This past Saturday was this month's Cheap and Cheery at Grape & Gourmet. Always fun and lots of new wines/beers/ciders to sample
O'Connoroo!
The new O'Connor Brewing Company facility is huge, especially compared to the old building the next street over. Standing on top of the roof you can see for miles over the low rooftops of the industrial area, past the neighborhoods and beyond. Taking in everything around the building, getting a bead on the location. What caught my interest was the old coffee roasting plant a couple blocks away. It used to house First Colony Coffee & Tea, the 109-year-old business closed it's doors in 2011. I asked brewer Skylar Sickles what he thought about the new place.
“I love it.” he said.
I stopped by O'Connor Brewing Co. to check out the new spot before the huge grand opening dubbed “O'Connoroo.” I was greeted by their marketing director, Hannah Serrano, who gave me a quick tour around the warehouse. She then handed me off to the brewers, James Moriarty, Brian Mandeville, and Skylar Sickles who were there getting the new tanks hooked-up. The 211 W. 24th Street location started out as a food processing plant, then furniture warehouse before being converted into a brewery. The wide, open space allowed O'Connor to triple the annual output to 15,000 barrels. The building houses a cooler and docking area too; this will allow them to produce and hold more beer in addition to convenient shipping. This all equals higher product output.
The extra space will allow the brewers to experiment with small batches. They've done this in the past, but they'll have more to share and they can test out barrel aging. Barrels are going to be brought in from distilleries in the surrounding area. The brewers said they're going to love the extra space and the large windows that line the brewery's walls can be opened to let air in. I remember spending a couple hours with the brewers in the old location a few years ago. It was summer and it was hot, damp—the new space will be a lot more comfortable. The old spot on 25th Street has been shuttered up and the tanks there will be going to Midnight Brewery outside of Richmond, another craft brewery that started in 2011.
Kevin O'Connor, said, “I just love the way the place looked, architecturally, and how the place felt.” I can understand the feeling. The space allows the brewery to add a lot more the O'Connor experience. There is a mezzanine “VIP” area above the taproom bar. The bar is housed in what was formerly a refrigeration area—you can still see the large doors that was used to access the units. Twenty-one taps will be behind the warmly lit, wood-worked and corked lined walls. For the curious, the cork walls are original to the building, insulation for refrigeration units. As I was leaving I couldn't wait see how this place would be put together in a week for O'Connoroo!
The weather was perfect. We showed up to O'Connoroo around 3:30 PM, this was the official grand opening of the new location. We missed the 2:00 PM kick-off—pipers, ribbon cutting and the small crowds. The place was packed already with lines for beer tickets winding out of the gate! The docking courtyard was lined with food trucks and pop-up restaurants. The trucks included Karnage Asada, CXB BBQ and Eats, Granby Street Hot Dogs; the pop-ups were from Waffletina, Belmont House of Smoke (the brisket was very good!), Cogan's Pizza, 80/20 Burger Bar and Colley Cantina. In the center were spots to hang out and play cornhole. Speaking of games, if you go inside, there is a gameroom. They still have their oversized Jenga from the old joint and there is a shuffleboard court to boot. More games will be added in the future.
A proper stage has been built in the brewery to host their weekly performers. The O'Connoroo had four bands to check-out: The Framers, DJP and MrT, The Dahus, Big Virginia Sky. Between the stage and taproom are long tables and a bar with stools that runs the length of the lined-up tanks. The seating allows patrons to check out the brewing area and equipment in addition to anyone on stage. We moved around the facility a bit and made our way up to the mezzanine. A smaller bar was up stairs to cater the VIP area. A good number of people from the area's craft beer scene were there to help celebrate O'Connor's big day.
DJP & MrT
Approximately there were 5,000-6,000 people who walked through the gates to attend O'Connoroo. This made for long lines for beer and the brewery posted an apology and promised to make good in futures events. They will definitely honor any beer tickets people held onto. So if you have some, don't throw them away! All the tickets O'Connor had available were sold by 8:15 PM that night. 42.5 barrels of beer was consumed, which roughly translates to over 10,500 pints poured! So much beer was pulled that the tasting room will only be open Friday and Saturday the week after O'Connoroo to allow them to refill the kegs.
