Harvest Ale (Goose Island Brewing Company)

       I have been waiting for the opportunity to sell this beer for almost two months. I was excited to get a new line of seasonal beers and the summer Kolsh was a let down. I bought this six pack knowing nothing about what type of beer it was. I was caught by the orange and yellow fall marketing cues, and couldn't resist. I was expecting a amber or brown, but as it turns out this is an amber extra special beer. It was so hop bite to it, but it is forgiving. A friend of mine nailed it right on the head, it is a good transition beer just like fall.
        I am not looking forward to the leaves in my yard. I am looking forward to all the Oktoberfest celebrations, not to mention we are trying to have a party at my house. There are plans to take the children to the pumpkin patch, and there is a lot of twiggy and snoop a loops I have to burn in my fire pit. I feel like I need to take my hoodies to the dry cleaners to get them ready for the season. I will admit that I am hugely sad that it appears I won't get to look forward to opening day of hockey season.
       Fall beers are a tough act to follow, but I promise when the winter seasonal begin I will do my best to try to find some winners. Goose island has Mild Winter coming out in November, which is a brown ale with hints of toffee and raisins. I definitely will follow this brand for the year and you should too at their website www.gooseisland.com
     

Headwaters (VIctory Brewing Company)

               Evelyn has been to more breweries than most people that I know. In a single weekend she went to two, one of which being the grand opening. She has a real critical opinion for the feel of these breweries and their events. Seen here at Hardywood Park, clearly this was a spot that made her feel at ease.
            Victory brewing company was a beer we inherited from the purchase of Legendary distributing. I remember being excited about how many beers they carried and how deep their merchandising went for as new as I though they were. Working on their second brewery in PA., Victory has stayed true to their portfolio and the last new beer they have release is this Headwaters. Why did they bring out another IPA? Well, aside from the fall seasonals, IPAs are the top grossing trend in the beer business. It has become almost a frustrating thing for beer snobs alike. Victory already has hop devil, and hop wallop. They do these beers right why not? So where does Headwaters measure up amongst the other IPAs? It is the smoother more balance choice, more session able. Hop devil and Hop Wallop are IPAs of the hop bomb variety, very spicy. This style of beer is one of the flavor of the month problems with selling beer. This isn't a beer you can sample and turn people onto, it isn't great with pairing. Some people have an "all IPAs taste the same attitude" and I have had my share. You will hear people talk about mouth feel when sampling beer, and IPAs are definitely measurable by mouth feel. Sometimes a hoppy beer can feel fuzzy or over carbonated in your mouth. They are often described as being piny or citrusy. I prefer the piny with a clean mouth feel.

           Resist prohibition, and drinking yellow fuzzy beer. Support your local breweries and try everything you can get your hands on. Some breweries get complacent with their line of beers and don't provide anything to talk about. Lets start planning a weekend trip to go to PA and visit this brewery, like them on facebook and keep your ear open to possible collaborations. Check them out online at www.victorybeer.com.

Tasting room opening (James River Brewing Company)

James River Brewing Co. opened there doors to the public Sept. 1st 2012. It was a lot further away than I first thought. We took route 6 (Patterson Ave.) out of Richmond until it quit in downtown Scottsville. After out return trip we discovered there really is no quick way to get to Scottsville, so take route 6. If you ride a motorcycle or have a convertible take route 6, and make sure you pee before you leave the house because it takes about an hour and a half to get there from Richmond. Route 6 did have a couple small winery's on the way out, which leads me to believe this ride could become home to many more like 151 in Charlottesville. Scottsville is two blocks of old buildings. Take a left off route 6 and you run over the river's bend, turn right and the brewery is at the end of the street on the right. Aside from the beautiful river bend in the back drop it is like every sleepy small southern town you see when you are doing some back country route driving.


Sandbar, and the Pilot 1

               The brewery provided several beers for as new as they are to having an open sampling room. We did a flight of the core four beers that they produce which was six dollars, very reasonable. We tried the river walker, rock island red, sandbar and the pilot one. I enjoyed the rock island red, an Irish red that had a rich mouth feel and a hearty finish. My guest stunt drinker, eat your heart out McKenna, enjoyed the Pilot 1 brown ale. Compared to Legend's brown ale, the pilot one was lighter in flavor. The other two beers in the flight were American wheat and an ESB. So, the Green Eyed Lady, yes we tried it. I'm not sure that I could try a full glass. For those of you who don't know, JRB had a little fun with the IPA but infusing it with the salty pistachio flavor. The oil from the nut almost completely killed the carbonation in the ale. The beer even appears to have a light green hue. I think this would be a good real ale, or cask conditioned beer.

          The tasting room was definitely awe inspiring, and local breweries need to take note. The local craftsman in this small town really came together and created a turn of the century tavern feel. They had rough cut timbres, bar tops, and counter tops of raw wood with the bark still in tact. While sampling our flights every beer had the same essence which I though may have been from the freshly finished smell of the bar and all it's wood working embellishments. It was cute watching the bar trying to keep the glasses for the flights clean and helping every customer. I am not sure how much beer serving the staff had done but I can wait. It was very nice seeing the community come together in support of this new business. It wasn't your typical beer nerd turn out for this opening.

                Around back of this 100 year old building it smells like horses. There is hay on the ground and some fresh cut cedar planks on hay bales for seating. A small trickling creek, with snakes and fish, is drowned out with the mountain sounds of banjo, guitar, and mandolin. Live blue grass music always makes beer taste better. It was a small venue, probably only capable of entertaining around a hundred guest. I'm sure they can figure out the logistics of having bigger and better events. I believe the total package is marketable and should do well if the community stays supportive. With patience and some more financial backing this could definitely be a great destination for a weekend trip. The setting is romantic and the backdrop of the river is beautiful. The small town on the train tracks captures the history and heritage of Virginia. It really is right up my alley, and if you like simple living, you will agree. There is something special about Scottsville and James River Brewing is and will be a part of it. Check them out online at  http://www.jamesriverbrewing.com/

Now if you don't mind, we have to get back to our family weekend, have a great labor day!