STRANGEWAYS Going Rogue
CABOOSE BREWING Farm-To-Fork Food
BLUE MOUNTAIN BREWERY Crafting A Vision
NEW GAME FOR GRAIN VA Barley Industry
BLUE MOUNTAIN BREWERY, WITH THE HELP OF LVG, WILL BE HOSTING THIS ISSUES CHARIT Y EVENT TO BENEFIT PR AI (PANS/PANDAS)
ISSUE #13
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Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery Virginia’s Farm Brewery
GROWING CRAFT BEER SINCE 2013 Home Grown Brewery Hops, Barley, Herbs & Spices grown on property Deep well water used in the brewing process Located in beautiful Goochland County on 290 acres
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4/15 - Easter Extravaganza at the Farm! / Nuclear Nugget Imperial IPA with Honey Release 4/22 - Bad Hombre Three Chopt Tripel Ale Release 4/25 - French Toast Brown Ale Release to Market 4/29 - Eternal President Imperial Brown Ale 5/06 - Dover Hall 5/20 - Mango Habanero Brown Ale Release 4100 Knolls Point Dr. Goochland, VA 23063 (804) 314-4380
(limited VIP Tickets on Sale April 15 at 9 am) The Eternal President meets the Despot for Kentucky Derby Day, May 6 2017 On Tap:
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Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome
Blue Mountain Brewery has chosen PANS Advocacy and Reserach Initiative as the beneficiary of this issue. PRAI serve as connectors, here to bridge the often-wide gap between families struggling with a child affected with PANS/PANDAS and medical professionals who can help. PANS/PANDAS, stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections). It occurs when either strep or another infection or environmental factor triggers a misdirected immune response that results in inflammation on a child’s brain. A child can quickly begin to show life-altering symptoms such as tics, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, personality changes, severe anxiety, decline in math and handwriting abilities, sensory sensitivities, and restrictive eating, among other possible symptoms. These changes in a child often seem to appear almost overnight. Many children get better as they age and have periods of normalcy between episodes, but early diagnosis and proper treatment are critical to mitigate the marring effect PANS can have on a childhood.
We’re not all parents. I get that. I wasn’t exactly “Mr. Kid” before becoming a parent either. But I’m guessing if you DO have children, or have children you care about in your life, and you’ve never heard of PANS/PANDAS before, this information will seem important. In the past, children have been wildly misdiagnosed, resulting in suggested medical actions that have ranged the gamut from “not helpful” to absolutely catastrophic for the child and family. If anything you have read here sounds familiar, please know your family is not alone, and please contact PRAI at PANSadvocacy.org. PANSadvocacy.org.
PANS/PANDAS As a company, Blue Mountain Brewery was excited for the chance to tell our story to Virginia Craft Brews publication. 2017 marks our 10-year anniversary—long in the tooth in the lately bursting Virginia craft beer scene—but ours has been an evolving journey, and we appreciate the opportunity to put some perspective on where we are on the arc. But personally, Mandi and I were even more excited when asked to select a non-profit beneficiary for this issue, and it was an easy choice for us. We have chosen the Richmond-area PANS Research and Advocacy Initiative (PRAI). Our family has been affected by PANS/PANDAS, a childhood neuropsychiatric disorder often associated with a Streptococcus infection (strep throat). It is a disorder, as described in the passage above, that can involve the rapid (think “overnight”, literally) appearance of motion tics, Tourettes-Syndromelike symptoms, moderate-to-severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and very alarming shifts in personality and behavior in a child. Basically not something you like to think about a kid having to deal with, and a horrifying occurrence for a confused parent who has no idea that a common bacterial infection has caused a child’s own antibodies to attack and inflame their child’s brain. This awareness means alot to us.
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PANS/PANDAS
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Features
6
New Game for Grain
Malting Barley Industry Sprouts in Virginia
by: John Biscoe
18
Crafting the vision for Blue Mountain Brewery From these mountains to brew havens all over the planet
By: Zach Grossfeld
28
Caboose Brewing
Craft Beers And Farm-To-Fork Food
By: Tiffany Coe
Virginia Craft Brews is a quarterly, grassroots publication celebrating Central Virginia’s craft beer innovators, small business and non-profit organizations. We support a specific non-profit each issue with ad space, cover logo and 10% of all revenues. We even organize an event to benefit that group. Help us support our mission by donating $10.00 on our website to get the next 4 issues mailed to your door! matt@virginiacraftbrews.com www.virginiacraftbrews.com Issue #13 Spring 2017
All Your Homebrewing & Drafting Supplies In the Village of Midlothian
This Issue 4 PANS/PANDAS Helping raise awareness of Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome 12 The Black IPA The IPA’s Goth Little Brother by: David Wren 14 Cycling With Capital Ale House by: Linzy Browne 23 Going Rogue with Strangeways by: Steve Cook
Our Team
Creative Director: Matt Goodwyn Writers: John Biscoe Zach Grossfeld Tiffany Coe David Wren Steve Cook Linzy Browne Cover photo by: Stan Sweeney, Country road view of Afton Mountain about 10 miles South of Blue Mountain Brewery - Layout & Design: Tactics Branding
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New Game for Grain:
By: John Biscoe
Malting Barley Industry Sprouts in Virginia
Although I grew up on a family farm, I left for college with no intention of returning to farming. Years later, after pursuing other interests, I decided to return to the farm. Once there, I succumbed to a tendency that affects many budding produce farmers - I planted almost every crop under the sun, with minimal regard to the actual likelihood of success in growing them. One of these items was hops. Once I put in a few hops bines on the farm in 2000, I became curious about the potential for crafting beer strictly from local crops. This led me to learn a bit about another of beer’s primary constituents - barley. While other small grains, such as wheat and rye, can be used for malt; barley is by far the most widely consumed. My family has grown barley for as long as I can remember, but truthfully it was never anything I paid much attention to - just fodder for the cattle. When I got interested in malting barley, my minimal research told me we grew the “wrong barley” for malting - 6 row as opposed to 2 row, whatever that meant. (It actually refers to the number of rows of grain along the seed head.) Additionally, the barleys desired for malting tended to be Spring Barley as opposed to the Winter Barley, which is grown in Virginia. I
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didn’t really put any more thought into it at the time and went about my business, as did the brewing industry itself to a large degree. For years now barley has been the ugly duckling of beer ingredients in comparison to its more glamorous counterpart hops. Perusal of any beer aisle reveals the market’s utter fixation with hops. Packaging lists variety after variety and their pinecone
shape has become synonymous with craft beer. Ironically enough, hops are not even a necessary part of the brewing process. The three essential ingredients in brewing are water, yeast, and malt (barley). While
AVAILABLE NOW, A SWEET AND TART HARBINGER OF SPRING beer without hops would be syrupy and lack brightness of flavor, it would (technically) be beer nonetheless. American craft brewers have been largely responsible for hops becoming the star of the show, but beer without significant malt characteristics is incomplete. While hops provide bitterness and aroma to a brew, the malt provides the enzymes and sugars needed for fermentation and gives beer its color, flavor and mouth feel.
