I didn't post our sweet Hitachino Nest Beer glasses we got at The Birch's St. Kiuchi Day the other week did I? Love these things. We got one of each!
Old and new design on the glasses
Trip to the Bier Garden
Shelby and I recently had dinner at The Bier Garden in Portsmouth, VA. One of the first establishments to have an extensive beer menu in Hampton Roads. It's the "opa" in our craft beer scene!
We walked around a bit and check out the bar--warm, cozy--it reminded me of some the places we actually ate at in Germany when we lived there. We made our way to the dining area and ordered dinner. We both loved our food, I can't wait to go back. Of course, I had a nice Ayinger Weisse and Shelby had a Duchesse De Bourgogne sour. You're not taking in the whole experience without sipping a good beer while there.
I wrote about The Bier Garden in HR Growler. Please check out my article and leave a comment about your experience or anything related to the story and restaurant that comes to mind.
Read it here: Comfort Zone: The Bier Garden
Check out the rest of the photos here.
Prost!
O'Connor Brewing Turns Four
El Guapo!
Norfolk's O'Connor Brewing Company turned 4 years old today -- St. Patrick's Day! I remember hearing about the brewery first coming around through rumor and then opening. It's come a long way since then and it's only getting better: it'll be moving to a new location soon, they've been putting out great seasonals, and the crew is getting bigger.
Karnage Asada
Shelby and I didn't go out tonight but I did get a early St. Patrick's Day pull this past Saturday when the brewery celebrated its anniversary and three wins from the Dublin Craft Beer Cup. Turn-out was great and delicious food was being served by one of the newer food trucks in the area -- Karnage Asada. I'll write a little more about them in a separate post but I will say they're worth stopping for if you see them parked somewhere. I had a "full rack" of tacos and Kapow Kimchos, kimchi nachos. Seriously, it was good!
The weather was perfect. They had a couple of pouring station working on the inside and did a good job at keeping the glasses filled, growlers topped-off, and flights flying. Live music was being played by a three piece outfit and there was even some dancing going on. People were playing cornhole outside next to picnic tables occupied by merry-makers.
Happy Birthday O'Connor Brewing Co. and congratulations on the awards.
P.S. - You probably know this already, but in case you don't...the oak tree you see on the sign is part of the ancient, Irish crest of the O'Connor clan.
O'Connor's Brewers
Kevin O'Connor with the muscle
Jie Yu, Malia, and Ben
Italia Night at The Birch
Ben and Jie Yu Neidhart of B. United International, Inc. recently held a session at The Birch where they described their Connecticut operation—from international shipping, distribution, and specifically the budding craft beer scene in Italy. Their distribution company imports from all over the world and that night at The Birch was a celebration of Italian beers. Listed below are the breweries and the beers on tap for Italia Night:
Nora - Ginger Herb/Spice Ale and Al-Iksir – Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Chocarrubica – Carob Oatmeal Stout and Strada San Felice – Chestnut Ale
Rubus Lamponi – Raspberry Wild Ale
Verdi Zymatore – Granache Sour Chili Stout and My Blueberry Nightmare – Scotch Sour Blueberry Stout
TipoPils – German Style Pilsner and Nigredo – Hoppy Black Lager
Ben and Jie Yu handed out information on the breweries which included a little history, the stories brewer bios, and how the Italian breweries operate. It might be surprising to hear that the land known for millennia of wine making tradition has a very young craft beer scene. From what I've read from other sources it didn't start taking off till the 1990's. Today there are approximately 500 craft breweries in the old country.
It was nice going through the information Ben and Jie Yu passed around. Reading the stories behind each Italian brewery, the training/educational background of the brewers, and the passion behind why they dived into craft beer. Ben described the difference between cultured and wild yeasts used in beers and how introducing selected bacteria causes the sought after sour notes.
After the session ended Ben joined Jie Yu and Malia in sampling some of the beers The Birch had on tap. They invited me to sit with them and sample the line-up. I tried out the Verdi Zymatore Granache Sour Chili Stout and My Blueberry Nightmare, both are made with the same award winning Verdi Imperial Stout. Though they might have come from the same base, both beers had extremely different flavor profiles.
The Granache Chili was aged in Granache casks that were also used to age a chili mead. The imperial stout became a complex blend of lightly sweet and spicy tones that didn't overwhelm me, but I felt the chili in the back of my throat for sure. It had some weight, was sour and dark.
