Beer News: Beer might be food

Sort of. But wouldn’t that be the solution to so many problems? And also probably the origin of a lot more problems.

August 14, 2015; 1:21 PM • by Ross Catrow

Is beer food?

Ned Oliver asks the most important question of our lives: Is beer food? At least the Virginia Department of Health thinks it kind of is, meanwhile the rest of the world is pretty much like, “Huh?”

Not the Taylor Swift song

Allow me to quote from what’s either my heart’s desire or an article in Richmond Magazine:

There will be 12 taps focusing on British-style beer, and a dual cask engine

White Horse Tavern seems like it’ll recall a lot of what made the old Commercial Taphouse a special place to drink beers. If this is the case, I may be spending a lot of my time this fall on the Southside, hanging out with many Wells Bombardiers.

Oops!

I love when breweries do this! Well, not when they fudge a batch of beer but when they own up to it and make it right. Here’s Legend’s mea culpa on Facebook earlier this week:

Thank you so much for your business and support. We could not be the successful company we are without you. We have recently received reports that a couple of batches of our beer in the market have not been entirely up to our high standard of quality. This is unacceptable. If you have purchased a Legend product that tastes different than it should or doesn’t measure up to the level of quality in beer that we celebrate, please contact our brewery immediately at (804) 232-8871. We will promptly remedy the situation. Thank you again for helping us provide Virginia with a beer that we all love to drink.

Look out for Oktoberfests

You guys, it’s almost that most magically malty time of the year! Oktoberfest! Keep your eyes and mouths open for Festbiers and their telltale blue and white diamond-patterned labels. Sources say that Spaten Oktoberfest has already dropped in stores near you and that Center of the Universe has one brewing.

Annie Tobey double header: distros and contracts

Newish distributor to the area, Hop House Distribution, will bring two new, never-before-distributed (to Richmond) beers to the market. Annie Tobey has the details.

She also has details on YARB (Yet Another Richmond Brewery), this one out in the depths of the Southside. They’re bringing in an uber efficient brew system that’ll give them enough capacity to even do some contract brewing–which is an interesting business model that I don’t think any other local breweries are pursing.

The Answer’s blind taste test

Last week I mentioned the Answer’s IPA blind-taste-test. This week, THE RESULTS ARE IN and…the Answer won everything? Hey, I not claiming voting irregularities, I’m just wondering if this was a hanging chad situation or what.

— ∮∮∮ —

Elsewhere…

Nine craft breweries appeared on Fortune’s list of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies.

A dad joke has now become a real, tangible product (with great packaging).

Other releases, takeovers, and things

• Ardent hosts a beer dinner with Amuse on Monday. Tickets are $65 and still available!
• Blue Bee Cider and Union Market join up for a cider double header–stop by and sample both the Winesap and the Gold Dominion (which is new!).
• If you’ve been growing hops for Hardywood’s community-hopped RVA IPA you must bring them by the brewery this weekend! While you’re doing that, stick around on Saturday for the GWAR B-Q after party (which, will you really need after a full day of GWAR B-Qing?).
• If you go by the Lickinghole farm this Saturday you can “pick as many sunflowers as a reasonable person can.” Which is an excellent way to describe limits on things.
• DINOSAUR-THEMED BEER IS BACK. Like Jurassic World. (Triple Crossing releases Clever Girl again).
• If you like to play the silver ball, head on over to Isley this Sunday for their very first pinball tournament.

August 14, 2015 1:21 PM · in East End Daily, Hills and Heights, and more 0