrewing.com

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

2408 Ownby Ln.

Richmond

804.420.2420

hardywood.com

Hardywood Pilot Brewery & Taproom

1000 W. Main Street

Charlottesville

Intermission Beer Co.

10089 Brook Road Glen Allen

804.585.0405

intermission.com

Isley Brewing Company 1715 Summit Avenue

Richmond

804.499.0721

isleybrewingcompany.com

James River Brewery 561 Valley St. Scottsville

434.286.7837 jrbrewery.com

Kindred Spirits Brewing Company 12830 W. Creek Parkway Goochland

804.708.0309 kindredspiritsbrewing.com

Legend Brewing Company

321 W. Seventh St. Richmond

804.232.3446 legendbrewing.com

Lickinghole Creek

Farm Brewery

4100 Knolls Point Dr. Goochland

804.314.4380 lickingholecreek.com

Lickinghole Goodwater 1717 East Franklin Street Richmond lickingholecreek.com

Loose Shoe Brewing Company 198 Ambriar Plaza Amherst 434-941-7345 looseshoebrewing.com

Midnight Brewery 2410 Granite Ridge Rd. Rockville 804.356.9379 midnight-brewery.com

Origin Beer Lab 106 S. Railroad Avenue Ashland 804.368.0299 facebook.com/originbeerlab

Pro Re Nata Farm Brewery 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke. Crozet 434.823.4878 prnbrewery.com

Random Row Brewing Company 608 Preston Avenue Charlottesville 434.284.8466 randomrow.com

Reason Beer Co. 1180 Seminole Trail, #290 Charlottesville reasonbeer.com

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

11800 W. Broad Street Richmond 23233 804-237-1684 rockbottom.com

South Street Brewery 106 South Street Charlottesville 434.293.6550 southstreetbrewery.com

Starr Hill Brewery 5391 Three Notch’d Rd. Crozet 434.823.5671 starrhill.com

Steam Bell Beer Works 1717 E Oak Blvd. Midlothian 804.728.1875 facebook.com/steambellbeer

Stone Brewing Company 4300 Williamsburg Avenue Richmond 23231 760.294.7899 facebook.com/ stonebrewingrichmond.

Strangeways Brewing 2277 Dabney Rd. Richmond 804.303.4336 strangewaysbrewing.com

The Answer Brewpub 6008 West Broad St. Richmond facebook.com theanswerbrewpub.com

The Veil Brewing Company 1301 Roseneath Road Richmond 804.355.58515 theveilbrewing.com

Three Notch’d Brewing Company

946 Grady Ave Charlottesville 434.293.0610 threenotchdbrewing.com

Three Notch’d Brewing Company

RVA Colab House 2930 W. Broad St. Richmond threenotchdbrewing.com

Three Notch’d @ IX Park 522 2nd Street, SE Charlottesville threenotchdbrewing.com

Trapezium Brewing Company 423 Third Street Petersburg 23803 571.758.2738 trapeziumbrewing.com

Triple Crossing Brewing Company 113 S. Foushee Street Richmond 804.308.0475

Triple Crossing Brewing Company 5203 Hatcher Street Richmond 804.496.1955 triplecrossingbeer.com

Twisted Ales Craft Brewing 212 W. 6th Street Richmond twistedlaes.com.

Vasen Brewing Company 3331 Moore Street, Richmond 804.588.5678 vasenbrewing.com

White Rock Brewing Company 2117 Bruno Drive Goodview 24905 540.890.3359 whiterockwines.com.