Even though it was made from the same stout base, the Blueberry Nightmare was very different from Granache Chili. Just as rich and darker, the intense fruit really came through with the tart.
I mentioned to them I was still trying to warm up to sours; I talked a little bit about the Duchesse De Bourgogne Shelby had ordered elsewhere. Jie Yu and Malia rattled off a few to see if I knew them and then we sampled some. I need some work on this but I'm getting there. We also talked about B. United and I found out Ben's father runs the distributor. They take their beer seriously and the effort that goes into moving this stuff from the far corners of the earth is respectable.
I enjoyed getting a little sampling of all the Italians (and a few extras) in addition to the one I bought. I stuck around to chat a little more, said my goodbyes, then I headed home.
Hit The Birch to and try some of this stuff before it's gone. Check out all the photos from the event here.
To read more about Italian craft beers try these links:
B. United's blog Nepenthiology has tons of great info
Italy's Craft Beer Awakening – The Beer Connoisseur Online
The Birch's Beer Education Wednesday cheat sheet on Zymatore
Foothills Hits The Birch
Malia of The Birch and Jesse from ChesBay
Leaving O'Connor Brewing Wednesday night, I headed over to The Birch for the Foothills event. Sexual Chocolate and a couple of other Foothills brews were on tap.
I recently had the Sexual Chocolate Stout at Tubby's Tavern so I had a Jade IPA. Bumped into Jesse Scott from ChesBay who distributes Foothills to our area. Malia was working at the bar and came over to chat with us for a little bit.
It was nice seeing everyone in keeping warm. We just had a bunch of snow dumped on us. The Birch is very cozy and has a pretty relaxed atmosphere--perfect for the weather.
A Drink with AltDaily
AltDaily recently announced that Pilot Media acquired the magazine ensuring a solid future (and funding.) They invited people to O'Connor Brewing Co. for a drinks. I'm always up for a drink.
Read a little more about how Jesse and Hannah or AltDaily feel about the what's happening:
The Pilot's president, David Mele, said that the magazine will be able to keep it's voice to "allow it to succeed and thrive." Good luck guys and thank you for allowing me to contribute to the magazine.
The Birch Hosts Left Hand Brewing
The Birch in Chelsea (West Ghent, Norfolk, VA) has been listed in the top 50 craft beer bars in the United States by RateBeer.com. The only one in Virginia on that list, we're pretty lucky to have it. The other week they hosted a Steal the Pint night featuring Left Hand Brewing.
Specialty Beverage of Virginia, who distribute Left Hand in our region, were there in a show of support for the event and The Birch. A representative from the brewery, “Left Hand” Dan Conway was available to talk to customers and help promote the brewery. He was moving about bar and tables talking about the available beers and/or just chatting with the visitors. Since it was Steal the Pint night, the first Left Hand beer ordered garnered the patron a nice Irish-style pint glass with the signature red, left hand emblazoned on the front. The back of the glass had “Sometimes you're not in the mood for what everyone else is having.” printed on it. Neat glass.
We talked to Dan a bit about his work and his beers being served at The Birch. Really nice guy, he travels a lot and has been with the company a while. He goes from state to state hosting events for Left Hand in the Atlantic region; he's based out of Philly. He said the two American ales on tap that night—Deep Cover (American Brown Ale) and Jackman's Pale Ale (American Pale Ale)—were discontinued because they competed with some of their other signature beers also on the market and breweries do rotations in general. I ordered both the Americans and shared them with Shelby and Chayce. They were good, easy to drink. Chayce liked the Milk Stout Nitro (Milk/Sweet Stout); Shelby had the St. Vrain Belgian Tripel.
Me and Left Hand Dan
While we were having our drinks I talked to the Specialty guys, Phil Shannon, Jeff Joyce, Scott Warden and Christain Maute. I tend to bump into these fellas at the beer centric events all around the area. One thing for sure, if you see one of them there will be beer nearby. This is a good thing.
The Birch's owner, Malia Bublick, was constantly moving around the pub, never standing still for too long making sure drinks were poured and the plates handled. In a little lull she did come over to our end of the bar and we talked about how things were going. It was a Thursday night and I asked her about the full house. She said the Thursday crowd is usually pretty good, but when you give away glassware you always get a few more people who show up.