Researchers crossed a traditional Mid-Atlantic Winter Barley with a European strain called Plaisant The Northern Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest have predominantly grown barley used for malting in the United States for years. These areas have sufficient periods of cool weather for Spring Barley growth, whereas the heat of the Mid-Atlantic summer causes grain head production to shut down. Additionally, our Virginia humidity creates issues with fungus and disease not present in arid climates. As it turned out, however, there were folks other than myself interested in incorporating Virginia barley into the brewing process. A number of years ago, Rick Wasmund began malting barley at Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville, using the malt at the distillery, as well as selling some to local brewers. With the boom in craft brewing, a number of brewers around the state have crafted beers using only local ingredients, barley included. State and local governments have also incentivized bringing malting operations to the state, which will generate even more demand for local grain. The key factor to the development of the Virginia malt barley industry has been the development of new strains of barley
through the Virginia Tech Small Grains Development Program. In 2003, Virginia Tech released Thoroughbred. In an effort to create improved feed barley, researchers crossed a traditional Mid-Atlantic Winter Barley with a European strain called Plaisant. (For those who are concerned, this was done using traditional plant breeding techniques - there are no genetically modified barleys in the marketplace.) A happy accident of this process was the discovery by Rick Wasmund that, in addition to improved yield and overall plant health, Thoroughbred possessed some characteristics that made it desirable as malting barley. Copper Fox has been malting Thoroughbred and crafting whiskey from it ever since.
To some extent, the characteristics desirable in a malting barley mirror those of feed barley - overall plant health and large consistent grains. However, there are distinct differences between the two as well. Malting barley must be low in beta-glucans, for instance - too much of it can result in a hazy brew. One of the most desirable traits in feed barley is a high crude protein content – this also is undesirable in malting barley. High germination rate is more of a concern in brewing than in feed barley, as well as malting is itself a process of sprouting the
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. . . New Game for Grain Continued barley grains and then drying them to cease growth. For the last ten years, malting barley has become a focus of the scientists at VPI. Working in partnership with other institutions around the country, there are numerous new Spring Barleys in the pipeline with great promise for malting.
Economies of scale challenge Virginia growers of barley and hops as well. Virginia’s farms for these crops are much smaller than those farms in cooler, more arid, sections of the country are. Less than 1000 acres of Virginia’s total barley crop of over 30,000 acres are grown with malting as the intent. While there is demand among craft brewers for barley grown in the Old Dominion for some niche brews, the barley market nationally has been flooded due to bumper crops in the Northwest over recent years and reduced demand from industry behemoths Anheuser Busch and Coors. Since dried barley does not lose its germinative properties for 18 months or so, this creates a substantial backlog.
Genetics alone will not be enough to create a thriving malt barley industry in Virginia. Malt houses are few, and far between.
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Genetics alone will not be enough to create a thriving malt barley industry in Virginia. Malt houses are few, and far between. Farmers must buy in to the additional cost and risk involved in growing barley for malt, as well, and the challenges are substantial. A wet spell late in the grain’s development can cause complete crop loss should the grain begin sprouting in the field. Levels of fungal infestation that would be acceptable for fodder cannot be tolerated for malting, so a crop intended for malting will require spraying that can otherwise be left undone. The payoff for growing barley for malt can be high, but it is a wager that requires higher stakes than growing for fodder. Every farming season is a long-term gamble in the purest sense - the farmer wagers the cost of seed, labor, fertilizer, cultural controls, such as herbicides and fungicides, and time against the probability of eventual yield. Defeat can be snatched from the jaws of victory late in the game. Margins tend to be thin to begin with and additional inputs, such as the cost of spraying a crop to prevent fungal infection, make them even thinner. Price for a successful malting barley crop can be 5 times that of feed barley per bushel, however, so the carrot is there.
My brother Bill Biscoe and nephew William grow about 100 acres of Thoroughbred barley each year at Glenburnie Farm in Spotsylvania County. The crop goes in the ground in late September or October, depending on weather conditions, and is not harvested until mid-June of the following year. Expected yield is 80-100 bushels per acre. When asked which qualities of Thoroughbred make it attractive to him as feed barley, Bill Biscoe replies succinctly, “Yield”. Even when growing for feed, winter barley can be a tricky crop in Virginia’s distinctly fickle climate. As I write this in early March, conditions have gone from 80 degrees and sunny to fifteen degrees and snowy in less than a week’s time. Too much cool, wet weather late in the growing process compromised last year’s crop. In their estimation, the climate is not yet right for a major turn towards malting barley from Virginia growers. The time is coming however, when through the concerted efforts of various talented individuals, Virginia will indeed have the “right barley”.
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Salmon Cakes with Beer Chutney
Salmon cakes paired with Tangy (sweet & spicy) Kolsch Craft Beer Mango & Butternut Squash chutney. Perfect for spring time!
