Trapezium Brewing Co. & Petersburg Battlefield Park
Getting Twisted
South of the River
Third Street Brewing Farmville’s own
James River Brewery
A Simple Strategy for Success
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Edition #16 2018
Hickory Smoked Barbecue and Hand Crafted Beers.
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Features
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Getting Twisted South of the River By: George DeGarde
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3rd Street Brewing! By: Clay McDonald
18
James River Brewery:
A Simple Strategy for Success
By: Terri L. Jones
26
Pints, Peaks, and Paddles
Trail-running at Petersburg Battlefield Park - Trapezium Brewing Co.
By: Nolan Shigley 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
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Issue #16 Spring 2018
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This Issue 4 VBCF Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation 12 Hefeweizens Don’t Call It a Comeback, I’ve Been Here For Years by: David Wren 22 Apocalypse Ale Works Triad Hard Seltzer Water by: Steve Cook 30 Previous Events Center Of The Universe’s Christmas Market
Our Team
Creative Director: Matt Goodwyn Writers: George DeGarde Clay McDonald Terri L. Jones Nolan Shigley David Wren Steve Cook Cover art Inspired by the James River as it passes through the mountains of Virginia - Layout & Design: Tactics Branding
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Stop by and raise a glass with Lord Cogsworth, Richmond's original chameleon
Getting Twisted South of the River Imagine a workshop full of various odds and ends; some of them are recognizable, and others appear to be used for some strange purpose. Inside this workshop are various tanks and hoses, bottles and sacks, all of them a part of some mad scientist’s experimentations. Now imagine that this mad scientist is making a concoction of hops, barley and yeast unlike most other combinations of these same ingredients, in a way that takes the idea of what these ingredients can become and twists it around. This mad scientist is the head brewer/owner of Twisted Ales, Jason Price, and his brewery is his laboratory; every beer is something new and different. Twisted Ales has been around for almost a year at the time of interview and will hit a year in mid-June. Jason fell in love with creating craft beer about ten years ago. After encouragement from his wife, Debbie, (who is co-owner of Twisted Ales) Jason entered into various home brewing competitions and medaled in various beer styles through multiple competitions. Through a mutual desire to work together and own a family-oriented business, Jason and Debbie put it all together to create Twisted Ales. The taproom of Twisted Ales is a mix of modern-industrial and Steampunk; imagine exposed beams, LED lighting and a penny-covered bar mixed with sprockets, gauges and pipes located in a turn-of-the-century building. As strange of a combination as it sounds, it totally fits the space and showcases the identity of the brewery. They are brewing an ancient beverage, but in new
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By: George DeGarde
and creative ways that steers the ever-changing craft beer scene, but without abandoning the styles that the brewers love. Chasing trends is not their game; instead, they prefer to focus on what they love to brew. Twisted Ales does a little bit of everything. They brew brown ales, hefeweizens, blonde ales, and the like, but they mainly specialize in West Coast style IPAs. Some of those are brewed to be as hop forward as possible, like the 6.3% Two Rapscallions; whereas, other beers are brewed with that mad scientist mindset. Sleight
Twisted Ales Craft Brewing 212 W. 6th St. Richmond VA 23224
804-230-9439 @TwistedAles W W W . T W I S T E D A L E S . C O M
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Your Neighborhood Beer and Wine Store . . . Twisted Ales Continued
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of Hand, for instance, is an experimental 7% IPA, brewed with local blood orange and mango, as well as local wild yeast captured outside of the brewery itself; truly something different in a field of hazy juice bombs and dank milkshakes. Both Debbie and Jason work in the brewery, as well as full time jobs outside the brewery, and are lucky enough to employ one of their sons in the taproom and another son helps out in the brewery. Twisted Ales has created a love of craft beer within their own family and are working hard to share their passion with those nearby and in surrounding neighborhoods. Twisted Ales clearly loves the neighborhood of Manchester and is excited to see it growing. They have been working hard to bring more attention to the area through collaborating with various charities: FeedMore and Richmond’s Daily Planet to name a few, as well as working to create a farmer’s market in the Manchester area, as there are no close grocery options. This is all in order to show that they not only want to make beer for the people of Richmond and Manchester, but that they care about the area they are in and want to see it all succeed. Additionally, they have been working with other breweries to create new and exciting things.
