Author: Hunter Smith

Humulus lupus, the species best known to us as hops, produces effects in beer that we traditionally associate with bitterness. Hops also produce aromas and flavors that are usually associated with earthiness, grassiness, floral characteristics, and a bit of weedy dankness. In the past couple of years, a progressive sect of hop growers has been cross-breeding hops and creating new varieties that produce a whole host of flavors that are not traditionally associated with hops.

Hops are used in beer brewing to add flavor, aroma, and bitterness, and are also known for their stabilizing and preservative effects. The bitterness that hops provide to beer is sourced from the alpha acids that hops contain. These alpha acids are turned into bittering compounds known as iso-acids as a result of adding hops to boiling wort. Wort is how we refer to the unfermented sweet liquid that will become beer. The earlier in the boil hops are added, the more bitterness they will contribute. The later in the boil the hops are added, the more they will contribute to the aroma and flavor of the beer.

Pale ales and their IPA big brothers have been popular offerings from American craft brewers since the early 1990s and are still the most popular today. The hophead craze from a few years ago has dwindled, and customers and brewers alike are more interested in complexity of flavors in lieu of tongue-splitting bitterness for novelty’s sake. This search for new flavors has set the stage for new hop varieties. The primary sources for these hops include Australia, New Zealand, and proprietary growers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

The leading trend with “feature hops,” so named for the distinctive features they provide to beer, is to grow hops that lend distinct fruit flavors that aren’t normally associated with pale ales. Classic hops such as Cascade and Centennial are known for their grapefruit characteristics, but these new varieties have such descriptors as blueberry, peach, gooseberry, boysenberry, and Sauvignon Blanc. Much like anything that strikes hot within craft beer, these hops are highly sought after and very hard to come by. This is also due to the fact that they are generally proprietary, restricted to the growers that own the brand.

At Champion Brewing, we’ve enjoyed working with a few of these varieties, such as Australian Galaxy, and a blend of hops made by HopUnion called Falconer’s Flight. Falconer’s Flight is a blend of three such popular hops: Simcoe, Citra, and Sorachi Ace. Check out the following new hops and some locally available beers in which they’re featured.

Galaxy: This is an Australian hop known to lend aromas of peach and passion fruit. Can be found in Champion Brewing Company’s Ghidorah Belgian Tripel and Devils Backbone’s Tasmanian IPA on tap at our respective breweries.

Mosaic: An American variety known for heavy citrus, stone fruit, and also slight onion/garlic characteristics. Featured in Terrapin Beer Company’s Mosaic Single Hopped Red Rye Ale, available at Beer Run.

Sorachi Ace: This proprietary variety has lemon and dill flavors, and can be found in Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace and the DuClaw X-5 Sorachi Ace IPA, both available at Beer Run and not to be missed.

Nelson Sauvin: A male hop grown in New Zealand, it lends gooseberry flavors and a distinct white wine grape characteristic. It can be found in a number of beers, including New Belgium’s Dig, currently on tap at Brixx: Wood Fired Pizza.

Motueka: This hop is one I’m very excited to work with in the summer months, as it produces lemon, lime, and tropical fruit flavors. It was included in Blue Mountain Brewery’s Red Zeppelin, which went quickly and is sure to return.

Hunter Smith is the president and head brewer at Champion Brewing Company and the manager at Afton Mountain Vineyards.

Most wine drinkers are aware of the 100-point scale, whether they are familiar with Robert Parker and his recently sold Wine Advocate, or simply with the numbers on gold medallions adorning shelves of bottles. Although these numerical shelf-talkers are helpful to a lot of customers when it comes to purchasing decisions, they are often a little too helpful when it comes to the mentality people adopt when developing purchasing preferences.

The scenario we’re discussing is one where someone gets into drinking wine, and goes bargain shopping, using these points to determine “value.” What this customer doesn’t know is that the 95-point bottle they’re considering may be from a spinoff competition that decides to adopt a 100-point scale, and not the esteemed Parker scale. In the other case of a genuine Parker score, these consumers may have no idea that Parker tends to prefer big, jammy, high-alcohol New World wines. If this person’s palate is sensitive to alcohol, or prefers balanced, medium-bodied wines, he may not understand why he doesn’t like a high-rated wine, and may question his own palate. (Which is wrong!)