Wild Wolf Brewing Company 2461 Rockfish Valley Highway Nellysford 434.361.0088 wildwolfbeer.com

Willow Sprung Brewery in The Light Well Restaurant 110 E Main Street Orange 540.661.0004 thelightwell.com

Wood Ridge Farm Brewery 165 Old Ridge Road Lovingston 434.422.6225

COASTAL VIRGINIA

Alewerks 189-B Ewell Rd. Williamsburg 757.220.3670 williamsburgalewerks.com

Amber Ox Kitchen & Brewery 521 Prince George Street Williamsburg 757.790.2299 theamberox.com

Back Bay Brewing Company 614 Norfolk Ave. Virginia Beach 757.531.7750 backbaybrewco.com

Bearded Bird Brewing Co. 727 Granby Street Norfolk beardedbirdbrewing.com

Benchtop Brewing Company 1129 Boissevain Avenue Norfolk 757.321.9482 benchtopbrewing.com

Big Ugly Brewing Company 1296 Battlefield Blvd. South Chesapeake 757-609-2739 biguglybrewing.com

Billsburg Brewery 2054 Jamestown Road Williamsburg billsburg.com

Bold Mariner 2409 Bowdens Ferry Road Norfolk boldmariner.com

Brass Cannon Brewing Company 5476 Mooretown Road Williamsburg 757.566.0001 brasscannonbrewing.com

Bull Island Brewing Company 758 Settlers Landing Road Hampton 757.788.9489 bullislandbrewing.com

Coelacanth Brewing 760 W. 22nd Street Norfolk 757.59.UGLY.1 coelacanth.com

Commonwealth Brewing Company 2444 Pleasure House Rd. Virginia Beach 757.305.9652

Deadline Brewing Project 2272 W. Great Neck Road, Suite 2268 Virginia Beach 757.502.4980 deadlinebrewing.com

Gordon Biersch 4561 Virginia Beach Blvd. Virginia Beach 757.490.2739

Green Flash Brewing 1209 Craft Lane

Virginia Beach greenflashbrew.com

Home Republic Brew Pub 328 Laskin Road Virginia Beach 757.226.9593

MoMac Brewing Company 3228 Academy Avenue

Portsmouth 757.383.9572

momacbrewing.com

Montross Brewery 15381 Kings Highway Montross 804.452.7394

montrossbrewery.com

O’Connor Brewing Company 211 W. 24th Street

Norfolk 757.623.2337 oconnorbrewing.com

Oozelfinch Craft Brewery 81 Patch Road Fort Monroe 757.224.7042

oozelfinchbeers.com

Pleasure House Brewing 3025 Shore Dr. Virginia Beach, VA 23451 757.647.8597 pleasurehousebrewing.com

Reaver Beach Brewing Company 1505 Taylor Farm Road Virginia Beach 757.563.2337

beachbrewingcompany.com

Rip Rap Brewing Company 116 E 25th Street Norfolk riprapbrewing.com

Smartmouth Brewing Company 1309 Raleigh Ave., #300 Norfolk 757.624.3939 smartmouthbrewing.com

St. George Brewing Company 204 Challenger Way Hampton 757.865.7781 stgeorgebrewingco.com

The Virginia Beer Company

401 Second Street Williamsburg 757.378.2903 virginiabeerco.com

Tradition Brewing Company 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd. Newport News 757.303.3415 traditionbrewing.com