Salmon Cakes Ingredients
Kolsch Mango Chutney Ingredients
1 lb Fresh, Local salmon or two cans (drained; bones pinched; great vitamins) ½ tsp thyme ½ tsp oregano ½ tsp dill 1 tablespoon minced garlic Salt & Pepper to taste Juice of two lemons 4 oz. of the Kolsch beer Tuscan Olive oil for sautéing cakes (approx. 2.5 oz.) 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs 2 eggs (reserve one for coating the cakes)
2 cups cubed combination of mangoes, onions & butternut squash 1 tablespoon sliced sundried tomatoes 1 tablespoon orange marmalade 1 teaspoon pepper jelly Juice of one lemon 2 teaspoons Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing veggies 1 pint “Mad Fox” Kolsch (you are not using the entire pint, but drinking some too) 1/2 cup of dried blueberries & cranberries 1 dash of garlic powder, pepper and red pepper flakes if desired
Directions Chutney: Sauté butternut squash, mangoes, onion, sundried tomatoes & onions on medium heat using an extra virgin olive oil until softened. Add in 1/2 cup of the Kolsch Craft Beer, the juice of one lemon, marmalade & peppery jelly. Let the Chutney reduce to a desired thickness. Remove from the heat and let the Chutney cool. (Approximately 17 minutes reduction time.) Salmon Cakes: If you are using fresh salmon, slice the salmon into thin strips and run it through a processor with a few pulses until you have a creamy consistency. If you are using canned salmon, drain the salmon & make sure to get your hands into the mix and pinch the bones (don’t remove them because they are very healthy for you with omega 3’s, 6’s & 9’s). Add your herbs, 2 ounces. of the Kolsch craft beer & juice of one lemon. Add 1-1/2 cups panko crumbs & one egg. Blend together and form the cakes to desired size. Dip the cakes into the other beaten egg, and then press them in the remaining panko until they are covered and let chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to firm up. Get a pan nice and hot mediumhigh. Using our Extra Virgin olive oil, brown both sides of the salmon cakes quickly. Reduce your heat to medium-low for 15 more minutes to cook the inside of your cakes, or you can bake them in the oven to finish them off after browning them. Compliments of Kellerbier Kolsch (Mad Fox has it) - They are in Falls Church, VA Kolsch Ale - 4.4% ABV - Drink the remaining Beer. Enjoy!
COMPLIMENTS OF KELLERBIER KOLSCH - MAD FOX - FALLS CHURCH, VA - KOLSCH ALE – 4.4% ABV Special thanks to Shauna at the “Olive Oil Taproom” for another great recipe.
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The IPA’s Goth Little Brother: The Black IPA
David Wren is a Certified Cicerone (R) in Richmond, VA with a serious passion for great beer. When he is not drinking beer, he works as a Human Resources and Operations Consultant with a local firm. He can be reached at dhwren@ gmail.com or 804-477-5481. If you grew up anytime between the late 80s and now, or have seen famous coming-of-age movies like The Breakfast Club, Mean Girls or Dazed and Confused, you probably are familiar with how cliquey high school can be. To be completely cliché, there always seemed to be the jocks, the popular girls, the artsy kids, and among other groups, the selfproclaimed “goths.” For those not familiar, they were the group whose predominant wardrobe choice was some shade of black. I’ll be honest, there was a time when I donned a fair amount of black and sported the t-shirts of my favorite bands. There was also a time when I wore mostly polyester button downs and bell-bottoms, which my friends affectionately refer to as my “Disco Phase.” Coincidentally, that was also the phase when my older brother decided to let me walk into school a few minutes ahead of him each day, but that’s neither here nor
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there. The point is that when I think of the Black IPA style, I can’t help but reminisce about my high school days and my shortlived affinity for the color black. The American Black Ale, or Black IPA, is a peculiar style that is basically a standard IPA dressed in all black. It happily marries the dark, roasted flavors of a stout with the hop driven fruit, pine and citrus flavors of an IPA. The American Black Ale is a hybrid beer, invented and developed solely by American brewers. Taking inspiration from the German Schwarzbier, or Black Lager style, American brewers sought to create a beer that balanced two flavor counterpoints: roastiness and bitterness. First brewed at the Shed Restaurant and Brewery in Vermont, the brewers at San Diego’s (and now Richmond’s) Stone Brewing Company built upon and popularized the style with their Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. In an interview with famous beer journalist Joshua Bernstein, Stone’s former head brewer Mitch Steele commented on the creation of the brew, “We wanted it to drink like an IPA, but look like a stout.” He found that using dehusked black malt, the same variety used in German Schwarzbiers, “allowed the hops to come through.” When tasting an American Black Ale, expect a wellbalanced beer with roasted overtones, but a bitter, citrusy and/or piney finish. When you think about it, a “Black IPA” is really an oxymoron, considering an IPA is an India Pale Ale. Ignoring these semantics and diving lips-first into any of the Black IPAs below is sure to both tickle your taste buds and expand your beer horizons.
by: David Wren
Beers to Try:
Beer and Food Pairing American Black Ales pair perfectly with grilled, smoked or roasted beef or pork, as well as charcuterie. As for dessert, rich, intense dark chocolate desserts like triple chocolate cake or chocolate truffles would pair well with the Black IPA, because the hoppy, bitter finish would help cut some of that richness. The roastiness and bitterness of these beers also complement meaty, earthy tasting cheeses like most Cheddars, Swiss, Gruyere and Parmesan. Most of all, German cuisine makes a delicious partner to the Black Ale, with its many grilled dark meats, roasted potatoes and overall heartiness of flavor. Because American Black Ales are medium to full bodied, they will be much better suited for entrees or desserts rather than appetizers.
O’Connor Brewing Great Dismal Black Ale Easy drinking and well balanced, this namesake for Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp is a great representation of the style.
Castleburg Black Knight IPA Bold and aggressive, this Black Knight is much more potent than the one made famous by Monty Python.
Trapezium Brewing Lucky 48 Imperial Black IPA Hoppy stout or roasty D.I.P.A.? It’s labeled as an Imperial Black IPA, but will satisfy even the most discerning stout-sippers.
Isley Brewing Need For Greed Black Double IPA Like Jamaica at midnight, this Double IPA is dark and tropical. Luckily you won’t have to travel to the Caribbean to try one!
