New Glasses at Lynnhaven Pub!

April 3, 2015

I hopped online the other night and saw that Lynnhaven Pub had new glasses! The large tulips with the Pub's name emblazoned on the front and the classic hashtag #suckitlynnhavenpub on the back - I had to have one.

One thing about me that you probably already know if you spend time around me, is that I love glassware. It's something that started back in 1993 when I was stationed in Germany and started drinking German beer. Every little town there has a brewery and when they deliver beer to the local gasthaus they also give them glasses. I loved weizen bier and drank a lot of it over there (ask my friend Rob, he drank just as much of that stuff.) So after finishing a drink I would slip a weizen glass up my sleeve and take it home with me. If you didn't know where this "steal the pint/glass" thing came from, it was knuckleheads like me.

Rob and I were barracks buddies waiting for our names to be picked on the housing list, this happened about 3 months after being in country. That meant we finally got to be reunited with our wives and kids. Of course when Shelby was there I had to show her the "economy" - that's what we called going leaving base. We had dinner somewhere and she notice me trying to take a weizen glass and put the kibosh to my thieving ways. She said I better pay for it if I want it; it's funny because it never occurred to me to ask if I could just buy the glass. So after finishing a drink I would hold up the glass and ask, "Wieviel kostet das?" I was pleasantly surprised to find out that most people in the establishments over there would just say it was "frei"...free!

Sweet.

If I did pay for a glass it was about 2.5 marks, which was the equivalent to a buck American. I still have all my weizen glasses and some fest mugs from being in country and I love thinking about the time we spent over there and my first real experience with good beer.

Sorry, I got a little off track...so you noticed the #suckitlynnhavenpub hashtag? Rob, owner of The Pub, said it was something him and a rep started a while back for fun. It makes me chuckle whenever I see it, check out Instagram with the hashtag you'll see half of them are probably mine. Pay attention to Rob's posts and you'll see a few other funny, reoccurring hashtags.

Rob said there are only 140 of these glasses, this was as of Monday. I doubt there are that they will last long and this Friday is The Pub's famous Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) event. It draws a huge crowd and I would be surprised to any of these glasses make it past the weekend.

Disclaimer: I do not condone stealing glasses from any establishment! Ask if you can buy or have one.

O'Connor Brewing Co. Tap Take-over at Lynnhaven Pub

November 17, 2014

About 3 weeks back O'Connor Brewing Co. took over the taps at Lynnhaven Pub. Since then a ton has been going on and I forgot to post about it!

OBC brought 5 casks of one-offs the brewers had experimented with. The casks were brand staples with added ingredients, mixing it up a bit. It was a Friday night so Charolette was pouring out back for $5 a pour.

O'Connor was represented by several of the brewers who were willing to discuss their casks with Pub patrons. Rob, Lynnhaven Pub owner, was out back smoking meat and experimenting with coffee grinds he got from Lynnhaven Coffee Roasters.

Lynnhaven Pub in HR Growler

October 1, 2014

My latest article in HR Growler is now online at their newly revised page. Read it here.

Drinks with Gerrell

August 27, 2014

Our friend recently came down for the weekend and we met for drinks at Lynnhaven Pub in Virginia Beach, VA. It was nice because I got to trade some beers with Rob McGraw (Pub owner) and take some photos for an upcoming story I wrote for HR Growler.

Make sure you read my post about the food at Lynnhaven Pub here.

Scout Guide

April 23, 2014

The Scout Guide for the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area wrote a post on I Heart Food yesterday. Shelby and I first seen a Scout Guide in Richmond and really liked the printed copy--glossy, great photography. The Scout Guide highlights people and shops in the area they cover, so it was nice to be featured in their blog.

It's funny how this all worked out. I was at Lynnhaven Pub to try the new batch of Bell's Hopslam for the year and while I was taking photos of my beer (you know I'm that guy who takes photos of his food) and the woman next to me asked what I was shooting for. I told her I had a local food blog and when I told her about I Heart Food she said she loved it and followed me in Instagram. Her name is Anne Hazard and she is the Editor of The Scout Guide for our area. She said she loved my work and wondered if I'd be interested in doing a Q&A.