Wasserhund Brewing Company 805 Laskin Rd. #102 Virginia Beach 757.618.6051

Wharf Hill Brewing Co. 25 Main Street Smithfield 757-357-7100

Wharfhillbrewing.com

Young Veterans Brewing Company

2505 Horse Pasture Road,Ste. 104 Virginia Beach 757.689.4021 yvbc.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

2 Silos Brewing Company

9925 Discovery Blvd., Manassas farmbrewlive.com

6 Bears & A Goat Brewing Company

11440 International Drive Fredericksburg

540.356.9056

6bgbrewing.com

1781 Brewing Company 11109 Plank Rd. Spotsylvania 804.842.0199

Adroit Theory Brewing Company

404 Browing Ct., Unit C Purcellville

703.722.3144

adroit-theory.com

Adventure Brewing North 33 Perchwood Drive Fredericksburg

540.242.8876

adventurebrewing.com

Adventure Brewing South 3300 Dill Smith Drive Fredericksburg aventurebrewing.com

Aslin Beer Company

257 Sunset Park Drive Herndon, VA 20170 703.787.5766

aslinbeer.com

B Chord Brewing Company

34266 Williams Gap Road Round Hill

BadWolf (Big) Brewing Company 8420 Kao Circle Manassas, 20110

badwolfbrewingcompany.com

BadWolf (Little) Brewing Company 9776 Center St. Manassas 571.208.1064

badwolfbrewingcompany.com

Barnhouse Brewery 43271 Spinks Ferry Road Leesburg

703.675.8408 barnhousebrewery.com

Barrel Oak Farm Taphouse 3623 Grove Lane Delaplane

540.364.6402

barreloak.com

Battlefield Brewing Company 4187 Plank Rd Fredericksburg

540.785.2164

chancellorpub@msn.com

Beer Hound Brewery 201 Waters Place Culpeper 22701

540-317-5327

beerhoundbrewery.com

Belly Love Brewing Company 725 E Main Street Purcellville, VA 20132

540.441.3159

bellylovebrewing.com

Beltway Brewing Company

22620 Davis Dr. #110

Sterling 571.989.2739 beltwaybrewco.com

Bike Lane Brewing Company 101 Loudoun Street SE Leesburg 571.293.0050 bikelanebrewing.com

Black Hoof Brewing Company 11 S. King Street Leesburg 571.707.8014 blackhoofbrewing.com

Black Walnut Brewing Company 210 S King Street Leesburg facebook.com/ blackwalnutbrewery

Brew Republic Bierwerks 15201 Potomac Town Place Woodbridge 703.594.7950 brewrepublic.beer

Caboose Brewing Company 520 Mill Street NE Vienna 703-865-8580 caboosebrewing.com

Capitol City Brewing Company 4001 Campbell Ave. Arlington 703.578.3888 capcitybrew.com

Corcoran Brewing Company 205 E. Hirst Road, Suite 105 Purcellville 540.441.3102 corcoranbrewing.com

Crooked Run Brewing Company

22455 Davis Drive Sterling cookedrunbrewing.com

Crooked Run Brewing Company 205 Harrison Street SE Leesburg 571.978.4446

Ono Brewing Company 4520 Daly Drive Chantilly 571.409.6662 onobrewco.com

Dirt Farm Brewing Co. 18701 Foggy Bottom Rd. Bluemont 540.554.2337 dirtfarmbrewing.com

Dog Money Brewery 50 Catoctin Circle Leesburg 703.687.3852

Fair Winds Brewing Company 7000 Newington Road, Suites K&L Lorton 703-372-2001 fairwindsbrewing.com

Far Gohn Brewing Co. 301 S Main Street Culpeper

The Farm Brewery at Broad Run 16015 John Marshall Hwy. Broad Run 703.753.3548 thefarmatbroadrun.com

Forge Brew Works

8532 Terminal Rd., Ste. L Lorton 703.372.2979 forgebrewworks.com

Gordon Biersch

Tyson’s Corner Mall McLean 703.388.5454 gordonbiersch.com

Growling Bear Brewing Company 14051 Crown Court Woodbridge, 22193 571.535.1965

growlingbearbrewing.com

Heritage Brewing Co. 9436 Center Point Lane Manassas 800.432.1792 heritagebrewing.com

Heroic Aleworks 14910 Persistence Drive Woodbridge 571.398.6113 heroicaleworks.com

Highmark Brewery 390 Kings Hwy. Fredericksburg 540.207.1725 highmarkbrewery.com

Hopkins Ordinary Ale Works 47 Main St. Sperryville 540.987.3383 hopkinsordinary.com/ale-works

Jack’s Run Brewing Company 108 N. 21st Street Purcellville 540.441.3382 jacksrunbrewing.com

Lake Anne Brew House 11424 Washington Plaza West Reston 571.758.2739 lakeannebrewhouse.com