Even though there were lines for drinks, everyone took it in stride. It was great seeing the community come out and support the area's spearhead unit into the craft beer scene. They've come a long way since opening in March 2010. Here's a little traditional Irish toast to close:
May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, beer beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.
I changed that a little bit, hope you don't mind. See all the photos from the event here.
(Special thanks to Michael Palfrey Jr., OBC Tasting Room Mgr., who let me ping him for information.)
Magic Hat at Tubby's
After doing a little running around one day the other week I ended up stopping by Tubby's Tavern in Virginia Beach. They had a new beer on tap from Magic Hat called Dream Machine IPL, a mix of an IPA and amber lager. I love lagers (yeah, I admit it), this sounded interesting. Hops are good, but sometimes I feel like there are so much in a glass that it burns out the palate.
Amanda manning the Dream Machine
Once I got into Tubby's I said "Hi" guys and gals working there and ordered a beer. The Dream Machine was pretty good. With the weather changing, I wouldn't mind having one of these after doing some yard work, winding down. R.W. told me a couple of reps from Magic Hat were going to be showing up. That's great! I love meeting the guys who represent companies or the regional folks who are interested in how their product is doing.
A little bit later a spiffy looking van pulled up manned by Amanda and Dan of Magic Hat. You could probably guess what the van was named--Dream Machine! The Dream Machine was equipped with a large screen display, photo booth, taps...everything! I actually got to take a quick ride in the rig, helping them position it in a better location in front of Tubby's.
Dan told me they're driving around the country to promote the seasonal Dream Machine IPL and they had swag to give away too. They had a little plinko game I got to play, I won a high-five!
I won a High-Five with the Dream Machine Plinko!
The weather was great so we were outside hanging, R.W. brought out some pub fries for us to munch on too. Amanda and Dan filled a pitcher and gave us a couple rounds on them and after a while packed up to move to the next spot.
Dan, Amanda and R.W.
Look out for the Dream Machine, maybe you'll get lucky and win a high-five too.
Check out the rest of the photos here.
Another Edition of...
I was putting together events on i-heart-food.com's new event calendar and saw the bottles and taps were going to be flowing this weekend. It's been a while since I posted a map to the local booze trail. Here's what's going on and make sure to check out my calendar for more details on the events:
1 May - Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet
- Weekly selection of new arrivals and favorites to try in the store.
1 May - ABSOLUT Artini at MOCA (Sold Out)
- 1920s themed Artini event at Virginia MOCA. Sadly it's sold out but there are rumors of getting tickets if you go to their page and poke around.
2 May - Wine Tasting at Farm Fresh (Great Neck)
- Farm Fresh always pours a couple of wines in the store if you're shopping. Good if the kids are getting on your nerves and you want to take the edge off.
2 May - Wine Tasting at Grape & Gourmet
- Weekly Friday night tasting with regulars. Good stuff!
2 May - Wine Tasting at Yiannis Wine Shop
- Yiannis always has something good on the table and if you're lucky maybe something special.
3 May - Big Brew Day at Homebrew USA
- Big Brew Day is a collection of beer enthusiasts who setup shop outside of Homebrew USA and show you how it's done at home. Last year there was a whole pig, hot dogs, hamburgers and much more. Free to the public. I don't think I need to mention there is going to be a lot of beer there right?
3 May - Town Center Virginia Beach Craft Beer Festival
- Town Center will be cordoned off to keep merry makers in while they enjoy the area's finest craft brews. Food and entertainment will be there too.
3 May - Spring Town Point Park Wine Classic
- The 8th Annual Wine Classic returns to Town Point Park running both Saturday and Sunday. Lots of events and wine will be available.
3 May - Mariner's Museum Craft Beer Festival
- The Mariner's Museum will celebrate craft brews from the Southside and Peninsula in the museum. I haven't been to one yet, but they're supposed to be fun. The Hampton Roads Beard and Stache Society will be volunteering too.
Back Bay Brewing Co. Grand Opening
Back Bay Brewing Co. soft opening a few weeks back let everyone know—in a big way—they were setting up a permanent location in Virginia Beach. It was packed. There was a line out the door with people trickling in and out most of the night. Zeke's next door was open with a live art demonstration, good coffee and poke bowls, then there were several food trucks out back hooking up everyone with everything from fish tacos, BBQ, all the way to cupcakes.
