Tag: craft breweries

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Culture

Day trip east

For those willing to expand their definition of drinking local, Fine Creek Brewing is one of many destinations that offers enticing beverages outside of Charlottesville. Publicity photo.

The greater Charlottesville area is overflowing with beverage producers who make delicious products. But if you’re up for a scenic drive, there are additional treasures to be found not too far away. In part one of our day-trip series, we head east toward Richmond to taste Virginia-made beer, wine, spirits, and cider. 

Cunningham Creek Winery, in Palmyra, is about a 30-minute drive from Charlottesville. Opened in 2016, the winery features lots of outdoor space, including a deck and picnic tables with umbrellas. Adirondack chairs are spread generously across the property, and there’s a dog park too. The winery’s pooches, Corky and Crush, are the official greeters, and make the rounds to get a look at each new visitor. The wines are high quality and it’s not surprising that the 2017 Meritage and the 2017 Estate Petit Verdot were gold medal winners in the 2020 Virginia Governor’s Cup competition.

Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard in Louisa is another winery worth a visit. Formerly known as Cooper Vineyards, Fifty-Third got a name change in 2015 from new owners Dave and Susan Drillock, who wanted to  reflect the fact that the winery was the fifty-third bonded winery in Virginia back in 1999. The Drillocks have steadily increased the quality of their wine, and winemaker Chelsey Blevins is a rising star. Their bright and high-toned albariño, a variety that is still relatively rare in the state, shows why this grape is generating increasing interest from many area winemakers. 

For beer lovers, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is located on a 290-acre farm in Goochland County. The brewery prides itself on small-batch releases of innovative recipes that feature ingredients that are either grown on their own farm or sourced from other nearby farms. With numerous and frequent new releases, Lickinghole has something for everyone to enjoy. I recommend the Juicy IPA Series, which features a new release every month and is currently on recipe number 25. 

Fine Creek Brewing is just a bit farther away in Powhatan and is similarly a farm brewery that focuses on limited production, small-batch recipes that rotate frequently. With a deck and plenty of outdoor space, the property has 13 small cottages so guests can stay overnight. While Fine Creek offers a handful of cans and bottles for sale, most of the interest is in beers on tap, which can be purchased in growlers to take home. On a recent visit, the Kornøl Norwegian Farmhouse Ale with Juniper was an eye-opener, full of herbal and pine flavors combined with a lingering dry finish. The Helles Lager on tap was an excellent example of this classic and refreshing style that features biscuit flavors and an abrupt and slightly bitter finish. 

Not far from Fine Creek Brewing, Three Crosses Distilling Co. became the first legal distillery in Powhatan County when it was founded approximately three years ago. This is truly small-batch distilling, done with one 250-gallon still and one 150-gallon still. They source as many ingredients as possible from the local area—both the corn for the moonshine and the rye for the whiskey are grown in Powhatan County. With a core list of six spirits, Three Crosses also offers limited releases every few months. One of the current options is Noble Hound Dark Rye Whiskey, which is finished in port barrels following two years of oak-barrel aging. This additional finishing step tames the spicy character of rye and results in a smooth finish. I also recommend the gin, a recipe developed in-house to highlight floral and citrus characters with a subtle juniper flavor.

Cider lovers also have something worth traveling for at Buskey Cider, located in Scott’s Addition on the west edge of Richmond. While this is the farthest destination from C’ville, the high-quality and interesting flavors are worth the trip. Launched in 2016 and using only Virginia-grown apples, Buskey features classic styles as well as more experimental recipes with added flavors. I was the first customer to taste the new Thai Tom Yum cider on tap. The subtle flavors of lemongrass, lime, and ginger, along with a whisper of chili heat, certainly made an impression.

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Living

Thirst ’n howl: Wild Wolf opens second location downtown

Nelson County's Wild Wolf Brewing Company will hold the grand opening of its downtown Charlottesville location on June 2. Photo: courtesy Wild Wolf Brewing Company.