Lost Rhino Brewing Company 21730 Red Rum Dr., Ste. 142 Ashburn 571.291.2083 lostrhino.com

Lost Rhino Retreat 22885 Brambleton Plaza Brambleton 703.327.0311

Loudoun Brewing Company 310 E Market St. Leesburg 703.350.8553 loudounbrewing.com

Mad Fox Brewing Company 444 West Broad St., Ste. I Falls Church 703.942.6840 madfoxbrewing.com

Maltese Brewing Company 11047 B Pierson Drive Fredericksburg maltesebrewing.com

Market Common Brewpub & Roastery 2900 Wilson Blvd., #104 Arlington 571.208.1355 hbcmarketcommon.com

Mustang Sally Brewing Company 14140 Parke Long Court Chantilly 703.378.7450 msbrewing.com

New District Brewing Company 2709 S Oakland Street Arlington 22206 703.888.5820

Ocelot Brewing Company 23600 Overland Drive, Ste. 180 Sterling 703-665-2146 ocelotbrewing.com

Old Bust Head Brewing Company 7134 Lineweaver Rd. Warrenton 540.347.4777 oldbusthead.com

Old 690 Brewing Company 15670 Ashbury Church Road Purcellville old690.com

Old Ox Brewery 44652 Guilford Dr Unit 114 Ashburn 703.729.8375 oldoxbrewery.com

Old Trade Brewery 13270 Alanthus Road Brandy Station 774.218.8645 oldtradebrewery.com

Ornery Beer Company 14389 Potomac Mills Drive Woodbridge, 22192 703.490.6400 ornerybeer.com

Pen Druid Brewing 7 River Lane Sperryville, 22740 540.987.8800 pendruid.com

Port City Brewing Company 3950 Wheeler Ave. Alexandria 703.797.2739 portcitybrewing.com

Portner’s Brewhouse 5772 Dow Avenue Alexandria 703.646.0466 portnerbrewhouse.com

Powers Farm & Brewery 9269 Redemption Way Midland 540.272.5060 powersfarmbrewery.com

Quattro Goombas Brewing Company 22860 James Monroe Highway Aldie 703-327-6052 goombabrewery.com

Red Dragon Brewery 1419 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg 22401 540.382.4342 reddragonbrewery.com

Rusty Beaver Brewery 18043 Jefferson Davis Hwy Ruther Glen (Ladysmith Exit off I-95) 855.478.7892 rustybeaverbrewery.com

Sinistral Brewing Company 9419 Main Street Manassas sinistralbbrewingcompany.com

Solace Brewing Company 42615 Trade West Drive, #100 Dulles solacebrewing.com

Spencer Devon Brewing Company 106 George Street Fredericksburg 540-999-6253 spencerdevonbrewing.com

Strangeways Brewing

350 Landsdowne Road

Fredericksburg 540.371.1776

strangewaysbrewing.com

Sweetwater Tavern 14250 Sweetwater Ln. Centreville 703.449.1100

greatamericanrestaurants.com

Sweetwater Tavern 3066 Gate House Plaza Falls Church 703.645.8100 greatamericanrestaurants.com

Sweetwater Tavern 45980 Waterview Plaza

Sterling 571.434.6500 greatamericanrestaurants.com

Tin Cannon Brewing Co

7679 Limestone Dr. #130 Gainesville 571-248-0489 tincannonbrewing.com

Twinpanzee Brewing Company 101-D Executive Drive

Sterling 703.791.9363

Vanish Brewing 44624 Leelyn Farm Lane Leesburg 20176 vanishbeer.com

Water’s End Brewery 12425 Dillingham Square Lake Ridge 571.285.1997

watersendbrewery.com

Wild Run Brewing Company

3071 Jefferson Davis Hwy

Stafford 540.659.3447 wildrunbrewing.com

Wort Hog Brewing Company 41 Beckham Street Warrenton 540.300.2739 worthogbreweryllc.com