After we finished our drinks and said our good-byes. It's always nice visiting The Birch and I really enjoyed meeting Dan from Left Hand. Hopefully we'll catch them again in the near future.
View the photos from the event here.
George Culver, Cameron Rollo, Gabe Rosenfarb, Morgan Sieg, and Jarod Goenner
Victory at Cogan's!
Recently, Cogan's Pizza in Norfolk, VA hosted a Victory Brewing Company “Steal the Pint” night. How this usually works, is that when you buy your first beer, you get to keep the glass. I've picked up a few myself from other breweries but to be honest with you, if kept every beer glass that touched my lips I wouldn't have room in the cabinets for anything else! This glass though, I wanted it.
Cogan's Pizza, Norfolk, VA
Not my glass :(
Before I headed down to Cogan's I stopped by Grape and Gourmet for beer tasting. Every Thursday night they highlight several beers in the shop. Gabe is usually in house pouring and describing what is sampled. He was there, of course, and I told him what my plans were. Since he was at the end of his shift, he said he'd come along too. Cool.
Gabe pulled up about the same time I did and we headed in together. At the bar was Jarod Goenner and Morgan Sieg—Jarod is guy behind HR Growler, Hampton Roads new craft beer magazine and Morgan is the local Victory rep. Gabe and I write for HR Growler, first issue hits the streets 16 Jan 2014. Look out for it!
I walked up and asked if they had any glasses left, sadly they were out. I thought it started at 7:00 PM, but the event kicked-off at 5:00 PM. I need to get my stuff straight, seriously.
Scanning the room I saw some familiar faces including Gerald Franklin of Hoffman Beverage. He was at a table with what turned out to be the region's Victory team headed by Cameron Rollo. Cameron was in town a couple of days to check out the area; I was introduced to him and we chatted a bit. I found out he was in the army and stationed in Germany right before I was. He also knew Hohenfels, where I was stationed, telling me he didn't like it. No one likes Hohenfels, Bavaria unless you're stationed there. I'll have to write about it sometime.
Me and Cam Rollo
I was looking forward to trying some of the beer they tapped and I checked out what was available. I've had a couple of Victory beers before but I think it might have been at tastings. I know I've never picked up any for the house, so I wasn't sure where to start. I asked everyone what they thought I should try and the consensus was the Prima. Victory Prima is a hoppy Pils that was very tasty. I'm not huge on hop overload (yeah, don't hit me or anything) but this was good. Easy to drink and floral. I first had a real Pils in Germany, as a matter of fact, my experience with great beer started in Germany. So this was a nice little throwback for me.
I tried out the Winter Cheers wheat ale, kind of like a light Hefeweizen, another beer I fell in love with in Germany. Since I was driving I couldn't grab a Golden Monkey Tripel and the Dirtwolf Double IPA kicked earlier. I got a couple of sips from the group though. Cameron actually had the bar put together something a bar made from Golden Monkey called a “Monkmosa”. It is about 80% Golden Monkey and 20% orange juice. It was good and I made a couple for Shelby and myself at home later that weekend.
I was impressed with the beers and looked forward to trying more of them. At the big, monthly tasting at Grape and Gourmet—Cheap & Cheery—I picked up a little variety pack so I could relax at home and give them a little more attention. Good stuff.
Check out the event album here.
King Neptune Beer Bread
Today I headed to the Buy Fresh Buy Local Hampton Roads' Annual Meeting. They cover the organization's budget, positions and general business. Afterwards, there is a potluck!
Board members and supporters bring in dishes made with local ingredients. When I found out I was going, I busted out a couple of local cookbooks we have in the house: Dishing Up Virginia by the local godfather of food Patrick Evans-Hylton and Tidewater Table by Lorraine Eaton.
While I was looking through the recipes, I made note of a few I could possible swing for the event. Then Shelby came up with a great idea--why not make beer bread? This was perfect, I was already tight on time and local beer was readily available throughout the city. If you didn't know it, I'm also going to be writing for the Pilot's new local craft beer magazine HR Growler. Anything related to local beer is something I want to be involved in.
