RVA Beer Explorer
RVA Beer Explorer Weekly Picks 4/22
Spring is in the air and there is a spring in my step as I head out to all the local breweries.

GO DO THIS
Richmond Symphony at West Creek – Wednesday, Hardywood (West Creek)
Get a side of culture with your beer. Hardywood West Creek has one of the best views for a brewery along with Lickinghole Creek, and Legend of course.
More room for more fun! Join the Richmond Symphony for an exciting concert at Hardywood West Creek. The Richmond Symphony will be collecting donations in support of our music education programs in Goochland County Public Schools.
More information here:
https://www.richmondsymphony.com/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=16237&action=edit
Special Screening of “Straws” – Wednesday, Väsen
The way we humans treat the earth sucks. Learn about single-use plastics such as straws which also suck and alternatives that we can implement in our daily lives.
We are honored to work with a group of students that are striving to make a difference in our community and the environment. This student lead campaign is focusing on educating folks about single-use plastic and alternatives that we can implement in our daily lives.
“Straws” is a 32-minute-long and showcases the problems caused by plastic pollution and empowers individuals to be a part of the solution.
In addition to the film, students will engage with attendees and encourage them to sign a pledge to not use plastic straws.
Grab a beer, order up some delicious food from our Stella’s Grocery kiosk and enjoy a screening of “Straws.”
Veil 3rd Anniversary – Tue thru Sun, Veil Brewing
The hotness that is Veil is turning three this week and celebrating with all sorts of releases. Check out their event page for all the details.
We are totes amped to announce the dates for our 3rd anniversary week long rager!
This past year we pushed ourselves more than ever. We continue to be humbled by the love and support you all have given us! We can’t thank you guys enough and can’t wait for what year four has in store for us (including some new locations).
Starting April 23rd-April 28th we will be releasing a bunch of bottles/cans and draft as well as tapping a bunch of guest taps on Sunday April 28th from some buddiez. We will have some rad food from some of our food buddiez like Cobra Burger Intergalactic Tacos and The Highroller Lobster Co. We will be announcing more info about the beers and other details about the festivities over the course of the next few weeks. Stay tuned y’all! This anniversary is going to be bigger and better than ever!!!
Monthly Bottle Share – Thursday, Cannon & Draw
Get a taste of rare beer that a complete stranger brought. It’s much less creepy than it sounds. Trust me.
Join us at The Hop Craft Pizza & Beer with Canon & Draw Brewing Company Thursday, April 25th, for our monthly bottle share! Grab a beer, come grab some pizza, and let’s talk beers.
This month we’ll be mixing it up, and we’ll be doing a completely BLIND tasting of Richmond breweries popular or flagship IPAs. Doesn’t matter the sub style of IPA, just some of what Richmond has to offer! We’ve got a months worth of Richmond releases to pick up some fun ones.
Comment below what you want to bring and add to the blind tasting so nobody duplicates their offerings.
This will be an interesting one, and we’ll see you then!
Swine & Brine – Saturday, Ardent
The description says “celebration of pork, seafood, and of course, beer” I’m really not sure what more you need to know. It costs nothing to get in the door you just pay for what you want stuff into your mouth hole.
Swine & Brine is returning for a fifth annual celebration of pork, seafood, and of course, beer! Join us this Saturday for a local food feast, with a focus on oysters, pork dishes, and homemade sides, along with beer, cider, and prosecco.
Local restaurant lineup:
– ZZQ: Housemade pork sausage over Boracho Beans
– Saison: Pastrami pork ribs, pickled red cabbage & spicy Russian dressing
– Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC: Oysters + crab cakes
– Perch RVA: Filipino pork bbq skewers w/ soy, sugar cane vinegar & garlic
– Southbound & Autumn Olive Farms: Ham salad w/ pork rinds + smoked pork w/ slaw & Duke’s mayo brioche
– Oak & Apple brought to you by Postbellum: Red Fresno spare ribs, apple coleslaw w/ Alabama white sauce
– Nightingale Ice Cream SandwichesWe’ll have our full lineup of Ardent beers on tap, as well as Blue Bee Cider and Zardetto Prosecco.
DRINK THIS
Sir Falstaff West Coast DIPA Beer Release – Saturday, Isley
As part of our Hops & Houses event on Saturday April 27, Isley Brewing Company will be releasing a new West Coast DIPA!
“Sir Falstaff”
West Coast DIPA
9.19% ABV
90 IBUA pre Y2K IPA? With more clarity and a higher perceived butter character than the new school IPAs, this beer pours golden with a thick white head. The 90 IBUs slowly creep up behind a big, sweet malty backbone, and at over 9%ABV, this brew will remind you of where craft IPAs began!
Splashdown Double IPA – Friday, Final Gravity
Final Gravity’s newest Double IPA provides bursts of grapefruit, citrus, and resinous aromas and flavors from the copious amounts of Citra and Apollo hops but drinks so smooth with billowing waves of melon and lime. Splashdown lands at 8% ABV and will be available by the glass, growler, and Crowler.
A Hoppy Home VACU Release – Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, Friday
We’ve partnered with Three Notch’d Brewery on a collaboration beer to benefit Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity. Come out and enjoy a pint of A Hoppy Home; a New England IPA brewed in Richmond by the Three Notch’d RVA Collab House.
Stop by Three Notch’d RVA this Friday, April 26th and every Friday for New Releases from RVA Headbrewer Willey Broaddus and draft specials on those releases til 7pm.
Additionally Three Notch’d will be hosting their next Proceeds Night and for every pint sold of “A Hoppy Home” NEIPA on Friday, April 26th they will donate back $1 to Richmond Metropolitan Habitat For Humanity.
Check out the details on this week’s release:
“A Hoppy Home” NEIPA
ABV: 6.9%
IBU: 10
Collaboration with Virginia Credit Union to benefit Richmond Metropolitan Habitat For Humanity
BEERSTAGRAM