If this person wanted to learn about his preferences in wine, he could focus on countries, regions, varietals, and other characteristics not related to ambiguous points to determine what he likes. The world of wine is intimidating enough without these statements of quality acting as barriers to learning.

Turn to the other side of the coin in craft beer, and the points system is pretty well established too. Fortunately, these ratings come predominantly from users, and not the man behind the curtain. User review websites such as Beer Advocate and RateBeer drive the majority of beer reviews, and they have the potential to be helpful to inform other drinkers of one’s opinion of a beer. However, a lot of these reviews are full of forced writeups in which a user lists as many descriptives as possible in order to somehow display a deeper knowledge or understanding of beer drinking. It wouldn’t be an issue if someone new to craft beer could easily sniff out the snobs, with their skewed sense of self-efficacy and laughable over-analysis. But because of the abundance of such reviews, it may appear as if being able to write a paragraph each about the appearance, taste, mouthfeel, and aroma of a beer is the only way to understand what one is drinking. This is simply not the case.

This type of analysis will undeniably improve the palate and understanding of a seasoned or even intermediate drinker. In the process, however, it alienates people who are coming into craft beer in the same way that hoity-toity wine writing and scoring intimidates people who just want to enjoy wine. As someone who has worked for years in a winery’s tasting room, nothing is more disappointing to hear than a customer saying, “I don’t know anything about wine.” Says who? At what point was this person told that because they don’t understand the superfluous nuances described in a shelf-talker, that he doesn’t know how to enjoy wine? Although beer has the reputation of being the more everyman beverage of the two, elitism and nose-thumbing in craft beer pose every bit the risk of keeping potential craft drinkers in their macro or “crafty” comfort zones the same way the wine industry has to its entry-level consumers. The last thing anyone in the beer business wants to hear is a customer admitting his or her lack of knowledge preemptively.

It’s unnerving to see scores used as a marketing ploy that could pave the way for corresponding purchasing decisions. The same way that so many new wine drinkers can lose focus on varietal and region, so too could beer consumers when it comes to beer style, ingredients such as hops and malt, or the source brewery. Much of the wine industry’s marketing advice these days is to get away from old standards of analysis, and ask “which one do you like?” The beer industry (and its writers, supporters, and advocates) should learn the lesson of a neighboring industry that is only now learning to stop telling its customers how little they know.

Trust in one’s own palate and a basic understanding of styles and ingredients will go a lot further than flowery prose and a number rating. For all of us, it’s essential that people revere their own judgment first and foremost.

In the second week of February, the head brewer from Breckenridge Brewery in Denver, Colorado, came to brew a collaboration beer with me at Champion Brewing Company. Longtime head brewer and owner Todd Usry showed up at our place on a Tuesday with his nephew, Drew Usry, who is the Breckenridge sales rep in our area. Breckenridge is one of the largest breweries in Colorado and was the third to open in the now brewery-dense beer destination. The brewday was one of the most enjoyable to date, and while the day itself seemed to fly by, the collaboration was nearly a year in the making.

A few years ago, when Richmond ad firm WORK Labs was rebooting its own “WORK Beer” (a product the company had developed in collaboration with RVA’s Main Street Brewery), WORK Labs’ Andy Stites, a friend whom I know from growing up in the Virginia Beach punk scene, approached me, wanting my input on how the company might bring its beloved beer project back to life. I relayed some advice from a distributor friend of mine, and we went back to life as normal without much additional conversation.