After I made the decision to make the bread I just had to pick a beer to use. The next day was Cheap and Cheery at Grape and Gourmet, a great local shop for beer and wine; I figured I grab something when we were there. I think the stars were aligned because when we went to the shop, John Newell of Two Fathers Beer Co. was there pouring his beer. It turns out he had one bottle of King Neptune IPA left in his cooler so I snagged it. The IPA would be perfect for the beer bread I was going to make. Great opportunity to give a little exposure to the area's newest craft brew outfit.
Now on to the beer bread.
I've never made beer bread before, but we've had it. I went online to find a good recipe to make the bread and after reading through several put together my own. The one I found at Dine & Dish is what I based mine off of, only making a few modifications. I pretty much followed the instructions word-for-word, the only difference was I used unsalted butter and I added aged Gouda from Richmond's Belmont Butchery. I'm going to copy and paste the recipe here for your convenience, but I please visit the original by clicking the following link. Thanks for the inspiration Kristen.
Tip: Place a catch tray beneath your bread pan, there could possibly be a little overflow. Especially with the butter in a loaf pan that was just big enough to fit the ingredients.
King Neptune Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (I used Ellison, VA's Big Spring Mill All-Purpose Flour)
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 12 ounces of King Neptune IPA (any beer you like actually)
- 1 stick Unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp grated Gouda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Sift all the dry ingredients together.
- Add beer and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.
- Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and pour beer bread batter into pan.
- Pour melted butter over the top of the beer bread batter.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and grate Gouda on top of bread as it rests
- Kristen says let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes before you attempt to remove it. I did as instructed.
New Belgium Snapshot
Our local New Belgium rep, Geoff Rifkin, gave us a sneak preview of the new year-round beer they're offering--Snapshot.
It's a slightly sour wheat that reminds us of the beers we used to drink when we lived in Germany. Check it out when it hits the stores!
Barley's Angels Christmas Party at Beach Brewing Co. 2013
I was invited to attend Barley's Angels' 1st Annual Christmas party being held at the new Beach Brewing Company location. Rules were you had to bring a beer and a dish. At our house we have a habit of hording beer and wine. It's easy to do when you go to tastings every week and grab a bottle for "later." So I had a few good beers I could take with me and decided I'd take my bottle of Bitter Valentine from Williamsburg AleWerks. The food choice was easy enough, I went with my go-to potluck dish--Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice. It usually is a crowd pleaser and I thought the beer would go well with it.
I cooked the fried rice before the event so I was running a little bit late. It's funny, because Shelby was looking at me sitting in front of my computer before I started cooking and asked what I needed for the rice. I told her I was going to run to the store and get what I need but I'll be on time. She said "I've been married long enough to you to know better." She was right of course.
Lesley Summers
I got everything packed up and headed to the brewery. When I pulled up I was able to see that pretty much everyone was there already so I slipped in. I saw Lesley Summers, Barley's Angels - Coastal Virginia Organizer. She grabbed the fried rice and I went to put the beer in the cooler. This was cool.
Beer! Glorious Beer!
The cooler was filled with plenty of beers I've never had before and I was excited at the thought of trying a bunch of them. The beers were going to be opened and we had little cups to get a swig of each. Great idea. There was plenty of food too. Lots of dips, my favorite being a lobster dip brought by Elizabeth Erschens - Owner, Homebrew USA, if I remember correctly. There were cheese balls too. I love cheese balls, I'd pick the whole thing up and put it on a cracker if I could.
Justin MacDonald of Beach Brewing Company (foreground) giving us a tour of the new brewery.
After scoping out the area I saw Justin MacDonald, brewer/owner of Beach Brewing Company. He wanted to show me around the new brewery, so we headed to the back where the equipment was. The place was huge; the new construction and large stainless steel brewing equipment made it a very impressive sight. We were joined by some other enthusiasts and brewer types while Justin explained how he was getting everything in place and will most likely brewing by Christmas of this year. He said output will quadruple when all is said and done.
After the tour we headed back inside to mingle and I bumped into a few familar faces. Here's one:
Robin Felt, beer maven
I snapped of photos and the women did a gift exchange. Looked like everyone was enjoying themselves and drinking some good beer. I was able to salvage about a small bowl of leftover fried rice that I took home with me.
Barley's Angels - Coastal Virginia with Justin MacDonald
Thanks again to Lesley of Barley's Angels and Justin MacDonald of Beach Brewing Company for letting me hang out.
See the rest of the photos here.
