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| Credit: Cory Smith (aka @bkbeerguy) of GBH. |
I graduated college too early. The Virginia beer scene is currently exploding and I'm not around for it. There were plenty of good breweries in Virginia when I was in school and just discovering craft beer, particularly in Nelson County around the University of Virginia (shout out to Blue Mountain Brewery), but now the craft beer community has exponentially grown in the Commonwealth. Charlottesville added Three Notch'd which my friends consistently praise, IPA-kings Aslin recently opened in Fairfax county, and Richmond has become a haven with The Veil, The Answer, and nearby Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery. Man, I would have had a lot of fun my 4th year of college driving to Richmond for weekly can trips.
Luckily, I've met some good people and traders who satisfy my need for Commonwealth beers. The Veil continuously impresses me and they make several appearances on the list below. I'll eventually make it down to Richmond in the near future, but bi-weekly porch bombs will have to do for now.
Without further ado, my top five (kinda) beers of the week -
T5. The Veil Brewing - BROZ NIGHT OUT.
Damn, that tropical fruit Citra really is nice. Not my favorite Veil beer ever, but a really solid imperial IPA showcasing the power of the Citra hop. Clocking in at a dangerous 9% ABV (considering how well the alcohol is hidden under that juiciness) this was a super tasty beer hopped so intensely it took be to the Upside Down (s/o to Stranger Things and @pizzarrhea for that comment on my instagram below).
T5. Foothills Brewing - Bourbon Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate (2016)
Football season started, which means stout season is rapidly approaching (let's just skip over pumpkin season, okay?) but I couldn't wait to pop open this BASC. Really solid bourbon character in this, a dark chocolate backbone and a super smooth/buttery finish. Coming in at under 10% ABV, I was really pleased with this. I was expecting to be underwhelmed, but I walked away wishing I had another bottle for a cold winter night.
4. Interboro Spirits and Ales - Premiere IPA
Damn! What an introduction from Interboro, a new brewery (and distillery!) that just opened in East Williamsburg from Carton and Other Half Alumnus Jesse Ferguson. Premiere is Interboro's first canned offering and is packed full of citra, mosaic and galaxy hops. Coming in at 6% ABV it has a touch of sweetness and some really nice tropical fruit notes. Reminded me of Julius! Speaking of...
3. Tree House Brewing - King Julius
Ah yes, the King. Super hyped, super hopped, super hazy and juicy. Overall - really, really damn good and wish I had more than 1/4 of a can shared at a tasting. However, I felt it was a bit thin and maybe a touch more sharp than regular Julius (which I would probably rate over this). King JJJuliusss blows this one out of the water from what I remember. Don't get me wrong though - this beer is incredible and Tree House is definitely worthy of the hype, I've never been disappointed by them.
2. Ordinem Eccentrici Coctores (OEC) - Pasca
OEC deserves more hype and accolades. These guys are just pumping out top notch sours weekly. Pasca is a blended (that's what OEC does) sour ale aged in French wine barrels on grape skins meant to imitate the traditional Roman field drink made from sour wine, water and vinegar. This blend was nice and tart, finishing crisply with lots of wine notes and grape must flavor. Not as complex as other "concoctions" I've tried from OEC, but overall a very nice blended sour.
1. The Veil Brewing - PERSONVL SPVCE
Okay, I'll admit it. I'm really partial towards Galaxy hops. When the Veil announced it was released a 100% galaxy hopped imperial IPA, I knew I just had to have it. Personvl Spvce had a lovely aroma once the can popped and was a super smooth imperial IPA. I like galaxy because of the light but not too aggressive tropical juiciness it provides (unlike a citra or mosaic) and it's balanced bitterness. This is probably my second favorite beer The Veil has ever done (behind Step Step Dad Dad and slightly ahead of Daddy's Home, Step Dad Chaperone and MMSS).
Just missed: Trillium Double Dry Hopped Fort Point Pale Ale. To be honest, I probably should have included this fantastic beer on my list, but I wanted to keep it to new beers I had this week. I've had DDH FPPA before, and it blew my mind - super hazy, incredible mouthfeel and just straight orange juice. I had it again this week, but really enjoyed Personvl Spvce more which I had directly afterwards.
Other beers that missed include Toppling Goliath Sosus, a soft 100% mosaic imperial IPA, King Sue, an incredible Citra imperial IPA (but I had an older bottle, so it was a touch malty), and The Veil's Toof Toof Ache Ache (a bit too much citrus juice for me!).
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