I've been excited about the news coming from Back Bay ever since they chose Norfolk Ave. location for their operation and brought on local beer nerd Dan Yarnell as head brewer/COO. You can find Back Bay beer in the area restaurants and they have participated in both the Battle of the Beer events in Hampton Roads, but I realized I didn't know a whole lot about Back Bay Brewing Co. in general. I figured I'd send some questions to them, picking their brains for a little info.
I was answered by Josh Canada. He's a Beach local whose first job was at WRV back when it was on Norfolk Ave., right where Back Bay has settled-in. Only this was a few years back. He said building Back Bay in the same spot of where he first worked at 14 had historical significance. Not mentioning the location, sandwiched between a couple of popular eateries near the Beach. The popular Shadowlawn neighborhood will definitely have Back Bay on the radar as the local watering hole, they'll walk to the tasting room.
Back Bay Brewing Co. was founded in 2011 by a group of friends in Virginia Beach. Sitting in a duck blind, Josh Canada and Charlie Burroughs brainstormed ideas that might help them see their dreams of brewing beer a become a reality. They selected three more local friends—George Powell, Will Yearick, and Josh Malbon who all shared their love for the outdoors and beer. The five of them worked to put out their first beer, False Cape Ale.
In the early days they brewed where they could, eventually contracting with St. George Brewing Co. in Hampton. This is a common practice for small, start-up brewers; local, larger companies will share their facilities to help the little guy out. Back Bay's new facility will have their own tanks for brewing but the lagers will probably continue to be brewed in Hampton for now. Having the capability to brew on premises will allow them to experiment more with their recipes. They would like to poll Shadowlawn and the surrounding area to get a feel for the types of beers their neighbors would like to drink. Once they know what the people want, they plan to have it brewing within two weeks Josh said.
They want to keep things moving and be innovative with their product. Experimental brews like a Coffee Coconut Stout will be offered and most breweries offer seasonals that change with the weather. They currently offer their signature red ale, lager, pale ale, and a porter. Dan told me they're working on a German style beer that could be similar to a Helles. The facility has a gourmet beer permit which allows home brewers to brew small batches on-site. Back Bay can keg it for them too.
Back Bay Brewing Co.'s Grand Opening will be Saturday, April 26, 2014. The doors open at 1:00 and there will probably be a line to get into the tasting room. There is a 100 person capacity for the tasting room. From what I saw at the soft opening they'll have a good system in place to have the beer orders out of the tap and to the patron's hand in no time. Again, like the soft opening, there will be food trucks and even some live entertainment on site. There will be at least one new beer for everyone to try too. Don't miss it!
April's Cheap and Cheery
Grape and Gourmet have a monthly tasting event the second Saturday of the every month. This month in addition to the regular beer/cider line-up, Young Veteran's Brewing Co. of Virginia Beach volunteered to serve great, local craft beer to those who attended. Tom and Neil were both there earlier in the day but Neil had to run back to the shop.
Tom, Me, and Gabe
I'll post more later, check out the photos from the event in the mean time.
National Beer Day
I don't know who thought it up, but yesterday was National Beer Day!
I celebrated with a couple of beers I had in the fridge:
Mikkeller Keeper and a Stillwater Artisanal Ale Classique
Both were easy to drink. The Classique was a saison with a little hop to it and the Keeper had the "arm pit" funk I get from hoppy beers. I know that probably sounds gross, but I swear that's what I get. I've learned to read it better these days and maybe I should call it something else (cat pee maybe?)
Hope you all enjoyed a nice beer yesterday. If not, you can do it today...or tomorrow...or the day after...
Tacos and Beer
I saw that Karnage Asada was going to be at Young Veterans Brewing and I knew I needed some of more of those Kimchos they make.
Kimchos?
Nachos with Kimchi on them! Seriously, they're good.
Kapow Kimchos
After work, we hopped in the car and drove over. After taking a quick look at the menu we ordered the Kimchos--adding pork and anything else they'd put on them. We also ordered a "full rack" of tacos and some beans and rice. The full rack had one of each of their tacos and served in the shells fried right there in the truck. Donna in the truck told us that they have a little deal going on with the brewery, if you buy food you get a pint for $2! Perfect.
