beer

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program.

When I think of a winery that has a vineyard, I don’t picture the usual trappings of a farm. To be sure, a vineyard is not called a grape farm. But if you say “farm brewery,” I absolutely picture the archetypal farm — a silo, a barn and equipment everywhere.

After all, the main ingredient of beer — grains — are field crops.

This brings me to today’s topic, one that has piqued my curiosity as a craft beer lover: farm breweries. Two area breweries operate on the farms that yield most, if not all, their ingredients — Richmond’s Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery and Mt. Airy’s The Red Shedman Farm Brewery & Hop Yard. What these two breweries have in common is a deep connection to the land they work.

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery (LCCB)

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery (LCCB) is known as “Virginia’s Farm Brewery” and opened its doors in September 2013 northwest of Richmond in Goochland. It has continued growing its capabilities and offerings ever since. I first became aware of LCCB in 2013 when they grew a large Instagram following with nothing but photos of their first plantings and the construction of their brewery building. It was clear then that this was a unique brewery.

The brewery and its farm are “water-conscious and biologically friendly.” They use well-water and they reintroduce purified waste water back into the Lickinghole Creek watershed. A main aspect of their mission is to begin with the farm for the ingredients they need, then outsource for those that they cannot get. In fact, the Estate Series was created to use as many LCCB-grown ingredients as possible. While their other beers may not be made from ingredients grown on their own farm, they are often sourced from local farms or providers.

I was only able to get a hold of one LCCB beer for this article, but it was an absolute gem!

Their Estate Series Mango-Habanero Brown Ale is a real treat. The heat from the pepper balances well with the tang of the mango. Behind the fruit and pepper is a hoppy and sweet brown ale that shows the higher ABV (8.5 percent) without tasting too boozy. You can get this, and other Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery beers at Dominion Wine and Beer — they often have growler fills in addition to bottles and cans.

The Red Shedman Farm Brewery & Hop Yard

Opened by Vic Aellen in 2014, The Red Shedman Farm Brewery & Hop Yard sprouted on the farm that houses Linganore Winecellars in Mt. Airy, Md. Vic’s brother, Anthony Aellen, runs Linganore, which was opened in 1971 by his parents Jack and Lucille Aellen. The Red Shedman’s canning operation started in late November, allowing them to self-distribute their brews locally.

In order to obtain a farm brewery license in Maryland, a brewery must grow at least one ingredient that they use. The Red Shedman goes one better by growing barley and hops. Though the barley they grow doesn’t provide enough grain for their beer just yet, they are using farm-grown hops in all their beers.

All of The Red Shedman’s canned beers are available at Georgetown Square’s sister store, Downtown Crown Wine and Beer. The standouts among their solid line up are their Pump House IPA and Vanilla Porter.

Pump House IPA is a West Coast IPA that balances piney hops with a pleasantly sweet maltiness. This beer is mash hopped, which instills a vibrant hop flavor without too much bitterness as the hops are not boiled. The result is a very drinkable IPA, with plenty of flavor.

Their Vanilla Porter is a simple and flavorful beer that is suitable for a light dessert or even with creamy cheeses. The bitterness from the black malt balances the warming vanilla to create a memorable experience. I mentioned in my Instagram post about the Vanilla Porter that this was the best one of its kind that I’ve had. That may have been a bit of hyperbole, but you cannot go wrong with this beer!

Do you have a favorite or new farm brewery that you can share? Or have you tried either of today’s breweries’ offerings? Tell us about them. Cheers!

The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program.

I sat in the cavernous tasting room at Tröegs Brewing Co. pondering the deep golden red of my Nugget Nectar just days after its annual release.

The place was wall-to-wall beer lovers — two men at our table were in town from upstate New York. It occurred to me that this beloved hoppy red ale was a sign that this category of beer (splitting the difference between a pale ale and a brown ale) still has legs. It’s so important to Tröegs that the wall just inside the entrance is decorated with a two-story decal of the Nugget Nectar hop squeezing fist.

In the early days of the American microbrew movement, American brewers used the term “amber” to help beer consumers differentiate this hoppy, reddish ale from paler colored pale ales. Ironically, the earliest amber ales were actually pale ales that matched the darker color of European pales.

American consumers were confused, however, as they expected pale ales to be light in color. The name stuck and became a legitimate category of beer.