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CYCLING with CAPITAL ALE HOUSE by: Linzy Browne
CALL TODAY FOR YOURS Kristi M. Hammond 5030 Sadler Place Suite 203 Glen Allen VA 23060 804.270.1115
Capital Ale House is known as Virginia’s Beer Authority, but has also taken an active role in the community over the last 15 years, always dedicated to supporting local: Local beer, cuisine, talent, music and cycling. Yes! Capital Ale House has sponsored a local cycling team for ten consecutive years, officially calling themselves the Capital Ale House Cycling Team. The team was established in 2005, by John and Marty Polk, growing from 15 members to over 70 who ride together throughout the year. The largest turnout and commitment is for the annual Bike MS: Colonial Crossroads Ride in support of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. The team’s mission and philanthropic cause is to raise awareness and funds for the MS Society. Last April 2016, the team reached an amazing goal, raising a total of $500,000 for the MS Society. These funds are raised through community rides and individual cyclists collecting donations leading up to the annual Bike MS event. “It was a memorable announcement for the team. They have grown so much, biked so far and have raised an amazing amount of funds and awareness for the MS Society.” – Matt Simmons, President of Capital Ale House This year, the annual Bike MS: Colonial Crossroads will take place on June 3rd and 4th starting in Richmond and ending in Williamsburg, VA. Cyclists can choose to ride the 2-day route, 75 or 100 miles each day, or a 1-day route, a 33-mile loop in Williamsburg on Saturday only. “The 2-day ride is challenging, but achievable with training. At the end of the ride, there’s a great sense of accomplishment, not just for overcoming the physical challenge, but for all the money the event raises to help those living with MS.” —John Polk, Captain and Founder of the Capital Ale House Cycling Team. The Capital Ale House Cycling team will be hosting a “Bring a Friend” ride on Sunday, May 21st at the Capital Ale House Innsbrook location to prepare for the Colonial Crossroads ride in June. This will be the team’s second “Poker Ride,” where riders who participate receive cards at five checkpoints. The riders with the best hands win prizes from Capital Ale House and the MS Society. If you are interested in getting involved, contact our team at CAHBikeTeam@gmail. com. Or find us on Facebook, “Capital Ale House Cycling Team.”
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Edition 13 VACB 15
APOCALYPSE
Sticky Stout Ribs
ALE WORKS
BBQ
COMPETITION
AND
UAL! THIRD ANN
CRAFT
BEER
by: Kristel Poole
FESTIVAL
CAR SHOW ARTISANS LIVE MUSIC BBQ & BEER SAMPLES!
Sticky Stout Ribs Ingredients 2-2 1/2 pounds baby back ribs 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 1/2 cups Commonwealth Brewing Company ‘Marvolo’ Imperial Chocolate Stout 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup chili sauce 1 cup raspberry preserves or jam 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar salt and pepper
Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
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2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay the rack of ribs meat side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Pour beer over the ribs, cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours or until the meat is tender but not falling off the bone. 3. Strain the pan juices into a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Continue cooking the sauce, stirring often, until reduced to 1 1/2-2 cups. 4. Adjust the oven rack to about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat the broiler on HI. 5. Lay the ribs meat side down on the foil-lined baking sheet and brush with 1/3 of the glaze. Broil for 6 minutes. Turn the ribs over and brush with 1/2 of the remaining glaze. Broil for 9-11 minutes or until the edges begin to char. Brush the ribs with the remaining glaze and broil again until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Let rest for 10-12 minutes and serve. COMMONWEALTH BREWING COMPANY ‘MARVOLO’ IMPERIAL CHOCOLATE STOUT Special thanks to Kristel Poole for the awsome Recipe and Photography.
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for head brewmaster Jacque Landry at South Street Brewery in Charlottesville. He then enrolled in Siebel Institute; the country’s oldest brewing school, in Chicago. Landing a job after graduation as head pub brewer of Goose Island, Taylor made beer a baseball’s throw from Wrigley field. Far removed from the Internet start-up whirlwind, he charmed Mandi back to the fairer weathered Charlottesville when Taylor
We talked about what type of brewery we would open up if we could do it without financial restrictions
Crafting the vision for Blue Mountain Brewery The spark for Blue Mountain Brewery almost flamed out over a blind date mishap. Mandi and Taylor Smack, two of the brewery co-founders, first crossed paths at a mutual friend’s house party in Chicago. Driving around aimlessly, Taylor almost turned around when he couldn’t find the right house. Arriving late night, he and Mandi finally met, leaving soon after to hang at an all-night Ukrainian Bar. Over drinks, they imagined the beginnings of a rural-style craft beer paradise. “We talked about what type of brewery we would open up if we could do it without financial restrictions,” says Mandi. Growing up in Wisconsin, Mandi Smack knows beer. She worked as one of the original servers of the Outer Banks Brewing Station and as a hostess
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By: Zach Grossfeld Photo: Taran Sinhat
and default brand ambassador for South Street Brewery in the early 2000’s. Earning marketing and sales experience, Mandi also spent time at Hoyt Publishing in Chicago and two magazines in Charlottesville. As co-founder and marketing director of the original Blue Mountain Brewery location and Blue Mountain Barrel House, she keeps the brewery’s heart beating. The last co-founder completing the trio, Matt Nucci, met Taylor at a dot-com startup in the late nineties. Matt actually taught Taylor how to homebrew. “We used to daydream out by the fire about opening a place like Blue Mountain,” reminisces Taylor. “I got into brewing to make something and not sit at a computer.” Ditching his desk job, Taylor worked unpaid
was offered the opportunity to return closer to home to brew. Taylor worked at South Street Brewery—with Mandi sometimes joining him—for five years, before leaving for Afton to open Blue Mountain Brewery with Matt. Growing a multi-state gourmet coffee business, Matt also worked a stretch in Charlottesville. He oversaw production and franchise development at Greenberry’s Coffee and Tea Company. Now head of brewer operations in Afton, Matt gives tours on Saturdays when he isn’t perfecting the beer. Crafting the vision for Blue Mountain, Taylor and Mandi worked day jobs before coming home to build the business every night. Once the write-up was complete, the brewery needed backing from believers. “That was the scariest thing for me. I knew we had to go out and try to get people to invest. Why would these people trust us?” says Mandi. Putting up their own money and hosting informational investing parties, the three founders went full throttle to raise capital. “It was amazing how many people we didn’t know believed in us, and this was back in 2006 before the brewery craze,” she