Fast forward to early summer 2012, when I’m working full time at Afton Mountain Vineyards and doing the demolition of the former office space that Champion Brewing Company now occupies. I received a call from my friend Brad Perry, and while delivering wine to Stone Soup Books in Waynesboro, I talked about the potential for Champion Brewing Company to make a one-off batch of WORK Beer. Perry, whom I know through the Charlottesville punk scene, was and is currently working at WORK Labs and wanted to see if we could produce it. Breckenridge Brewery had been considered an option in the past as a potential producer, and as I explained that it would be a limited release due to our brewery’s size, the WORK guys thought it might be cool to put us in touch.

Todd, Perry, and I e-mailed about some general planning, and we began to make it come together (which was impressive, considering I had yet to even receive my tanks). Todd mentioned that he had wanted to produce a Dunkel Weisse (a dark-colored German wheat ale) that used “feature” hops [see Beerspeak 101], and never had an opportunity. I thought that sounded cool and we started bouncing off ideas and percentages of types of ingredients.

We settled on using traditional malts and Australian Galaxy hops, which are known for a peach-like aroma. After months of trying to fit it into our respectively tight schedules, we finally decided on the beginning of February. The Usrys arrived in the morning, and after a quick tour of the spot, we jumped into collecting mash water and adding grain. Drew had his first opportunity to work on the production side and was tasked with the rookie job of grainout, shoveling the heavy, wet spent grain into trashcans. Todd shared some advice on best practices, and we talked about growing up in Virginia, what took Todd from Richmond to Colorado, and how we came to be brewers.

In the late afternoon, Todd and Drew had to take off for a family function, and I got to clean and reflect on a really cool opportunity. My assistant Jonathan and I tracked the brew through fermentation and have been keeping Todd and the crew abreast of its progress. It’s now aging and will be released in our taproom and in select spots around Richmond toward the end of March. WORK Beer hopes to continue to connect local brewers with larger brewers in an annual collaboration series.

Beerspeak 101
Feature hops (n.): A new style of hops that lends a specific character to beer, usually fruity.

Try this!
Want a taste of Breckenridge Brewery? Head to Beer Run for a good selection. Hunter recommends the 471 Small Batch IPA, Extra ESB, Vanilla Porter, Oatmeal Stout, or Agave Wheat.

Although it still feels like winter outside, pitchers and catchers will report to Spring Training next week, which indicates the time for baseball fans to start getting excited. With baseball, of course, comes beer, and for many, an increasingly exciting selection.

The rich tradition of beer and baseball began not surprisingly as an effort by big breweries to reach a captive audience of beer drinkers without those drinkers realizing such product placement. The involvement of the Anheuser-Busch brand with the St. Louis Cardinals is well documented in William Knoedelseder’s recent book Bitter Brew, which details the rise and fall of the Busch family and its brands.

Budweiser is the official sponsor of Major League Baseball, with signage in every ballpark. The Rockies play on Coors Field in Denver, and the Brewers play in Miller Park in Milwaukee. Although many traditionally associate ballpark beers with an overpriced, Big Gulp-sized plastic jug of flat beer, more and more stadiums are embracing customers’ demands for craft and local beers. In addition to the fact that consumers are drinking more craft beer, this invasion is also due in part to the fact that many of the great cities with major league teams and ballparks have killer microbreweries to support nearby. I couldn’t believe it when I was at AT&T Park in San Francisco last year and didn’t have to settle for one of the big three. It was hot, and I admit to pounding Hoegaarden in the outfield seats. Let’s match the best ballparks with their local craft brews.

Fenway Park and Harpoon Brewing (Boston): Harpoon, whose most prominent beers are the Harpoon IPA and UFO (its unfiltered wheat beer), is available at legendary Fenway for the cost of only one arm and one leg.

Yankee Stadium and Brooklyn Brewery (New York City): Brand new Yankee Stadium sells several Brooklyn Brewery beers, including the flagship Brooklyn Lager, as well as Brooklyn Brown and the Brooklyn Pennant Ale, which commemorates the 1955 World Series win by the Brooklyn Dodgers, and contributed funds for the statue of Dodgers Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese.