The American amber ale is characterized by its balance of moderate to high hop and malt flavors. Typically, amber ales are hoppier (with the piney or citrusy American hops) than brown ales and maltier than American pale ales.

This style has included American red ales, Irish red ales and American versions of the British style, Extra Special Bitters.

More often than not, though, an American amber ale consistently matches the flavor profile above. Below, let’s look some amber ales that run the gamut from the typical, hoppy style to more old-fashioned malt-balanced reds.

Tröegs Brewing Co. Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale (7.5% ABV)

This perennial favorite is a classic example of this style. The hops burst forward in the piney aroma and floral flavor. Malt takes a back seat in this ale, but it’s not overly bitter either. It also lacks the alcohol-derived sweetness of other imperial ales, which makes this a sneaky beer. It’s so drinkable, that you’ll want to be a bit careful with this slightly strong beer. It’s no wonder that this Pennsylvania beer is sought after every year. You can enjoy this anytime.

Apocalypse Beer Works Red Hoppocalypse Imperial Red Ale (8% ABV)

Brewed by the wildly original Virginia brewery, Apocalypse Beer Works, Red Hoppocalypse won the silver medal at the 2014 U.S. Open Championship. I can see why. The aroma of this tasty local beer is a caramel malt that is spiced with hops, very much like a malt-forward imperial IPA. There is a spicy sweetness in the flavor that starts with the sip and continues through after you swallow. The finish is all the more interesting as the black tea-like hop flavor adds a complexity that I wasn’t anticipating. This is one of two of their beers that are currently available in cans, the rest you can only get in kegs.

Terrapin Beer Co. Mosaic Red Rye IPA (6.3%)

Terrapin’s seasonal red is quite the complex beer. On the one hand, it’s an amber, on the other, it’s an IPA — and then there’s the rye. Not to mention the fact that they’ve made it with only Mosaic hops — a newish hop variety that seems to burst with all the major American hop characteristics (floral, piney, citrusy, earthy, tropical fruit and so on). The aroma is on the earthy hop side, masking any maltiness. You really get the complexity of this beer in the flavor: Spicy rye combines with big citrusy hops and a dry malt to create a thoroughly enjoyable beer. These cans won’t be around long, get them while you can.

Three Notch’d Brewing Hydraulion Red Ale (5.3% ABV)

Named after the only fire engine that the University of Virginia’s first fire department owned, Hydraulion is a tribute to Three Notch’d Brewing’s hometown. It’s also like a bit of history itself. Eschewing the hoppy ambers and reds of today, Three Notch’d has made a malt-balanced red ale, truly in the Irish tradition. The addition of the English Golding hops, rather than an American variety means that the hops will be more subtle. Though this beer does not lack hop bitterness altogether, it’s definitely not pronounced. What you get, instead, is a tasty malty brew that is pleasantly offset by a slight hop bitterness around the edges. You can’t go wrong with this 2014 Great American Beer Festival Bronze medal winner for Irish-style ales.

These ambers are now available at Georgetown Square Wine and Beer, but I have a couple more that I have to tell you about.

My first is Laurel, Maryland’s Jailbreak Brewing Co. Infinite Amber Ale, a local amber that nicely walks the line between malt and hops. It’s the very definition of the American Amber Ale. It’s only available on tap — I had it at Georgetown Square’s sister store, Downtown Crown Wine and Beer.

My second must-share amber is New Jersey’s Carton Brewing Co. Red Rye Returning Ale, which combines several American hop varieties with the spiciness of rye to create an immensely quaffable amber that’s full of flavor. I had this at a great little craft beer restaurant in the East Village in New York called Cooper’s Craft and Kitchen. Now, tell me about your favorite ambers. Cheers!

The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program.

At the end of “The Matrix,” Keanu Reaves’ Neo suddenly sees the code in everything he looks at while in the matrix. It’s a transformative experience —-he is the master of his domain.

I felt like Neo when I began to understand the basics of Belgian beer styles. The Belgian section of a store or menu can seem daunting with all the numbers (Rochefort) and color-coded labels (Chimay) and styles (dubbel and tripel). And what’s a quadrupel anyway?

The truth is that many of the Belgian beers that we typically can get fit well into the established styles that I’ll cover. Today, I’m going to introduce, or reintroduce, you to the Belgian strong golden ale, the dubbel, the tripel and the Belgian strong dark ale (sometimes called a quad or quadrupel).