says. Once one-third of the total capital was raised from family and silent stockholders, the three founders broke ground on faith that the rest would come. The 27th brewery in Virginia began as a small, two-room setup. Now sitting on ten acres, the original winery-style brewery location pumps out 70,000 gallons of meticulously crafted beer per year. Blue Mountain Barrel House, the larger production brewery that came on-line in 2012, adds about another half-million gallons to that equation. From these mountains to brew havens all over the planet, people taste beer for the first time every day. The better quality and taste of craft beer is pulling more consumers away from commercialized brands. In the late 1800’s, over four thousand craft breweries ran in America. In 1979, only forty-two stood open. Today, the US has pushed back to over four thousand. Despite what
many view as a craft beer bubble, Taylor believes the growth of smaller, localized breweries will not slow. “In 2013, the same amount of breweries operated in the US as were operating before prohibition (a jump from 65 million to 400 million people). We are back to where we were, but still not there proportionally,” he says. Ironically, the big beer companies that brought craft beer to its knees a few decades ago now thirst to acquire these local breweries. Anheuser Busch recently acquired Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co, Elysian Brewing, along with Goose Island back in 2011. As craft breweries continue to dent the market, overall consumption remains stagnant. Total beer consumption is expected to dip through 2019, while craft beer is forecasted to compound 8% annually, according to Euromonitor. With people changing the way they drink, local breweries are pushing the cheaper gateway beers off the shelves and taps. “It’s difficult to be a production brewery,” says Taylor. “Distributors are sick of the proliferation of brands with no room on the shelves.” The Blue Mountain sales force fights to keep their product on the shelves and in hands of consumers. The heavily evolving craft beer industry continues to chip away at the macros. “History suggests such movements take lifetimes, with a sea of bland, cheap beer in-between,” says Taylor. In a market dominated by trillion dollar forces, the smaller guys need support to stay afloat. Even as mergers like Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller control 28% of the market, craft brewers continue to command the way people drink. “Increasingly, folks are heading straight to the source to buy their beer, and that’s a powerful thing,” says Taylor. Drinking craft beer has turned from less of a rebellion into more orthodoxy.
Living only a few strides away from the craft brewery’s patio, Mandi and Taylor live and breathe Blue Mountain. Modeled after a winery, the space invites movement and mingling. Unlike their urban counterparts, children frequent the brewery all times of the year, often insisting their parents make the trip. Most beer drinkers in their late twenties and thirties have kids. The family atmosphere lends enough real estate for people of all ages to keep coming back. “It’s relaxed,” says Taylor. “You don’t see seventy, eighty year old people at an urban brewery.” The brewpub extends through pergolas and patios to the outdoor beer gardens. These gardens gaze at the Blue Ridge Range. Laid back and lighthearted, the atmosphere is still rooted in tradition. “Most breweries are samplers, pints, and food trucks. We do it all. Samplers, pints, table service, and awesome food we make in our own kitchen,” says Mandi. On top of the home front in Afton, Mandi and Taylor opened the Blue Mountain Barrel House in close by Arrington, and bought their former employer, South Street Brewery, in 2014. The Barrel House, which houses the largest beer barrel-aging facility in Virginia, adds more kegged, bottled, and canned beers to the repertoire at a capacity of over twenty thousand barrels annually. The developed equipment, process technology, and quality control allows for a stable and consistent brew.
Back in Afton, Matt maintains these high brewing standards. Mandi, the CFO of all three locations, runs the front and back house at Blue Mountain. “During busy season between May and October, I put in another fifteen to twenty hours on Saturday and Sunday on the floor. It’s important to me to be greeting our customers and making sure their experience at Blue Mountain is the best it can possibly be,” she says. Taylor oversees brewing operations at each location, most heavily at the Barrel House. He also deals with lawyers, bankers and insurance when he isn’t coordinating physical growth projects. “And unbelievably, I still get to brew a few times a month, just to keep it real,” jokes Taylor.
In many ways, the physical growth of Blue Mountain mimicked the business plan. Both evolved organically. “The business model was basically out the window by the end of the first full year. We get what we need, when we need it, without creating a destabilizing debt to income ratio,” says Taylor. Like the business plan, the brewery changed on the fly. Necessity, not design, drove the renovations. “If we needed it, we added it,” he says. The largest remodeling occurred in 2011 as Blue Mountain transformed from two rooms into a ten-acre formidable force. The routine for Mandi and Taylor remains relatively constant. They
run the show with Matt after the school bus picks up the kids, then they flip back to Mom and Dad at 5 o’clock every evening. “It’s important to us to be with the kids and have dinner and bedtime routines,” tells Mandi. The Smacks have instilled their family-first culture into the Blue Mountain standard. Deep in wine country, this standard pioneers the rural brewery model in Virginia. “It seems at times a little crazy to believe that
We used to daydream out by the fire about opening a place like Blue Mountain building a brewery in a hay field in a county with one stoplight and 14,000 people was a good idea,” says Taylor. The rooted agri-tourism and natural attractions of Nelson County laid the foundation for Blue Mountain’s success. The James River, hiking trails and vineyards line the nearby physical beauty. The brewery stands to reconnect beer as an agricultural product to the people. “Get out of the city, stop thinking of beer as related to cranks and steam and wheels, and get back to the natural aspect of it all…deep well water, field of hops, and the beauty of the natural world,” urges Taylor. Much of the menu derives from nearby seasonal ingredients. Local sausages, veggies and cheeses all top the breads and handmade pizza dough. Crafting the menu based on neighboring farms, the food team often crosses paths with the beer team. “The chefs do a lot of cooking with our beer, so they need to work together to produce a stand-out product,” says Mandi. Many local mainstays, including Double-H Farm’s bratwurst and Goodwin Creek Farm’s bread, have stuck to the menu since the 2007 opening.
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. . . Blue Mountain Continued In the midst of Blue Mountain’s mission, the realities of the industry do come into play. Handling the differing personalities of 160 employees can stir up problems. A brewery attracts workers from all walks of life, creating a diverse professional atmosphere. Like any business with an expanding work environment, head butting ensues. Situations can get heated, but the relationships and the product are never compromised. “If anything, you can just step back and say ‘hey, it’s beer, no one’s dying or anything,’” laughs Taylor. As the mix of personalities colors the establishment, pointless red tape and distribution laws can sap much needed dollars and energy. “Many aspects of regulation are frustrating in that they accomplish nothing of value, but cost
considerable time and money,” says Mandi. All three founders stand behind distribution laws, but not at the expense of wasted hours and funds. Even under these times of extreme stress, the smile on a returning customer’s face makes the effort well worth it. “It must mean we are doing something right,” she says.