Wrigley Field and Goose Island (Chicago): Chicago’s legendary ballpark is pouring local favorites from Goose Island, including the Belgian-style Matilda. Honker’s Ale, a brown ale, is another Goose Island favorite. With the expansion of California brewery Lagunitas into Chicago and the A-B/InBev purchase of Goose Island, those transplant beers from Lagunitas may become the craft favorites.

AT&T Park and Anchor Brewing (San Francisco): Home of the Giants, this beautiful ballpark on the bay offers Anchor Steam Beer, one of the original craft beers made in the United States. True beer aficionados will enjoy the deep draft list at the Public House entrance, with offerings from Ballast Point, Russian River, the Lost Abbey, and other famous west coast breweries.

Nationals Park/Camden Yards and Flying Dog/Heavy Seas: Our most recent local baseball team is serving up local pints in addition to highlights from phenoms Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Flying Dog and Heavy Seas are breweries in nearby Maryland with offerings on tap. These two breweries are unsurprisingly also served up the road at Camden Yards, home to the original home team, the Baltimore Orioles. Camden Yards is knocking the craft angle out of the park, with a firkin of cask-conditioned beer going on tap regularly through events at the park.

Great craft beers from their respective cities can also be found on tap at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Dodgers Stadium in L.A., Comerica Park in Detroit, and even in the home of the A-B Eagle, Busch Stadium. These beers are also mostly available at Beer Run and Market Street Wineshop locally. As someone who became a Red Sox fan in Boston while living in the literal shadow of Fenway Park, I would still be more than honored to have Champion Brewing Company’s beer featured at Nationals Stadium and Camden Yards, where I attended my first major league ballgame. I certainly won’t judge if there’s something special about a Bud, Coors, or Miller at the ballgame, but for those who take their beer as seriously as their ball club, these craft draft prospects are exciting to watch.

I begin this article at the end of a long, but thoroughly enjoyable brewday. Today was Champion Brewing Company’s first official collaboration brew, between myself and Devils Backbone Head Brewer Jason Oliver. The development of this collaboration is a result of a long and funny e-mail chain that began with an article regarding New York’s Brewery Ommegang’s production of a line of beers named after the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” Jason, ever the dry wit, suggested we produce our own beer named for thrones, based on the movie Dumb and Dumber. Those familiar with the classic Farrelly brothers film will recall the turning point in the plot when (spoiler alert!) Harry goes on a date with the girl of Lloyd’s dreams. Lloyd exacts his revenge in a particularly cruel way, and this was the inspiration for the Chocolate Oatmeal Plum Milk Stout we produced, so named Lloyd’s Revenge.

Our silly concept was a lot of fun to create, but will become a high-test dark beer that we both take very seriously. Working together on a recipe is some of the most enjoyable work I have done to date. The collaborative brewing process reminds me a lot of arranging a song with a band. One person brings an idea to the table, usually with some particular direction in mind. Another chimes in and says, “That’s a cool idea. How about if we do it like this?” The originator responds, “Yeah, I like that, and how about this?” The conversation continues as both people work together to hone the original concept and incorporate the other’s input to achieve the ideal result.

Many brewers, particularly in America, have been taken with the joy of creating beer with another professional brewer, and the craft beer shelves are reflecting that trend. As a beer drinker, few things are more exciting than seeing a beer that two or more of your favorite breweries created together. Seeing something like a Dogfish Head/Stone/Victory collaboration beer was not unlike listening to Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Watch the Throne”—an inevitably great meeting of creative minds (and again, with the thrones). The collaborative options available are increasing in quality and variety at places like Beer Run and the Market Street Wineshops. Here are a few of my favorites:

De Proef and Hair of the Dog’s Flanders Fred: This is a bottle-conditioned Flemish red ale that is barrel aged and has malt sweetness balanced with gentle sour acidity. Those unfamiliar with Flemish reds may first associate their sourness with Balsamic vinegar. Hang in there, because these sometimes-acquired tastes are the favorites of many worldwide.

Sierra Nevada and Russian River’s Brux: This is an awesome example of a “wild” ale, produced by two of the best West Coast breweries, and really two of the best in America. Funky flavors are produced by a bacterium called Brettanomyces bruxellensis. “Brett” is a winemaker’s nightmare, but does some very cool things in beers for those willing to try something new.

Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head’s Life and Limb: This is a very personal beer for the two owners of the respective breweries. The ingredients for this strong dark beer include barley from Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman’s family barley farm, and maple syrup from Dogfish Head owner Sam Caligione’s farm. It’s also great.

New Belgium and Lost Abbey’s Brett Beer: Like the aforementioned Brux, this beer is fermented with Brettanomyces, but it comes through in a much fruitier expression, with less sourness. This collaboration was found in 22 oz. “bombers” and is a pineapple and citrus hops combo. Lost Abbey, like Russian River, is impossible to find here, so when they do collabs that are easy to find, buy them up.

Terrapin and Left Hand’s Peaotch: This colloquially named brew was a 7 percent ABV ale brewed with peaches from Georgia and Colorado, the respective states of the two breweries. It is long gone, but was a summer dream, and no doubt the two breweries enjoyed tasting the differences.

Like many of us normal folk, Thomas Jefferson enjoyed beer with his dinner. Like others of us, Jefferson enjoyed beer enough to learn how to make it himself at home. He was also wise enough to initially learn the art he performed during his brewdays from his literal alewife, Martha Jefferson. His success with brewing was followed by a headfirst plunge into texts on the science of malting, brewing, and fermentation.

It’s hard not to be inspired by the undertakings of homebrewer Jefferson, and his custom-designed brewhouse and cellar at Monticello. A man possessed, Jefferson became the kind of homebrewer few modern brewers could rival by kilning his own malt, a process so precise and laborious that few—if any—commercial brewers do it today. For the unfamiliar, the kilning of malted barley is the largest contributor to final beer color and also contributes significantly to flavor. The process also requires a significant amount of space, which while not exactly a problem at Monticello, speaks nonetheless to the degree to which Jefferson revered his beer.

Jefferson is often referred to as “the first foodie,” and that title can be extended to the local ingredient renaissance as well. Jefferson brewed his beers with malt and hops sourced locally, which no doubt resulted in a distinctly regional beer not unlike those found in Europe. In defense of today’s homebrewer, it was more likely less expensive to source locally back then, which is not the case in the marketplace today. Economies of scale require large volumes of malt and hop production in order to create an affordable wholesale price. This writer and brewer very much looks forward to the day that Virginia malt and hop production meets demand for local brewers, so that we may make Jefferson proud.

Another means in which Jefferson was a brewing pioneer is in the use of adjuncts (see Beerspeak 101), such as corn. Corn and rice are used on a large commercial brewing scale in order to save on cost and produce a higher alcohol percentage. Although these “adjunct beers” are widely regarded today as being of lesser quality, they may in fact be the beverages that first appeared in the now-famous silver Jefferson cups. As someone who has received several as gifts at milestones, I am particularly inspired to learn that these may have first been filled with beer.

Jefferson would also likely be proud of our current President, with whom, politics aside, he shares the joy of homebrewing. President Obama has been celebrated for making and also sharing the recipe for a White House Honey Ale and a White House Honey Porter, both made with honey produced from the first ever beehive on the South Lawn. Given his predilection for local ingredients, brewing, and beer, it’s an easy assumption that Jefferson would be all about this inaugural White House homebrew, and one can only hope that it provides equipment and information sufficient to continue production through presidential terms to come.

It is a genuine pleasure to be a part of an increasingly vibrant beer scene within the viewshed of Monticello, where brewers continue Jefferson’s tradition of brewing with traditional and non-traditional ingredients in the interest of providing the best beer possible for the area. This writer has a hard time envisioning another area where you simply have to look up for inspiration when it comes to brewing quality products for a passionate populace. As it does for so many aspects of daily life, the legacy and history of Jefferson continues to inspire brewers and beer consumers alike: respecting and reflecting history while constantly looking ahead to the next approach.

