As it turns out, it’s an even bigger weekend for Virginia craft beer than originally thought. Not long after Blue 5 added a third and fourth beer from an in state craft brewery (check out that write up below), just down the street, Lucky Restaurant placed Williamsburg AleWerks’ Washington’s Porter on draft. Here’s what Williamsburg’s AleWerks website briefly says about this particular porter…. “Very dark brown/black in color with and aroma of chocolate and malt and flavors of caramel, sweet chocolate and a touch roasted grain. Big malt finish…”. The beer’s listing on beeradvocate.com find well scored after 92 reviews.
Now, perhaps over the years, there have been instances where this many Virginia produced brews have been available around town. But with the current craze of interest in craft beers nationally, and with the growth of restaurants here in my own city dedicating themselves to making such beer available, having this many around town at one time is nothing short of one very wonderful snapshot in time. A quick run-down finds four at Blue 5, the Washington’s Porter at Lucky Restaurant, Starr Hill’s Northern Lights at Martin’s, and if you want to go for seven, include the Devils Backbone Vienna Lager (one of the ones counted at Blue 5) at Local Roots Restaurant. And these are primarily just the new additions. Add in several more which were already on draft around town, like some of Richmond based Legend’s beers, Roanoke based Big Daddy’s Brewing, featured at Awful Arthur’s downtown and Growlers at Towers Mall, and Roanoke Railhouse beers, which you can find just about everywhere around town, and the list simply continues to grow. At this rate, another Virginia craft brew may be going up on tap right around the corner. In the downtown area, those words can be taken, it seems, quite literally!
Well done, Roanoke.
Support Virginia craft beer!
Need proof of the evolving craft brewery growth in and around the Charlottesville, Virginia area? Although travelling there makes for a one heck of a beer themed road trip, there’s no need to jump in the car this weekend if you’re in the Roanoke area. All that’s needed is a look at the draft selections at Roanoke’s Blue 5 Restaurant. Yesterday saw the addition of their Starr Hill’s (Crozet) “All Access” Wee Heavy and Blue Mountain Brewery’s (Afton) “Evan Altmighty” Altbier. Along with Devils Backbone’s (Roseland) Vienna Lager and Starr Hill’s “The Love” Hefeweizen, both already on draft, the total comes to four beers currently at the downtown restaurant, definitely serving as a testament to craft beer from that area.
Both newcomers to Blue 5’s draft list offer some slightly out of the ordinary opportunities for tasting. The German Altbier is not an commonly found beer to run across, especially on draft. I’ve always considered it perhaps a good beer for those folks still not sold on ales in general. Altbiers come in a couple different sub styles, but to simplify, they are an ale that has been put through extended storage, much the same way lagers are, which mellows out those typically “fruity”, or ale like flavors which turn off some people. Somewhat of a cross between an ale and a lager, this style was supposedly born out of a time in which Germany was well on its way towards becoming arguably the most legendary lager producing nation in the world. Breweries were being all but forced to produce only cold stored, or “lagered” beers, but a couple localities continued to produce ales, only to then put the ale through a lagering process. What resulted were a couple of smooth tasting ales – the Kolsch, and the Altbier.
For those who don’t mind an ale but either want to stay well away from a more hop forward flavor, or for those who just love a deep, rich malty beer, Starr Hill’s All Access Wee Heavy may be your ticket. Scottish Ales are generally malty sweet-ish experiences, and the Wee Heavy is the example of these on the farthest end of that scale. Deliciously rich, these beers often get tagged as a perfect fit for a chilly evening, but with their smooth but sometimes roasted flavors and velvety body, they’re just too good to pin them down to any one particular setting.
As the craft beer choices continue to grow in Roanoke, especially in terms of what’s available on draft, it became pretty clear the blog would have to undergo some sort of change. I used to keep a running list down the sidebar to the right of craft beer on draft around town, but with more restaurants and bars adding beers, it would’ve gotten to the point that the sidebar would’ve been as long as your arm, and overrun with that and nothing else.
If you weren’t really into American craft beer all that much but had been checking into some of the twitter conversations surrounding it this past week, at least in the mid Atlantic states, you might’ve thought you had somehow lost your way. As the twitter hashtag “#sexchoc” began popping up over and over, you might have started to think you had gotten more than a little off topic, or had somehow begun following a fan group for late eighties Eddie Murphy movies, but I assure you, you were still in the right place. All the buzz, of course, was about Foothills Brewing’s annual release of their chocolate stout Sexual Chocolate. If you were lucky enough to get a taste of this limited release beer, I’m sure you agreed it was well worth the wait. (Randy Watson approves as well.)
Now, not all are quite this epic, and of course opinions vary on which ones to include on the red carpet list. There are also many others that seem to come close to earning such excitement. These brews have their own, smaller packs of groupies, are available readily, but still feature some pretty intense, much bigger than average flavors. This weekend, here in Roanoke, we’re lucky to have representatives from both “categories” around town, on tap, and are all well worth checking out. Be wary though, a couple of these are definitely hop forward. So if you’re a self appointed hop head, you’ve skipped to the list below, have your coat on, and are headed for the door. But if you are still skeptical of hops and how much tongue and face twisting they’ll do to you, you might tend to stay away from these particular animal’s cages. Then again, perhaps today’s the day your curiosity gets the best of you, and you earn your very own fedora.