LOCATED IN THE STONY POINT SHOPPING CENTER (Not the Fashion Park)
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stopping through and sampling all they have to offer. Their mad scientists have been hard at work coming up with all kinds of crazy things ready for you to try. Their space is perfectly structured and comfortable, their staff is incredibly knowledgeable and their mission is admirable. Do not hesitate just because they are South of the River. Venture out and try something different!
Twisted Ales Craft Brewing Jason Price mentioned a collaboration with Legend Brewing, as well as an upcoming collaboration with Stone Brewing, one of the original breweries that got him into craft beer. Twisted Ales is definitely worth
212 W. 6th St. Richmond VA 23224 www.twistedales.com 804-230-9439
703.582.0856
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Come join us at the new bar for glasses and flights. Welcome Spring with a glass of our Sour Cherry Mead in May.
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New Kent Ordinary • Immediately adjacent to the historic County Courthouse complex. • Easy access and directions from I-64. • Recognized landmark undergoing full renovation. • 16+ acre site.
One of Virginia’s Original Taverns - Build your Craft Brewing Facility on Site.
Envision your tasting room in the Ordinary frequented by President Washington and General Lafayette. New Kent Ordinary, 12000 New Kent Hwy, New Kent, VA 23124
Circa 1692 Contact: Jonathan C. Kinney 703.284.7240 jkinney@beankinney.com
Hefeweizens: Don’t Call It a Comeback, I’ve Been Here For Years by: David Wren
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. For those seeking a tropical respite from the cold winter months, Germany is not likely at the top of your list…or even on your list at all. I have personally made the mistake of taking a springtime trip to Munich and I decided I didn’t need a winter coat because I was heading to “Southern Germany” where it would be “warmer.” Fortunately, for me, there was a welcoming beer hall on nearly every corner, so my time in the elements was mercifully short. However, in those many hours spent pounding the long oaken tables with the locals, I came to appreciate the artistry inherent in one of Germany’s most popular beer styles: the Hefeweizen. The Germans perfected this unique beer over the last few centuries to embody all the fruitiness and fizziness one craves in a warm weather beer but also the sturdiness one needs when the weather
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says, “Not so fast, I still have more snow to pile on you.” Long ago in 16th century Germany, the king passed a law called the Reheinsgebot, or Bavarian Beer Purity Law. This effectively ceased the production of any beer whose ingredients were anything other than barley, hops and water (yeast was added to this law later once scientists discovered what it was and how necessary it is for beer production.) The only exception to this law was for Bavarian royalty, who had grown fond of weizen, or wheat based, beers. Centuries passed and after the invention of the pilsner style beer in the mid-19th century, weizen beers fell out of fashion. So much so that the Bavarian royalty happily sold the rights to brew weizen to a man named George Schneider I, whose brewery over the next century re-popularized the style under the moniker Schneider Weisse. Fast forward another few decades, and the hefeweizen style is alive and well worldwide, especially in the United States. Hefeweizens are typically light to medium bodied, with flavors like banana, clove and fresh bread. They are very refreshing and crisp on the finish. Virginia is home to many great hefeweizens, so give any of these a try!
Beer and Food Pairing
Beers to Try The Love by Starr Hill Brewery One of my favorite tastes of college from the University of Virginia. Starr Hill’s The Love is a classic hefeweizen that is always good. Zephyrweisse by O’Connor Brewing Company Norfolk’s O’Connor Brewing Company boasts a summery hefeweizen that drinks as smooth as the beach winds, for which it is named. Rockfish Wheat by Blue Mountain Brewing Company Blue Mountain’s spring and summer seasonal hefeweizen brings the party with banana, clove and yeast flavors bouncing out of the glass. Watermelon Wheat by Adventure Brewing Company A different play on the classic German hefeweizen, with watermelon puree added. The result; The perfect beer for a hot spring or summer day. Fluvanna Fluss by James River Brewery This unfiltered hefeweizen is as cloudy as the James River is murky, just the way the Germans envisioned it! The Fluvanna Fluss brings a bright spot from hop usage to balance out a great hefeweizen.