After ordering we went inside Young Veterans, it was Shelby's first time in the shop. She looked around a little and I took her to the bar. Kasey was working the taps and I introduced Shelby to her. I ordered a Pineapple Grenade, their weissen that always kicks quickly, and Shelby got a flight. This was perfect because she hasn't had too many of their beers yet.
Full Rack
After finding a place to sit our food was brought in by Donna. You get a ton of food with the large order of Kimchos. Loved the sauce they put over the whole thing in addition to the kimchi and cheese. Shelby liked her tacos but was full after two. I ate about half of what she had in her box and we took the rest home for lunch the next day. I probably could have eaten everything but I was already full and I was at the point of eating just for the sake of eating. It's hard to stop when you're eating something that tastes so good.
Swing by Young Veterans Brewing Co. and definitely catch Karnage Asada if you see them parked somewhere.
Kasey at Tap
Old and new design on the glasses
Hitachino Glasses
I didn't post our sweet Hitachino Nest Beer glasses we got at The Birch's St. Kiuchi Day the other week did I? Love these things. We got one of each!
Trip to the Bier Garden
Shelby and I recently had dinner at The Bier Garden in Portsmouth, VA. One of the first establishments to have an extensive beer menu in Hampton Roads. It's the "opa" in our craft beer scene!
We walked around a bit and check out the bar--warm, cozy--it reminded me of some the places we actually ate at in Germany when we lived there. We made our way to the dining area and ordered dinner. We both loved our food, I can't wait to go back. Of course, I had a nice Ayinger Weisse and Shelby had a Duchesse De Bourgogne sour. You're not taking in the whole experience without sipping a good beer while there.
I wrote about The Bier Garden in HR Growler. Please check out my article and leave a comment about your experience or anything related to the story and restaurant that comes to mind.
Read it here: Comfort Zone: The Bier Garden
Check out the rest of the photos here.
Prost!
O'Connor Brewing Turns Four
El Guapo!
Norfolk's O'Connor Brewing Company turned 4 years old today -- St. Patrick's Day! I remember hearing about the brewery first coming around through rumor and then opening. It's come a long way since then and it's only getting better: it'll be moving to a new location soon, they've been putting out great seasonals, and the crew is getting bigger.
Karnage Asada
Shelby and I didn't go out tonight but I did get a early St. Patrick's Day pull this past Saturday when the brewery celebrated its anniversary and three wins from the Dublin Craft Beer Cup. Turn-out was great and delicious food was being served by one of the newer food trucks in the area -- Karnage Asada. I'll write a little more about them in a separate post but I will say they're worth stopping for if you see them parked somewhere. I had a "full rack" of tacos and Kapow Kimchos, kimchi nachos. Seriously, it was good!
The weather was perfect. They had a couple of pouring station working on the inside and did a good job at keeping the glasses filled, growlers topped-off, and flights flying. Live music was being played by a three piece outfit and there was even some dancing going on. People were playing cornhole outside next to picnic tables occupied by merry-makers.
Happy Birthday O'Connor Brewing Co. and congratulations on the awards.
P.S. - You probably know this already, but in case you don't...the oak tree you see on the sign is part of the ancient, Irish crest of the O'Connor clan.
O'Connor's Brewers
Kevin O'Connor with the muscle
Jie Yu, Malia, and Ben
Italia Night at The Birch
Ben and Jie Yu Neidhart of B. United International, Inc. recently held a session at The Birch where they described their Connecticut operation—from international shipping, distribution, and specifically the budding craft beer scene in Italy. Their distribution company imports from all over the world and that night at The Birch was a celebration of Italian beers. Listed below are the breweries and the beers on tap for Italia Night:
Nora - Ginger Herb/Spice Ale and Al-Iksir – Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Chocarrubica – Carob Oatmeal Stout and Strada San Felice – Chestnut Ale
Rubus Lamponi – Raspberry Wild Ale
Verdi Zymatore – Granache Sour Chili Stout and My Blueberry Nightmare – Scotch Sour Blueberry Stout
TipoPils – German Style Pilsner and Nigredo – Hoppy Black Lager
Ben and Jie Yu handed out information on the breweries which included a little history, the stories brewer bios, and how the Italian breweries operate. It might be surprising to hear that the land known for millennia of wine making tradition has a very young craft beer scene. From what I've read from other sources it didn't start taking off till the 1990's. Today there are approximately 500 craft breweries in the old country.
