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

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:

Baladin:

Nora - Ginger Herb/Spice Ale and Al-Iksir – Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Grado Plato:

Chocarrubica – Carob Oatmeal Stout and Strada San Felice – Chestnut Ale

Del Borgo:

Rubus Lamponi – Raspberry Wild Ale

Del Ducato:

Verdi Zymatore – Granache Sour Chili Stout and My Blueberry Nightmare – Scotch Sour Blueberry Stout

Italiano:

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:

Jesse's Words

Hannah's Words

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.

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.

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!

The Seven Cities Symposium - Re-Tapped!

Last night The Seven Cities Symposium met again at the Virginia Beach gastropub Tapped! at Hilltop Shopping Center. The Symposium is a collection of beer enthusiasts from all around the Hampton Roads (and the surrounding cities--think Williamsburg) who like to share information and news about all things beer.

Every so often the group likes to get together to meet face-to-face and have a couple of pints. Tapped ran a special where a pour was $2.50 and there were new beers on tap. One of the favorites was the Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout. I like stouts, but it's not going to be the first thing I order when I grab a drink. The Moo-Hoo was different and very easy to drink; you could taste chocolate milk in this stuff. Neat.

The turn out was good for the group and the beer list was long. I took Chayce with me and he decided that he is a stout guy. We bumped into John from Two Fathers Beer Co. which was nice. I was able to pick his brain about his operation and talk a little bit about distribution. Two Fathers Bonecrusher Stout was released recently too, unfortunately it wasn't on tap at Tapped that night.

Chayce and I had a great time and it was nice to finally meet these people in person after only interacting online. If you're interested--and on Facebook--check out The Seven Cities Symposium for some good info on beer and beer related events in the area.

Check out the rest of the photos here.

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

Lynnhaven Pub, Virginia Beach, VA

I was recently asked to meet with someone to talk over some exciting opportunities coming along in the near future. We were going over places to grab a drink and Jarod (the guy I was meeting) suggested Lynnhaven Pub in Virginia Beach. Great idea!

Rob McGraw. Owner, Lynnhaven Pub

Lynnhaven Pub has been around since the 60s or 70s and is tucked away off the old West Great Neck Rd. It would be easy to pass by the place and not notice it tacked on the end of a non-descript building, but inside you’ll find one of the better selections of beer in the city. Owner, Rob McGraw, has established the pub as a go-to destination for local beer lovers. He keeps a eclectic rotation of beer on tap and has much more in bottles in the case next to the bar. Old timers who haven’t been to the bar in the past several years might not recognize the selection and they’re going to miss their $1 domestic drafts. Rob has created an outdoor area where patrons can hang-out year round. There is also a bar, grill, and a smoker.

Speaking of food, in addition to great beer, they offer creative and delicious food. When we decided to go to Lynnhaven Pub, I messaged Rob that we’d be stopping by for a drink. He said he was looking forward to it and had a couple things he wanted me to try. Cool, I figured he had some new beers he wanted to share. I showed up at the pub and saw Jarod sitting in the back working on his laptop. I walked the length of the wooden bar, passing occupied stools; I saw that a few Victory brews were on tap and Founder’s Breakfast Stout.

After I settled in Rob came out and said he made some beer can chicken using Stillwater Classique beer he wanted me to try. He also had oak barreled smoked brisket coming out. He actually brings the barrels down from Blue Mountain Barrel House brewery nestled between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, Virginia. These are barrels that were previously used to age whiskey and bourbon, then used by Blue Mountain Brewery. The smoke produced by these barrels is recognizable and adds a rich flavor to the food cooked in it.

Rob McGraw and Mike

Mike Rowland, who I watched earlier, cooking in a small oven behind the bar, master-minded the following dishes he brought out: Beer Can Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Burnt Ends Tacos with Bacon, Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwiches with bacon and huge Chicken Salad Sandwiches. I wasn’t expecting this! I had enough to share with Jarod and we dug in.

Beer Can Chicken wrapped in Belgian Endive

I tried the Lettuce Wraps first, sweet and simple, the smoked chicken was tucked into Belgian endive and I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. You could taste that the beer had permeated through the chicken and there was a nice smoke flavor on top of that. It all blended well and I knocked out another one quickly. Mike said he wanted to showcase the chicken in the wraps so there wasn’t a sauce or anything on top of the chicken. Perfect.

