From left: Hardywood founders Patrick Murtaugh and Eric McKay, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore, and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe at the Hardywood West Creek soft opening in February (Photo by Jay Paul)
Once upon a time, there was one brewery in Richmond. One. It seems a long time ago, but in fact it was only seven years ago.
Then, thanks to Senate Bill 604, which allowed breweries to serve and offer samples of beer made on site without having to serve food, came the explosion. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to make craft beer. Beer became hot, became trendy, and as more and more breweries opened, the city’s profile as a culinary town (not coincidentally, we think) began to rise.
Going to a brewery became not just a chance to sample new flavors, but — as anyone who has wandered into The Veil or Ardent on a weekend afternoon knows — a chance to crash a party, a totally happening party.
“Is this sustainable?” many asked, wondering whether expansion was outstripping demand.
We may be about to find out.
Seven years after the advent of the craft brewing age, it appears the city has entered a new phase in its evolution as a beer town — Hardywood West Creek.
Located 20 minutes from downtown on 24 acres of countrified terrain just across the Goochland County border, Hardywood West Creek represents a dramatic departure from brewery building in this city. At first glance, the facility would seem to have more in common with a winery and a tasting room than a brewery.
Photo by Jay Paul
At the top of Sanctuary Trail Drive — a street both named and built for the facility — the massive, slant-roofed structure stands tall against the open sky. The building overlooks Tuckahoe Creek and a vast expanse of protected land. Inside, natural light pours from floor-to-ceiling picture windows. The bar, doors and furniture are all made from oak and maple trees felled on the property.
But Hardywood West Creek departs from the script in more than just these cosmetic ways. The facility, according to owners Patrick Murtaugh and Eric McKay, is more than just a place to create and serve beer. It is also an “entertainment venue,” and the partners make no apologies about having created a kind of hop-laden multiplex.
Part of this attempt to entertain the public is to make the process of brewing itself — which, in an earlier, mechanistic age no one cared to see — a show. The taproom is within view of the brewhouse, the fermentation hall and testing labs. All brewing will be done out in the open.
But it’s those features of the property that have nothing to do with beer that prove that Murtaugh and McKay have always known that a brewery is a gathering place. The fire pit and bocce court. The rocking chairs on the deck for enjoying the view. The amphitheater and balcony (the grand-opening weekend is April 6-8).
McKay acknowledges that the new complex is, in large part, a response to competition. When he and Murtaugh opened Hardywood, in 2011, there were 40 breweries in Virginia and one in Richmond. Today, there are 200 in the state and 30 in Richmond alone.
He says he worries that “the number of openings has outpaced the increase in demand for locally made craft beer,” but at the same time, the scene shows no signs of flagging. “There’s so much interesting, unique and good-quality beer, and … it’s exciting to see this city becoming a place where people are traveling from out of state, and even across the ocean, to come and visit,” McKay adds.
Explaining the decision to open Hardywood West Creek, he says the city is also becoming a place where, in order to stay relevant, breweries must keep reinventing themselves and doing more.
Bart Watson, chief economist at the Brewers Association, notes that in an increasingly glutted market, it is imperative for craft breweries around the country to unearth and develop niche markets if they intend to remain viable.
One of the best (if most expensive) ways to do that is to conceive of the brewery as a multifunction entertainment complex, as Hardywood has done. In a recent survey conducted by the Brewers Association, 64 percent of respondents said going to a brewery has become an event all its own, differentiating itself from bar and restaurant visits. According to Watson, “demand has grown for integrating beverage alcohol in more experiential occasions (including festivals, brewery visits and outdoors activities).”
Though Hardywood West Creek represents a brash and seemingly unorthodox attempt to grow and retain an audience, McKay and Murtaugh insist that, in one way, it is a return to their roots. Their first attempts at brewing beer were not here, in the city, but at McKay’s parents’ house in the countryside of Connecticut.
Reminiscing about those days, Murtaugh rhapsodized about “that escape from the city … brewing on Eric’s back porch overlooking a lake — that was the feeling we wanted.”
When they were first shown the proposed land, Murtaugh says they were overwhelmed by the view. “In the summer, it’s amazing … all the flowers and greenery. All you see is trees. We had this sense of” — he pauses, awestruck — “sort of everything we had imagined.”
Whether the public can imagine it, too — whether going out to a brewery for the day will become like spending the day at a winery — only time will tell.
But there can be little doubt that the beer wars are, officially, on.
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