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(From left) CM Bryant, Darryl Puller and Bill Cavender of Brainstorm Brewhouse
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(From left) CM Bryant and Bill Cavender in the shared taproom of Black Heath Meadery and Brainstorm Brewhouse at 1313 Altamont Ave. in Scott’s Addition
The craft beverage community is a small space. If you’re a fan of draft pints or seeking the latest drop, going out to snag a beer can quickly turn into an accidental party, especially if you find yourself at The Answer Brewpub, the watering hole and restaurant attached to Mekong Vietnamese restaurant on West Broad Street. It was at this unofficial headquarters for craft beer aficionados that the owners behind Scott’s Addition’s latest sudsy venture, Brainstorm Brewhouse, planned their collaboration after orbiting each others’ social circles for over a decade.
“It literally was a brainstorming session that [brewer] Darryl [Puller] and I had at the bar at The Answer,” says Black Heath Meadery owner Bill Cavender. “I went up there to buy one of his releases, and we started talking.”
Cavender, Puller and CM Bryant are partnering to focus on small-batch beer releases and will host Brainstorm’s grand opening festivities next month. Currently, there are three Brainstorm Brewhouse offerings on draft inside Black Heath’s funky, beehive-inspired taproom at 1313 Altamont Ave. in Scott’s Addition: Buzz Worthy, a dry honey lager; the crisp Kiss of Chocolate lager; and Psych Eval double IPA.
Previously involved with Capsoul Brewing Collective, Bryant and Puller stepped away from the endeavor in December. Despite the pivot, Bryant, a Richmond native, says, “I still wanted to create a brewery.”
Bryant’s connection to beer dates back to the onset of the craft beer movement. While traveling across the country opening retail stores, Bryant acted as a beer ambassador, packing cans in his suitcase and hosting beer shares with fellow craft beverage lovers he met along the way. As for Puller, Brainstorm’s head brewer, Bryant says, “I knew about his beer before I met him.”
A traveling nurse and lifelong Richmonder who can recall the first sip that got him hooked — the Belgian pale ale Delirium Tremens — Puller has built a name for himself in the local craft beer community. Starting as a home brewer stinking up his garage with hops and yeast, he’s since brewed beers for The Answer (where he also apprenticed with brewer Brandon Tolbert), Ardent Craft Ales and Vasen Brewing Co.; worked as a recipe consultant; and built a reputation for his wicked smooth stouts.
“This setup we have going now, our partnership within Brainstorm, is tight,” Puller says. “I have a great partner, and we’re very congruent on what we want and what we see. Being able to link up with Bill, I don’t know if many people get to start a situation like we are having, with a production facility, a bar in Scott’s Addition to pour beer out of; it’s kind of unheard of. A lot of people are saying it feels like the home bar, like very cozy, just cool atmosphere.”
Approaching a decade of producing honey wine and looking for an opportunity to do something different, Cavender, an avid jam band fan, saw a chance to branch out. When he first debuted his meadery, businesses were unable to hold both a beer and winery license, but that has since changed.
As breweries lean into becoming one-stop imbibing destinations, Cavender says, “That kind of got me thinking of, ‘How can we, nectar of the gods, Black Heath Meadery, better diversify to bring more people into this taproom, and how can I better utilize my space?’
“I had some history and experience with the licensing side, I had a building, [Bryant and Puller] had a vision and were really looking for a place, and I was like, ‘Let’s work this out,’” Cavender continues.
“CM, Darryl and I have been part of the craft community for a decade, probably more like two decades. The whole spirit of collaboration and community and all that stuff, to me, that’s on the macro; we’re kind of now doing it on the micro. I’m hoping that this addition of new products will bring in new faces and offers them a chance to drink some really phenomenal beers, and hopefully the chance to try mead.”
Black Heath is also sharing its production space on Dabney Road, with a handful of shiny three-barrel tanks now inside the warehouse where Brainstorm Brewhouse is set to brew huge stouts, DIPAs, lagers, sours and reimagined classics, dropping new releases about twice a month. In the future, Cavender has plans to transform the current production facility into an event space and lounge.
“This was organic, and we’ve been brainstorming the entire time,” Bryant says. “To keep things interesting, you may have your bangers we will make all the time, but we’re going to do some really cool, unique, fun stuff that allows us all to be creative and continue to have fun with the community.”
Soft-opening hours for Brainstorm Brewhouse are Tuesday to Friday from 4 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m.