BEERSPEAK 101
Adjuncts (n.): Unmalted grains (such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat) used in brewing beer. They supplement the main mash ingredients (such as malted barley), often with the intention of cutting costs, but sometimes to create an additional feature, such as better foam retention.

Beer and Thanksgiving. The words conjure fond memories: an uncle asleep in the La-Z-Boy with a pile of cans on the end table; the Lions game on TV; a semi-interested crowd of family gathered around the set, making small talk. Tradition is great, but the days of discarded cans of Coors and sleepy football fans may be drawing nigh. Craft beer has earned its place on the table alongside everyone’s favorite dishes, and it has some history with the richly traditional holiday.

Despite the Puritan convictions of Pilgrim settlers, it is a somewhat-known fact that the Mayflower and her pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock as a result of a shortage of beer. In sea-faring days, beer was (and still is) a safe source of water, due to the fact that it is boiled in the brewing process, driving off microorganisms that can cause sickness, infection, and dreadful off-flavors in the finished beer. Many of the ship’s passengers became sick as the casks ran dry, and although this progression of illness was disconcerting, the decision to land, we’re told, took place when the death toll rose and the scurvy found its way into the captain’s crew.

Given beer’s presence on the Mayflower and its role as a potable water source in those early times, it’s safe to assume that it also had a place on that fabled first Thanksgiving table. In keeping with tradition, it’s time for beer to reclaim its place amongst the spread, enjoyed alongside our favorites, rather than reserving it solely for post-meal pounding.

The cornucopia of the Thanksgiving meal provides an exciting canvas for beer pairing, with a multitude of beer options matching the equally diverse selection of food items. With foods ranging from vegetables, roasted meats, heavy starch sides, and rich desserts, someone like this writer could just as easily fill a grocery cart with beer. With that in mind, here are some options for your Thanksgiving table, all of which are available at Beer Run.

Petrus Aged Pale
This one is a bit of a curveball, so it may seem a strange first pitch, but it’s a great fit for an across-the-table pairing. The curve is that it’s bracingly sour, but its bubbling acidity cuts through the fat and weight of Thanksgiving dishes so well that it could easily replace your dry sparkling wine or cider.

Kasteel Donker
A dark, sweet Belgian ale, this one pairs best with the most unloved part of the table: dark meat. Try this raisiny, effervescent beer alongside a helping of the fattier turkey meat and consider yourself welcome to the darkside.

Allagash White
This refreshing white ale from Maine will do you a great service by providing a well-balanced and easy-drinking taste alongside a gut-busting spread. If you’re looking for a beer to carry you through the meal without getting in the way of flavor while contributing its own, this is for you.

Southern Tier Pumpking
Sometimes you want balance. Other times you want more pie with your pie. This supremely spiced, biscuity pumpkin ale will provide you with a great opportunity for the latter. Alternatives include Schlafly Pumpkin Ale and Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale, if the shelves still have any.

The third annual Top of the Hops Beer Festival took place last Saturday, September 22, and a record crowd descended on the Downtown Mall, packing the walkways and breaking a new record by selling out the Ntelos Wireless Pavilion.

Lines wrapped around the mall, heading east and west trying to get everyone inside the door. Once inside, festival goers were greeted by rollicking blues coming from the stage, as well as craft beers by the dozen served from draft jockeyboxes. In the northern streetside in front of City Hall, there was a Cider Garden, an Import Beer Garden, and a Cask Garden, providing a diverse variety of ciders, Belgian beers, and warmer, less carbonated beers on cask. These gardens provided a lot of interesting commentary to be overheard, as people (perhaps per this blog’s suggestion?) wandered well outside their comfort zones. Monk’s Café, a sour Flemish red ale, provided some of the most colorful feedback.

Four columns of beer vendors branched from the stage toward the lawn, with over 50 different brewery booths providing at least two offerings each. Onstage, VIP ticket holders were treated to special limited-access beers, plentiful seating, and food provided by local sponsor Boylan Heights. This stage setting also made for a good vantage point from which to observe the photo booth, in which ticket holders could receive a complimentary photo of their group.