The door, kitchen, and taps are open at Wild Wolf Brewing Company’s downtown location, hard by the railroad tracks on Second Street. The brewery and restaurant’s soft opening in the former Augustiner Hall and Garden space precedes an “official” debut on June 2.

But there’s a hitch: Due to federal regulatory snags, the Wolf can’t yet serve its own beer, a lingering mess caused by the government shutdown (remember that?). One manager said he’d been informed that the ban would be lifted on Independence Day. Oh, the irony. In the meantime, while shiny nano-brewing vats stand idle in the dining room, patrons will have to settle for frothy beverages by Deschutes, Champion, and Three Notch’d, among others.

Chef Chris Jack, formerly of Staunton’s Zynodoa Restaurant, says the Wolf’s Charlottesville menu—as opposed to the one at its flagship, in Nellysford—has been “upscaled” to fit in the mix of culinary offerings nearby on the Downtown Mall. “Out in Nellysford, we do a lot of wood-smoking, but we wanted to try something different here,” he says.

So, while you can still get a corn dog ($6) for your kid, you may also tuck into a Candy Bar Steak ($28), with creamy risotto, carrot and roasted beet purée, heirloom carrots, and orange crème fraiche. A good ol’ cheddar burger will set you back $13.50.

Patrons may sit at outdoor tables shaded by bright red umbrellas (the patio shakes a bit when trains roll by), or duck inside, where the interior is dark, sleek, and industrial, with corrugated steel walls, exposed ductwork and ceiling trusses, and lots of wood surfaces. Four big-screen TVs hang above the U-shaped bar, so this will be a haven for sports fans—and eventually, fans of Wild Wolf’s own beer.

Take two

The smallest restaurant in Charlottesville, The Flat Creperie, has re-opened. Soon after it was offered for sale in a March 22 tweet, Elise Stewart became the third owner since the popular spot first opened in 2005. The menu is suitably short at the charming ivy-covered brick box on Water Street, with four sweet and four savory offerings. We tried the Summer Veggies crepe, a thin doughy wrap stuffed with chopped red pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, olives, tomato, feta, and caramelized onions—a tasty, two-handed meal for $8.

Nibbles

Just in time for the heat wave, Greenberry’s Coffee Co. is offering a line of canned cold-brew coffees. Root 29 is open for business at the DoubleTree by Hilton Charlottesville, with small and large plates served in a glass-walled room with a long bar and a trippy fake fireplace. Early Mountain Vineyards will soon announce the arrival of a new chef to fill the role once held by Ryan Collins, now of Charlottesville’s Little Star. Patisserie Torres, the sublime pastry shop of Serge Torres, formerly of Fleurie, is shuttering after less than a year in business. The boutique Oakhurst Inn (owned by C-VILLE Weekly co-founder Bill Chapman) has revealed the imminent arrival of Oakhurst Hall, an annex with eight guest rooms and—most importantly—the Chateau Lobby Bar, where craft cocktails, light fare, and live music will be on the menu.

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News

Brewery buyout: Big beer company acquires Devils Backbone

Devils Backbone owner Steve Crandall says selling to Anheuser-Busch InBev was a growth strategy, to move from 60,000 barrels produced in 2015 to 150,000 barrels annually. Staff photo

Local craft brewery Devils Backbone announced on social media it was being sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev at 10:35am on April 12. By noon, the court of public opinion had tried and convicted the Nelson County company of selling out.

Brewery ownership was a bunch of “cowards.” They were “greedy,” looking to “cash in,” sold to the highest bidder. Beer folks from Facebook to Twitter to Reddit vowed never to buy another Devils Backbone product. They’d sooner quit drinking beer than support an evil empire bent on crushing craft.

The supporters were slower to come, but they were there. Some said this’ll be a fine thing for Virginia beer. One of our own, they said, has made “the big leagues.” Folks across the country would now get to taste those delicious VA suds.