As customers keep returning, the beer keeps flowing. The customer base more than tripled upon the major expansion back in 2011. Needing to transport beer quickly from the brewery side to the expanded area, management opted for a stainless steel pipe circuit. Freshly filtered cold beer flows from the brewing station to the storage tanks behind the new bar. “This pipe is a circuit, so that after transfer we can create a cleaning loop,” explains Taylor. Trailing the roofline of the brewery, the circuit pumps ice-cold, pressurized beer to the indoor holding tanks 300 feet away. For a seamless tap-to-keg transition, the team invented the “Chadifold,” a manifold named after Chad Dean, the Director of Brewing Operations at the Barrel House who helped create the contraption. “It is an intersection of beer supply lines (from tanks and kegs) and
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Great Beer Grains Turned Into Bread
Order details and locations are online at
w w w. c r a f t b r e w b r e a d . c o m We collaborate with local craft breweries to create uniquely delicious spent grain bread
which presents the same flavor notes of each craft beer. Look for us in local breweries or
sign up for our new Bread Subscription Service.
tap feeder lines (lines from the bar to the taps) that allows us to put any beer on any particular tap with a quick connection,” describes Taylor. A smoother, more efficient alternative during busy season, the Chadifold conducts beer into precise tasting order at the bar. High quality malt arrives from all over, including Belgium, Germany and Canada. Two hop fields in Afton and one in Arrington grow over 1,000 hills of Cascade variety hops for seasonal and harvest beer. “We spend money on ingredients, not Super Bowl ads,” says Taylor. Next to the fields, a water treatment facility processes waste and recirculates treated water back into the ground. Taking utmost pride in the personalized brewing process, the three cofounders have named brews after their own children. “Evan Altmighty” is a German style altbier named after Mandi and Taylor’s son Evan, and pays homage to the film starring Steve Carell filmed in close by Crozet. When they aren’t busy naming beers, Matt, Taylor, and Mandi have little time to research the latest industry buzz. They rely on the younger staff to delve into changing trends or technology. Information also spreads through conferences, seminars, or by word of mouth through the business. “Most brewers are friends with one another, but it’s not as tight as it used to be,” says Taylor. Mandi, Taylor, and Matt all drink, hang out, and swap yeast and hops with other breweries. Against withholding info, Blue Mountain publically shares recipes and ingredients. “We want to get people in touch with the American beer tradition,” says Taylor. The once tiny startup off the side of I-64 now gives customers a transparent view into the lifeblood of craft brew.
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For those looking to enter the industry, Taylor has a few words of advice. “Show up and work for free. Show up earlier than asked and stay later than expected. If you show that kind of heart and sacrifice in the beginning, you will be noticed.” The sacrifice has paid dividends as Blue Mountain celebrates ten years in business this November. “Our anniversary is actually October 23rd, but we’re so busy that we’re already pushing the celebration back a few weeks,” says Mandi. True to form, Taylor will brew a special beer for the occasion. Before the anniversary, Blue Mountain will revamp their identity this spring with a fresh new look on the shelves. Since 2007, that identity has harnessed creativity, authenticity, and passion. At its roots, Blue Mountain will continue to strive for the best brew possible from the barrel to the bottle. Blue Mountain Brewery 9519 Critzers Shop Road, Afton, VA 22920
540-456-8020
Property management services include finding that right tenant to managing and collecting rent.
The Fan
Chesterfield Donna Paxton -Realtor 11150 Hames Lane Glen Allen, VA 23059 Direct: 804-683-2148 Office: 804-451-5601 Fax: 804-509-0447 Wind C himeP roPerties. Com donna @ WindChimeProPerties . Com © 2017 Wind Chime Properties
Henrico
4th Annual
Lake Anna Brewfest May 2o , 2017 th
12 p.m. - 5 p.m. At The Lake Anna State Park
www.LakeAnnaBrewfest.com
Pre-Sale Tickets
Now On Sale
Purchase your tickets early to recieve discounts and extra sample tickets
VIP Tickets
Early Entrance at 11a.m. Unlimited Samples Admittance to VIP Tent Great Local Food Vendors To Fill Up On and Over 40 Craft Vendors Over 30 different Local and Regional Breweries With Over 60 Different Beers to Sample Family Friendly Event With Moon Bounces, Face Painting and Family Friendly Games
Proceeds Benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF.org)
Going Rogue - What Makes Strangeways Brewery So Strange? By Steve Cook When Neil Burton opened his brewery nearly four years ago, he did so with just two beers. However, it was not so very long before things began to get weird. Isn’t that what you might expect from a brewery with the name Strangeways? Perhaps “weird” is not the right word. “We like to use the word ‘peculiar,’” says Erin Brunner, the hospitality and events manager for Richmond-based Strangeways Brewing. “We offer an eclectic collection that expands across the brand from the beer, the ingredients, the way we do things…the styles we’re willing to take chances on.” Brunner says that even their events and their tasting room are somewhat a departure from what many may expect of a brewery. “We are a melting pot of different kinds of peculiar things,” she adds. As a fan of Strangeways, I had always assumed that Burton had chosen the name because he intended to be a little strange. However, according to Brunner, that was not the case. “Neil is a fan of (the English rock band) the Smiths,” she tells me. “One of their albums was entitled ‘Strangeways, Here We Come.’ That was the inspiration for our name.” The name fits. Virtually everything they do at Strangeways is a little different. “We have such a unique brand that we haven’t
pigeon-holed ourselves,” Brunner says. “We’ve left the door wide open to try new things.” Yes, there generally is something a little different going on. Brunner says that that’s what makes her job so great. “We’ve done everything from ‘Brews and Burlesque,’ to adult coloring nights. We do a lot of fundraisers.” That reputation for being unpredictable is working. As the brewery nears its fourth anniversary, it is about to open a second facility just outside of Old Town in Fredericksburg. Why Fredericksburg? “Neil is from there,” Brunner says. “His family ran a retail business there for decades. The new brewery will occupy
Mike Hiller & Neil Burton
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. . . Strangeways Brewery Continued space in a warehouse that the family owns. For the time being, Strangeways will continue to brew their flagship beers in Richmond. The Fredericksburg brewery, which is slated to open in June, will be concentrating on smaller one-off brews. One beer, that may have been intended a one-off, proved so popular that Strangeways will be re-releasing it the end of March. The beer is a collaborative effort with Sugar Shack Donuts, which has been named one of the nation’s top donut makers. The Sugar Shack Samoa Porter was so popular when it was first released last year that it’s coming back. Brunner calls the porter a “slam dunk beer.” This year, it might be even better. “We’re looking to make some of the flavors more forward, especially the coconut flavor. It’s so, so, good.”