Additional features included educational sessions provided by Devil’s Backbone and Fifth Season Gardening Company, and food vendors such as Mellow Mushroom and The Lunchbox. On the lawn, a bracket-based cornhole tournament took place, with the winners taking home prizes. The crowd rejoiced when they were informed that tasting would be graciously extended from 7 to 7:30 PM, which was perhaps an olive branch extension after wait times were a little longer than expected. There were lots of choices to enjoy, but some jumped out in particular.

Beer Highlights:

Crabbie’s: An alcoholic ginger-flavored malt beverage, served at the festival on ice with lime wedge. Super refreshing; an absolute hangover assassin.

Brew Ridge Trail Collaboration Black Tripel: Local bias notwithstanding, this was a solid beer with roasty malt flavors and Belgian yeast characteristics.

Goose Island Sofie: Refreshing farmhouse beer with a pleasantly wild side. Light hop bouquet and a quick finish.

Heavy Seas Plank II: Doppelbock aged on poplar and eucalyptus planks, with a distinct malt sweetness and herbaceous flavor profile. Firmly experimental.

 Samuel Adams Octoberfest:  Amber colored and malty without being sticky sweet. A pleasant revisit with an old college friend of mine.

Please let us know what your favorites were below. With the festival selling out completely for the first time, it looks like a safe bet that we’ll continue to enjoy this day full of great beer for years to come!

This Saturday, September 22, the 3rd annual Top of the Hops Festival descends upon the Ntelos Wireless Pavilion, and beer lovers like yours truly rejoice! Dozens of fantastic craft beers from all over the world will be available for tasting, and forecasts show temps in the mid-70s and clear skies. All signs point to a fantastic sunny and beer-soaked day in the ‘Ville. But don’t go without a game plan.

If you’ve been before, you’ve seen the less mindful of the crowd stumbling out and looking a little rough around the edges. Rule #1: Don’t be that guy. Nobody will be impressed with any intoxication that you’ve accomplished in 3 hours of craft beer sampling. Have fun, taste great beer, and keep your dignity.

Now that you know what not to do, here’s what you do. Rule #2: Drink what you are most interested in first. You can pace yourself like a pro, but be sure to taste what you’re most stoked about early on. Not only is there the possibility that your favorite beer will run dry, but also the most crucial thing to consider is that your palette will burn out. It’s not a matter of if, but when. So take the time, look through the guide, seek out your targets, and execute.

Rule #3: Eat. Before, during, and after. Take in a solid late breakfast or lunch before the festival; you don’t want to find yourself surprised by the beer samples or sudden hunger. There are also plenty of great food vendors at the event to keep you full throughout the event. I don’t think you’ll need any encouragement to have dinner afterward.

 Rule #4: Go from light to heavy. While adhering to rule #2, you don’t really want to seek out barleywines, Russian Imperial Stouts, Belgian quads and the like if you expect to appreciate that cider, wheat beer, or Lager soon after. Also, starting with the big beers results in staring in disbelief at your watch when you realize it’s only 5:30.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly: Rule #5: Go by cab or hoof it. Unless you’re with one of the walking angels willing to purchase a DD ticket and drink soda throughout the event, plan to ditch the whip for the day. Even with appropriate pacing, samples add up and you want to be sure to make the smart move.

Two pieces of advice that aren’t necessarily rules: attend the educational events, and get outside of your comfort zone. The educational sessions are a great opportunity to find out about your favorite styles and brewing techniques, and the amount of effort you put into learning about beer is proportionate to the degree of your enjoyment of beer. As for the comfort zone, get out there and try some beers you haven’t even heard of. Avoid stuff you’ve had by the six-pack.  You’ve paid for the variety, and you’ll be rewarded by expanding your horizons.

Meanwhile, at Champion Brewing Company, we are receiving our tanks from California this week! This means we’ll be brewing just across the tracks from the Pavilion in a matter of weeks. I can’t wait to get cracking, and I can’t wait to see everyone at the festival this Saturday. Cheers!