O’Connor Brewing Co. - Black Saturday Block Party 2013
The holiday weekend was punctuated by O’Connor Brewing Company’s Black Saturday Block Party inspired by last year’s Black Friday Hurricane Sandy benefit. A perfect chaser for the Thanksgiving and Black Friday craziness, I planned on stopping by O’Connor’s after a day of shopping small in Norfolk, VA.
I drove Shelby and Marleigh downtown to visit a few friends and support Shop Small. We stopped by With Lavender & Lace, Studio Posy, Nest Home, and Lorak Jewelry. The two of them wanted to walk around and hit a few more stores around Granby St. so I headed down to the brewery on W. 25th St. Pulling up I and hopping out of the car into the cold, the first thing I noticed was someone was grilling. Whatever it was, it smelled great. The brewery’s block was barricaded, restricted to foot traffic; a stage was setup with a band running through its set. I headed in.
Hannah Serrano and Hardy Porter
As soon as I walked to the check-in table I bumped into AltDaily.com’s Hannah Serrano, who is also Marketing and Events Director at O’Connor Brewing Co. She walked me in and we chatted a little bit about how things were going. We passed by Bobby-Qs and CXB BBQ and Eats, this was what smelled so good when I got out of the car. I was definitely not going to miss out on that food. Porter Hardy of Smartmouth was near the street food so I snapped a photo of him and Hannah.
Barley's Angels
Checking out the food, I saw one of the Hoffmann Beverage trucks being manned by the local chapter of Barley’s Angels, a local group of female beer enthusiasts. The truck was pretty high-speed, LCD panels displayed what beer was coming out of the tap below it. All the O’Connor flagship brews were being poured: Green Can, Great Dismal, Norfolk Canyon, and more. I grabbed a Black IPA and walked around some more.
Several bands were slated to play that night: Nate Sacks, The Janks, BANTUSTANS, and The Wet Boys. Radiant patio heaters kept everyone warm outside in the docking area and street, though the amount of people in close proximity of each other and beer helped out a lot too. Approximately 500 attended the block party but it would be easy to think there were a lot more. Inside the brewery I bumped into Kevin O'Connor, brewer/owner of the brewery. He was all over the place, chatting and checking up on the event.
There were also small batch beers for the occasion and people could buy flights of these to get a taste of each. Traditionally, craft brewers will let the shop come up with their own recipes and formulas. Here’s what was offered:
Small Batch Flight
Chincoteague Oyster Stout – Oyster Stout
Schwarzwald – Black Lager
Winter Pecan – Pecan Porter
Bockenspiel – Bavarian Weizenbock
The Dark Monk – Abbey Ale
Maes Howe – Wee Heavy
Session Quad #2: Insomnia – West Coast Style IPA
By the end of the night O’Connor Brewing Co. poured approximately 4.5 barrels of beer! That’s about 1,500 standard, 12-oz cans of beer! If you stacked those they’d be as tall as—I have no idea, but I bet it’s pretty high. Everyone was having a good time and the food was great. I walked away with some lumpia in my coat pocket, saving it for Shelby and Marleigh.
All-in-all a great night. If they do it again next year, and you’re in the area, you better go.
Kevin O'Connor Brewer/Owner
I'm On A Boat!
First, I would like to thank Rex Sr., Lisa and Rex Jr. Hamaker of Taste Tidewater Tours for inviting me to the event. We had a great time!
Pleasure House Oysters
Buy Fresh Buy Local Hampton Roads (BFBL) in conjunction with Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and Lynnhaven River Now (LRN) hosted an oyster habitat tour through Lynnhaven Inlet. There were two boat runs, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, taking approximately 50 passengers around Broad Bay Island. Between boat trips there was a reception where we were given information about the history of Lynnhaven oysters, the science behind increasing the population, and how oysters help our waterways.
The Back Deck was our rendezvous point for our group; we lucked out with beautiful weather, sunny and warm. We check in with Rachel Burns from BFBL who gave us our wristbands and drink tickets. At the pier we saw our ride and most of the patrons already on the boat. We jumped on and said our hellos and recognized some faces. I was happy to see Cappy Sinclair on board, also with BFBL, who was getting the wine uncorked and ready to pour once we were underway. We were introduced to Karen Forget of LRN, we also met Chris Moore and Kate Wilson of CBF; they would guide us on our tour.