It was nice going through the information Ben and Jie Yu passed around. Reading the stories behind each Italian brewery, the training/educational background of the brewers, and the passion behind why they dived into craft beer. Ben described the difference between cultured and wild yeasts used in beers and how introducing selected bacteria causes the sought after sour notes.
After the session ended Ben joined Jie Yu and Malia in sampling some of the beers The Birch had on tap. They invited me to sit with them and sample the line-up. I tried out the Verdi Zymatore Granache Sour Chili Stout and My Blueberry Nightmare, both are made with the same award winning Verdi Imperial Stout. Though they might have come from the same base, both beers had extremely different flavor profiles.
The Granache Chili was aged in Granache casks that were also used to age a chili mead. The imperial stout became a complex blend of lightly sweet and spicy tones that didn't overwhelm me, but I felt the chili in the back of my throat for sure. It had some weight, was sour and dark.
Even though it was made from the same stout base, the Blueberry Nightmare was very different from Granache Chili. Just as rich and darker, the intense fruit really came through with the tart.
I mentioned to them I was still trying to warm up to sours; I talked a little bit about the Duchesse De Bourgogne Shelby had ordered elsewhere. Jie Yu and Malia rattled off a few to see if I knew them and then we sampled some. I need some work on this but I'm getting there. We also talked about B. United and I found out Ben's father runs the distributor. They take their beer seriously and the effort that goes into moving this stuff from the far corners of the earth is respectable.
I enjoyed getting a little sampling of all the Italians (and a few extras) in addition to the one I bought. I stuck around to chat a little more, said my goodbyes, then I headed home.
Hit The Birch to and try some of this stuff before it's gone. Check out all the photos from the event here.
To read more about Italian craft beers try these links:
B. United's blog Nepenthiology has tons of great info
Italy's Craft Beer Awakening – The Beer Connoisseur Online
The Birch's Beer Education Wednesday cheat sheet on Zymatore
Foothills Hits The Birch
Malia of The Birch and Jesse from ChesBay
Leaving O'Connor Brewing Wednesday night, I headed over to The Birch for the Foothills event. Sexual Chocolate and a couple of other Foothills brews were on tap.
I recently had the Sexual Chocolate Stout at Tubby's Tavern so I had a Jade IPA. Bumped into Jesse Scott from ChesBay who distributes Foothills to our area. Malia was working at the bar and came over to chat with us for a little bit.
It was nice seeing everyone in keeping warm. We just had a bunch of snow dumped on us. The Birch is very cozy and has a pretty relaxed atmosphere--perfect for the weather.
A Drink with AltDaily
AltDaily recently announced that Pilot Media acquired the magazine ensuring a solid future (and funding.) They invited people to O'Connor Brewing Co. for a drinks. I'm always up for a drink.
Read a little more about how Jesse and Hannah or AltDaily feel about the what's happening:
The Pilot's president, David Mele, said that the magazine will be able to keep it's voice to "allow it to succeed and thrive." Good luck guys and thank you for allowing me to contribute to the magazine.
The Birch Hosts Left Hand Brewing
The Birch in Chelsea (West Ghent, Norfolk, VA) has been listed in the top 50 craft beer bars in the United States by RateBeer.com. The only one in Virginia on that list, we're pretty lucky to have it. The other week they hosted a Steal the Pint night featuring Left Hand Brewing.
Specialty Beverage of Virginia, who distribute Left Hand in our region, were there in a show of support for the event and The Birch. A representative from the brewery, “Left Hand” Dan Conway was available to talk to customers and help promote the brewery. He was moving about bar and tables talking about the available beers and/or just chatting with the visitors. Since it was Steal the Pint night, the first Left Hand beer ordered garnered the patron a nice Irish-style pint glass with the signature red, left hand emblazoned on the front. The back of the glass had “Sometimes you're not in the mood for what everyone else is having.” printed on it. Neat glass.