Hefeweizens are medium in body so they can pair well with a broad range of food without the risk of overpowering the food’s flavor. Some of my favorite pairings are with Mexican food. The biscuity malt character complements spicy chicken and black beans and the high carbonation levels cut straight through melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole. In addition, you can seldom go wrong drinking any country’s beer with that country’s cuisine. German pretzels, sausages and mustard go well with a tall hefeweizen. Finally, hefeweizens are light enough to drink by the session, so next time you are at the brewery or bar, order a hefeweizen and enjoy!
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of Charlottesville. He became hooked and used his new found passion for brewing to earn his Craft Brewers Apprenticeship Diploma from The American Brewers Guild in Vermont. After graduating, David went on to become the Pilot Brewer at Flying Dog Brewing Company in Frederick, Maryland. Most recently, you could find David in Old Town Petersburg’s Trapezium Brewing. With a new brand and business, I cannot think of a better choice to head brewing operations. In such an intimate setting like Third Street, a brand ambassador is crucial. David is just that, being knowledgeable, personable, well spoken, and it does not hurt that he can brew one hell of a beer.
3rd Street Brewing! By Clay McDonald
For those of us spoiled by the plethora of wonderful breweries in the great urban hubs of the Commonwealth, we too often stay in our own bubble. We concentrate on what our hometown brews, or what the shop down the street sells. If you are one of those people, I beg you to get out and explore. As Virginians, we seem to be living in a brewing renaissance that is the envy of most. With over 200 licensed breweries in the Old Dominion, many stick to those large counties and cities, but we all need not forget to seek the gems that we can find in the spaces in between. A perfect example is Farmville’s own Third Street Brewing. Located just two blocks from Longwood University, Third Street Brewing can be found in the historic High Bridge Loft building (312 West 3rd St.) The beautifully renovated, century old structure is perfectly situated on the High Bridge Tail. With just a few weeks until real spring weather, it is easy to see the appeal of hiking or
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biking the Trail, spending time with friends and family and ending the afternoon with Third Street Brewing as your destination. You will find the beer garden just a single step off the trail. For those Richmonders like me, this is a beer garden to rival the best (I am looking at you Ardent Craft Ales.) Bounded by Brewery, High Bridge Trail / Appomattox River, a Bocce Ball Court and a Cornhole Court, it is an easy sell to the weary traveler and the local alike.
As Virginians, we seem to be living in a brewing renaissance that’s the envy of most. On my recent visit, I had the pleasure of speaking to David Steeves, Third Street’s Brewer. David’s first introduction to the craft beer industry was working in Crozet’s Starr Hill Brewing, just outside of this hometown
Most of David’s workspace is located in the middle of the brewery’s taproom, open for all to see. Currently, Third Street is operating on a seven-barrel brew house with two seven-barrel fermenters and two fifteen barrel fermenters. The polished stainless steel brew house and fermenters are illuminated by the unique multi-colored track lighting above. Having the brewing equipment directly adjacent to the bar and dining area may have been
THIRD STREET BREWING COMPANY 312 WEST THIRD STREET FARMVILLE, VA 23901
All roads lead to Third Street! The Finest Craft Beer in Farmville!