Captain Jimmy Stollner
Our ship’s captain—Jimmy Sollner—took the helm of the Bea Hayman Clark and talked to us a little bit about the boat, safety procedures and how we are all responsible for clean water and what grows in it. Ready and secure we left the pier, Karen began to point out a few things in the inlet. The first small island we passed (Fish Island I believe) was stacked with old concrete from the first Lesner bridge tore down in the 1950s. She showed us oyster castles that are used to help them cluster and grow. Along the bulkheads that protected people’s yards along the channel you could see little oysters glistening in the sun. Some people who have property on the water volunteer to help grow oysters with cages submerged just a few feet from their backyard.
Oysters in the wild!
The boat trip around Broad Bay
We made our way down the north side of Broad Bay and passed by First Landing State Park—formerly Seashore State Park if you haven’t been here in a while. We saw several other spots where preservation efforts have taken place. Seeing the park from the water, people walking/jogging along the trails was very interesting. We made our way to the southern side of Broad Bay and headed back to our point of departure.
Back on land the event reception was ready and the next group to go out on the boat were there waiting for us to return. We were served rockfish bites, a buttery clam chowder, huge shrimp, and oysters. More information was given about the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries that flow to it. CBF, LNR, and BFBL gave examples of the effort they go through to increase the health of the oyster population, and the Bay in general, for everyone to enjoy.
Cappy, Chris and Cam
Chris Ludford from Pleasure House Oysters was on deck with some help from Cam Chalmers of Lynnhaven Oyster Company shucking oysters. Chris had a little talk with us about the oysters and showed off some monsters he pulled out of the water just hours earlier. These are the same oysters we had the pleasure of eating—so good, a little salty and meaty. There was a line for these things while the reception was in play. I also need to mention that they had great local beers on tap and Virginian wine available. I had a couple pints of Young Veterans Brewing Co.'s award winning Pineapple Grenade Hefeweizen.
Shrimp and Rockfish Bites
Clam Chowder
We mingled for a bit and started to make our way home when group two stepped on board the Bea Hayman Clark. It was a great day with good people and food. The day was a great learning experience chased with delicious food and drinks.
Please check out the photos of the inlet and the rest of the trip here.
Grabbing a "Pineapple"
Lisa and Rex Hamaker
Rachel Burns
Rex Jr., Bill, and Julie
Shelby and Me :)
Gordon Biersch Arts & Drafts - Craft Beer Event at the Sandler Center
Gordon Biersch Arts & Drafts - Craft Beer Event at the Sandler Center had a great turnout and the kegs were about dry by the time it was all over. Food was provided by Gordon Biersch and the fries they were serving were addicting.
The following breweries participated:
Gordon Biersch
Legend
Devil’s Backbone
Starr Hill
Aleworks
Smartmouth
Beach Brewing
O’Connor
St. George
New Belgium
Beach Brewing
Green Flash
Stone
Looking forward to next year!
Young Veterans Brewing Co. Grand Opening
Young Veterans Brewing Company opened its doors to the public this past weekend. The turn out was great and the beer spectacular. The taps were all manned, offering a taste of what the area will be enjoying at their local bar or grocery.
Malbon’s was there with their truck selling tacos and BBQ, the line to get inside to order a beer snaked past it. People were chatting and excited about the new Virginia Beach brewery. The 1st place winner in both local Battle of the Beers “Jet Noise” was popular, as was the Pineapple Grenade, and Semper Fi.
Battle of the Beers - Norfolk Edition
Battle of the Beers - Norfolk Edition
Young Veterans Brewing Company’s Jet Noise took home 1st and their Pineapple snagged 2nd. O’Connor Brewing coming in 3rd with their new Sasion. 80/20 Burger Bar provided the space and they kept some great food rolling out of the kitchen. To top it all off, the weather was perfect. Fun stuff.
Beer tasting at Grape & Gourmet #beer
Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet - 18 July 2013
Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet with Finch Brewing
Finch brewery out of Chicago was at Grape and Gourmet last night. Good beer, surprise sip at the counter was a Polish potato schnapps. It reminded me a little bit of black licorice.
12th Annual Virginia Beer Festival
The 12th Annual Virginia Beer Festival was 18-19 May 2013. Over 75 breweries carried with them over 100 beers for to sample.