Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 10: DoG Street Pub and Wild Wolf Alpha Ale

www.dogstreetpub.com/

On this pleasant, summer Friday evening in the WBGVA (Williamsburg, VA) my wife Becky and I decided to head out to one of our favorite watering holes, The DOG Street Pub.  The pub gets its name from its location, on the Duke of Gloucester (DoG) Street in downtown Williamsburg.  A newcomer to the craft beer scene on the Peninsula, DoG Street Pub has quickly established itself as a premier location for enjoying both unique, hard to find beers and local favorites.  Its also a very pet friendly establishment, and since we planned on sitting outside, we allowed our special four legged friend, Kylie, to tag along.  I've always felt that one's company and surroundings can make any beer taste so much better.  Sitting outside on a nice mild summer eve, with great company on this evening, definitely enhanced the experience. 

 www.wildwolfbeer.com

Tonight's Virginia crafted brew was an Alpha Dog Pale Ale, from Wild Wolf Brewing Company.  Located along Virginia's Brew Ridge Trail, Wild Wolf is one of three craft breweries (Blue Mountain and Devil's Backbone being the other two) located along Virginia State Route 151.  Stylistically, Alpha Ale probably falls in between an American Pale Ale and and American IPA.  But since seemingly all IPA's now run around 7% ABV, at a measly 6% I guess that makes Alpha Dog an APA.  The beer featured a pronounced citrusy hop character, typical of all American made hop-forward beers.  At $5.50 for an Imperial (20oz) pint, it was a great value. 

Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 9: Blue Mountain Barrel House Mandolin

 Blue Mountain Barrel House Mandolin (Nelson County, Virginia)
www.bluemountainbrewery.com
www.bluemountainbarrel.com
Style:  (Barrel Aged) Tripel?  Saison/Bier de Garde?  Website is a bit ambiguous
ABV:  9%

Aroma: 
Straight away I get a candy-like fruit on the nose.  Not pear or apple, like alot of other tripels, but more plum like.  Also get a good bit of vanilla, and maybe a hint of caramel.  Can pick up the bourbon, but it doesn't overpower.  Don't really detect much in the way of phenols.

Appearance:
Copper/orange in color, more like a saison/biere de garde than a tripel.  Slightly off white, 2.5 finger, pillowy head. 

Flavor:
Malty and caramel sweetness.  Fair amount of fruity esters, reminiscent of ripe plums.  Balanced with just enough oaky vanilla and bourbon notes. 

Mouthfeel:
Medium-full bodied.  Its a sweet beer, but not cloyingly so.  Medium carbonation and well balanced.

Mandolin is a contemplative beer full of many intricacies.  Its body, alcohol strength, and level of sweetness would suggest Mandolin is a tripel.  Its coppery orange color and caramel sweet notes are more reminiscent of a Biere de Garde.  Regardless, it is an enjoyable brew. 





Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 8: Alewerks Coffeehouse Stout

Alewerks Coffeehouse Stout (Williamsburg, Virginia)
www.alewerks.com
Style:  Milk Stout with Coffee
ABV:  5.4%

Aroma:  Roasty, with wonderful coffee and chocolate notes.  I am unable to pick up any hop aroma

Appearance:  No light can penetrate this beer, its as black as they come.  Pours a nice, creamy, 1.5" tan head that slowly retreats to the edges of the beer. 

Flavor:  Pleasant, somewhat subdued roasty character.  Really nice, smooth coffee flavor, not at all astringent or harsh.  Hop bitterness is just enough to lend balance.  The lactose helps give the beer a pronounced sweetness

Mouthfeel:  Full bodied and very rich.   

Coffeehouse Stout is a winter seasonal for Alewerks.  I have spoken with Alewerks head brewer Geoff Logan in the past about using coffee, and he says the trick to avoiding that harsh, astringent, and overly bitter coffee flavors is to cold brew the coffee.  Its bigger, bourbon barrel aged brother, Cafe Royale, is much ballyhooed.  And rightly so.  But don't sleep on this one.  Its a wonderful sipper in it's own right. 

Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 7: VA Beer on the cheap at The Greenleafe

Its always a great day to enjoy a nice Virginia crafted beer, but Tuesdays in Williamsburg make it even easier on the wallet.  After an arduous day at work, we decided to head to downtown Williamsburg to the Greenleafe Cafe.  Located adjacent to the College of William and Mary campus, the downtown Greenleafe has been offering craft beer for as long as I can remember.  On this evening, the Greenleafe was offering, the following Virginia beers at $1 a pint and $4 a pitcher:

O'Connor Brewing Irish Stout (Norfolk, VA)
Starr Hill Northern Lights IPA (Crozet, VA)
Starr Hill The Love Hefeweizen
St. George Summer Ale (Hampton, VA)
St. George English IPA
Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale (Brewed by St. George in Hampton, VA)
Legend Lager (Richmond, VA)
Legend Brown Ale

On this evening I enjoyed a Hop Pocket, The Love, and a Northern Lights.  Though it carries the Tupper's label, Hop Pocket is actually brewed by St. George Brewing in Hampton.  Its a kind of "tweener" beer, somewhere between an American Pale Ale and IPA with a birght American hop character.  The Love is Starr Hill's interpretation of a German hefeweizen, and it deliver's big time banana and wheat flavors.  Starr Hill's Northern Lights IPA is definitely brewed in the American IPA style, and feature's an abundance of citrusy hop flavor and aroma. 

www.greenleafe.com/

Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 6: Legend Hefeweizen

This evenings post is just some quick tasting notes.  I will be sure and do a more thorough Legend Brewing post in the coming days and weeks.

