No beer thread yet and we're almost in May!?
Recently tried the Allagash bourbon barrel aged golden ale (curieux) and bourbon barrel aged stout (nocturna). The stout is pretty good and the ale is one of the best beers I've ever had, really considering going back to bankrupt myself and stock up lol
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Curieux is incredible. Their standard Tripel is excellent, too. One of the few American made Tripels that's pretty close to what you get in Belgium.
I love beer.
This guy knows what's up
Triple Crossing had their anniversary last week. Picked up their annual stout and saving it to share with the wife for after our second is born in the next month or so.
Veil has their anniversary this week with a ton of releases. Not as crazy about that as I used to be but planning to stop by and pick something up tomorrow.
April is a good month for beer in RVA.
Some thoughts and observations not necessarily connected.
I've been busy as h3ll. Trying to get a new taproom open in Natural Bridge across the street from the park.
Craft Brewer's conference starts back up again in Minneapolis this year starting this weekend. I can't make it. Too much going on.
Deschutes closed their tasting room in Roanoke. Olde Salem Brewing is going into that spot.
Murphy and Rude Malt House outside Charlottesville is going through a big expansion right now.
Ingredient prices are going through the roof. Some beers may be tougher to get and most breweries I have talked to are moving to lower alcohol offering expansion in order to try and keep the price increases down.
I'm looking at more barrel aging and doing things that are a bit tart to keep a broad range of offerings.
Regulatory agencies are just now coming back to doing field calls and they are on a bit of a rampage.
Scottish Games Festival is starting back up in Green Hill park in Roanoke County. It'll be August. County didn't know if they want to do it again this year. It looks like it's approval will be on a year to year basis. I'm running the beer garden his year.
I see more and more people asking for lagers and things other than IPAs. I agree, though I am the only one af the entire staff that drinks IPAs.
I gotta get my back yard in order. My buddy with the pool moved so, my backyard is going to have to become the summer tailgate spot. A fast makeshift patio kitchen looks about to happen.
Anniversary party for the brewery I work at is next weekend 14th.
Beer is good food.
Good luck with opening the new taproom and handling the inflation for ingredients.
Good for Olde Salem, I like them. I hope they have grown enough to handle the space.
And as a beer nerd exhausted with hazy IPAs I'm thrilled to hear the demand is increasing for not IPAs!
Always appreciate hearing your thoughts and updates in the brewing industry.
Egbert, can you share the name of your place or is that considered marketing/against the rules? I'll be down in the area over Memorial Day for a hiking trip: Fallingwater Cascades (not 'The Cascades', but over by Peaks of Otter) Flat Top Mountain and Dragon's Tooth. Would love to swing by. Did Sharp Top Mountain the last time I was in the area.
Pretty sure he's at Chaos Mountain.
Thank you ashore13!
I figured several people probably knew the answer and even if he could not say someone else would be able to without breaking any self-promotion rules.
Oh, and edit to a few of the comments above. I'm glad I'm not the only person who is more than tired of the 'all IPA hops, hops and more hops and if it sells poorly, it much be because we did not put enough hops in it' infatuation that seemed to have taken over for years. I've been seeing a move away from IPAs up here in NJ for at least a year or two.
Despite some move away, IPAs are still the largest selling craft beers in the country.
But that's a very broad category.
I've always had several lagers in my catalog.
I'm thinking maybe the Shine Runners Pils or Edge of the Sun. Tend to like wheat beers or things that are not real dark.
Edge of the Sun is coming out for Cinqo de Mayo.
Good krispy Pilzners seem to be what my NC brewing friends have been talking about recently.
i am drinking more and more of those. czech, german and italian, sign me up.
tho it's a hard style to master.
Anyone in Richmond know where I can find me some Bass Ale? Total wine and more stopped getting it in and now I cant find it anywhere near here
Bass Ale 😮
I worship it and now my only source has departed. If anyone knows anywhere that maybe distributes it let me know.
Have you tried calling one of the bottle shops in town to see if they can get it without surcharging you too much? Bottleworks and corks and kegs are usually pretty cool about special orders. The guys at farm fresh in the bottom have also hooked me up a couple times before.
I gave up beer for Lent. Just beer, not all alcohol, so how hard could it be?? Y'all it was hard. There are just some situations where nothing does the trick like beer. I love whiskey, but liquor doesn't mesh with helping a buddy move. Cocktails are good but man I'm just not all that into sugary drinks. My first swig after Easter hit the damn spot like only beer could (and a hoppy IPA at that)
Lately I've been trying to scale back my beer consumption, at the same time, it seems I have been ramping up my beer production....I'll find equilibrium at some point
This is where having friends to give the extra beer to really helps. It's the only way I'm able to clear out kegs and bottles to brew twice a month.
Share my brew?
Kidding, my homebrew club helps, we meet once a month, so I typically try to fill a growler for a meeting
757 and homebrew club?
Must mean HRB&TS
Many commercial brewers came from that club.
The 757 is where I'm from, and where I was when I created the handle. Now in the 252 with the Outer Banks Homebrewers
Would love to take it commercial at some point tho
honestly, i am pretty bored by beer right now.
i'll drink an ipa or pils if it's really good, then just move to bourbon or rye. if with friends, i'll drink more beer and i still share with a handful of friends, but i've been to the top of mountain ... now what?
While visiting Galveston, I got to experience these excellent brews from here:
I enjoyed the Tiki Wheat, Causeway Kolsh, and Citra Mellow IPA
Virginia Tech and Hardywood have a new beer: All Hail to Thee Sesquicentennial Celebration Amber Ale. All Virginia Grown Malted Barley and Wheat. Hop forward Flavor (Pine, Resin... some fruit.) @ 20-23 IBU.
Thanks for the heads-up. I don't know how I missed this.
I have not seen it here yet.
I also use that malt in a Virginia Pilsner as well.
It's a really good malt.
Finally got around to finding a few. Thanks again for putting this on my radar. Pretty tasty, hopefully appeases the folks that didn't like Fightin' Hokies Lager since it was "boring".
@Egbert - pleasure meeting you yet again last Saturday in Lex Vegas. Excited for your satellite location to open in Natural Bridge. I believe my friend Genny spoke with you about a job there. She is super beer-knowledgeable and would do a fantastic job (no bias at all). Enjoyed the beer! Will be nice to have a new location close by.
Yeah, it's always fun to bump into someone out in the real world I know from the interwebs.
Did meet Genny, seems just the right type of person I'm looking for for up there.
I should post on the job board here about looking for part time work as beer Specialist Interface Personnel (SIP) in Natural Bridge.
Soon man, soon. Just waiting on paperwork from the state.