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Alesatian Brewing Company 23 N. Loudoun Street Winchester 540.667.2743 alesatianbrewing.com

Backroom Brewery

150 Ridgemont Rd. Middletown 540.869.8482 facebook.com/BackroomBrewery

Basic City Beer Co. 1010 E. Main Street Waynesboro 540.265.8062 basiccitybeer.com

Bedlam Brewing Company 2303 North Augusta Street Staunton 540.416.4634

Blue Lab Brewing Company 123 S. Randolph St. Lexington 540.458.0146 bluelabbrewing.com

Brothers Craft Brewing 800 N Main Street Harrisonburg 540.432.8940 threebrosbrew.com

Devils Backbone Brewing Company - Outpost 50 Northwind Lane Lexington 540.462.6200 dbbrewingcompany.com

Escutcheon Brewing Company

150 W. Commercial Street Winchester 540.391.8713 escutcheonbrewing.com

Great Valley Farm Brewery

60 Great Valley Lane Natural Bridge 540.521.6163 greatvalleyfarmbrewery.com

Hawksbill Brewing Company 22 Zerkel Street Luray 540.860.5608 hawkbillbrewing.wordpress.com

Pale Fire Brewing Company 217 S. Liberty Street Harrisonburg 540-217-5452 palefirebrewing.com

Queen City Brewing 834 Springhill Road Staunton 540.213.8014 qcbrewing.com

Redbeard Brewing 120 South Lewis St. Staunton 804.641.9340 redbeardbrews.com

Ridge Runner Farm & Brewery 6895 Back Road Maurertown 571.201.2963 virginiafarmbrew.com

Seven Arrows Brewing Company

2508 Jefferson Hwy. Ste 1 Waynesboro 540-221-6968 sevenarrowsbrewing.com

Shenandoah Valley Brewing Company

103 W. Beverly Street Staunton 540.887.2337 shenvalbrew.com

Stable Craft Brewing at Hermitage Hill

375 Madrid Road Waynesboro 540.490.2609 stablecraftbrewing.com

Swover Creek Farm Brewery 4176 Swover Creek Rd. Edinburg 540.984.8973 swovercreekfarms.com

Three Notch’d Brewing Co. Harrisonburg Taproom 241 E. Market Street Harrisonburg 540.217.5939

Winchester Brew Works 320 N Cameron St. Winchester 540.692.9242 winchesterbrewworks.com

Wolfe Street Brewing Company 120 W. Wolfe St. Harrisonburg

Woodstock Brewhouse 123 E Court Street Woodstock 22664 woodstockbrewhouse.com 540-459-2739

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

2 Witches Winery & Brewing Company

209 Trade St. Danville 434-549-BREW (2739

Ballad Brewing Company 600 Craighead Street Danville balladbrewing.com

Buggs Island Brewing Company 110 College Street Clarkesville

Mountain Valley Brewing Company

4220 Mountain Valley Road Axton 276.833.2171 mountainvalleybrewing.com

Staunton River Brewing Co. 1571 Mt. Calvary Road Brookneal stauntonriverbrewing.com

VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS

Big Lick Brewing Company

135 Salem Ave.

Roanoke, VA 24011

540-562-8383

biglickbrewingco.com

Chaos Mountain Brewing Company

3135 Dillons Mill Rd. Callaway

540.334.1600

chaosmountainbrewing.com

Flying Mouse Brewery

221 Precast Way Troutville 540.992.1288

flyingmousebrewery.com

Hammer & Forge Brewing Company

70 Main Street

Boones Mill

540.909.3200

hammerandforgebrewing.com

Parkway Brewing 739 Kessler Mill Rd.

