Well the first batch of Hardywood’s award winning Gingerbread Stout was brewed last week. A little early for the November 17 release you say? This batch is going to be the third in their barrel aging series so it needed to be brewed in time for it age in barrels for about 10 weeks. Whose excited?
I know I am.
A few months ago, I wrote a piece on the story of WORK Beer. Recently I have been informed by the wonderful people at WORK Labs that there are some pretty cool looking WORK Beer pint glasses for sale:
Anyone who has ever had a rough day at work knows that a nice beer at the end of the day is one of the best ways to unwind, and a WORK Beer pint glass is a great way to remind you that “You Earned It”. If you’re interested in a glass (or four), head on over to WORK Beer’s online shop!
Hardywood Park’s next batch of Gingerbread Stout will be released on Saturday November 17, 2012. Yes, the same Gingerbread Stout that won a Bronze Medal at the 2012 World Beer Cup and scored a perfect 100/100 from BeerAdvocate.
The release party for the Gingerbread Stout will be something extraordinary, so stay tuned as more details unfold in the next couple of months!
About a month ago I was up in Northern Virginia visiting my good friend Thomas from Rarity in Form (from what I can remember that was the weekend I was up there seeing Polica and Youth Lagoon), and we had to make our usual stop at Westover Market. This place is always stocked with an amazing beer selection. Long story short, this was the weekend I was able to pick up Dogfish Head’s Saison du BUFF.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Saison du BUFF, it is a collaboration between Sam from Dogfish Head, Bill from Victory, and Greg from Stone. They formed the BUFF alliance in 2003, or Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor, and finally were able to brew in 2010. The frist brew took place in California at Stone’s brewery, and then brewed at Victory’s and Dogfish Head’s. However, each brewery brewed their own version of the Saison recipe so you get something different from each brewery.
Be sure to check the video out after the jump! Continue reading
Hardywood Park has been working on their newest Reserve Series; a Belgian Witbier with strawberries. However, this is no ordinary Witbier. A typical Witbier is spiced with coriander, orange peels, and other spices. Hardywood decided to focus more on the strawberry taste, so they brewed a Witbier without any spices. Adding strawberries to secondary fermentation to get that added taste seems like an easy step right? Wrong. Be sure to read more to find out the hard work the staff of Hardywood Park and the craft beer lovers of Richmond, Virginia did to make Virginia Strawberry happen. Continue reading
As a hophead, I can’t wait to try the Tenth Anniversary Ruination IPA. Check out this video to learn more about it. It was released yesterday, June 11.
This July 4th, come to Hardywood Park Craft Brewery to celebrate Brewdependence Day! With the passing of SB604 (check out my previous writeup here), Virginia breweries are able to sell full glasses of beers at the brewery. To celebrate, Hardywood brewed a 3.8% ABV American-style special bitter and appropriately named it SB 604!
Hardywood Park wants to celebrate this monumental occasion on July 4th at the brewery from 5 – 11 PM. There will be live music provided by People’s Blues of Richmond, food from Pizza Tonight, Sausage Craft, and Station 2. Oh, and beer of course! The field across the street from the brewery will be opened up so people can watch the fireworks display from the Diamond a few blocks away. Don’t miss out people, this is going to be a fun time!
Ever since I started drinking craft beer on a regular basis, Dogfish Head became one of my go-to choices. I can probably thank Dogfish Head for being the brewery that expanded my palate early on with their year round releases. Long story short, Dogfish Head has always held a special place in my heart. Sunday I was up in the Northern Virginia area to see a concert Sunday night, so a few friends and I decided to go to the Dogfish Head Alehouse before heading into the city.
I was more excited about the beer selection here than anything else, but I heard their food is good too. When I go to restaurants/bars that are similar to another type of establishment, I always order the same item off of the menu to compare the places. The first time I ate at Legend Brewery in Richmond Virginia I ordered their reuben sandwich. The Dogfish Head Alehouse happened to have a reuben on their menu as well, so I ordered one of those to go along with my black and tan.
Although the reuben wasn’t the best I’ve had, the beer more than made up for it. Unfortunately I was only able to have one beer there because we had to head into the city to see Radiohead, but I could definitely get used to having a place like this in the Richmond area. If you ever have a chance to go to a Dogfish Head Alehouse, I highly recommend it people. Their menu looked incredible, and the beers they had to choose from are definitely worth it!
Since moving downtown a few months ago, I have been on a journey to find a bar/restaurant with a solid craft beer selection and awesome food. Luckily, I found Mekong; a Vietnamese restaurant only a few miles down the road from me. The food menu is large, and the beer list is constantly changing…seems like a recipe for financial disaster.
The owner of Mekong, An, knows what’s up with craft beer. He has started a new YouTube series “An Tap TV”, and his first video is a review of Hardywood’s Bourbon Cru. Check it out!
Great news for Virginia’s craft breweries! Governor McDonnell signed new legislation that will help Virginia craft breweries throughout the Commonwealth. Senate Bill 604 allows breweries to sell their beer at retail on premises to visitors while House Bill 359 allows manufacturers to lease space to small-scale brewers and breweries. This new legislation will help reduce the startup costs of breweries which will help them grow and create more jobs throughout Virginia.