We talked to Dan a bit about his work and his beers being served at The Birch. Really nice guy, he travels a lot and has been with the company a while. He goes from state to state hosting events for Left Hand in the Atlantic region; he's based out of Philly. He said the two American ales on tap that night—Deep Cover (American Brown Ale) and Jackman's Pale Ale (American Pale Ale)—were discontinued because they competed with some of their other signature beers also on the market and breweries do rotations in general. I ordered both the Americans and shared them with Shelby and Chayce. They were good, easy to drink. Chayce liked the Milk Stout Nitro (Milk/Sweet Stout); Shelby had the St. Vrain Belgian Tripel.
Me and Left Hand Dan
While we were having our drinks I talked to the Specialty guys, Phil Shannon, Jeff Joyce, Scott Warden and Christain Maute. I tend to bump into these fellas at the beer centric events all around the area. One thing for sure, if you see one of them there will be beer nearby. This is a good thing.
The Birch's owner, Malia Bublick, was constantly moving around the pub, never standing still for too long making sure drinks were poured and the plates handled. In a little lull she did come over to our end of the bar and we talked about how things were going. It was a Thursday night and I asked her about the full house. She said the Thursday crowd is usually pretty good, but when you give away glassware you always get a few more people who show up.
After we finished our drinks and said our good-byes. It's always nice visiting The Birch and I really enjoyed meeting Dan from Left Hand. Hopefully we'll catch them again in the near future.
View the photos from the event here.
George Culver, Cameron Rollo, Gabe Rosenfarb, Morgan Sieg, and Jarod Goenner
Victory at Cogan's!
Recently, Cogan's Pizza in Norfolk, VA hosted a Victory Brewing Company “Steal the Pint” night. How this usually works, is that when you buy your first beer, you get to keep the glass. I've picked up a few myself from other breweries but to be honest with you, if kept every beer glass that touched my lips I wouldn't have room in the cabinets for anything else! This glass though, I wanted it.
Cogan's Pizza, Norfolk, VA
Not my glass :(
Before I headed down to Cogan's I stopped by Grape and Gourmet for beer tasting. Every Thursday night they highlight several beers in the shop. Gabe is usually in house pouring and describing what is sampled. He was there, of course, and I told him what my plans were. Since he was at the end of his shift, he said he'd come along too. Cool.
Gabe pulled up about the same time I did and we headed in together. At the bar was Jarod Goenner and Morgan Sieg—Jarod is guy behind HR Growler, Hampton Roads new craft beer magazine and Morgan is the local Victory rep. Gabe and I write for HR Growler, first issue hits the streets 16 Jan 2014. Look out for it!
I walked up and asked if they had any glasses left, sadly they were out. I thought it started at 7:00 PM, but the event kicked-off at 5:00 PM. I need to get my stuff straight, seriously.
Scanning the room I saw some familiar faces including Gerald Franklin of Hoffman Beverage. He was at a table with what turned out to be the region's Victory team headed by Cameron Rollo. Cameron was in town a couple of days to check out the area; I was introduced to him and we chatted a bit. I found out he was in the army and stationed in Germany right before I was. He also knew Hohenfels, where I was stationed, telling me he didn't like it. No one likes Hohenfels, Bavaria unless you're stationed there. I'll have to write about it sometime.
Me and Cam Rollo
I was looking forward to trying some of the beer they tapped and I checked out what was available. I've had a couple of Victory beers before but I think it might have been at tastings. I know I've never picked up any for the house, so I wasn't sure where to start. I asked everyone what they thought I should try and the consensus was the Prima. Victory Prima is a hoppy Pils that was very tasty. I'm not huge on hop overload (yeah, don't hit me or anything) but this was good. Easy to drink and floral. I first had a real Pils in Germany, as a matter of fact, my experience with great beer started in Germany. So this was a nice little throwback for me.
I tried out the Winter Cheers wheat ale, kind of like a light Hefeweizen, another beer I fell in love with in Germany. Since I was driving I couldn't grab a Golden Monkey Tripel and the Dirtwolf Double IPA kicked earlier. I got a couple of sips from the group though. Cameron actually had the bar put together something a bar made from Golden Monkey called a “Monkmosa”. It is about 80% Golden Monkey and 20% orange juice. It was good and I made a couple for Shelby and myself at home later that weekend.
I was impressed with the beers and looked forward to trying more of them. At the big, monthly tasting at Grape and Gourmet—Cheap & Cheery—I picked up a little variety pack so I could relax at home and give them a little more attention. Good stuff.