Before I look at the individual styles, I want to mention the common ingredient in most Belgian beers that gives them a character all their own — yeast. Belgian yeast is distinctive, imparting a uniquely fruity flavor that can sometimes seem spicy, like black pepper or clove. When non-Belgian breweries make Belgian-styled beers, they do so with this special yeast.

The large numbers on bottles or bottle caps and colored labels are a handy code devised by brewers as a short hand for their styles. I’ve read that the numbers refer essentially to the ABV of an original recipe, but that current recipes for these styles have different amounts of alcohol. I have also read that they do not refer to anything, but are merely representative for a particular brewery. For instance, Rochefort uses a “6” to denote their dubbel, while Westvleteren uses an “8”. Though unscientific, color and numeric coding can help you choose the right beer when you know what else to look for.

Let’s look at the four categories and the beers that represent them.

Belgian Strong Golden Ale
This beer is light in color, hence the name, with mild bitterness and high effervescence. Though relatively high in alcohol at around 9 percent ABV, these beers don’t taste like it. The original strong golden ale is our example, Duvel.

Duvel (ABV: 8.5 percent)
The aroma is mildly spicy with some citrus evident as you take the first sip. The taste that follows blends the spice with a citrusy bitterness from the small amount of hops that shine through. Overall, it’s no surprise that Duvel is a clean, pleasant beer. If you’re looking to have this with a meal, it pairs well with a wide variety of dishes.

Dubbel Ale
This beer pours a dark brown with fairly high effervescence. Generally, dubbels are malty with a slight sweetness, though not all will exhibit this sweetness. They tend to be slightly high in alcohol hovering around 8 percent ABV, which is not apparent in the flavor. (more…)

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program.

Happy Friday, Arlington!

Let me introduce myself — I’m Garrett. I’m a beer lover, be it craft or import, and a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program. I’ll be writing the beer articles in ARLnow for the folks at Dominion Wine and Beer. I’m on Instagram as CraftHockey, check out my posts for a preview of what I’m going to write about, and more. I can’t wait to share some great beer with you all!

The beers I want to share with you today have two things in common: they are imperial stouts and they were aged in barrels. Either attribute makes them special, but together they transcend your average barrel-aged ale or imperial stout. Let’s step back for a second and learn about what these two things mean.

I used to wonder what it meant for a stout — or any style of beer — to be called “imperial.” Well, in 18th century Russia, the ruling class loved stouts. They were imported from England, but the long trip took a toll on regular stouts. Imperial stouts were developed for export using more hops and malt giving them much higher ABVs so they could stand up to the long journey.

One of the first breweries making this rich beer was Thrale’s Anchor Brewery in London. They were bought in 1781 by Barclay, Perkins & Co. who went on to establish the classic recipe for the imperial stout. Now, we call nearly any beer that has a very high ABV an “imperial.”

Barrel aging, like the “imperial” designation, is something that is saved for only the most special of beers. When the alchemy that is barrel aging works, the result is magical. Wood contains a chemical called lignin, among others, which is absorbed by the beer and converts to vanillin over time — it tastes like it sounds.

Of course, beer was stored and sold from wooden barrels for many years even into the 20th century, but great lengths were taken to ensure that the wood didn’t impart any of its own flavors. According to Randy Mosher, in 1992 Chicago’s Goose Island was one of the first American craft breweries to commercially age beer in bourbon barrels to take advantage of the flavors they can impart.

Let’s look at four barrel-aged imperial stouts that are available now.

Schlafly 2013 Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels (ABV: 10.2%)

Before you even drink this opaque black stout, it’s clear that this has been in aged in wooden barrels. The aroma has the caramelized sugar and woodiness to be expected with a beer in this category. The big pay-off is in the taste, though — its a mixture of molasses from the sip to the aftertaste with a sharp edge from the alcohol. As it warms in the glass, Schlafly Imperial Stout’s molasses grows more complex with the addition of stewed fruit. This stout is a warming treat to sip and savor.

Boulevard Brewing Co. Smokestack Series Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels (ABV: 11%)

This powerful imperial stout fools the nose at first, as it has the aroma of a dry stout. There’s little hint of the barrel-aged goodness in the glass. Once you taste it, though, the wood comes through along with sweet caramel and the tell-tale alcohol bite. I particularly enjoyed this when it warmed up in the glass. Interestingly, this stout poured and feels thinner than most stouts of it’s type, but that is not a negative. Boulevard’s Imperial Stout is a rich gem that is perfect as the days get colder again.

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