More than 8 beers on tap • Outdoor and indoor games • Live music and food trucks on Friday and Saturday night Operating Hours: Wednesday 3:00pm - 10:00pm • Thursday, Friday and Saturday 3:00pm - Midnight • Sunday noon - 6:00pm
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THIRDSTBREWING.COM - 434-315-0471
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. . . 3rd Street Brewing Continued necessary due to height restrictions throughout the rest of the brewery, but it adds an unmistakable level of charm and intimacy not found in many other settings. The inside of the tasting room seats about 80, with the
beer garden roughly doubling that capacity. Another aspect of Third Street’s unique setup, which I wish would catch on elsewhere, is the lounge area located closer to the front door. Plush comfortable couches await those who are looking to take a load off and wish to have something more than a barstool. This room also boasts two televisions, along with plenty of books and board games for your entertainment needs. Third Street keeps no less than eight brews on tap at any given time. Speaking from experience, their Foglight Baltic Porter is right up there with the best of them. Other offerings include: One way Wheat (Pale Wheat Ale), N150 IPA (American), High Bridge Helles (Lager), Top Down Lemongrass Blonde (Blonde Ale), Silk Road Ale (English Pale Ale), Route 66 Rye
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(Rye Beer), Horseshoe Amber Ale (American Red Ale), Roundabout Oatmeal Red (Red Ale), and Snickerdoodle Stout. Up and coming additions include some experimentation with barrel aging that I am particularly excited about: Bourbon Barrel Aged Snickerdoodle Stout and an Imperial Chocolate Stout with both Maple Syrup Barrel and Bourbon Barrel aged variants. It was apparent in our conversation that this is where David’s passion truly takes flight (pun intended). Keep an eye out for additional new small batches available every other Wednesday. As it stands, keg sales are available but only for private parties. David and team are currently working towards distribution to the immediate area. Here’s hoping that we will soon be able to have a Farmville brewed beer on tap anywhere in Farmville. A locally owned startup, Third Street Brewing opened just last October, but they have quickly become a gathering place for the community. The crew at Third Street hosts a Jam Night every Wednesday. Everyone is invited to attend, bring an instrument, and make music together. They hold regular Trivia Nights, and Karaoke Nights are in the plans as well. Keep up to date on both of those, via their Facebook Page. For those wanting to participate, the Brewery will also be the starting and stopping point for this year’s High Bridge Ride to Benefit the Alzheimer’s Association’s The Longest Day. Shortly after, on May 5th, you’ll be able to find the Third Street crew at The Heart of Virginia Festival in Farmville. Third Street Brewing is a Stage Sponsor for this year’s event.
For the locals, Third Street Brewing represents a gathering place open to all. The founders set out to give the town its own take on a neighborhood pub, and succeeded wonderfully. It is not unusual to find young professionals sitting next to a group of people with a bit more experience in life. Third Street Brewing is a place welcoming all. For us non-locals, Farmville may be best known for Longwood University and daylong shopping at Green Front Furniture, but I do not think it will take long before most add Third Street Brewing to their short list of priority stops on their weekend ventures to the “Heart of Virginia.”
Third Street Brewing 312 W. Third Street Farmville, Virginia 23901 434-315-0471 www.thirdstbrewing.com
Newly Expanded Taproom
Can Now Accommodate Up To 200 Beer Lovers
Storm a cold Castleburg tonight!
2nd Anniversary Party - May 26th 2 Bands & 2 Beer Releases
10 Beers On Tap
Including 2017 Gold Medal Winner �Castleburg Cream Ale�
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Castleburg Brewery, 1626 Ownby Lane, Richmond, VA 23220 At the corner of Hermitage Road and Ownby Lane
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James River Brewery:
A Simple Strategy for Success by: Terri L. Jones
mayor, town council members, people with their dogs and kids and scores of other folks who simply like great craft beer. Three years and counting. In 2014, James River Brewing Company was in trouble. Shannon Brown, in partnership with investors Ron and Tim Byers and Scott Minor, who had been an investor since day one, swooped in the following year to save the failing brewery, which had been unsuccessful in gaining any traction under two different ownerships.
Sherman, to do the remodeling. When the renovation was completed, the new James River Brewery (JRB) still needed a brewer. “Blake had always been very good at learning new things,” explains Brown. In
JRB’s beers remain impressively simple in a landscape of more complex (some could say distracting) flavor profiles. After Brown and his partners purchased the brewery, he recognized right away that the building needed some work before it could reopen. Brown brought on his longtime friend and fellow carpenter, Blake
Photos by: Liam Kelly & Linda Haines A priest, a woman knitting a scarf and 170 regulars walk into a craft brewery. No, this is not the first line of a joke. It is exactly what you will find at Scottsville’s only craft brewery. Since it changed ownership in 2015 (for the second time in about three years), the new-and-improved James River Brewery has succeeded in creating an award-winning and palate-pleasing lineup of beers … and attracted a real crosssection of fans in the process.