Check out the event album here.
King Neptune Beer Bread
Today I headed to the Buy Fresh Buy Local Hampton Roads' Annual Meeting. They cover the organization's budget, positions and general business. Afterwards, there is a potluck!
Board members and supporters bring in dishes made with local ingredients. When I found out I was going, I busted out a couple of local cookbooks we have in the house: Dishing Up Virginia by the local godfather of food Patrick Evans-Hylton and Tidewater Table by Lorraine Eaton.
While I was looking through the recipes, I made note of a few I could possible swing for the event. Then Shelby came up with a great idea--why not make beer bread? This was perfect, I was already tight on time and local beer was readily available throughout the city. If you didn't know it, I'm also going to be writing for the Pilot's new local craft beer magazine HR Growler. Anything related to local beer is something I want to be involved in.
After I made the decision to make the bread I just had to pick a beer to use. The next day was Cheap and Cheery at Grape and Gourmet, a great local shop for beer and wine; I figured I grab something when we were there. I think the stars were aligned because when we went to the shop, John Newell of Two Fathers Beer Co. was there pouring his beer. It turns out he had one bottle of King Neptune IPA left in his cooler so I snagged it. The IPA would be perfect for the beer bread I was going to make. Great opportunity to give a little exposure to the area's newest craft brew outfit.
Now on to the beer bread.
I've never made beer bread before, but we've had it. I went online to find a good recipe to make the bread and after reading through several put together my own. The one I found at Dine & Dish is what I based mine off of, only making a few modifications. I pretty much followed the instructions word-for-word, the only difference was I used unsalted butter and I added aged Gouda from Richmond's Belmont Butchery. I'm going to copy and paste the recipe here for your convenience, but I please visit the original by clicking the following link. Thanks for the inspiration Kristen.
Tip: Place a catch tray beneath your bread pan, there could possibly be a little overflow. Especially with the butter in a loaf pan that was just big enough to fit the ingredients.
King Neptune Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (I used Ellison, VA's Big Spring Mill All-Purpose Flour)
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 12 ounces of King Neptune IPA (any beer you like actually)
- 1 stick Unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp grated Gouda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Sift all the dry ingredients together.
- Add beer and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.
- Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and pour beer bread batter into pan.
- Pour melted butter over the top of the beer bread batter.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and grate Gouda on top of bread as it rests
- Kristen says let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes before you attempt to remove it. I did as instructed.
New Belgium Snapshot
Our local New Belgium rep, Geoff Rifkin, gave us a sneak preview of the new year-round beer they're offering--Snapshot.
It's a slightly sour wheat that reminds us of the beers we used to drink when we lived in Germany. Check it out when it hits the stores!
Barley's Angels Christmas Party at Beach Brewing Co. 2013
I was invited to attend Barley's Angels' 1st Annual Christmas party being held at the new Beach Brewing Company location. Rules were you had to bring a beer and a dish. At our house we have a habit of hording beer and wine. It's easy to do when you go to tastings every week and grab a bottle for "later." So I had a few good beers I could take with me and decided I'd take my bottle of Bitter Valentine from Williamsburg AleWerks. The food choice was easy enough, I went with my go-to potluck dish--Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice. It usually is a crowd pleaser and I thought the beer would go well with it.
I cooked the fried rice before the event so I was running a little bit late. It's funny, because Shelby was looking at me sitting in front of my computer before I started cooking and asked what I needed for the rice. I told her I was going to run to the store and get what I need but I'll be on time. She said "I've been married long enough to you to know better." She was right of course.
Lesley Summers
I got everything packed up and headed to the brewery. When I pulled up I was able to see that pretty much everyone was there already so I slipped in. I saw Lesley Summers, Barley's Angels - Coastal Virginia Organizer. She grabbed the fried rice and I went to put the beer in the cooler. This was cool.
Beer! Glorious Beer!
The cooler was filled with plenty of beers I've never had before and I was excited at the thought of trying a bunch of them. The beers were going to be opened and we had little cups to get a swig of each. Great idea. There was plenty of food too. Lots of dips, my favorite being a lobster dip brought by Elizabeth Erschens - Owner, Homebrew USA, if I remember correctly. There were cheese balls too. I love cheese balls, I'd pick the whole thing up and put it on a cracker if I could.