Burnt Ends Tacos

Next I tried the Burnt Ends Tacos, if you all didn’t know it, I love BBQ. I really love Burnt Ends. Rob was telling me he would usually eat these when they made brisket in the pub but Mike told him they should sell them instead and Rob reluctantly agreed to part with them. I know this would be a hard decision for me too. Good on you Rob! The tacos were delicious and had a thick strip of bacon in there for good measure. The burnt ends were flaky with great smoke flavor. I swear I could even make out the alcohol from the oak barrels he uses. The arugula was a nice added touch. You can’t beat it.

Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich

I moved onto the Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich, moist and the brisket fell apart in my mouth. The brisket was thickly stacked between two pieces of toasted, dressed bread and the platter had a healthy serving of cracked pepper potato chips (which were hard to not to eat.) I ate about half of my sandwich and moved on to the Chicken Salad.

Beer Can Chicken Salad Sandwich

The Chicken Salad was piled high with some lettuce resting on top. The chicken salad was great, with grapes, almonds, paprika and bright red onion in the mix. The chicken was fresh and shredded perfectly. It was hard not to eat the whole thing but I was so full and had a beer I needed to finish up. I boxed up the rest and brought it home for lunch the next day.

I’m going to Lynnhaven Pub again to write more about the beer and how Rob runs the place, but I really wanted to let everyone know about the food. Like I said earlier I thought he was going to have me try some brews but I got a few plates of great food instead. Get by Lynnhaven Pub and grab a couple of good beers and make sure you get something to eat. You’ll not be disappointed!

Eric Wickham and Jarod Goenner

Click HERE to see the rest of the photos at Lynnhaven Pub.

Cheap & Cheery at Grape and Gourmet - Oct 2013

Grape and Gourmet’s monthly wine and beer tasting event: Cheap & Cheery! Virginia Beach, VA.

i<3food

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!

Burgers, kinda like how we used to cook them

So we had some good beer, good ground Angus, Smoked Gouda and Mushrooms. Let’s make a burger! Shelby actually asked me to make the beef patties the way I used to years ago before we got all fancy pants. Basically sprinkled the beef with garlic powder, salt, and pepper—that’s it. I did season the pan with some chopped onion and garlic but it was just like how I used to make a ground steak. We used to cook everything in a pan—no grill, no Dutch ovens or Crock pots.

I sauteed some mushrooms for her and a little onion. Covered the pan with a little beer to melt the smoked Gouda and done. I guess that part was kinda fancy.

i<3food

Oktoberfest at The Porch (Whole Foods Virginia Beach)

The Porch at Whole Foods Virginia Beach tapped a keg of Oktoberfest bier in celebration of the coming season. The local Biermeister was on hand to give the traditional chant and everyone raised their glasses. Fun stuff.

i<3food

Beer Tastings at Grape and Gourmet - 26 Sep 2013

Thursday night beer tasting at Grape & Gourmet - 26 Sep 2013

I<3food

Oystercrush 2013!

Oyster lovers were at The Yacht Club at Marina Shores in Virginia Beach, VA this past weekend to attend Oyster Crush 2013! Hosted by the Cape Henry Rotary. Proceeds went local charities, a favorite local area cover band The Deloreans provided live entertainment, and there were raffles for door prizes. Over 1500 tickets were sold for the event!

Over 10,000 oysters fresh from the Bay were consumed attendees; the oysters were provided by Little Sully’s Clams on the Eastern Shore. In addition to oysters and clams, local BBQ came from Suffolk’s Rodman’s Bar-B-Que, World-Famous Clam Chowder from Redfearn’s, and all of it washed down with beer provided by Hoffman Beverage company—a special treat was having Smartmouth Saison Ale on tap!

The oysters were delicious! They were available raw or roasted, tables were setup for shucking. The raw were particularly popular with weaving lines, converging on the single table serving them. The crew working that table had to be the busiest of the day.

10,000 oysters leave a lot shells, the Oyster Crush shells will be donated to Lynnhaven River Now for restoration efforts. If you missed this year’s event, make sure you save the date for Oyster Crush 2014, September 21^st of next year.

*Special thanks to Jeremy Johnson who allowed me to cover the event. I’m looking forward to next year!

More photos at i<3food fb.