Legend Hefeweizen (Richmond, Virginia)
www.legendbrewing.com/
Style:  Hefeweizen
ABV:  5.1%

Aroma:
Fairly restrained banana esters on the nose, for a hefeweizen.  I do pick up some grainy, wheaty malt character.  Also detect slight citrus (lemon) notes.

Appearance:
Light golden in color, barely a one finger head, and very cloudy.  This is an unfiltered wheat beer, served "mit hefe" (with yeast)

Flavor:
The typical banana esters and clove-like phenolics that define the style are noticeable, but not overpowering.  Like in the aroma, lemony citrus notes also evident in the flavor. 

Mouthfeel:
Pretty light bodied with a nice, smooth finish. 


Overall, a pretty respectable offering.  I like the balanced banana/clove character, unlike alot of other American craft brewed hefeweizens which tend to be banana bombs.  I do wish the beer had a bit more body.  To me, the best hefeweizens feature a nice soft pillowy white head and a nice chewy malt body. 

Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 5: St. George Brewing Summer Ale

St. George Summer Ale (Hampton, Virginia)
www.stgeorgebrewingco.com/
Style:  English Pale Ale
ABV:  5%


Aroma:
Definite English inspired hop aroma; earthy, slight notes of lemon pepper.  Also detect pleasant, malty, grainy notes

Appearance:
Pours a crystal clear, golden color, with a solid 1", creamy white head that lingers and leaves a nice lace

Flavor:
Slight biscuit malt character balanced by a nice crisp bitterness.  Solid earthy hop flavor on the finish.  Its crispness reminds me of a nice Kolsch, minus the signature pilsner malt sweetness and noble hops.

Mouthfeel:
Medium bodied and well carbonated.  Finishes with a nice crisp sharpness on the palate.

St. George considers  this a “Summer style” English Pale Ale, and I think that is an apt description.  A bit lighter in color and malt character than a more standard English Pale, Summer Ale does exhibit the same bright hoppiness.   It’s certainly a refreshing beverage, and one of my favorite offerings from St. George Brewing Company.  Located in Hampton, near NASA/Langley, St. George offers a range of beers, especially focusing on the English and German brewing traditions.  They are one of the oldest craft breweries in the state, and definitely worth a visit if you are in the Hampton Roads area.

Virginia Craft Beer Month Day 4: "Down Under" Pale Ale Homebrew Project and O'Connor Brewing at Harbor Park

*Note: Due to a very busy day, this posting is for Saturday, August 4th.  Sorry its a day late. 

In recent years, Australian and New Zealand hop growers have been producing a multitude of new hop varieties.  These new hops often exhibit unique flavor and aroma characteristics, and American craft and homebrewers have begun to take notice.  Varieties like Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy in particular have drawn commercial interest.  However, there are many other less utilized hops, of which less is known.  In order to get a better handle on the flavor and aroma properties of these newer hop varieties, a little experimenting was necessary.

A busy Saturday began bright and early with a trip to my friend Eric's house, where a couple of other homebrewing buddies and I brewed up 35 gallons of Pale Ale. What made the brew day unique was that the 35 Zealand. The hops used in our "Down Under" experiment were: Kohatu, Motueka, Pacifica, Rakau, Stella, and Topaz.

While one occasion it is nice to brew alone, I also really enjoy brewing with others.  Not only does it afford the opportunity to share and discuss homebrews and commercial beers, I have found that every time I brew with others I end up learning something new.  The brew day went smoothly, and I intend to post some tasting notes in a month or two when the beers are ready to enjoy. 

To culminate an enjoyable brew session, the family and I travelled down to Norfolk, Virginia for an evening at the ballpark and a Norfolk Tides baseball game.  For a long time, ballparks have been a veritable craft beer wasteland, and Harbor Park was no exception.  In recent years, however, craft beer options (albeit limited) are starting to become available.  Located on the first base side of the main concourse at Harbor Park is a draft beer stand featuring two beers from Norfolk’s own O’Connor Brewing Company. 

The Green Can Ale is a refreshing golden ale.  Gold in color, light in bitterness, and at about 5% ABV, Green Can is what I like to call an “entry level” craft beer.  On a hot, sticky day game afternoon, or in the early innings of a night game when the sun is still beating down, the Green Can Ale is my “go-to” thirst quencher. 

As the sun sets, however, I am usually looking for something with a bit more robust flavor, so I turn to the Norfolk Canyon Pale Ale.  Orange to light amber in color, the Norfolk Canyon features a floral and citrusy hop aroma, with a firm malt backbone.  At 5.5% ABV, it’s a solid American Pale Ale.

http://oconnorbrewing.com/