We’re here to make beer that doesn’t have to fit into a box.
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In addition to being available on draft, Strangeways will be offering a very limited number of bottles. She says that given its popularity last year, this strange brew will not be around for long. However, you can be sure that regardless of its availability, you’ll find something that will satisfy your taste buds. Brunner says that there’ll always be about three dozen different beers on hand. In addition to the two original beers, the brewery now has six flagships, including a new IPA, the Hop Howler, which has quickly become a crowd favorite. Burton, in collaboration with Richmond illustrator James “Barf ” Callahan, has created a comic strip look for the six-pack carrier. The Hop Howler,
says Brunner, is a super hero, replete with a back-story, which Brunner shares. The story is weird. Perhaps if you stop in, Brunner will share it with you. Many of the beers offered at the brewery are flavored with syrups, which, says Brunner, some purists consider a sacrilege. However, she tells me, when tourists from Germany try the Überlin Berliner Weisse (another flagship beer), they are amazed by the traditional blending of the beer with flavorings, such as Himbeersirup (Raspberry) or Waldmeistersirup (Sweet Woodruff made from wild baby’s breath). Brunner says that there’s virtually something for every taste. “If you bring 100 of your friends in for a private function, there’ll be something to please 99 of them. All we ask is that you spend about five minutes with one of our bartenders and we’ll find something you’ll enjoy.” Whether you’re a purist, a true craft beer enthusiast, or a newcomer to the industry, the bottom line, as Erin Brunner sums it up, is this: “We still want to make great beers. We’re here to make beer that doesn’t have to fit into a box. It most likely will not fit into a box. There’s a lot of going rogue. That’s what makes us different and peculiar. When it comes down to it, we’re going to make good beer.” 2277A Dabney Rd, Richmond, Va 23230 About a mile west of Scott’s Addition
Rockin’ the tortilla chip world since 2013! J R B R E W E RY. C O M
4 3 4 . 2 8 6 . 7 8 3 7
Beers on Tap & Coming Soon Taps:
Look for DaddyG's at a VA Craft Brewery or specialty beer store near you OR follow us on Facebook to find out how you can purchase at our live brewery appearances and festival events.
As you enjoy sitting in our Tasting Room inside or relaxing out back at the Beer Garden, grab a refreshing beer on tap. We currently have on tap River Runner ESB, Gold Medal & Best of Show 2016 Virginia Brewers Cup, Fluvanna Fluss, Gold Medal 2015 Virginia Brewers Cup, Green Eyed Lady, Bronze Medal 2015 Virginia Brewers Cup, James Bean Vanilla Oatmeal Porter, Hatton Ferry Pale Ale, Tuber IPA, River Runnér ESB and Sherman Stout!! Keep an eye on our website at jrbrewery. com for more upcoming beers and descriptions.
James River Brewery
561 Valley Street Scottsville, VA 24590
© 2017 James River Brewery
2016 Virginia Craft Brewers Cup - BEST IN SHOW
Events:
Now hosting Community Tap Nights on Wednesday, donate back 20% of All sales. We feature live music on weekends. To check out our dates and musicians, tap takeovers and festivals go to www.jrbrewery.com and click on the events calendar. You can also find all of our events on our James River Brewery Facebook page!
Location: James River Brewery is located 25 miles South of Charlottesville. Cruise on down Route 20 South and you will run right into the brewery. 561 Valley Street, Scottsville, VA 24590 434.286.7837 • jrbrewery.com
Hours of Operation:
Wed-Fri 3pm - 9pm Sat noon - 9pm • Sun noon - 8pm
Caboose Brewing:
Craft beers and farm-to-fork food, leading the way in Northern VA
All aboard beer lovers! In Vienna, Virginia, adjacent to the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad Regional Park, you’ll be happy to find the Caboose Brewing Company. This family-run, family-friendly establishment prides itself on good beer and thoughtful food, with something for everyone. Let’s check it out! Friends and former tech executives Matt Greer and Tim McLaughlin opened Caboose Brewing in May 2015. As craft-beer lovers, they sought a neighborhood spot where they and the rest of the Vienna community could enjoy hanging out over a pint. The town of Vienna, located 12 miles west of Washington, D.C., has experienced significant growth over the past few decades. Money magazine has even named it as one of the “Best Places to Live.” In light of its many charms, Vienna’s craft-beer scene was a bit bleak—so Greer and McLaughlin teamed up with brewer Chris Mallon, previously of Heavy Seas in Baltimore, and set out to remedy the situation. The team quickly determined that the location of the new
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By: Tiffany Coe
brewery would be close to Vienna’s main drag but tucked away on an industrial side street. The key asset of their chosen property was that it fronted the W&OD trail, which is a popular path for biking, running and walking. The lot also afforded space for an outdoor patio. McLaughlin notes, “The location off the W&OD was a no-brainer since beer and bikes go hand in hand. At Caboose, we strive to promote a health-conscious community and a fun, familyfriendly environment.” So began Caboose Brewing. Its name is an homage to the railway that ran along the route of the W&OD trail from 1912-1968 and, specifically, a nod to the iconic red caboose a stone’s throw from the brewery—part of Vienna’s Centennial Park. The very first rail line came to Vienna in 1859, and the first use of a railroad in war took place there during the Civil War. Happily, Greer and McLaughlin’s brewery has been a success from the moment its doors opened. Caboose’s beers run the gamut from ales and IPAs, to lagers, saisons and pilsners. There are always unique, seasonal brews on tap alongside year-round customer favorites, including Crossroads Vienna Lager, Vanilla Hobo Stout, Local
Motion and Wasser Pilsner. Other recent selections include: Stop Drop & Doppelbock, Chocolate Milk Stout, Crazy Train Tripel, Ghost Train Pepper Ale and Caboose Boxcar Brown Ale (a Gold Medal Winner at the 2016 Virginia Craft Brewer’s Cup). Behind Caboose’s fourteen-seat bar, you can see the shiny tanks of the beer-making operation, which can brew 15 barrels at a time. Most of the output is destined for the brewery’s own draught lines, or kegs (Caboose distributes to approximately 40 local restaurants and bars in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.).