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Not only does the brewery’s diversity of clientele include priests who take kegs of beer back to their monastery down the road, ladies who drink while they knit (and call themselves the “Drunken Knitwits”) and 170 Mug Club members, which, by the way, is about 30 percent of the population of this sleepy little town on the James River. You will also find a Methodist minister and his congregants enjoying “Hops and Hymns” one Sunday evening a month, the
addition, his friend had played around a bit with home brews, so Brown asked him if he might want to learn to brew on a much larger scale. Sherman immediately said, “Yes.” “We were fortunate enough to have two of the best Master Brewers around train him and continue to help us out with any questions that we might have,” says Brown. The most valuable lesson JRB learned from one of these consultants, John Bryce, was to “just keep it simple.” Bryce, who trained Sherman, was himself trained in Germany following Reinheitsgebot, which dates back to 1516, but which many German brewers still follow. Also known as the German beer purity law, these regulations dictate that beer should contain only malted grains, water, yeast and hops.
. . . JRB Continued “When you get a bunch of different grains in there, it’s too much,” explains Sherman. “No one grain comes through. You get a muddled taste.” Because of this good advice, JRB’s beers remain impressively simple in a landscape of more complex (some could say distracting) flavor profiles. Even JRB’s cans are cleanly designed and monochromatic. “We do play a little bit,” says Sherman, naming honey, habanero and mango as a few of the flavors they have tried in their small batches. However, these enhanced flavors are definitely the exception rather than the rule at JRB. Lest you think this conformity results in beers that all taste the same, think again.
According to Sherman, “You can change it up so much with just a little more hops or a different fermenting temperature.” The brewery offers a wide selection of beer choices, from pale ales to IPAs to stouts, which rotate with the season. Sherman says their most popular are two of JRB’s core beers: Fluvanna Fluss, a traditional, unfiltered Bavarian-style hefeweizen and Tuber, a refreshing, dry-hopped IPA. Happy beer drinkers beat awards. Tasty beer is not the only reason customers pack the old brick tobacco warehouse most afternoons and evenings of the week. It is also because of the warm, welcoming atmosphere. Both Sherman and Brown agree that spending time with customers and seeing their reactions to JRB’s beers is predominantly why they do what they do.
“Sometimes I come into the tasting room when there’s somebody who hasn’t been here before and I peek to see their reaction to the first beer that they try,” says Sherman. “I love seeing people enjoy something that I make.”
“JRB is a fantastic place to socialize with community folks and visitors from far and wide,” While JRB has taken home several impressive honors, with Best in Show at the 2016 Virginia Craft Brewers Cup Awards, and a Gold and a Bronze at the 2015 Virginia Beer Cup among them, you can tell that Brown is sincere when he says, “If we see a smiling face on a customer, that’s our medal!”
Customers having a great time
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In addition to the 170 Mug Club members and other locals who love the place, JRB attracts out-of-towners who have tried one of their beers at a festival or purchased it at a local store (the brewery distributes from NOVA to Roanoke, Scottsville to Tidewater) and who want to try more. Sometimes folks are on their way to other craft breweries or wineries and the
charm of Scottsville, with its beautiful architecture and peaceful, Mayberry vibe (no stoplights!), draws them in. “JRB is a fantastic place to socialize with community folks and visitors from far and wide,” says veteran Mug Club member and town mayor, Nancy Gill. “[But] the best JRB experience is greeting visitors to town.” When she says, “far and wide,” it is no exaggeration! While at JRB, Gill has met both a young man from Ireland—on his way from Boston to Miami—and a young lady visiting a friend in Charlottesville from Japan. Namesake of the James. At the intersection of Albemarle, Fluvanna and Buckingham Counties, Scottsville is nestled in a horseshoe bend of the James River. “Scottsville and its history are intertwined with the James,” reads the brewery’s website. In fact, every summer, replicas of late 18thand early 19th-century batteaux, once used to ferry tobacco, grain and other goods down the James River, make an eight-day trip from Maidens Landing to Lynchburg as a part of the James River Batteau Festival. Scottsville is the halfway point on the 120-mile trip. When the batteaux dock in town, there are a variety of activities, from artisans and music to historic reenactments for passengers of the boats and townspeople alike to enjoy. These long, flat-bottomed, poled riverboats figure prominently in JRB’s logo. Even the décor of the brewery itself features an old rudder and architectural drawing of a batteau on a beam in the tasting room and half of a weathered hull on the stage in the
beer garden out back. The significance of the James is also apparent in the brewery’s name, which has remained constant over the three iterations of the brewery. The names of its beers, including River Runner, Tuber, James Blonde 007, Wet-n-Wild and Fluss, which is the German word for “river,” are also a nod to Virginia’s largest river.