There was no instantaneous moment of inspiration, scribbled hastily down on the nearest available napkin. No, there might not have been any moment of exclamatory revelation, followed by a night spent writing down page after page of plans or rough blueprints. Instead, a subtle but lasting impression was more likely made, somewhere softly in his memory, for future use. Among the warm environment of family and friends, Will Landry was helping celebrate his great aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary in the Roebuck Restaurant and Inn which the couple ran, located in the beautiful and picturesque English countryside. An appreciation of English session ales, such as the Boddington’s he celebrated the evening with, threaded its way through the joyful evening, and as it often happens with good times among family and friends, things seemed to simply fit hand in hand.
It wasn’t Landry’s only fond recollection involving the comfort of a pub and good beer. Another part of the family lived nearby, in a village just large enough for one pub, the Four Alls. In places such as these, low alcohol “session” beers, a term which originated in England, were the norm. These were not ales that run you over in an hour or less. These are true pub ales – ones that allow for meeting up with friends or family, sitting down, and sharing stories over an entire evening, and then, as Landry remembers quite specifically, making your way home safely. Experiences such as this were, and always are, as much about the time spent around those who know you best and the comfort such a presence and time brings, as the beer.
Still in the final planning stages, there is no doubt “Barley and Chops”, keeps Landry’s thoughts busy these days. But it was the love of good beer, and moreover, freshly produced beer and plenty of different styles of it, that was at the forefront of Landry’s thoughts on a recent evening. “First and foremost you can’t beat fresh beer and there is really no better way than to drink a fresh beer at a brewpub.” While some of his first beers may have indeed included those two BrewDo winners, Landry promises plenty of variety at Barley and Chops. Both his training with the American Brewer’s Guild – Landry is well on his way to finishing his Craft Brewer Apprenticeship – and his own wide ranging interest in different beer styles may factor into this, but he knows variety is what ultimately drives craft beer interest among fans. It’s also what he considers his brewpub may add to the area – the ability for a regular visitor to the to ask that classic question “What’s new on tap?” and hear that indeed, something has changed since last visit.
While the exact location of the brewpub is yet to be finalized – a couple of Roanoke area locations are in the running – the intent is clear. It resonates within Landry’s words. “I think the bottom line is we want everyone to leave feeling like they had an experience. A wow moment, if you will, with the beer, or the food or the pairing of both.” As he speaks, I think back to the memories of his great aunt and uncles’ Inn, the Dungeon Ghyll, or the Four Alls. They are locations of warm recollections, for many reasons in Landry’s life, yet are universal as well. We all remember places and times such as the ones Landry recalls – places where fine beer, good food, and a comfortable environment for you and those who know you well instantly create stories of times spent together. After years of remembering these locations and recalling their own stories, Landry is now creating Barley and Chops, a place to showcase his own beer recipes and to pair them with great food. But stopping at that description simply feels a bit too academic, and leaves perhaps the most important feature out. Because as you listen to Landry share those stories, it’s clear that Barley and Chops won’t just be his own brewpub. Without a doubt, it will become his very own setting for new, lifelong memories for him and his patrons, created over a good cold beer and among those who know you best.
Last weekend, the Star City’s beer curious were introduced to Blue 5’s new tap system, allowing the downtown restaurant to begin serving no fewer than 46 draft beers, the great majority of them craft, microbrewed beers. At the same time, another downtown restaurant, Lucky, added a certain seasonally released beer that creates about the same anticipation when it’s released each year as if some legendary rock band has just announced a reunion tour and the tickets are going on sale tomorrow morning.
tap line up as well, so pick your gps destination, downtown or Grandin Village. Either way, do not miss a chance to have this beer if you’re curious about the many different styles of beer out there, and the vast flavors which come from beer’s basic ingredients or the ones brewers sometimes add to a beer to even further the tasting experience, which is exactly what this particular beer is – it is not simply a fine example of American craft brewing, and certainly not just another good coffee infused stout. It is the type of beer that you probably will remember the first time you had it – take it from me, I do.
Updated February 1st (Last paragraph)
This weekend, Blue 5 downtown debuted their new tap system which is allowing them to put no fewer than 46, yes, forty six beers on draft. The list is pretty impressive. A few of the inaugural beers are personal India Pale Ale favorites Union Jack from Firestone Walker Brewing and Big Eye IPA from Ballast Point, and Founders Brewing’s Centennial IPA. Leaning towards something less hoppy? If you’re on the fence between something with both good malt character and hops, something a bit more balanced, North Coast’s Red Seal Ale has made a long overdue reappearance in the Star City, and Speakeasy’s Prohibition Ale is alongside as well. Looking for something crisp to remind you of warmer days? Try Germany’s Reissdorf Kolsch, or the American craft brewed Lagunitas Pilsner. Curious of the endless mystery that is Belgian style ales? There’s Allagash’s Black, a strong Belgian Dark Ale – and if I remember correctly, the first beer to sell out at Roanoke’s annual beer festival a couple years ago – and Ommegang’s Gnomegang, a Strong Pale Ale, to sip on and enjoy.
That’s because craft beer fans across the country practically build their calendars around the annual releases of a few highly acclaimed but only annually produced brews. It’s a short list that’s good to be on, but one that causes both quite a bit of stir and occasionally some disappointment. Many of these annually produced and touted beers are created in smaller batches, and available on a limited release scale. Live too many states away from a brewery that produces one of these beers, and it’s either road trip time or you’re living vicariously through others. One that is produced and available fairly widely is Founder’s Breakfast Stout. Sure, you were able to pick it up in stores a couple months ago. But have you ever had it on tap? Because right now, and I mean right now, as in rush to go taste it, it probably won’t last long, it’s on draft at Lucky.