RVA Beer Explorer
RVA Beer Explorer: Stouts, Pizza, FeedMore, and a Moving Shamrock

GO DO THIS
Stout Month at Starr Hill Richmond Beer
I’m late to the stout party here but there is still a week left to get your stout at Starr Hill
Love is in the air – AND on tap! 💘 Starr Hill is sharing the love all month long with the perfect pair: beer + chocolate 🍫 Enjoy our Stout Month flight with a special box of chocolate candy—buy one, get one flight HALF OFF only on Tues. Feb. 14th for Valentine’s Day!
❤️❤️❤️ FEATURED BEERS
❤️ Why Wait Snickers Stout
❤️ Ever Given Foreign Export Stout
❤️ You Oatta Know Oatmeal Stout
❤️ Chonkyfire Cherry Cordial Stout
🍫 Stout Month Flight 🍫
feat. each of the above beers paired with a special chocolate:
🍫 Oatmeal Stout with a maple buttercream
🍫 Foreign Export Stout with a coffee caramel
🍫 Snickers Stout with a peanut cluster
🍫 Cherry Cordial Stout with a chocolate-covered cherry
Ownby Lane Beer Crawl for Feedmore! at Castleburg and Hardywood
February 26th
Two breweries does not a crawl make but it’s for a great case so I’m posting about it. Get some beers and help out some folks.
Don’t have Sunday plans? Not sure what to do after brunch?
Come on over to Hardywood and Castleburg for a beer! Just a five minute walk apart, we’ll both be serving snacks and beer hopefully with weather good enough to hang outside!
We’ll be donating 10% of the day to FeedMore