Salem

parkwaybrewing.com

Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers 523 Shenandoah Avenue Roanoke

540.529.2140 soaringridge.com

Starr Hill Pilot Brewery 6 Old Whitmore Road Roanoke 434.823.5671

starrhill.com/roanoke

Sunken City Brewery

40 Brewery Dr., Hardy

540.420.0476 sunkencitybeer.com

Twin Creeks Brewing Co. 111 Pollard Street, Vinton 540.265.8062 twincreeksbrewing.com

BLUE RIDGE HIGHLANDS

Foggy Ridge Cider 1328 Pineview Rd. Dugspur 276.398.2337 foggyridgecider.com

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Albemarle CiderWorks 2545 Rural Ridge Ln. North Garden 434.297.2326 albemarleciderworks.com

Blue Bee Cider 1320 Summit Avenue Richmond 804.231.0280 bluebeecider.com

Blue Toad Hard Cider Pub 9278 Rockfish Valley Hwy. Afton 434.996.6992 bluetoadhardcider.com

Bold Rock Hard Cider 1020 Rockfish Valley Hwy. Nellysford 434.361.1030 boldrock.com

Buskey Cider 2910 W. Leigh Street Richmond buskeycider.com

Castle Hill Cider 6065 Turkey Sag Rd. Keswick 434.296.0047 castlehillcider.com

Courthouse Creek Cider Maidens Road Goochland facebook.com/ courthousecreek

Potter’s Craft Cider Charlottesville potterscraftcider.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Corcoran Vineyards Hard Cider 14635 Corky’s Farm Lane Waterford 540.882.9073

corcoranvineyards.com

Mount Defiance Cidery & Distillery 207 W. Washington St., Middleburg 540.687.8100 mtdefiance.com

Wild Hare Hard Cider 33735 Snickersville Turnpike Bluemont 703.216.8630 wildharecider.com

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Cobbler Mountain Cellars 5909 Long Fall Lane Delaplane 540.364.2802 cobblercellars.com

Old Hill Cider 17768 Honeyville Rd. Timberville 540.896.7582 oldhillcider.com

The Winery at Kindred Pointe 3575 Conicville Rd Mt Jackson, Shenandoah County 22842 540.477.3570 kindredpointe.com

Winchester Ciderworks 2502 N. Frederick Pike Winchester 540.550.3800 WinchesterCiderworks.com

VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS

Big Fish Cider Co. 59 Spruce Street Monterey 540.468.2322 bigfishcider.com

BLUE RIDGE HIGHLANDS

BLACKSNAKE MEADERY 605 Buffalo Road Dugspur, VA 24325 540.834.6172 blacksnakemead.com

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

BLACK HEATH MEADERY 1313 Altamont Ave Richmond, VA 23230 703.582.0856 blackheathmeadery.com

Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery 2800 Berry Hill Rd Nellysford, VA 22958 434.361.1266 hilltopberrywine.com

SAGA MEADERY

Madison Heights, VA 339.221.3115 sagameadery.com

The Thistle and Stag Meadery 2053 E. River Road Fork Union 434.842.2200 thethistleandstag.com

Vahseer Meadworks 621C Broad Street Altavista, VA 434.515.2482 vahseer.com

COASTAL VIRGINIA

Melo Lion Meadery Yorktown, VA 757.713.4885 melolion.com

SILVER HAND MEADERY 224 Monitcello Ave, Suite C Williamsburg, VA 23185 757.378.2225 silverhandmeadery.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

STONE HOUSE MEADERY 36580 Shoemaker School Rd Purcellville, VA 20132 571.512.0763 stonehousemeadery.com

DeRustica Meadery 17256 Berkshire Dr Jeffersonton, VA 22724 540.937.7778

Maidstone Meadery 9364 Justice Lane Delaplane, VA 20144 703.303.2090 maidstonemeadery.com

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

MISTY MOUNTAIN MEAD WORKS 1531 Pack Horse Road Winchester, VA 22603 540.888.4420 mistymountainmead.com

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

White Oak Mountain MEadery 455 East Store Lane Chatham, VA 24531 888.264.6323