trivia nights, as well as bingo, arts and crafts and other fun activities to draw people in and keep them coming back. Mug Club members enjoy discounts on beer and retail every day of the year. It is also important for JRB to give back to the Scottsville community, which has played such an integral role in their relaunch of the brewery. Not only does the brewery donate to the Scottsville fire department, rescue squad, soccer and baseball teams, but they also give 20 percent of their sales to a different local charity every Wednesday night. What’s next for JRB? In the not-so-distant future, JRB will be opening a second, much larger location in an old laundromat in Farmville. “Because it’s a college town, with Hampden Sydney and Longwood, it should do well,” predicts Brown.
Blake Sherman: JRB Brewer - Shannon Brown: General Manager and part owner
More than beer. Instead of inviting food trucks to pull up outside, like many other craft breweries, JRB has partnered with nearby restaurants, including Tavern on the James, Amici’s and Barefoot Country Store, to deliver their delicious fare to customers who come to the brewery both hungry and thirsty. You will also find music at JRB on weekends - played in the beer garden out back in nice weather and in the tasting room during colder months. In addition, the brewery hosts open mic, karaoke and
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Right now, JRB is just waiting for renovations to be complete to start brewing their delicious beer there. Nevertheless, once they do, you can expect the same fun, welcoming atmosphere inside their tasting room, and of course, the same refreshing simplicity in their beer.
James River Brewery
561 Valley Street, Scottsville, VA 24590 434.286.7837 • JRBREWERY.COM
www. jrbeverage.com
434-589-2798
info@jrbeverage.com
However, with 4.9% alcohol, Triad is not your grandfather’s club soda, although many fans of the beverage, Doug says, “do enjoy mixing the drink, which is available in several flavors, with their liquor. A lot of people are using our ginger-flavored (Triad) to make Moscow Mules, and our other flavors (such as Coconut Pineapple H2O and Wild Berry H2O) mix well with gin and vodka.”
Apocalypse Ale Works -
Triad Hard Seltzer Water
While Triad from Apocalypse Ale Works is not the first of its kind in the nation, it is the first hard seltzer commercially brewed in Virginia, and, says Doug, “to my knowledge we’re the only brewery in the nation offering it on draft.”
by Steve Cook
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. For Doug John, it was more a matter of if by the 16th time you don’t succeed, try again. “The 17th time was the charm,” Doug says. He’s referring to the experimentation that eventually led to the creation of his family’s version of a very recent entry in the alcoholic beverage industry, hard seltzer. Doug, who along with his wife, Lee, and their son, Austin, owns Apocalypse Ale Works in Forest, Virginia, did not invent the product, which is quickly catching on with those who want a lighter alcoholic beverage. There were earlier versions of the drink already on the market before the Johns began their experiments. In fact, it was Austin’s girlfriend who turned the family onto the drink after she had sampled Truly, a hard seltzer from Samuel Adams. Upon tasting the 17th batch in late 2017, Doug and his family knew that they had the taste he was looking for.
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Apocalypse had their new product, Triad. The name seems to fit, coming from a brewery famous for such labels as Barrmageddon, Sixth Seal and
“What better life could a man have,” he asks rhetorically, “than to be able to pursue your passion full-time alongside your wife and your son?” Hoppocalypse. “There are three facets of Triad,” Doug says, explaining the origin of the name - “Low sugar, low carbs and low gluten.” If you have your finger on the pulse of today’s consumer, you well know that these are three important factors.
rated e p o d n a ned Family ow old Forest Volunteer Fire Department located in the
1257 Burnbridge Rd. Forest, VA
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2018 Releases MANDARIN ORANGE CENSER This beer is crafted with a balance of wheat, honey malt and refreshing amounts of tropical citrus that compliment both flavor and aroma. Our Mandarin Censer delivers a perfectly crisp finish for any morning, afternoon or evening. It’s a smooth ale with low bitterness and a kick of citrus to help adjust your attitude to a lower latitude!
ABV 5.0% - IBUs 15 Holy Pucker GOSE Our best thirst quencher is an ancient German Wheat style called Gose. Holy Pucker is made to give you a refreshingly tart and dry finish. Our Key Lime Pie Holy Pucker variant is a creation by our brewer who grew up in Florida and loves the REAL key lime pie. We think you will agree that this brew “gose” great with seafood and gentle breezes, morning, noon or night!
ABV 4.5% - IBUs: 30 TRIAD HARD SELTZER WATER Triad is an innovative alternative beverage that is clean, crisp and refreshing. This hard seltzer water is only 100 calories and 4.9% abv. Our spring offerings are Wildberry and Ginger/Lime. Serve this over ice or use it in your favorite mixed drink!
ABV 5.0%
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Plans that are tailored to fit the craft brew industry.
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. . . Triad Seltzer Continued For the time being, that’s the only way you’re going to be able to enjoy the beverage. Doug says that in addition to restaurants located less than10 miles from the brewery in Lynchburg and carrying the product, many restaurants in Charlottesville and in the Hampton Roads area are beginning to make the beverage available to those who not only prefer it as a cocktail mix, but who are enjoying drinking it straight or on the rocks. Apocalypse Ale Works has, at present, limited distribution in the Richmond area, “But,” says Doug, “get your favorite bartender to ask for it from Tri-City Distributors.” Doug, who took an early retirement to devote full-time to his decades-long passion for brewing beer, opened Pints O’ Plenty, a
complete craft home brewing and wine gift shop in Forest in 2008. He got into the business of brewing beer commercially in 2011 when he opened Apocalypse Ale Works next door to his retail operation. “What better life could a man have,” he asks rhetorically, “than to be able to pursue his passion full-time alongside his wife and his son?”
Apocalypse Ale Works 1257 Burnbridge Rd., Forest, VA E N D O F BA D B E E R . C OM
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Pints, Peaks and Paddles: By: Nolan Shigley
Trail-running at Petersburg Battlefield Park - Trapezium Brewing Co.
Petersburg Battlefield National Park is a sobering reminder of our country’s conflict that preserved the nation and ended the despicable institution of slavery. However, it is now also a sanctuary for wildlife amidst the Tri-Cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg. Each day, the forests and fields come alive with the sound of songbirds, while countless runners and mountain bikers visit an impressive trail system. Each year, protected bald eagles nest in the Loblolly Pines and make the park their home. Life thrives each day within the park, very different from the era of 1861-1865, when they destroyed habitat to make way for violent conflict. In order to collect my thoughts on my solitary run through history, a visit to Trapezium Brewing Company was well suited. Keeping with the style of Old Town Petersburg and the theme of the day, Trapezium Brewing Company is situated in a beautifully restored brick building, built a mere decade after the Civil War. Complete with rustic brick walls and repurposed wood, it is the perfect venue to contemplate the importance of the city during the war. Behind the bar, the brick oven is
Appropriately, a heavy gray blanket of fog covered the desolate Petersburg Battlefield as I trudged through the muddy trails softened by the constant mist. As a distance trail-runner, I commonly have vast tracts of forests and mountains to myself. Today, I had an historic national park and sacred ground where over 70,000 casualties occurred during the American Civil War. I ran along pine-forested trails that would suddenly exit the towering trees and enter immense open battlefields while cutting through “no man’s land,” a vast area dividing the Blue and the Gray, once strewn with corpses of teenage soldiers. Deep trenches, still visible today, flank both sides of the boundless grassland. As I ran the sliver of single-
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track that snakes through, I could not even fathom the bloodshed that occurred on the land where my footsteps fell. Long stretches of wide forest trails connected me to each major site within the park system. The same areas where Grant’s army fought Lee’s, my Montrails and I visited. From canons and forts to the infamous Crater, made even more infamous by the film Cold Mountain, I jogged in reflection. I ran along trenches dug by soldiers that marked the fortifications of the Confederate and the Union militaries. I ran through American history on the most decisive battlefield of the war, while the steel wheels of trains provided an idyllic soundtrack.
. . . Pints, Peaks, and Paddles Continued
I m a g i n e. Imagine creating a New Craft Beer Recipe. Imagine the cheers from all the Craft Beer Lovers. Send to: admin@virginiacraftbrews.com or mail a hard copy to: Virginia Craft Brews 11501 Allecingie Parkway Richmond, VA 23235 Accompanying photography appreciated if available.
lit up like a band on the main stage, while cooks toss dough through the air like performing musicians. Obviously, artisanal pizza shares the spotlight with craft brews. I quenched my thirst with a tropical New England IPA and replenished my calories with the epic White Horse pizza, complete with a sunny-side-up egg on top. The tropical citrus flavors were delightful for a post-run dryness, but that pizza may have stolen all the thunder. Deliciously salty from capers and the egg, stacked with a full savor and perfect thin, smoky crust, I had to close my eyes while eating at the risk of others seeing them roll back into my head. It was an intense experience, to say the least. I then reached for a Lucky 25 American Brown and enjoyed the traditional flavors of a tavern ale, a cozy ale with
hints of nuts, caramel and roasted coffee, symbolic of my day and perfect for post meal.
Trapezium Brewing Company is situated in a beautifully restored brick building built a mere decade after the Civil War. In the age of the craft brewery, it is difficult to believe the TriCities area lacked a single one until Trapezium hit the scene. Named after the “quirky� Trapezium house nearby (apparently built lacking 90 degree angles), the brewery became the first in a heavily populated and thirsty region of Virginia. Thankfully, Trapezium continues the way for a revitalized downtown in Petersburg that is witnessing a renaissance of their architecture and businesses. Will Petersburg replicate the beer scene of her older Civil War sister Richmond? That remains to be seen, but there is ample history, good eats, outdoor adventure and craft brews for more than a one-day trip.
Look for fresh DaddyG's at a VA Craft Brewery near you OR follow us on Facebook to find out how you can purchase at a live brewery appearance or festival event. daddygscraftsalsas.com
Pouring it on for our Breweries and Brewpubs
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Explore more of the Virginia Capital Trail's beauty and history from Richmond to Jamestown Settlement. Be dropped off at your starting point or picked up at your destination to bike the Virginia Capital Trail without any of the hassle. Visit www.CapTrailBikeShuttle.com for more more information and to book your ride. **Custom trips and times available for groups
VBCF is a one-stop, comprehensive resource for all Virginians experiencing breast cancer Find help for yourself or a loved one at vbcf.org or by calling 1-800-345-8223
Community Tap Night May 20, 2018 - Noon - 8PM Donating 15% of All Proceeds to Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation (vbcf)
Center Of The Universe’s
Christmas Market Fundraiser
On December 16, 2017, Center of the Universe Brewing, in partnership with the Virginia Craft Brews Publication, held a COTU Christmas market at the brewery to raise awareness for the Girls for A Change non-profit. They promoted the event through the publication, with information about Girls for a Change throughout, as well as a story about the brewery. Wonderful tunes from Jim Fab and Jim Jones filled the air, playing renditions of all your favorite holiday songs on Jazz Guitar and Jazz Trumpet. A great crowd got into the holiday spirit and took care of some last minute shopping. Here are a few of the wonderful local vendors who sold products: CapWorks, Wand and Wear for DK Designs, Gifted RVA, Nicole Gomez Art, Camelot Pewter, Liberatus Jewelry, Cricket Cove Soap Co., Earbobs by Amy, Esoshare, Lularoe by Becca Reeser, & Shinnamon & Sugar. Capitol Waffle Shop served up impeccable holiday comfort food! We had the chicken and waffle special and did not speak a word as we devoured it! Most importantly, 10% of all beer sales, and 100% of all the vendor fees were donated to Girls For A Change! “Having multiple organizations come together for the common goal of raising money and awareness for a great cause is what we love about this industry. Having Virginia Craft Brews on board to assist with promotions was paramount in making sure the largest audience possible received the charity’s message. We are grateful for both Virginia Craft Brews, as well as Girls for a Change, for contributing to our local community.” Cheers! - Chris Ray Center of the Universe Brewing Co
Come DRINK in the VIEWS ! 2015/2016/2017
13 BEERS on TAP DOG & FAMILY Friendly FARM to FORK Dining CALL AHEAD Waitlist CORN HOLE SPORTS Bar & SPORTS PAVILION EVENT CENTER 434-361-0088 • 2461 ROCKFISH VALLEY HWY • NELLYSFORD, VA • WILDWOLFBEER.COM