Sure! Sounds like fun.

A little while later I was contacted by Cole Weaver, Social Media Director for TSG, who sent the questions you'll read in the blog post.

Check out the story here: We Heart George

Lynnhaven Pub, Virginia Beach, VA

November 24, 2013

I was recently asked to meet with someone to talk over some exciting opportunities coming along in the near future. We were going over places to grab a drink and Jarod (the guy I was meeting) suggested Lynnhaven Pub in Virginia Beach. Great idea!

Lynnhaven Pub has been around since the 60s or 70s and is tucked away off the old West Great Neck Rd. It would be easy to pass by the place and not notice it tacked on the end of a non-descript building, but inside you’ll find one of the better selections of beer in the city. Owner, Rob McGraw, has established the pub as a go-to destination for local beer lovers. He keeps a eclectic rotation of beer on tap and has much more in bottles in the case next to the bar. Old timers who haven’t been to the bar in the past several years might not recognize the selection and they’re going to miss their $1 domestic drafts. Rob has created an outdoor area where patrons can hang-out year round. There is also a bar, grill, and a smoker.

Speaking of food, in addition to great beer, they offer creative and delicious food. When we decided to go to Lynnhaven Pub, I messaged Rob that we’d be stopping by for a drink. He said he was looking forward to it and had a couple things he wanted me to try. Cool, I figured he had some new beers he wanted to share. I showed up at the pub and saw Jarod sitting in the back working on his laptop. I walked the length of the wooden bar, passing occupied stools; I saw that a few Victory brews were on tap and Founder’s Breakfast Stout.

After I settled in Rob came out and said he made some beer can chicken using Stillwater Classique beer he wanted me to try. He also had oak barreled smoked brisket coming out. He actually brings the barrels down from Blue Mountain Barrel House brewery nestled between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, Virginia. These are barrels that were previously used to age whiskey and bourbon, then used by Blue Mountain Brewery. The smoke produced by these barrels is recognizable and adds a rich flavor to the food cooked in it.

Mike Rowland, who I watched earlier, cooking in a small oven behind the bar, master-minded the following dishes he brought out: Beer Can Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Burnt Ends Tacos with Bacon, Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwiches with bacon and huge Chicken Salad Sandwiches. I wasn’t expecting this! I had enough to share with Jarod and we dug in.

Beer Can Chicken wrapped in Belgian Endive

I tried the Lettuce Wraps first, sweet and simple, the smoked chicken was tucked into Belgian endive and I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. You could taste that the beer had permeated through the chicken and there was a nice smoke flavor on top of that. It all blended well and I knocked out another one quickly. Mike said he wanted to showcase the chicken in the wraps so there wasn’t a sauce or anything on top of the chicken. Perfect.

Next I tried the Burnt Ends Tacos, if you all didn’t know it, I love BBQ. I really love Burnt Ends. Rob was telling me he would usually eat these when they made brisket in the pub but Mike told him they should sell them instead and Rob reluctantly agreed to part with them. I know this would be a hard decision for me too. Good on you Rob! The tacos were delicious and had a thick strip of bacon in there for good measure. The burnt ends were flaky with great smoke flavor. I swear I could even make out the alcohol from the oak barrels he uses. The arugula was a nice added touch. You can’t beat it.

I moved onto the Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich, moist and the brisket fell apart in my mouth. The brisket was thickly stacked between two pieces of toasted, dressed bread and the platter had a healthy serving of cracked pepper potato chips (which were hard to not to eat.) I ate about half of my sandwich and moved on to the Chicken Salad.

The Chicken Salad was piled high with some lettuce resting on top. The chicken salad was great, with grapes, almonds, paprika and bright red onion in the mix. The chicken was fresh and shredded perfectly. It was hard not to eat the whole thing but I was so full and had a beer I needed to finish up. I boxed up the rest and brought it home for lunch the next day.

I’m going to Lynnhaven Pub again to write more about the beer and how Rob runs the place, but I really wanted to let everyone know about the food. Like I said earlier I thought he was going to have me try some brews but I got a few plates of great food instead. Get by Lynnhaven Pub and grab a couple of good beers and make sure you get something to eat. You’ll not be disappointed!