Eighty-four small independent breweries from across the commonwealth — 13 that call the Richmond region home and nine making appearances in the first-ever Sours Garden — gathered at IX Art Park in Charlottesville on Aug. 18 to offer samples of a range of beers for thousands of curious and thirsty beer enthusiasts at the seventh annual Virginia Craft Brewers Fest.
One thing is clear: Virginia is embracing the craft beer movement. From the mountains of the Blue Ridge to the D.C. metro area, from Hampton Roads to here in Richmond, craft beer is everywhere. The festival brought to life the range of flavors and stories brewing in the state. We tasted everything from a Tang (yes, the astronauts' beverage of choice) Berliner Weisse from Strangeways to a kettle sour fermented with sauvignon blanc from Petersburg’s Trapezium Brewing, a traditional helles lager named Lil‘ Hellion from Harrisonburg's Brothers Craft Brewing (which won Best in Show), and Ardent's Pilsner, a silver medalist at the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Cup.
Breweries from across the state, including Richmond's Hardywood, showed up at Charlottesville's IX Art Park to share samples with thousands of beer lovers from near and far.
Steam Bell Beer Works is located in Chesterfield, and this brightly colored sample is their Hibiscus Cucumber Gose. Steam Bell won a silver medal at the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Cup with their Tiramisu Stout.
Stone Brewing was at the festival and featured their Fear.Movie.Lions IPA, Anni-Matter DIPA, Tangerine Express IPA and Idolatrous IPA.
Richmond's Strangeways traveled to Charlottesville with a variety of brews including bronze medal-winning Berliner Weisse Uberlin, along with Lucky Charms and a sake lager.
Richmond-based Vasen featured their Smoked Blood Peach Sour in the Sours Garden and brought their flagship Norse Pale Ale and The Tangerine Otter for guests to enjoy.
Fine Creek Brewing opened in Powhatan in May 2017 and brought their Mixed Fermentation Sour Brown Ale to the Sours Garden. The brew is malty, complex and reminiscent of old-world Belgian ales. Aged in red wine barrels for 12 months, the Flanders-style ale is a refreshing balance of funk, fruit and oak.
Richmond's Legend Brewing — the OG brewery — along with Trapezium, out of Petersburg, were at the festival. Trapezium sampled their Lucky 46 New England IPA and Lucky 47 White Ale. Legend sampled their Brown Ale, which was a Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Gold Cup winner, along with the Fairy Crosses Raspberry Saison.
Three Notch'd Brewing and Craft Kitchen is located right next to IX Art Park and brought a variety of beers to sample including their Watermelon Gose and Lush-ious Maple Pecan Brown ale inspired by Lush Cupcakes.
This year was the addition of a variety of food-focused events highlighting the symbiotic and growing relationship between food and beer. During the Beer & Food, A Fun, SIMPLE Approach to pairing Production Manager Rob Mullin of Three Notch’d Brewing Company led an education and interactive class on some tasty snacks to bust out the next time you crack a cold one.
Mountain Culture Kombucha was at the festival, offering a break from the brews with their ginger and blueberry-lemon kombuchas.
At Honor Brewing in Chantilly they make a maple porter and sweet golden ale barbecue sauce using their beers and offer BBQ on site. At the fest Honor BBQ Competition pitmaster Blair Mason broke down what beers to reach for when you want brisket, pulled pork or a smoked rack of ribs during the BBQ Meets Craft Beer demo. At the foundation of Honor Brewing is the mission to respect and honor military veterans and active servicemen and -women.
Former rescue dog Albert captured a lot of attention at the festival.
Blue Ridge Kettle Corn is a family-owned and operated business based in Crozet that makes sweet and salty appearances at festivals, fairs and events across the state.
Lee Graves (right), Virginia beer author, and David Downes (left), owner of Virginia Beer Museum in Front Royal (admission is free), hosted a Virginia beer trivia quiz. Did you know Martha Jefferson was a home brewer back in the day and Virginia went dry three years before Prohibition began?
Oozlefinch Brewing co-founder Russell Tinsley is a former narcotics officer turned brewer who traded his gun for a stainless-steel vat. Located in Hampton and nestled on the grounds of historic Fort Monroe, Oozlefinch celebrates its second beer-versary Sept. 3 and offers a variety of brews, ranging from a tart guanabana Berliner Weisse to a heady double IPA.
Pretzel necklaces have become a go-to accessory at beer festivals. These festival-goers got extra crafty and made a necklace with Ritz crackers, Cheez-Its and Slim Jims to snack on.
The Sours Garden debuted this year; nine breweries — including four from the RVA area: Strangeways, Trapezium, Fine Creek and Vasen — featured beers that make you pucker.