Pizza Palace – Triple Crossing Downtown
February 26th
Talking with some of the folk that work here and they say it should be awesome. A great way to deal with a Sunday.
And the best pizza around is back. Welcome to Pizza Palace!!
On Sunday, February 26th, Triple Crossing – Downtown will be re-imagined as your go to by the Slice NY Style pizza palace.
Menu is as follows.
$4 House Salad
$4 Garlic Knots
$5 Cheese Slice
$6 Pepperoni Slice
-add Hot Honey for $1
48oz Pitchers:
$15 Falcon Smash
$12 Pathway Pils
Pizza Palace will be open from 12p – 8p.
All are welcomed.
Cheers!
BEER NEWS
Shamrock the Block is on the move. I avoid this festival but for those that enjoy you’ll be enjoying in a new spot over on Leigh Street between Movie Land and the Bon Secours Training facility. They’ve also announced the bands.
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RVA Beer Explorer
PHOTOS & GAME SUMMARY: Rams Knockdown Fordham
VCU forced 22 turnovers and outscored Fordham 29-15 off miscues. The Black and Gold also owned a 42-20 scoring advantage in the paint.

Official VCU Game Summary
Score: VCU 80, Fordham 61
Location: Richmond, Va. (Stuart C. Siegel Center)
Records: VCU 20-7 (11-3 Atlantic 10), Fordham 21-6 (9-5)
Attendance: 7,637 (Fourth consecutive sellout)
The short story: Sophomore Nick Kern Jr. poured in a career-high 17 points and VCU forced 22 Fordham turnovers on the way to a Senior Day victory Saturday at the Siegel Center.
OPENING TIP
- Kern scored eight of VCU’s first 11 points and finished 8-of-9 from the field
- Junior guard Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 13 points and dished out 10 assists to record his second career double-double. He also grabbed six steals and four rebounds
- Sophomore forward Jalen Deloach and redshirt sophomore guard Jamir Watkins added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Black and Gold
- Will Richardson supplied Fordham with 21 points on 6-of-10 shootin from three
THE DIFFERENCE
- VCU forced 22 turnovers and outscored Fordham 29-15 off miscues. The Black and Gold also owned a 42-20 scoring advantage in the paint
- VCU shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the floor. Meanwhile, it also limited Fordham to 34 percent shooting (20-of-59) in the game
- Kern keyed a 13-4 VCU run to start the game with a fast break layup and a dunk on the first two possessions of the contest
- VCU held Fordham to 7-of-23 shooting in the first half on the way to a 37-24 halftime lead. Fordham never led and the lone tie came at 20-20 with 7:07 left in the first half. VCU would lead by as many as 24
- VCU’s bench contributed 28 points
NOTABLE
- With six steals today and 170 in his career, Baldwin Jr. tied Doug Brooks for eighth all-time in VCU’s history Saturday
- Baldwin’s 10 assists tied a career-high. It’s the third time he’s recorded double-digit assists in his career and the first time this season
UP NEXT
The Rams hit the road for a matchup against Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia, Pa. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. That game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Community
RVA Beer Explorer: Queens of Pain and Three VD Markets
We took a little break but we’re back, cheers my fellow beer heads.