Justin MacDonald of Beach Brewing Company (foreground) giving us a tour of the new brewery.
After scoping out the area I saw Justin MacDonald, brewer/owner of Beach Brewing Company. He wanted to show me around the new brewery, so we headed to the back where the equipment was. The place was huge; the new construction and large stainless steel brewing equipment made it a very impressive sight. We were joined by some other enthusiasts and brewer types while Justin explained how he was getting everything in place and will most likely brewing by Christmas of this year. He said output will quadruple when all is said and done.
After the tour we headed back inside to mingle and I bumped into a few familar faces. Here's one:
Robin Felt, beer maven
I snapped of photos and the women did a gift exchange. Looked like everyone was enjoying themselves and drinking some good beer. I was able to salvage about a small bowl of leftover fried rice that I took home with me.
Barley's Angels - Coastal Virginia with Justin MacDonald
Thanks again to Lesley of Barley's Angels and Justin MacDonald of Beach Brewing Company for letting me hang out.
See the rest of the photos here.
O’Connor Brewing Co. - Black Saturday Block Party 2013
The holiday weekend was punctuated by O’Connor Brewing Company’s Black Saturday Block Party inspired by last year’s Black Friday Hurricane Sandy benefit. A perfect chaser for the Thanksgiving and Black Friday craziness, I planned on stopping by O’Connor’s after a day of shopping small in Norfolk, VA.
I drove Shelby and Marleigh downtown to visit a few friends and support Shop Small. We stopped by With Lavender & Lace, Studio Posy, Nest Home, and Lorak Jewelry. The two of them wanted to walk around and hit a few more stores around Granby St. so I headed down to the brewery on W. 25th St. Pulling up I and hopping out of the car into the cold, the first thing I noticed was someone was grilling. Whatever it was, it smelled great. The brewery’s block was barricaded, restricted to foot traffic; a stage was setup with a band running through its set. I headed in.
Hannah Serrano and Hardy Porter
As soon as I walked to the check-in table I bumped into AltDaily.com’s Hannah Serrano, who is also Marketing and Events Director at O’Connor Brewing Co. She walked me in and we chatted a little bit about how things were going. We passed by Bobby-Qs and CXB BBQ and Eats, this was what smelled so good when I got out of the car. I was definitely not going to miss out on that food. Porter Hardy of Smartmouth was near the street food so I snapped a photo of him and Hannah.
Barley's Angels
Checking out the food, I saw one of the Hoffmann Beverage trucks being manned by the local chapter of Barley’s Angels, a local group of female beer enthusiasts. The truck was pretty high-speed, LCD panels displayed what beer was coming out of the tap below it. All the O’Connor flagship brews were being poured: Green Can, Great Dismal, Norfolk Canyon, and more. I grabbed a Black IPA and walked around some more.
Several bands were slated to play that night: Nate Sacks, The Janks, BANTUSTANS, and The Wet Boys. Radiant patio heaters kept everyone warm outside in the docking area and street, though the amount of people in close proximity of each other and beer helped out a lot too. Approximately 500 attended the block party but it would be easy to think there were a lot more. Inside the brewery I bumped into Kevin O'Connor, brewer/owner of the brewery. He was all over the place, chatting and checking up on the event.
There were also small batch beers for the occasion and people could buy flights of these to get a taste of each. Traditionally, craft brewers will let the shop come up with their own recipes and formulas. Here’s what was offered:
Small Batch Flight
Chincoteague Oyster Stout – Oyster Stout
Schwarzwald – Black Lager
Winter Pecan – Pecan Porter
Bockenspiel – Bavarian Weizenbock
The Dark Monk – Abbey Ale
Maes Howe – Wee Heavy
Session Quad #2: Insomnia – West Coast Style IPA
By the end of the night O’Connor Brewing Co. poured approximately 4.5 barrels of beer! That’s about 1,500 standard, 12-oz cans of beer! If you stacked those they’d be as tall as—I have no idea, but I bet it’s pretty high. Everyone was having a good time and the food was great. I walked away with some lumpia in my coat pocket, saving it for Shelby and Marleigh.
All-in-all a great night. If they do it again next year, and you’re in the area, you better go.
Kevin O'Connor Brewer/Owner