Local brewers also took their time weighing in. Three Notch’d Brewing Company’s founding brewer Dave Warwick immediately responded to a request for comment—“Here goes…”—but then stepped back. “I need a few,” he said.

In the end, Warwick was measured. “Devils Backbone has gotten to where they are today through successful marketing and smart business decisions but, most importantly, world-class quality beer,” he said. “I wish them the best of luck.”

Devils Backbone owners Steve and Heidi Crandall offered their own side of the story. This was a growth strategy, Steve Crandall says, a way to get from the 60,000 barrels they produced in 2015 to their goal of 150,000 barrels. After failing to get a traditional bank loan and eschewing private banking and private equity, he says the best option was clear.

“We’re one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the country, and you cannot finance new equipment through profitability alone,” he says. “A bunch of groups were interested in buying—we had an offer that was higher, but they didn’t share our vision. Anheuser-Busch are good people. They are not interested in crushing craft. They want to win, but they want to do it in a fair way.”

Devils Backbone brewmaster Jason Oliver, whose beer wins awards at the Great American Beer Festival and beyond year after year, agrees.

“There’s this real us-against-them mentality,” he says. “But I consider myself a brewer first and foremost and a craft brewer second. And so I’ve been a champion of large breweries. People aren’t objective about it. They get emotional.”

Lots of others decided not to comment. Starr Hill, the most widely distributed local brewer and one that many have called an obvious target of big beer, didn’t return several phone calls. A representative of Budweiser declined to go beyond official press statements.

But here’s what we know about some of the behemoth’s business strategies. Through its craft arm, The High End, the company has purchased nine breweries since 2011, according to some estimates paying from $25 million to $70 million each, and has guided them forward in various ways.

Goose Island, the first acquisition, has become a de facto Budweiser craft label. The company’s Honker’s Ale, Goose IPA, 312 Urban Wheat, Summertime, Four Star Pils and Green Line Pale Ale have been scaled up for production at big Bud plants. They’re now available nationwide.

Oregon-based 10 Barrel Brewing, on the other hand, has said it’s been largely left alone to make the beer it’s always made.

In December of last year, when ABI announced it was making another major acquisition, this time of South African Breweries, Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease went before Congress to air what seems to be a consensus among small-brewery owners. Because of ABI’s ownership of beer wholesalers, it can unfairly influence the types of beer chain stores stock. Before letting this monster grow any bigger, Pease said, ABI should be required to divest its stake in wholesalers.

“If ABI is permitted to maintain ownership of wholesalers…ABI will continue to purchase additional independent wholesalers and discontinue sales of competing brands that the independent wholesalers currently sell,” Pease told the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

The South African Breweries purchase is still under review, so what’s next for ABI is unclear. As for Devils Backbone, the company looks a lot more like 10 Barrel in size and scope than Goose Island (10 Barrel is in the process of expanding from about 40,000 barrels a year to 120,000), and Crandall says no new distribution has been planned for the immediate future. But some have suggested the brewery’s popular Vienna Lager would make a great candidate for national sales. With the right quantities and distributorship, it could compete with Yuengling or Boston Beer Company’s Boston Lager.

Crandall says he’s convinced his new parent has its heart in the right place, and that’s evidenced by the fact ABI hasn’t made any changes to management and is committed to allowing Devils Backbone to operate as is for at least the next five years.

“We want to continue to support craft beer in Virginia,” Crandall says. “We are all in this together. It whittles down to what’s in the glass.”

High End President Felipe Szpigel said much the same. Yes, ABI ran an ad during last year’s Super Bowl that mocked craft beer and said Bud was “brewed the hard way.” But that was a brand statement, not the company’s official stance.

“Budweiser has a voice and pride in the quality of the beer,” he says. “It was never the intention to create discomfort or to be aggressive.”

Try convincing the craft beer geeks on the Internet of that.