GO DO THIS
Starr Hill Spirit Night Queens of Pain at Starr Hill
February, 8th
Roller derby is cool and drinking beer while supporting local roller derby is the coolest.
Starr Hill and River City Roller Derby present…. QUEENS OF PAIN.
Join RCRD for an evening at Starr Hill Richmond Beer Hall & Rooftop. $1 from every pint sold between 4pm and 9pm will be donated to the league. Non-alcoholic beverages are available for our sober friends and supporters.
7pm we will showing the documentary Queens of Pain on Starr Hill’s big ole projector.
Since this event is leading up to Valentine’s Day, we will have an opportunity for electronic donations in exchange for a Valentine from your friendly neighborhood derby team
Buzzzzz Market at 2004 Dabney Rd
February, 11th
The event will be showing off local makers of the craft and beer/mead variety. The first description is from Capsoul Collective and obviously focused on the beers they’ll be slinging. The second is from the official event page, linked above.
Pull up with Capsoul THIS Saturday, 2/11, for the re-up only we could provide. We’ll be at the Buzzz Market with @blackheathmeadery from 12p – 5p serving up two new releases.
Imprint 🗿
Dry hopped with a heavy dose of El Dorado, Cashmere and Exp 158, Imprint, our Double IPA boasts impressions of soft stone fruit with a finishing indentation of intense citrus and dank pineapple. The nose is like diced pineapples 👌
Night is Dark 🌌
Drinking as easy as, well, the Night is Dark, this 5.5% dark lager gives impressions of lightly roasted coffee beans with a beautiful milk sweetness, all of this is rounded out by notes of bitter, dark chocolate. Night is Dark finishes very light.
📍Buzzzz Market/ 2004 Dabney Rd
Crafts
Inaugural RVA focused crafters market. Let’s promote our wares in a chill space, with mead for sale during the event.
Vendors include:
Boho Bota – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080906312310
Capsoul Collective
Colin Plouffe – https://instagram.com/plouffe.rva.art
Davideatin – https://www.davideatin.com
Diego Cusano – https://www.facebook.com/theamatista
Down By The Creek LLC – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071838500984
Jayne Heffner – crochet
Jenny Jones – Resting Bear Holistic Solutions
Natasha Crawford – Healing Hope Urban Gardens
Nick Vaughan – https://www.facebook.com/Erraticsmith
Rayna Liddell (Wyld Faebles) – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086255299702
Thomas Glazier – https://www.instagram.com/glazedanddyed/
TJ Krivanec – Woodworking, Furniture, Glass
Tre Artz – https://www.facebook.com/tre.artz

Valentines Weekend Brunch & Market at Triple Crossing (Midlothian)
February, 11th
We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in this house but we do drink beer and eat so we’re down with this event.
On February 11th, 2023, Triple Crossing Midlothian will host another outdoor market, weather permitting, as well as a special Brunch menu.
The market will be from 12p to 4p, with Brunch being served from 11a to 3p.Brunch Menu ⬇️
Sun dried Tomato Frittata with spinach & feta plated with a wild berry parfait, hashbrowns and a biscuit.
Maple Sausage Frittata with cheddar cheese plated with your choice of bacon or sausage, hashbrowns, and a biscuit.
Avocado Toast with everything bagel seasoning & sprouts
Brunch Pizza, egg based, topped with sausage, bacon, caramelized onions and spinach.
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Cinnamon Rolls
Cheer

Valentine’s Day Market at Veil (Forest Hill Ave)
February, 11th
Love and beer are in the air south of the river.
Ooh la la Veil-entines Day is approaching y’all, come out to our Valentine’s Day market February 11th from 12-4pm in Forest Hill.💓
💋 Mimosas will be served, @ytumama.mx will be firing up some 🌮 and the beer will be juicy!😘
💖Shop with these sweet vendors:💞
@nodicevintagerva
@Mon.der_official
@Thecuriofairy
@Fairyhausrva
@Daheim.goods
@_fivesistersboutique_
@sillycowgirlvintage
@shh_secretflowers
@teresa__justis
@candleobject
@kitcolorshow_
@moody___cc
@shannon_studio
@richmondspca
See ya there! 😍

BEER NEWS
It’s nice to get the background on one of the local brew master powerhouses and the creation of Gingerbread Stout
FROM VIRGINIA TECH HOMEBREW TO HARDYWOOD: A CHAT WITH BREWMASTER BRIAN NELSON – RVA Mag
In 2011, I created the RVA IPA using local hops and that recipe went into our Farmhouse Pumpkin beer, which is still a staple today. We then moved on to our base single and experimented with batches that incorporated cocoa, coffee, and vanilla. Suddenly, Bill Cox from Castleman Farms came in with a big bunch of ginger and asked if we could do anything with it. He was trying to find restaurants in Richmond that could use it. This ginger had big green stalks that were four feet tall, and the root has “hands” that were in the ground. It was baby ginger, meaning the translucent flesh was edible without peeling the outer skin. So he presented this to us and we were grinding our gears when Eric McKay came up with this idea, how do we integrate gingerbread? There wasn’t a gingerbread stout out there in the market — it had never been done before and we still consider our gingerbread stout, the original gingerbread stout.
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