Also, hard at work behind the scenes is the Caboose kitchen staff. They adhere strongly to the locavore movement and focus on thoughtfully sourced, ingredient-driven menu items. The team works closely with providers in the region, including Yohanan Farms (Purcellville, VA), FireFly Farms (Accident, MD) and Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-Op (Lancaster County, PA) for pasture-raised proteins and seasonal produce.
©2016 7 Hills Brewing Compnay.
7 Hills Seafood & Brewing Company brings you fresh, unfiltered and flavorful craft beers like Belle Isle Blonde Ale that pair well with our pub and seafood menu.
Happy Hour – 3-9pm Power Hour – 5-7pm • Beer, Wine & Liquor Discounts • Beer, Wine & Liquor Discounts • Wings – 30% off • Oysters On a Half Shell– $1.00 off • Mussels – 35% off • Cheeseburger Sliders – $2.00 off
Monday - Closed Tues., Wed. – 4pm -11pm Thurs. – 4pm -2am Friday –11am - 2am Saturday –11am - 2am Sunday – 11am - 12pm Brunch every Sat. and Sunday from 11am - 3pm
also available
Cheeky Monkey, Mad Hopper, Squatch Ale, 4 Mad Chefs, Agents of Chaos
. . . Caboose Brewing Continued Caboose’s menu includes elevated classics like chicken liver pâté with beercandied bacon jam, and crispy pork belly with grits and an apple cider glaze. You’ll also find butcher boards with cheeses, meats and accompaniments and—on the weekend brunch menu—house-baked buttermilk biscuits with gravy, lavender bread and local sausages. Currently topping the list of customer favorites are: potato gnocchi and roasted chicken; oven-baked macaroni and cheese; crispy Brussels sprouts; and frites with house-made IPA mustard and catsup. Getting hungry yet? Dinner is served seven days a week, and multi-course, paired beer dinners are in the works for once per season. Another important aspect of Greer and McLaughlin’s business is that they believe strongly in giving back to the community.
Hence, Caboose periodically donates five percent of an evening’s food profits to a local charitable organization (primarily in the areas of environmental, humanitarian, and educational causes). Spent grain, left over from the brewing process, goes to local farms for use as animal feed. In its two years, Caboose has garnered great reviews, including a “Best Local Brewery” nod from Washingtonian magazine, and a
strong customer base, particularly drawing from the biking community (it provides bike parking as well as tools that customers can use for repairs). A local “Trails and Ales” group regularly meets there (as does a yoga class!), and the brewery recently introduced its very own bike jersey that has been popular with customers. In fact, the business is doing so well that a second location is planned for Merrifield’s Mosaic District (a community featuring “intelligent urban design” and a curated selection of retailers, restaurants and housing), opening in late 2017. Greer and McLaughlin will repurpose an existing 6,000 square-foot storage facility into a brewery with a capacity of 15,000 barrels/year. This new venue will feature significantly more space and seats in the tasting room and a larger beer garden/patio space—plus more room for creativity. “We’ll have more room to make cider, distill, roast and brew coffee,” notes Marketing Manager Courtney Beazell; “The Mosaic area is very up and coming and a brewery will be a great thing to add to the mix.” In the meantime, if you find yourself riding down the W&OD, or otherwise passing through Vienna, stop in at the flagship Caboose location and raise a glass to this small, but mighty, brewery that’s creating a buzz. Greer and McLaughlin’s “little engine” has proven that it definitely can!
Caboose Brewing Company 520 Mill St NE Vienna, VA 22180
VACB/Final Gravity/VASA Fund Raiser A Real Estate Resource that Results in Donations to Local Charities of the Buyer or Sellers Choice.
Homeowners Tom and Sherry sold their ranch home and bought this lovely colonial using LVG, resulting in a donation of over $2,000 to their favorite charity, from agent commissions.
Benefiting Buyers and Sellers, Agents and Brokers, Nonprofits Go to
www.LegacyVentureGiving.com
Virginia Craft Brews Publication and Legacy Venture Group, in cooperation with Final Gravity, welcomed approximately 150+ beer lovers to the brewery in support of the United Spinal Association of Virginia on January 15th. Beer and food proceeds, as well as cash and raffle proceeds, raised over $1,000 and valuable awareness to benefit their mission to educate, empower and enable individuals living with spinal cord injuries and disease to achieve their highest level of health and independence. A nearby pizza place, Sgt. Pepper’s Pizza, offered 20% of proceeds of pick-up and delivery sales to United Spinal Association of Virginia within a 5 mile radius to the brewery. Local musicians, Brian Caperton & John Newton got the day off to a great start with individual solo sets that set a wonderful mood in the brewery. Mr. Josh Small & Nathan Goodwyn, a new local musical duo, finished the day with robust folk and bluegrass that had everyone smiling. An amazing array of raffle prizes was also a highlight, congrats to everyone that won! We hope you will mark April 23rd on your calendar and plan to join us at our next fundraising event at Blue Mountain Brewery!
BLUE MOUNTAIN BREWERY CHARITY EVENT (PRAI) PANS Research and Advocacy Initiative 804-615-5377
Blue Mountain Brewery
9519 Critzers Shop Road, Afton, VA 22920 540-456-8020
to find out more and sign up today! Contact:
Ann Martinuzzi 804-347-1446 info@legacyventuregiving.com Š 2016 Legacy Venture Giving
By Ann Martinuzzi
APRIL 23RD 12NOON-5PM A Portion of the Proceeds to Benefit PRAI
Presented By: