"Give me breweries or give me death!" or Richmond, VA: Part II - The Conclusion

Welcome back to our episode, which is already in progress. Let's continue where we left off... in Richmond, VA, of course! With a penchant for creativity and a strong desire to explore, Garden Grove (our next stop after Three Notch'd) focuses on brewing small-batch beers with unusual ingredients, many of which are local, organic, and even foraged for by the brewery. They also have a pretty extensive barrel-aging program for a small brewery, and utilize French and American oak wine barrels exclusively (sorry, no bourbon or rye whiskey barrels, folks).

With that said, I opted for perhaps the most intriguing beer on the list, the aptly named Native Ale. This wine barrel-aged Belgian-style ale features organic malt, wildflower honey, and foraged spicebush leaves and lemon verbena grown by Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens of Richmond. Sweet with a hint of mild oak and white grape, this beer finished with a floral bouquet and a hint of spicy Belgian yeast.

Aside from that particular beer, I'm struggling to remember anything specific about Garden Grove, unfortunately. Perhaps a quick Google image search will help shake up the beans in my noggin.

Break for station identification. You're reading The Pour Travelers blog, a blog about the craft beer travels of Ffej, Brewslut and their simian drinking companion, Pleeleus (or Pleeps for short). 

OK we're back. Oh yeah, that place.

The colors...

Sometimes my mind gets a bit fuzzy round about midday when we're hitting a different brewery every two hours or so. Hey, it happens to the best of us. Following the enjoyable Native Ale, we shared a pour of The Empress, a robust porter infused with cold brew Café Femenino Colombian organic coffee. A collaboration with Bright Spot Coffee, a specialty coffee roaster based in Richmond, this beer is medium bodied with a dominant coffee aroma and a touch of roasty bitterness in the finish. I like my coffee porters to have a bit more oomph to them, but this one was pretty solid overall.

Impressed with what we tried initially, we decided to share one last beer. Enter Mammoth, a classic West Coast IPA loaded with Simcoe hops for a wash of mango and creamsicle and a moderate bitter finish. This one was quite enjoyable as well, especially amid the sea of haze we'd been experiencing. Simcoe is a pretty diverse hop. Sometimes it can come across as quite fruity; other times, you get an almost peppery, spicy pine-like flavor. Gotta love Simcoe for its chameleon-like range of flavors.

One of our favorite pastimes is identifying brewery stickers.

And with that, it was off to the next stop. Surprisingly, Triple Crossing was lightly attended when we arrived. Apparently, we were both craving hops this time, because we each ordered IPAs. I'd heard a few positive rumblings from folks adjacent to my beer circle, so the brewery was on my short-term radar. Aside from The Answer and The Veil, it was the brewery I was most looking forward to checking out on this little excursion. My bronze medalist, if you will.

Curious about the name, I checked out Triple Crossing's web site only to come up empty handed with details pertaining to the impetus of its namesake. So I took to old reliable Google and found the following:

Triple Crossing in Richmond, Virginia is believed to be the only place in North America where three Class I railroads cross at different levels at the same spot.

And suddenly it all made sense. Let's get that up on your "About Us" page, eh?

Who here likes trains?!

With hops on our minds, we decided to go with a pair of IPAs. Firsts up was Dawn Chorus, a DIPA hopped with Citra, Galaxy and Vic Secret for tons of bright pineapple and peach. This one had a soft, supple mouthfeel and virtually no bitterness despite its juicy, hop-forward flavor. Meanwhile, Brewslut was working  on a glass of Mosaic Triangles, a soft, full-bodied IPA hopped assertively with (as the name implies) Mosaic featuring low alcohol and bitterness. Mosaic hops lend a juicy flavor that comes across as part citrusy, part tropical fruit, and part summer melon. Both of these beers were quite enjoyable. And so it goes with my love/hate relationship with hazy IPAs.

We also needed a snack, so we split a small pizza, which hit the spot and added a bit of fuel in the tank to get us through to dinner. These two beers certainly good enough to coax us into staying for a second round, but for whatever reason we decided to move along to the next place.

Pleeps enjoying my Kool-Aid.

It was already pretty dark outside by the time we rolled into Champion, which was supposed to be our final stop of the day. Inside, the space reminded me of an old theater with a very high ceiling and open floor plan. There was a large stage to the back of the room, and they were projecting Scream 3 onto the wall above the stage; after all, it was Halloween season. Perhaps that's why it reminded me of a theater. Brewslut grabbed a table near the stage and I got in line for beer. I decided on a sampler flight of the following four beers:

• The Pils are Alive with Citra - rotating series of dry-hopped pilsners to showcase specific hops. Each batch features the same base beer; only the hop profile changes. This one featured a crisp pilsner backbone with a wash of citrus fruit. 
• Missile IPA - IPA dry-hopped with Cascade, Simcoe, and Summit with firm bitterness and intense citrusy aroma. 
• Amarillo by Morning - big juicy DIPA bittered with Apollo hops and dry-hopped with Summit and Amarillo for a dank, heady nose.
• Five Armies - white wine barrel-aged golden sour ale.

The beers all seemed good enough albeit not overly memorable, with the Amarillo by Morning taking the cake as far as my preference goes. But let's backtrack a bit. While I was waiting for our beers, I noticed a group of patrons off to the side debating on what beer to order. As they uttered a series of ridiculous questions, I came to the obvious conclusion that these people clearly didn't know anything about beer. I chuckled to myself and reveled in the moment of yet another clueless group of people attempting to find something that essentially tasted like macro-produced light beer. One of the younger women (who was apparently dressed in a soccer uniform), was the biggest culprit. Clearly the bartender was annoyed as well, but you know what they say: "the customer is always right." Brewslut happened to find a table directly behind these people, and I politely called out to her something like the following: "Are we sitting over there?" The clueless soccer girl tersely replied, "Um, no!" Of course, I had just the right amount of beer in my system to not let her off the hook so easily. I replied, "Actually, I was talking to my wife, but let me know if you need help picking out a beer, because clearly you don't know what you're doing." I was, of course, met with no response. Sometimes it's little victories like these that make me most proud. Brewslut probably just would have punched her in the solar plexus.

In case you forgot where we were...

Anyway, let's get back to the beer. While we were working on our sampler flight, the bartender (coincidentally a young twenty-something female) came over to our table with a complimentary pour of Black Me Stout. She then added, "I loved the way you handled that girl in line. I have to deal with people like her all the time but can't say anything because I work here." Needless to say, this was gratifying to hear and it kind of made my night, to be honest.

As for the beer, this one was brewed for a Florida-based band called Against Me!. Not being familiar with them, I checked out their web site. Based on photographs of the band, they appeared to be some hybrid of punk and metal, although Wiki calls them an American punk band, so I probably wouldn't like them. (Editor's note: I watched the video for the song that shares its namesake with the beer. Not my thing. It's music for depressed 15-year-old girls trying to find their identity.) The beer wasn't bad; perhaps a bit too thin and one dimensional for the style (kind of like punk rock, I guess). Looks like the name of the beer was inspired by the band's song "Black Me Out" from its 2014 album Transgender Dysphoria Blues. A punk musician dissatisfied with life? Maybe they should actually learn how to play their instruments. Just sayin'. However, the title of their 2002 debut album is pretty amusing: Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose. Poor Axl. Not really. Of course, I'd rather listen to GNR any day of the week over any punk band. Plus I'll always take the opportunity to diss punk rock when I can (although there are a few bands I appreciate, such as Ramones).

Pleeps is a champion!

After our quick visit to Champion, we decided we still had one more in us, so we headed back to The Answer for a second round. Following an enjoyable romp through a variety of primarily dark beers during our previous visit, we decided to try a few of its hoppy offerings this time. First on the agenda was something called So Close I Can Almost Smell Them. The beer - with its lengthy Tired Hands-esque moniker - turned out to be a pungent, fruity double dry-hopped DIPA with Columbus, El Dorado, and Galaxy. Brewslut was also feeling like hops and ordered I Know Dats Ripe, a DIPA overflowing with ripe tropical fruit aromas (hence the name). Simcoe and Mosaic comprise the kettle hops, and further heavy dry-hopping with Mosaic imparts a huge tropical nose. Ripe indeed!

We couldn't leave without trying one of The Answer's signature "Frozan" slushee concoctions. After perusing the beer list, we determined that the Frozan Hurricane sounded most interesting (and delicious) so that's what we ordered. This was basically a slushee version of the Hurricane beer we'd had the previous night featuring blood orange, passionfruit, and rum-soaked cherries. Don't you kids go trying to make these at home! While I appreciate the uniqueness of these beers, they are definitely more of a "try it once" kind of thing for me. I mean, I can't stand when someone serves me beer in a frosted mug, so I don't really feel much of a kinship to a beer Slush Puppy. Maybe if I was at Knoebel's on a hot day. Otherwise, I'll stick to the non-frozen beer. Plus I won't get brain freeze.

We finished up our second visit with a recent addition to the tap list since the previous night. Instead of big or go home, we decided to go big and then go home. I mean, where else can you go from this beer? The beer I'm talking about is Double Barrel King Kahuna, a massive 14.5% imperial stout aged in Laird's apple brandy and bourbon barrels with Kona coffee, hazelnut, macadamia nuts, and toasted coconut. Jesus! That's a lot of ingredients. For me, the stouts here are the must-try beers, although everything was delicious and well-executed.

Beer aside, the food here is pretty bangin' too. The menu is Asian-inspired, with a variety of Vietnamese pho dishes and banh mi sandwiches as well as dumplings, sliders, salads, and more. Oh yeah, and the best freakin' ice cream sandwiches ever... and I mean EVER, like of all time in the history of ice cream. The fat kid in me was in frozen dessert heaven with these delectable treats from Richmond-based Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches. The first night we were there, I inquired about them and heard they were delicious. I ordered Fat Elvis, which is made with banana ice cream and soft peanut butter cookies, then dipped in chocolate. My head was spinning! The following night, I tried one made with The Answer's own raspberry "frozan" beer, which was also as good but not quite as mind-blowing as Fat Elvis. Seriously, these were amazing! And with that, we'd discovered our favorite brewery in Richmond.

The next morning after breakfast, we programmed the GPS for Manassas, VA, which is about 100 miles north of Richmond. We got a slightly late start, but we still arrived at our first stop of the day, Heritage, at a decent time. We chose Manassas because there were two breweries in close proximity, and it allowed us to get almost two hours of travel in before we had our first beer.

Exterior of Heritage Brewing Co. in Manassas, VA.

Founded in 2013, Heritage joins the ranks of quite a few veteran-owned breweries we visited over the last several years. The two owners also happen to be brothers. The brewery offers four flagship beers as well as limited and seasonal releases (under the "Lincoln's Hat" series). It appears they also have a pretty robust barrel-aging program based on the number of wood-aged beers on its website. Overall, the place was bigger than I had anticipated. Looks like they even distribute to a few other neighboring states (MD and SC, for example).

Like so many other breweries we've visited over the years, Heritage is also situated in an industrial park amid rows of warehouses. Not the best for foot traffic, but the brewery itself boasts a pretty large production space. Unfortunately, the tap list was pretty scant during our visit. Several beers were kicked (despite the fact that we were the only two visitors all day, and they'd already been open for about an hour and a half). We opted for pints of two of its flagship beers: Freedom Isn't Free and Force Multiplier.

You can't have freedom for free... but Pleeps can!

Both beers were solid, no-frills offerings that would fit nicely in any brewery's year-round line-up. Freedom Isn't Free, an American IPA brewed with Cascade, Centennial, Citra and Simcoe, offers notes of wildflowers and citrus fruit backed by a crisp malt character. Not bad at all. Force Multiplier, a DIPA, is named after an old military saying whereby if you provide troops with something to increase their effectiveness, it's known as a Force Multiplier. Kind of an apt name for a DIPA produced by a veteran-owned brewery, I'd say. This one had more of a West Coast vibe with a good bit of pine resin and citrus rind. I preferred the house IPA a bit more, but both were pretty solid beers overall. We were there for about an hour, but no other customers set foot into the tasting room while we were there. Perhaps folks in Manassas aren't in the mood for beer on Sunday afternoons.

Inside Heritage Brewing Co.

Just down the road in a small shopping plaza is BadWolf, a small-batch craft brewery serving up unfiltered, unpasteurized beers. The brewery was founded in 2012 by a married couple who grew up in northern Virginia, and opened its doors in June 2013. The tiny tasting room featured six house beers including not one but two grisettes as well as a variety of other styles. I opted for Tepache, a golden sour ale inspired by a traditional Mexican fermented drink featuring pineapple, ginger and habanero peppers. I usually stray from ordering a full pour of something with peppers hotter than jalapenos, but this one just sounded really tasty. Turns out it was! Brewslut went with a NE-style IPA called The Juice, which didn't jive with me at all. It just had some kind of funky yeast I'm not used to, I guess. I had one sip and that was enough for me.

Beer selection at BadWolf Brewing Co. during our visit.

While we were at BadWolf, we enjoyed talking to two locals and muggers, Dene and Angie, about beer, or travels and the yada yada. They were familiar with Troegs but hadn't made it to the brewery yet, so I gave them a couple bottles of our latest Scratch Fest Lager, which they appreciated. (If you guys are reading this: "Hi!")

We were really looking forward to getting back to Vanish. You may recall that they made my Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2017 list. When we arrived, the parking lot seemed pretty full, so I was certain they were going to be busy. That's an understatement. Turns out they were having some kind of community event for a charity organization involving dogs. Fine with me, as we absolutely love dogs. However, with dogs come families, and with families, well... you know where this is going.

As we walked up to the main entrance, we decided it was too windy and chilly to sit outside. I noticed they'd just released a brand new Milkshake IPA called Frostnite that sounded tasty. Once we entered the main tasting room, my suspicions were verified. They were, indeed, packed (or Pi-DACKED as Brewslut would say). Surprisingly, the line for beer was pretty non-existent, so we were able to get served quickly. As a result of the massive crowd of people, they were serving beers in plastic cups. Somewhat bummed, I turned around to see if we could spot somewhere to sit and enjoy our beers. No sooner did we begin walking when some untethered little miscreant ran into me at knee level and almost spilled my beer. Agitated, I looked around only to notice assorted tot-sized mongrels, many donning face painting of some sort running rampant throughout the tasting room. It was then that I realized why the beer line was short: 50% of the people there were children. We made our way through a sea of strollers and diaper bags to the back of the room where the food service stations were located. I really wanted to try the pulled chicken, as I've heard their BBQ is pretty legit. Sadly, they were sold out. Nothing else fit into our diet and we didn't feel like having a cheese pizza, so we retreated to the opposite side of the room and kept our distance from the wave of toddlers stomping about. There was a guy playing acoustic guitar who sounded pretty good (he played some Tom Petty), but we basically decided to finish our beers and head to nearby Frederick to visit Attaboy, a recent favorite of ours (and honorable mention on the aforementioned "Best of 2017" list). Last time we visited, they were hosting an awesome food truck that had amazing veggie burgers. A quick perusal of their Facebook page confirmed that, in fact, the very same food truck - Boxcar Burgers - would be there until 7 p.m. Dinner problem solved... and yet another audible called!

Behind the bar at Vanish.

But back to the beer. Both my Frostnite and Brewslut's Cabernet Stout were kind of underwhelming; not necessarily from a flavor perspective but in general. Both beers were served quite cold and were borderline flat. The Frostnite did have a pleasant orange and vanilla creamsicle flavor, but it simply didn't suck me in like the last time we visited. As for the Cab Stout, wine barrel-aged stouts are generally hit or miss for me, and while I did detect a nice woodiness and dark fruit character, the lifeless body and somewhat thin mouthfeel did little to enhance our experience. We noticed a Cherry Lime Gose on the board (which I'm surprised Brewslut didn't initially order), which was also available in pre-filled crowlers to go, so we ordered a sample pour to see if we should get one to take home. It didn't really wow us, so we passed.

By this time hunger was calling, so we bowed out of Vanish earlier than expected to head to Attaboy for what would be our final brewery of the weekend. But first thing's first: food! As soon as we arrived, we ordered two black bean burgers with some tasty fixins and a large size of fries to share. We mentioned that we really enjoyed the burgers last time we visited, and she was happy to hear we were return customers. Our food came up quickly, but unfortunately she forgot to ring in the fries. However, she was kind enough to comp an order for us, which was unnecessary but nevertheless much appreciated. 

Our view from the bar at Attaboy.

We started off with a regular pour and decided on a flight of three samples later. First up was Tarts McGee Peach, a low ABV "tart ale" brewed with peach and apricot. Think slightly tart with hints of dried apricots and hard peach candy. This beer was nice and refreshing, and I couldn't help but think of Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone exchanging insults while I sipped on this tasty beer. Brewslut went with Darlin Clementine, a hazy pale ale with notes of orange juice and pine. She enjoyed it quite a bit. I had a few nips and it was, indeed, tasty. However, I was in the zone with my pour of Tarts McGee, and I unfortunately bogarted most of it.  

Attaboy, Pleeps!

We decided to end with a flight since there were a few remaining beers that we wanted to try. The one to pique my interest was something called Lunch Break, referred to on the beer board as a "patersbier." Weighing in at only 4.8% ABV, its flavor notes suggested a dry, biscuity flavor with hints of cherry. I must admit I'd never heard of the "patersbier" style before. Upon investigating its origins, I found its name is Dutch for "father's beer" and it's a light ale that sometimes is referred to as "lawnmower beer for Trappist monks." (Funny, because I'm pretty sure monks don't cut the grass... although I wonder if the gardener also has to take a vow of silence.) To perpetuate the Dutch references, the beer style is sometimes known as "enkel," which translates to “single” in Dutch. Most beer drinkers know their dubbels and tripels, but singles, I find, are few and far between. Most breweries refer to a light Belgian ale as a "Belgian blonde" or "golden ale." The style is thought to have first emerged when brewing monks performed additional sparges of mash to extract leftover sugars. The monks then used this to create a low ABV, sessionable beer (aka "lawnmower beer"). Interesting story. Sadly, I wasn't too jazzed about the beer.

The second beer in our flight, however, was probably the best beer we had all day. Guava No Guava is a New England IPA (I know, I know!) with juicy notes of citrus fruit and (duh) guava. A tropical fruit popular in Mexico and Central America, the guava is rarely used as an ingredient in brewing. Occasionally, I'll come across a beer brewed with guava. I'm not sure why it isn't more prominently featured in beers (especially IPAs and sours) because this beer was pretty damn delicious! With a flavor ranging from sweet and juicy to slightly tart, it is a versatile fruit that displays a big smack of tropical fruit punch-like flavor.

The third and final beer of the flight was a NE-style DIPA called Juicemaster 5000, which kind of sounds like some type of industrial strength smoothie blender. I had to chuckle at the flavor notes for this one: "Tangerine, Papaya, Mayhem." I've tasted mayhem before, and sadly it didn't taste as good as this. With that said, I felt Guava No Guava was far superior to this DIPA. This one was indeed fairly heavy on the tropical fruit, but it just didn't have the same gusto as GNG.

We debated making one final stop of the day, but ultimately we decided to head home, unpack, and chillax on the couch with some good old fashioned TV. Besides, we've got the 10th anniversary of our Drinksgiving trip coming up, so there's plenty more to come from the Pour Travelers in 2018. Unil next time...

"Give me breweries or give me death!" or Richmond, VA: Part I

Let me begin this post with a prologue of sorts...

I was going to name this particular blog entry "Drinkin' in River City." Why, you ask? Well, Richmond, VA, is commonly known as The River City. That has a nicer ring to it that its other nickname, RVA (whatever that means). Then I learned that Patrick Henry gave his famous Revolutionary War-era "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church in - where else? - Richmond, VA. Although I'm not 100% sure I'd trade my life for the freedom to drink beer (that'd be a tough call), I thought the title had a nice ring to it. OK, please proceed.

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It's amazing how much you can cram into one 48-hour span of time. We'd been wanting to get down to Richmond for the full brewery experience, but simply hadn't had the right opportunity. We'd passed through a few times (typically on days when most breweries are closed or have less than convenient hours) and only had the opportunity to swing by Strangeways on one particular occasion. With a rare free weekend, we took the opportunity to make it happen.

On Friday afternoon, I had some time to kill while waiting for Brewslut to meet me at a predetermined Park & Ride just off Rt. 15 near Gettysburg. I was on a rare "field trip" for work, which took me to a vendor in New Oxford, PA. So rather than driving back to rendezvous with my traveling companions (don't forget about Pleeps), we saved time by meeting at the Park & Ride. (Editor's note: The Park & Ride was kind of sketchy, by the way. Despite being on the Commuter Services of PA's list of official Park & Ride locations, there was no signage at all; it was basically a big gravel lot next to a church and a fire company. Thankfully, we didn't get towed.)

I decided to use my spare time to check out a relatively new brewery in nearby Hanover called Miscreation. Ten years ago, we'd make it to a new brewery within a few months of its grand opening. Well, it took me almost 4 years to get here. Better late than never, I guess.

Outside Hanover's Miscreation Brewing.

Located at Center Square right smack dab in the heart of the Snack Capital of the World, Miscreation is open seven days a week and offers a variety of house brews, a small pub menu featuring panini sandwiches and such, and live music on the weekend. The space has an interesting multi-level layout with an upstairs loft that overlooks the front of the tasting room. They also have outside seating on the sidewalk.

View from my seat at Miscreation.

I decided to head upstairs (since that's actually where the bar is) and joined a few local muggers at the bar. The people were friendly, and the server seems like she was one of the owners. I mentioned it was my first time here, and they welcomed me with enthusiasm. To avoid drinking on an empty stomach, I decided to have some lunch (a tasty Buffalo chicken panini) with my beer. I started with an 8-ounce pour of a pale ale called Severed. This struck me as a pretty standard, bare-bones American pale ale with a mix of floral and citrus hop notes and just a touch of spicy pine sap in the finish. At 6.6% ABV, it's beginning to approach IPA territory.

Waiting for lunch with Severed.

My second choice was a pumpkin cream ale called Booo!!! This one features a smooth, creamy body similar to a nitro pour with a pumpkin spice flair that's heavier on the cinnamon and lighter on the clove with some nutmeg and allspice thrown into the mix. I like smoother beers like cream ales, porters, or stouts as the base beers for "pumpkin" ales rather than amber or Belgian styles just for the creamy texture those styles possess... at least when they're done right. This one had a rich, smooth mouthfeel and didn't overdo it with the spices.

Booo!!!

Overall, the beers are solid and the prices are reasonable. I was hoping to hit another newer brewery called Something Wicked while I was in town, but unfortunately they didn't open until 4 p.m., so it will have to wait for another day. No worries, as I killed my last thirty minutes at a record store around the corner from Miscreation (although I left empty-handed; a rarity for me after spending any amount of time in a record store). And with that, I made the short drive to the designated Park & Ride just off Rt. 15 in rural Gettysburg to meet Brewslut and Pleeps.

As we were driving to our first brewery (which was supposed to be Hardywood), we passed a sign advertising a brewery called 6 Bears & A Goat. "There's no way we aren't stopping there," I said. I mean, come on... goats! We quickly took the next exit to stop in for a quick beer and take a break from the horrendous Virginia traffic. Seriously, this was like Chicago bad. Enter audible #1... and we hadn't even gotten anywhere yet!

Outside 6 Bears & A Goat Brew House.

As we pulled up to the brewery, cars were parked along the roadside leading up to the entrance of the parking lot. "Looks pretty busy," I said. Inside, the place was brimming with customers enjoying dinner and beers. I was surprised not only by how big the place was but also by the sheer number of people there. The greeter said the wait for dinner was about 45 minutes, but we politely mentioned we just stopped in for a quick beer. There was one lone stool available at the very end of the bar near the serving area, so Brewslut snagged it, and I stood.

With such a curious name for a brewery, we obviously wanted to learn of its origin. The name was inspired by its founders and the mascots of their respective military services. The six "bears" represent 20-year retirees from the U.S. Coast Guard, while the "goat" is a retiree from the U.S. Navy.

After perusing the beer list, I opted for the Pilothouse Pumpkin Porter. A variation of its Pilothouse Porter, this variant features the addition of a variety of pumpkin pie spices amid the beer's canvas of chocolate and coffee flavors. Aroma-wise, it hinted of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove as well as a bit of chocolate, and the mouthfeel was actually pretty spot-on. The initial flavor was also pretty pleasant, but unfortunately there was some kind of metallic off-flavor in the finish that just lingered on my palate. Not sure if it was a flaw or a slight infection from equipment, but for lack of a better term it had a "dirty" finish. Otherwise, it was pretty solid.

Pilothouse Pumpkin Porter at 6 Bears & A Goat.

Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on a pour of Passionfruit Goes Ahhh. I had a few sips and this was a straight-up passionfruit bomb. It had a fruity tartness but lacked the complexity of a well-executed gose. Again, it wasn't bad overall but in the grand scheme of the gose world, let's just say it needs some tweaking.

Despite its middle-of-the-road beers, it was nice to see a small, local brewery booming on a Friday night during dinner hours. At the very least, it was worth a stop just to take a break from the grueling start-and-stop traffic we'd experienced since entering the DC Metro area.

Since traffic put us back about forty minutes, we decided to call audible #2 and rather than head to Hardywood, we stopped at the Fredericksburg location of Strangeways. In retrospect, I'm glad we stopped here because we'd already visited the smaller Richmond site on the way home from our last Drinksgiving trip to Virginia Beach. This was a much larger, open space in full sight of the production facility, complete with a stage for live entertainment and plenty of seating options.

We ordered our beers and settled in at a four-person table somewhere near the middle of the room. The place was sparsely attended, but it looked like some kind of show was going to begin shortly, as there was a sound guy twiddling some knobs at the sound console. Turns out Strangeways was hosting some kind of burlesque show later that evening. I saw a few tattooed ladies (one of them with a freshly shorn noggin) getting all decked out in corsets and other Victorian-esque garb. Sounds like burlesque to me. Absinthe and burlesque sounds like a better combo than beer and burlesque. Either way, we'd be gone by the time the show started.

I kicked off our visit with a juicy pale ale called Everything Changes. Part of its "Directional Pale Ale" series, this is a double dry-hopped pale ale featuring copious amounts of Green Bullet and Pacifica hops to elicit flavors of ripe mango, orange marmalade, and pineapple juice.

Pleeps doesn't react well to change.

Meanwhile, I'd been scoping out some of the sour and tart ales on the beer list, as they were plentiful. I was feeling a Berliner Weisse, and they had two base Berliners (a standard and an imperial version) with a variety of flavored syrups. I eventually decided on Imperial Lucky Charms, which was described as an Imperial Marshmallow Berliner Weisse. Turns out it's basically their Fred Zeppelin Imperial Berliner Weisse with traditional German woodruff syrup. Fine by me, as I love woodruff syrup. This green-tinted syrup imparts a sweet marshmallow counterpart to the beer's inherent tartness. Turns out it was a delicious concoction, and I'm glad I went with the imperial version, which had a thicker body and a bit more tartness (I sampled both base beers prior to ordering).

View from our table at Strangeways.

We decided to share a pour of Apes in the Hammock, a sour ale brewed with a house lactobacillus strain and fresh lemongrass and apricots. Actually, Pleeps pretty much forced us to order this beer because of the name. There were several monkey and ape-themed beers from which to choose, but he liked this one most. It's always good to stay on Pleeps' good side when drinking. He can sometimes go heavy on the imperial stouts, and if he gets agitated - for whatever reason - he might start flinging poop. Generally, he's pretty well-behaved, but it happens to all of us (the going too heavy on beers, not flinging poop; of course, I've been known to crop dust from time to time). But back to the beer. This one's fermented hot with a house Kveik yeast strain (from Scandinavia) for a vinous character, this tasty sour features notes of white grape, apricot, sour candy, and lemon zest. Kveik (pronounced “kwike”) literally translates to “yeast” in a particular Norwegian dialect. We actually started using a few of these Kveik strains at Tröegs for some recent Scratch beers. (You can read more about this fascinating yeast in a recent article from Draft magazine if you care to learn more.)

Pleeps likes Strangeways for obvious reasons.

Once again, we weren't able to connect with the elusive Mike Hiller, one of Strangeways' brewers (he used to own Bavarian Barbarian in Williamsport a decade ago). But we had a good visit and were able to skedaddle in time before the burlesque show started... not that I'm offended or anything. I just prefer to keep nudity and comedy segregated (unless Sarah Silverman or Nikki Glaser want to start a new genre of comedy). While Strangeways seems to get overshadowed by trendier places like The Veil and The Answer, I'd highly recommend including a stop on your itinerary if you ever plan a trip to the Richmond area. Their beers are legit... and, you know, monkeys! 

We still had time to make it to Hardywood before they closed for the evening. We hoped they would have a food truck on-site. Luckily they did, and I was able to get some tasty shrimp tacos just before they closed up shop. I'd enjoyed Hardywood's beers for many years and we'd been to its taproom in Charlottesville during my birthday weekend in March 2017, but this marked our inaugural visit to the production brewery in Richmond.

Hardywood's no-frills tasting room.

Before I dug into the beer, I quickly checked out the bottle selection in the adjacent room. To my surprise, their price points are pretty low! I got a 750mL of the rum barrel-aged pumpkin and a gin-barrel aged peach Tripel for only $12.99 each. Smaller 500mL bottles were only $4.49. Good value for the money, I'd say!

Pleeps posing with my haul from Hardywood.

But back to the task at hand. I knew we only had time for one beer each and maybe a shared third beer, but that was it. I opted for Tropic Like it's Hot, a sour ale brewed in collaboration with Ardent Craft Ales and Center of the Universe Brewing. This one is brewed with passionfruit, pineapple, and butterfly pea flowers. Wait... huh?! I'd never heard of butterfly pea flowers. Turns out the flowers of its vine were thought to have the shape of human female genitalia, hence its Latin name Clitoria ternatea. So this beer was brewed using a flower that looks like a vagina. You learn something new every day. The beer has a lovely magenta hue (courtesy of the vagina flowers) and boasts a fresh, tropical aroma with a slightly tart, dry finish. It even tasted good in a plastic cup.

Brewslut went for the hoppy beer this time with something called But Does it Make Sense? This NE-style Double IPA is hopped with Galaxy and utilizes Mosaic lupulin powder. If you've never heard of lupulin powder before, it's something that's catching on among craft brewers these days. It's kind of like a super-concentrated version of whole-leaf hops containing all the resins and aromatic oils for an added dose of hop power.

For our "shared" beer, we settled on something called Tropication 2.0. Described as "liquid recess," this beer features plenty of Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin hops to impart tropical fruit aromas reminiscent of passionfruit, mango, pineapple, and lime. This one was bright and juicy, and quite enjoyable. Sadly, our time at Hardywood quickly expired as the staff began cleaning up while we finished this tasty beverage. I wish we had a little more time, but at least I've had many Hardywood beers in the past.

Our last stop of the night was one of two reasons I wanted to spend a weekend in Richmond: The Answer (the other being The Veil, but more on that later). When we arrived, we were confused at first because they appeared to be closed. Upon further examination, we soon discovered that entry was in the rear (that's what she said), so we headed out back behind the building to park.

Once we started checking in our beers on Untappd, our Team D(r)INK compadre, Jamberg, caught wind of our shenanigans and, being only a few blocks away at his hotel, decided to surprise us with a visit (even though he had visited for dinner). Turns out he was down in the area with one of his  colleagues, Brandon, for the Phish concert at Hampton Coliseum. (I too had seen Phish there back in November 1998, and the shows were later released as a live album called Hampton Comes Alive.)

Now... onto the beer!

The beer list was pretty ridiculous and encompassed everything from imperial stouts brewed with a laundry list of items found in your grandma's pantry, IPAs, sours, fruit beers, and The Answer's signature "Frozan" concoctions, which are essentially beer slushies dispensed out of a - you guessed it - slushy machine. After a minute or two, I decided to go with a flight of four decadent-sounding dark beers. I really wanted to dig into the beer list, but so many of these just sounded too damn good to ignore. Here's a quick recap:

• Out on Bail: Bondsman's Breakfast - A variant of Out on Bail porter conditioned on Rostov's hazelnut coffee, cacao nibs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. 
• Deanna Breakfast - Imperial Oatmeal Stout with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Dark Vermont maple syrup, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.
• Swiss Chocolate Macaroon - Imperial Chocolate Stout with Swiss Almond coffee, Swiss White and Dark chocolate, and coconut chips.
• Papa Bui - Imperial stout based on an Italian "love cake" with decadent notes of chocolate, hazelnut, and coconut. 

Each successive beer was more impressive than the last, and to be honest, Out on Bail set the bar pretty high. Overall, these are some of the best porters and stouts I've enjoyed in our travels. The mouthfeel was right in my wheelhouse and what I'd call perfection: Smooth and luscious with low carbonation but full-bodied and slick. They all drank like 6% beers with virtually no noticeable alcohol heat; however, three of the four beer were in the 8.5% to 11.5% ABV range.  

Question: Why is Pleeps so happy? Answer: The Answer.

Since our visit turned into a hang with friends, I neglected to snap a decent number of photos as I typically do when visiting a brewery. Such is life. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow of good company and good conversation. That didn't stop us from enjoying more beers, though.

We decided to dip into some of the fruit beers, which all sounded fantastic on paper. Let's see how they translated to the finished product. First up was Virginia Cobbler: Cherry Peach. The Answer describes this beer as a "Cobbler style Gose," so that already sounds delicious. Cobbler is such an underrated dessert, and it's also fun to say out loud. This sweet-tart beer is brewed with Morello cherries, peaches, and a touch of cinnamon and vanilla.

Back to another stout, this time we ordered a pour of Raspberry Fluffernutter, an Imperial Chocolate stout with Jif peanut butter, fresh raspberries, toasted marshmallow, and a touch of vanilla.

Drive Thru Daiquiri: Hurricane - Part of the "Joose/Sips" series and a collaboration with Parish Brewing out of Louisiana. The impetus of this beer was to replicate the famous Hurricane cocktail. Brewed with passionfruit, blood orange, and rum-soaked Morello cherries, this one definitely straddled the line between beer and cocktail.

We arrived at The Veil about ten or fifteen minutes before they opened for the day, so we chilled in the CRV for a bit. We were able to grab a spot in the parking lot, which shares its space with a beer-garden-of-sorts featuring a covered area with outside seating (likely for overflow). About five minutes until, we got out and there was already a small crowd amassed in the parking lot. Inside, the tasting room area is narrow and rectangular. Within thirty minutes, the place was packed with a mostly Millennial crowd of twenty-somethings and hipsters... LOTS of hipsters. Remember my comments about Dangerous Man? Yeah, like that. Hipsters aside, we were surprised by another visit from Lamberg and Brandon. And later, we ran into some of my Tröegs peeps, who were also headed to the Phish show in Hampton later that evening.

Inside the mothership for hipsters.

I started with Young & Pure, an IPA hopped with Citra, Galaxy, and Simcoe. The Veil is known for its juicy, hazy IPAs with minimal bitterness and malt presence. This is one of them. I don't know. It seems to me it's as if these newer, hip breweries are trying to cater to the haze craze and the fact that young beer drinkers constantly want something different so that they can get another Untappd check-in. While I like using Untappd as much as the next beer geek, it makes me wonder if a brewery like The Veil (and I'm only using it as an example because I happen to be writing about this brewery at this precise moment) brews the same IPA with a different name so people will continually line up for a can release and buy whatever is new at the time. They all look the same and taste pretty much identical. ***cough***Trillium***cough. Some are better than others, but there's not much deviation from the formula, which might be something like this: 1. Does it look like something you'd drink for breakfast? 2. Is it double dry-hopped? 3. Does it smell better than it tastes? 4. Is is juicy or dank, brah? If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, then you have yourself a NE-style IPA. The trend now, it seems to me, is that appearance trumps flavor. And to me, that's absurd. I'm not buying a beer to look at it. I'm buying a beer to drink it. I'm not trying to single out The Veil by any means. I've just reached the point of critical mass with hazy IPAs and decided to write about it. This was a fine beer, but I just feel that hazy IPAs lack the complexity and depth of flavor as, say a West Coast style IPA. There. I said it. Let's move on.

Up next was a beer named Salted Caramel & Oreo Hornswoggler, which I must admit sounded amazing on paper. Described as a chocolate milk stout conditioned on salted caramel and Oreo cookies, it indeed sounded decadent and inviting. Lamberg ordered a pour of this sickeningly sweet, muddy-looking brownish stout to share with the group. It resembled liquid stool that comes out of a baby whose diet consists of nothing but breast milk. I'm talkin' straight from the teet. I mean, I've produced excrement that was prettier than this beer. Everyone HATED it; I thought it was OK, but after about three sips, I'd had enough. So it sat on our table for the duration of our visit... like dookie in the street.

Things picked up with my next beer, Crucial Taunt, The Veil's house Double IPA. It's also named after the band fronted by Wayne's girlfriend Cassandra in the movie Wayne's World. Brewslut got the reference immediately. I did not. I should have, but I didn't. This one was soft and tropical with virtually no bitterness and a big smack of fruit in the aroma; certainly all hallmarks of the NE style.

Since I enjoyed Crucial Taunt, I decided to give another DIPA a spin, so I opted for Nice Nice Relationship Relationship. This double dry-hopped DIPA features a blend of Galaxy, Mosaic, and Ekuanot, and honestly wasn't that much different than Crucial Taunt, at least to my palate. By the way, the name of the beer isn't a typo. It seems all of its "double" or "imperial" beers have similar names that sound like a kid with a stuttering problem (Master Master Shredder Shredder, Never Never Forever Forever, etc.). I guess that's kind of cool; or at least a bit off-kilter.

While I enjoyed the three hoppy beers I tried, I felt they all kind of blurred together. Henceforth, I shall refer to this phenomenon as the "Trillium Effect." By the way, check this shit out...

Taking a break on the set of the upcoming remake of Heathers.

These four stuffy young ladies look like they came straight from the golf course (or perhaps the croquet court). I didn't notice any white wine spritzers on the menu at The Veil, but I could be mistaken. At first, we thought they were wearing Halloween costumes, but then we realized it was a little too early for that nonsense. Rich kids? Maybe. But in all actuality, the quartet was likely a group of pretentious wannabes trying to gain some street cred by hanging at the "hip brewery." The only reason I bring this up is because they were in such stark comparison to the rest of the patrons (especially me, but even the hipsters) that they stood out like a turd in the punchbowl. Perhaps I should offer kudos to The Veil for bringing together a truly eclectic clientele into its circle of fans. Brewslut, on the other hand, wanted to punch each of them in the solar plexus. (I had to laugh at this, because I'm typically the one in "angry old man" mode when we come across people like this.)

So we left the cast of Heathers and continued onward to our next destination.

Right around the corner from The Veil is Väsen, a brewery that's making its mark with forward-thinking sours, fruit beers, and Belgian-inspired ales. Taking its name from the Swedish word “väsen” (which translates to "inner essence" or "way of being"), it pays tribute to the founders' Scandinavian heritage. Gotta love them vikings!

Outside Väsen.

I was immediately drawn to the Smoked Blood Peach Sour. Although they had me at "smoked," I must admit that "peach" sealed the deal. I'd never heard of blood peaches before (blood oranges, yes) so I was intrigued. I won't bore you with the history of this fruit, but here's a link to some more information in the event you are curious. Obviously, a lot can go wrong with a beer like this. Smoked malt. Fruit. Sour fermentation. This beer, however, was a home run! The smokiness was minimal but apparent up front, eliciting a hint of beechwood. The flavor followed through with tart peach gummy candy and a nice bit of pucker in the finish. Overall, a well-executed beer that could have easily gone wrong. Nicely done, Väsen!

View from our bar stools at Väsen.  

Brewslut opted for Everything Floats on Passionfruit, a double-dry-hopped sour conditioned on (according to Väsen) "nearly half a ton" of passionfruit and generous additions of Vic Secret, Mandarina Bavaria, and Citra hops. Passionfruit dominates the flavor (obviously), but there's also hints of grapefruit, pineapple, and tangerine present.

Pleeps + passionfruit = a winning combo!

We definitely got reeled in by our first choices. My Smoked Blood Peach Sour was one of the highlights of the weekend, so we felt obliged to stick around for a second round. I decided to switch gears and go with The Wired Walrus, a stout cold-steeped with Blanchard's coffee beans from Ethiopia and Guatemala. Actually, it should come as no surprise that I ordered a coffee beer. This lighter bodied stout features hints of mocha and strawberry with a hint of chocolate.

Surprisingly, Brewslut went with a pour of Barrel Aged Grapefruit Tripel, an Abbey-style ale aged for 4 months in Chardonnay barrels with grapefruit to impart intense flavors of citrus zest, oak, and vanilla. Nelson Sauvin hops provide subtle fruitiness and enhances the white wine character with notes of white grape. Belgian yeast provides additional nuances of spice akin to clove and black pepper as well as dark fruit. This one had a lot going on, and I enjoyed the peppery grapefruit rind flavor that came through in the finish.

Pretty sweet large mural painting at Väsen.

Looking back, this place really stood out from the pack. It was one of the most memorable visits of the trip, and it's a place I will definitely visit again next time we're galavanting around Richmond.

When we arrived at Ardent, the Tasting Room and adjacent beer garden area (despite being rather windy and chilly outside) were both pretty full. The beer menu looked varied and inspired with a few IPAs, saisons and pilsners. However, we were smack dab in the middle of our day and starting to get a bit fatigued, so we opted for a one-and-done visit. After getting our beers and searching for somewhere to sit, we gave up and went around back where we set up shop on a cement walkway near the food truck.

Beer board at Ardent.

I decided to throw caution to the wind with my one-and-done beer here: Sweet Potato & Sage Saison, a dry, farmhouse-style saison. This one was quite earthy with an herbal bite. It was also quite fragrant thanks to the addition of fresh, local sage. But it sounded interesting, so I ordered it. It was... ok. I mean, it had a lot going on: prickly carbonation; an earthy (almost starchy) character courtesy of the sweet potatoes; a sharp herbal bite; and a lingering dry, spicy finish. I don't know what I was hoping for, but I just don't think I was in the mood for this beer at this precise moment. Perhaps it was a well-executed beer; it just didn't sit well with me for the duration of the imbibement (is that a word)?

Sweet potato & sage saison.

Brewslut went with the Pineapple & Passionfruit American Sour Ale. I guess beer names are really hard to come up with these days. Anyway, this beer is a blend of sour blonde and sour wheat ales aged in oak barrels with pineapple and passionfruit. Needless to say, there's a heavy-handed tropical fruit presence (especially passionfruit) in both aroma and flavor, but it finishes on the sweet-tart side of the spectrum.

We tried to get comfy here but it just didn't pan out. The place was packed (inside and out), and it was too windy and cold to really camp out on a concrete sidewalk for more than the duration of a single beer. Plus, the beer didn't inspire us to stay for seconds. So, onward and upward.

For some reason, Three Notch'd wasn't even on our initial itinerary. However, once we arrived and I realized it too was situated in Richmond, we squeezed it in. I'd had one of its beers not too long ago at the Mellow Mushroom when we last drove through the area, but that was my only other encounter with the brewery until now.

Since we hadn't planned to visit, we opted for another one-and-done stop. I was ready for a West Coast IPA, so I was drawn to 40 Mile. Brewed with an abundance of American hop varieties for a tropical and citrus-forward hop experience, this beer is heavy on grapefruit and tangerine with hints of peach and pineapple. This beer's name refers to the number of miles Jack Jouett raced to warn Thomas Jefferson that General Cornwallis had ordered their capture. Jack Jouett’s ride is legendary in Virginia and put Three Notch’d Road on the map as a central story in the fight for our country's independence. And there's some more colonial-era trivia for you.

Brewslut went with As You Are, a pineapple mango gose. I've been getting kind of gose'd out lately. Every once in awhile, I like to throw one in to clear off the old palate, but honestly all of the various fruited versions just mask the flavor of the base beer, which to me is quite simple and refreshing. Some of the fruited versions are subtle, but so many turn out to be fruit bombs. Just an observation.

I didn't really feel much of a connection with this place unfortunately, so we split after one drink.

Never fear! There's still more to come as we explore River City. Stay tuned for the conclusion of our romp through Richmond, coming soon to your friendly neighborhood Pour Travelers blog soon. Until next time...

The Great Taste Caper 2018 - Days 9, 10 & 11: With every caper comes its conclusion

On the morning of the festival, we discussed our game plan and decided to park near Funk Factory, which is a short mile-or-so walk to the festival grounds. It was actually a nice, leisurely stroll along a creek. Since Funk Factory opened pretty early, we decided to pre-game and grab a quick beer before heading over to drink for five hours. Nothing like prolonging an already lengthy beer drinking session, right? I was happy to see Peach Meerts on tap when we arrived. Actually, strike that. I wasn't happy to see it, because I'd decided not to get a beer. But saying "no" to a peach beer is a tough thing for me to do. It's like that last piece of pizza sitting on the plate, looking up at you as if to say, "Go ahead. What's another few hundred calories?" So I was sucked into the vortex of Peach Meerts. After one or two sips, I realized I'd made a sound decision. Plus these beers are only around 4% ABV, so it's kind of like drinking flavored water anyway.

After our beers, it was time to hightail it over to the festival grounds. We were blessed with some pretty amazing weather, I must say. It was sunny and warm; maybe even a little too warm, depending on who you ask. It was perhaps a little sweatilicious (even I had my button-down shirt completely open for some sweet convertible-like breeze action). Pleeps chilled out in my breast pocket for the duration of the festival, which kind of turned into having a little devil on my shoulder for the entire day. Readers of our blog most certainly are well aware of Pleeps' penchant for imperial stouts. Every time we rolled up to a tent and saw a barrel-aged stout, it was almost as if he used some kind of telekinetic monkey mojo and placed the beer into my hands.

Great Taste of the Midwest!

If you happen to follow me on Untappd, then you were probably pretty jealous if you saw some of my check-ins during the festival. Brewslut signed out an internet hotspot (which we lovingly refer to as the "Wi-fi Machine"), so we had no issues whatsoever logging our beers, save for the occasional "user error" of forgetting to check something in. I'd say I checked in 75% of the beers I sampled. Typically, I won't check in beers at a festival, but with the hot spot in our possession, it was relatively an easy task to accomplish.

Some brewery highlights included personal favorites Short's, Odd Side, Right Brain, New Holland, and The Livery mixed in with new discoveries from this trip such as Steel Toe and Dangerous Man. One of the stand-out beers of the festival was Church Salad, a 7% ABV sour ale brewed with lactose from Pulpit Rock, a brewery out of and Iowa new find for us. Meant to mimic a dessert some folks call "ambrosia" (I grew up calling it "heaven"), this liquid marshmallow salad like grandma used to make also includes toasted walnuts, coconut, and freshly-pressed pineapple juice. This was a staple dessert at my house (it still is), and this beer was a home run! Kudos to Pulpit Rock for bringing this treat to life in beer form!

Last time was Santa... this time, it's the King!

We were all pretty much in agreement that Iowa's Big Grove Brewing Company was the find of the festival. Their beers were top-notch, their reps were true brewery ambassadors and catered to the beer geek demographic. You could tell they are the hungry, new kids on the block. Between Pulpit Rock and Big Grove, it seems a trip to Iowa in the near future is in order!

I'd normally go into much more detail about our drinking escapades, but as you can probably imagine beer festivals of this magnitude are virtual whirlwinds that encapsulate your mind and body and whisk you away to a distant land where hops grow on trees, rivers flow deep and wide with IPAs, and mountains of malted barley scrape the green-tinted sky. Damn, that was pretty poetic. Thanks Penn State English program. Who am I kidding? I was a B student. In all honesty, you simply have to attend Great Taste and soak everything in to understand what it's all about.

As if we needed anything else to drink after the fest, we felt obliged to stop in at Funk Factory again for a post-festival beer. And again, it was another variation on a common theme for the win: Lemongrass Ginger Kombucha Meerts. Suffice to say, I don't really have much of a recollection of our post-festival visit to Funk Factory. I was experiencing the aforementioned "post-Great Taste haze." With that said, this was easily the best shape I've ever been in after the festival. Instead of going back to our room to take a nap (only to wake up at 1:30 a.m. in dire need of sustenance), we actually walked back to the car, had our postscript beer, and went back to the homestead for dinner and - believe it or not - more beers! Once we got back to the house, we decided to stay in for the evening. We ordered Chinese food and cracked open a few of the beers we'd picked up along the trip. Here's a quick recap of what we enjoyed after our Asian delicacies: 

• Grain Belt Nordeast by August Schell Brewing Company 
• Citronic Pale Ale by Bare Hands Brewery
• Fresh Coast by 3 Sheeps Brewing Company 
• Cherry Gose by The Sour Note Brewing 
• Banshee Cutter by Insight Brewing Company 

With the exception of Grain Belt Nordeast, we had already tried all four of the other beers earlier on the trip. This particular beer was actually left in the refrigerator (perhaps by a previous guest), so we decided to have a go. Being an American light amber lager in a clear bottle, I didn't have very high expectations. Despite the beer being lackluster as anticipated, I did learn that August Schell was established in 1860 and late beer critic Michael Jackson once called its brewery in New Ulm, NM, the "most beautiful brewery in America." So they have that going for them, as well as a long brewing history. They might want to reconsider the clear bottles, though.

After that lot, it was time for some well-deserved slumber.

The next morning, we packed up and had our last meal in Madison before making the short southward drive to New Glarus, WI for our requisite stop at one of my personal favorite breweries in the United States - New Glarus. But first, breakfast! We opted to call an audible and rather than paying a visit to our beloved Glarner Stube, we decided to eat at the equally awesome New Glarus Hotel for a true, authentic Swiss breakfast.

New Glarus, WI... it's like visiting Switzerland.

Although it is renowned for its amazing brunch buffet, the majority of the items were not Ffejetarian-friendly, so Brewslut and I each opted for a traditional Swiss dish called a Rösti. This starchy, carb-heavy dish consists mainly of potatoes and cheese and can best be described as a large fritter. Originally a breakfast dish commonly eaten by farmers, it is now extremely popular throughout Switzerland and other parts of the world, namely New Glarus, WI. If your looking for something with which to adequately line your gut prior to drinking beer, then look no further than the Rösti. After this filling breakfast treat, it was off to the brewery.

Between the festival and the great selection we experienced at Off Broadway, we'd already had our share of New Glarus beers. Regardless, it's always a true pleasure to witness the grandeur of this elegant brewery. Reminiscent of a Swiss castle nestled in a quaint small town amid the Alpine mountains, the brewery is truly a sight to behold. The beer is world class, too. If you've never had a beer from New Glarus, well, they pretty much do justice to every style. A fresh, lively, hop-forward pale ale? Check. That'd be Moon Man. Fruit beers? Can't go wrong with any of 'em. Wisconsin Belgian Red. Raspberry Tart. Serendipity. Strawberry Rhubarb. They are all works of art bursting with the most amazing, authentic fruit flavor you will ever experience. It's R&D sour and barrel-aged beers are some of the best I've ever tasted. As a matter of fact, at a Team D(r)INK tasting shortly after we returned from this very trip, we opened a R&D Kriek as well as a 2015 Cantillon Kriek 100% Lambic Bio and I (as well as my man Jamberg) liked the New Glarus more. The Thumbprint Series has produced dozens of experimental batches (some more memorable than others) including everything from smoked beers and sour brown ales to beers that defy categorization (Enigma, anyone?) to one of the best Berliner Weissbiers I've ever had. Even its Spotted Cow, a light farmhouse-style table beer, is the best-selling draft beer in all of Wisconsin (or at least is was from 2007 to 2012). Not craft beer, either. I'm talking beer PERIOD. More than any Bud-Miller-Coors product. Now that's a testament to the quality of New Glarus' beers... as well as the drinking temperament of Wisconsinites.

OK, enough gushing. I love New Glarus. You get the picture. Let's move on, shall we?

Obviously, the brewery was beginning to fill up quickly with folks in town for the festival. We arrived a few minutes after official opening time and had to park in the overflow lot. A constant string of cars were filing into the lot as we made our way to the brewery's entrance. Here are a few pics of the main entrance. 

Impressive, right? We headed up the stairs to the patio area where they sell beer tokens. You can opt for a flight and keep the glass, or pay for a large pour of a single beer in either a standard or upgraded glass. Since we already have about four or five of the taster glasses, we decided to splurge on a single pour of two more limited beers and share them: R&D Kriek and Strawberry Rhubarb. We've already discussed these two beers in previous "Great Taste Caper" episodes, so I'll spare you further praise. I will say that the R&D Kriek direct from the source was one of the highlights of the entire trip. So there you have it.

Pleeps wore his wristband like a sash.

With beer in hand, we basically just enjoyed the surroundings and each others' company. Below are some additional photographs that illustrate the impressive facility. The first three shots are of the "ruins," which are meant to mimic fallen turrets and eroded castle walls. There is a separate bar in this area where you can sample some of the rare beers offered by New Glarus.  

Since we don't get to visit too often (the last time was six years ago), we took a quick stroll around the self-guided tour path. Here are some additional photos from inside the brewing facility:

After finishing our beers, we headed to the beer store on the ground level to claim each of our respective hauls to tote back to PA. At our house, we're not allowed to drink the last Tart or Red bottle until we know we're going to be visiting the brewery again. So we made sure to stock up adequately. I was pleased to see they are now canning Moon Man and Spotted Cow, and we made sure to snag a 12-pack of the former. They also now bottle Tart and Red in 12-ounce bottles, which is decidedly more convenient than the previous 750mL, wax-dipped bottles (and cheaper too). I also picked up a sixer of the Coffee Stout, which I'd never had before. Oh, and some Berliner Weisse. And a few of the R&D sours. And Cran-bic. And Serendipity. And Strawberry Rhubarb. We probably bought way too much, but you never know how long it will be until we return. One thing is for sure... it won't be another six years! 

Just two women hanging out at New Glarus.

We said farewell to New Glarus and hit the rocky road. The destination? Nearby Monroe, WI, for a visit to a tiny new brewery called Bullquarian Brewhouse. D&C decided they wanted to do some exploring, so we decided to tag along. Might as well add a few more breweries to the list, I thought. We were planning to meet Nathan and his wife, Tiffany, later that evening, and had a pretty lengthy drive to Illinois, so these would be relatively quick stops in the grand scheme of things. 

Described as a "nano brewery," Bullquarian employs a 2-bbl brewhouse and serves up homemade pizza for eats. We were just drinking today, but I did partake in some free popcorn (I usually like something small to nosh on while enjoying beer). They also feature live music, as the owner/brewer is a drummer in a local blues band. He was a nice guy, and we talked a bit about music and our travels. He also does a Sunday vinyl day, and another older guy was in there spinning the first Van Halen record. So they get bonus points for embracing one of my other passions (two, actually, if you count live music).

The beer here was pretty much as I'd expected: decent local beer. Still, it was nice to see a Rauchbier on tap, which was the first beer I sampled. Smoke Ryeder is brewed with three different varieties of smoked malt, flaked rye, and Belgian sugar to elicit a smokey flavor with a faint sweetness and hint of spicy jerky. It wasn't bad; maybe a tad sweet for the style, but otherwise enjoyable. Brewslut ordered a small pour of Anser, a kettle-soured gose with a hint of coriander, citrus fruit, and a pinch of salt.

We were also passing around a pour of a German-style schwarzbier, or dark lager, called Erv's Dark. Both Deuane and I enjoyed this one, which features hints of chocolate, sweet malt, and roast. Brewslut isn't a huge fan of the style, so Deuane and I had the lion's share. Carolyn was working on a sampler flight while we hung out at a round table and poked around the small tasting room.

Some interesting tap handles at Bullquarian. I like the giraffe!

Since we were in town and only about a block away from Minhas, the second oldest brewery in the United States, we felt obliged to stop in for a quick visit. Oddly enough, the oldest brewery in the country is like 30 miles from my hometown and I've never been there. At least we made it to the second oldest one. To be honest, this place was pretty much what I expected it to be - an old school brewery with antiquated recipes whose claim to fame is the fact that they remained open for so long. Still, it's worth a visit, right?

We didn't really have time for a full brewery tour, so opted for a sampler flight, which included as many samples as you can drink in twenty minutes. There were 40-odd beers available. Do the math. I interpreted this as a challenge. While I of course didn't get near to trying all of them, I did some damage. It was kind of like speed dating, only with beer. Here's the low-down:

• 1845 Pils - "old world" pilsner style beer with thin mouthfeel and very mild floral hop character. 
• Over the Barrel Apple Ale - Easily my favorite of the lot. Tasted like a sweet apple cider with a faint dryness in the finish. 
• Imperial Jack DIPA - contract brewed for Rhinelander Brewing. Old school malty DIPA with floral and herbal notes. 
• Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale - unfiltered, light-bodied farmhouse ale brewed with Minhas' proprietary ale yeast strain. 
• Thirsty Miner American IPA - another contract brewed IPA that touts "big hop flavors and aromas." Kind of generic, as expected. 
• Huber Bock - sweet, malty German-style bock with lots of caramel a faint floral note. 
• Rhinelander - a pretty non-descript export lager (think light pilsner style)

Overall, nothing was what I would describe as great craft beer. But it was a cool experience, the people were nice, and in addition to the 20-minute "speed drinking" session, the $10 price tag also  included a take-home glass, a mixed 6-pack of beer, and some small swag items. Of course, they had a few beer brands that carried a price tag of around $7.00 per case! That's cheaper than Lionshead! Since we had a time limit, I wasn't able to snap any pictures here. And again, quantity trumps quality. We secured our parting gifts, said goodbye to D&C and shipped off to meet up with Nathan in Illinois once again; only this time, his new wife Tiffany would be joining us.

We were extremely hungry when we arrived at our first stop, 350 Brewing in Tinley Park, IL. We were hoping to only hit Hailstorm (a favorite of ours from a previous Drinksgiving trip) but it turns out they weren't hosting a food truck on this particular Sunday. In light of this, Nathan suggested this newish brewery about a mile away from Hailstorm. Fine by me! 

Outside 350 Brewing Co. in Tinley Park, IL.

On the outside, the brewery is reminiscent of any number of breweries we've encountered in shopping plazas situated next to Chinese take-out restaurants, nail salons, and pharmacies. Inside, the place is pretty punk rock and immediately reminded me of Fall Brewing Co. in San Diego, another brewery with a DIY vibe. When we arrived, Nathan and Tiffany had already secured a table and were enjoying some beers and appetizers. Nathan is a recent newlywed, so this was the first time meeting Tiffany. She's new to the whole "beer thing" (especially to the extent in which the rest of us are ensconced), but she's eager and willing to try anything put in front of her.

In order to get to Hailstorm in time, we were limited to a single beer. After quickly perusing the menu, I opted for Shake City - Peaches & Cream, a milkshake IPA presumably brewed with lactose and peaches. Yes, again with the peaches, I'm afraid. This was pretty tasty overall, although I find some milkshake IPAs to be a bit chalky in the mouthfeel. I don't mind the viscosity or chewiness, but sometimes the grittiness pushes the bitterness over the edge. Still, this was pretty well balanced with hops and sweetness, and the peach flavor was apparent. And with that, it was time to move on. 

Inside 350 Brewing.

We first visited Hailstorm on our Drinksgiving 2015 jaunt. Unfortunately, you can't read about it because it was during my hiatus. Coincidentally, Nathan was in tow with us back then too. I recall being wowed by not only the quality of their barrel-aged beers, but also the sheer number of these beers available on tap and in bottles. Seemed like a pretty mature barrel-aging program for a brewery who'd only been open a year-and-a-half when we visited. It seems like they're still focusing on barrel-aged beers, but have also jumped on the IPA bandwagon, as this time they had a few hazy IPAs and a new style I've seen gaining some traction: Brut IPA.

Wall of wood at Hailstorm Brewing.

We planted ourselves at the corner of the bar. The bartender was attentive and chatty, and came across as a bona fide beer geek. It's always nice to have a server who knows what they're talking about. I ordered a pour of Blast!, a NE-style pale ale brewed in collaboration with The Open Bottle, a craft brew shop and taproom in Tinley Park. Yes, I know... another hazy, hoppy beer. This one features Mosaic and Citra hops, and additions of lactose, vanilla, and blueberries sweetens the pot. According to Hailstorm, this one "pairs well with barbecues, bald eagles, and freedom." I think that pairing would be more appropriate with a light American adjunct lager, but what do I know. 'Murica!

Brewslut opted for the Guava Gose, which we shared. At least I think we did. I have no recollection of this beer, unfortunately. Meanwhile, I noticed a beer on the chalkboard called Hopsecco, so I inquired about it. Turns out it's one of those newfangled Brut IPAs that have been popping up. Based on current trends, I anticipate this becoming the trendy style in 2019. We'll see. At any rate, this beer is a collaboration with Arrowhead Ales Brewing Company based in New Lenox, IL. Ultra-dry and low on bitterness, this double dry-hopped IPA boasts a white wine-like hop character by way of Hallertau Blanc, Callista (a new one for me), and Vic Secret hops. A massive amount of Sauvignon Blanc grape juice lends to the ambiance. I wasn't too jazzed about this one, unfortunately. I was expecting a much more highly carbonated beer akin to Champagne, which it didn't deliver. The white grape flavor was apparent, but I didn't feel it was overly dry either. Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing how this infant style progresses over the next year or so. You can likely expect to see Brut IPAs popping up at breweries across the country in 2019.

It's fitting to end a meal with dessert, and sometimes it's appropriate to conclude a drinking session with a liquid dessert. Enter Awesome Brownie. Yet another collaboration (this one with Flesk Brewing out of Barrington, IL), this is a lower ABV stout brewed with chocolate and vanilla. This was probably my favorite of the four beers, but none of them matched the memory of our first experience at Hailstorm. Still, it was good to get back after a few years to catch up. Hopefully next time they will have more barrel-aged beers ripe for the pickings!

Nathan twisted our collective arm into going to one final brewery about 20 miles away in nearby Lansing, IL. Since we were already going that way, we figured why not? The brewery, One Trick Pony, may have been the unsung hero of the trip, in all honesty. With a name like One Trick Pony, I wasn't expecting much. I mean, the name itself implies that you can really do only one thing well. Naturally, I was thinking in beer styles. Turns out they do justice to all kinds of beer!

First off, I love their little no-nonsense elevator pitch:

Our beer won't make you strong or handsome, but if you appreciate craft beer and want to meet some guys that are happy to make it, serve it, and probably drink it with you.

OK, so grammatically it's a sentence fragment. But the sentiment promises no pretenses. This place was a perfect example of a no-frills brewery with rag-tag regulars and straight-up awesome beer. (Sorry for all the hyphenated phrases in that last sentence.) The vibe of the place reminded me immediately of Marshall, MI's roadhouse-style Dark Horse Brewing, one of our favorites.

It took every ounce of restraint not to bust out some Rush!

Things got off to a very nice start with my first beer, Georgia Grande. Brewed with pilsner malt and  White Wheat (the latter for a hint of haze) this Hefeweizen-style ale is infused with fresh ginger root and peaches. Overall, this was a refreshingly tart, light wheat beer rounded out by juicy peach flesh and a hint of spicy clove. Ginger can be a finicky ingredient to use in brewing, but the ginger character was just right and played off the juiciness of the peaches nicely. Well done!

Up next was Leathercoated Mind, an IPA hopped with El Dorado and Mosaic. Heavy dry-hopping draws out lots of tropical fruit and a bit of summer melon. Again, this was another winner and I soon found myself wanting to stay longer despite the grueling 9-hour drive we had in store for us the following day. Well, I'm glad I decided to get one more beer, because I saved the best for last.

One trick pony? More like MANY tricks pony!

I spotted a delicious sounding barrel-aged stout on the menu called Cocoa Butter Kisses. I simply had to have it. People, let me tell you: I've had a lot of stouts over the years. A LOT. This one was right up my alley. There was absolutely no way an Imperial Stout aged in Buffalo Trace barrels clocking in at 11.8% ABV brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, and cocoa wasn't going into my belly. Fucking hell, this beer was amazing! It was one of the most well-executed imperial stouts I've ever had in my life. The ingredients were perfectly balanced. The bourbon warmth was present but not boozy or overbearing. Velvety. Luscious. Bursting with flavor. So insanely drinkable, I wanted to bathe in it. I can go on and on, but you get the picture. After that amazing beer, it was time to say goodbye to our friends and start the long journey home. (Actually, a relatively short drive to our hotel followed by a long journey home the following day.)

Finishing up at One Trick Pony.

Monday serves as a sort of postscript to the trip. We did manage to fit in one last stop at one of my personal favorite spots: The Beer Engine. We decided at the 11th hour to skip brunch after spending the night in Cleveland on our first official day of the trip because it was about 10 miles or so in the opposite direction as where we were headed. So, it served instead as our lunch destination for Monday.

Since we still had a solid six-hour drive ahead of us, we decided to limit ourselves to one beer each and share them. Turns out the Beer Engine (historically Buckeye Brewing's de facto tap room) has pretty much ceased all brewing activity, unfortunately. I always enjoyed at least one of Buckeye's beers on tap during our visits to the Beer Engine. Sadly, there weren't any Buckeye beers on tap save for an anniversary barleywine that had been on for quite some time. As disappointing as this was to me, I was pleased to find a beer from Jackie O's on tap, something called Who Cooks for You. Turns out it is a double dry-hopped hazy Pale Ale. Brewslut opted for LazerSnake by Three Floyds, described as an "old-fashioned" IPA. In my opinion, the Jackie O's beer was much better. I'm not sure what hop combo FFF used in this beer, but I wasn't digging it. Over the last few years, I kind of fell off the FFF train. Eight years ago, I thought they were the best thing ever. Fast forward to present day, and I'm not sure. It's kind of like they don't give a shit anymore. Our last visit was so forgettable that we decided to skip it this time around. Since I hate to end on a downer, I'll go on record and say that this Jackie O's beer has piqued my interest in visiting the brewery again. It's simply been far too long since we were there. Plus Brad (the head brewer) is awesome!

In case you weren't keeping track, I've decided to include some statistics from the trip. Perhaps I'll continue to do this for all of our trips. We'll see. 

Total # Days: 11

Total # Beer Bars: 8

Total # breweries: 44

Total # beers (minus GTOTM samples): 197

So there you have it. All in all, it was a pretty memorable trip. We finally got to Minneapolis. It was a blast. Not sure there is much left to say about this epic beer trip. One thing's for sure... it won't take me another six years to get back to Great Taste of the Midwest. That you can count on! Until next time...