| What started as a downtown Charlottesville,
Va., brewpub in 1999 and evolved into a Crozet, Va., microbrewery
several years later has now taken the ultimate step. Winner
of 11 GABF medals over the past eight years, Starr Hill Brewery
has joined the big league. Its “products have been added
to Anheuser-Busch’s select list of craft beers offered
through its world-class distribution network,” as announced
in an A-B press release. According to multiple sources, Starr
Hill will concentrate on statewide distribution of its bottled
and kegged product during 2008. Within three years, the Eastern
Seaboard, sans Florida, is on tap with nationwide availability
on a five- to 10-year timetable. Brewmaster Mark Thompson explained
his ambitions to Charlottesville’s Daily Progress: “We
want to be the next Sierra Nevada.”
Richbrau Brewing Company has been in operation since 1994.
Beginning as an assistant in 2000, Mike Banks has been head
brewer for the Richmond, Va., brewpub since April 2002. Working
with an “upside-down” 14-barrel brewery spread
over three floors, Banks keeps three year-round brews on tap
and rotates 20 special and seasonal recipes on the other four
handles. The historic Shockoe Slip facility is massive, featuring
four bars (with 10 pool tables and a Friday/Saturday night
dance club) and two restaurants. Along with growlers-to-go,
Banks hand-bottles for on-premise sales. The three main Richbrau
beers — Griffin Golden Ale, Old Nick Pale Ale and Big
Nasty Porter — are also available in area stores and
bars. For the cold months of 2008, look for the strong brown
Winter Warmer, March Madness, kölsch-like Alley Oop,
Alt and St. Patrick’s dry stout.
| Now Smack is on his own — in a big, big way —
with Blue Mountain Brewery & Hop Farm. |
After graduating from the Siebel Institute, Taylor Smack
remained in the Chicago area for a yearlong apprenticeship
at Goose Island. He later worked as head brewer for two area
brewpubs before heading home to Virginia for a six-year stay
at Charlottesville brewpub South Street. Now Smack is on his
own — in a big, big way. Blue Mountain Brewery &
Hop Farm sits on four acres of prime property in the Blue
Ridge Mountains, right in the middle of the state’s
finest wine country.
Built from the ground up in Afton — “from hayfield
to hops farm, restaurant and brewery” — the micro
attracts wine tourists with its three hop fields (mostly Cascades)
and “slightly bigger beers” made from deep well
water. Full Nelson is a strong pale ale made with nothing
but homegrown hops. Also available on draft and in bottles
are Rockfish Wheat (a Bavarian-style kristal), Lights Out
Holiday Ale (traditional old ale) and Blue Mountain Lager
(continental style). Something he picked up from his time
at Goose Island: Smack also offers Dark Hollow Artisanal Ale,
which spends 100 days on wood, as a bottle-conditioned bourbon
imperial stout. He and wife Mandi are expecting their first
child this summer.
David Gonzalez returned to work full time in early December.
The Rock Bottom brewmaster has fully recovered from hernia
surgery and is as feisty as ever, introducing the seasonal
Winter’s Nip Porter to his loyal Charlotte, N.C., patrons,
followed quickly by Pedro’s Peppercorn Porter, the same
brew infused with whole peppercorns in the cask, and then
Vanilla Bean Porter. There may be a little of Gonzalez’s
8.5% abv Weizenbock still on tap, but you’d better hurry.
While out on medical leave, he penned an article, “Brew
U,” for Outlaw Biker, a “raunchy biker mag.”
Wilmington, N.C., has a new contract brewery. Founded by
homebrewer John Olson in late 2007, Wolf Beer Company already
has several outlets in the Raleigh area. He describes White
Wolf, the company’s first product, as a “golden
ale, rich with light to medium body and sweet character.”
Olson already has plans for Lock Timberwolf, a nut brown ale,
to be brewed by Paul Philippon and staff at The Duck-Rabbit
Craft Brewery in rural Farmville, N.C.
Andrew Cubbin is celebrating the grand reopening of his Appalachian
Craft Brewery. After rushing to have beer available for September’s
Brewgrass Festival in Asheville, N.C., the one-man operation
“pushed things back” and has only recently settled
into business mode. Though acquiring hops has been problematic,
the Fletcher, N.C., micro is presently distributing kegs of
Copperhead Amber and Black Bear Stout in three western North
Carolina markets. Working with a six-barrel brewhouse, Appalachian
Craft Brewery’s goal is growth.
Mississippi’s first and only microbrewery has entered
the mechanically challenging world of bottling. Although bottling
is typically a brewer’s biggest headache, Lazy Magnolia
Brewing seems to have had few problems in processing its first
bottling of award-winning Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale. Owner/brewster
Leslie Henderson said the company’s next bottled beer
will be chosen by its fans via Web site feedback. Founded
in Kiln, Miss., in 2004 by native Mississippians Mark and
Leslie Henderson, Lazy Magnolia has expanded distribution
beyond the state line into Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Striving to reach its goal of becoming “the great Southern
brewery,” Lazy Magnolia will expand its reach into several
new markets in 2008.
Orlando Brewing released its seasonal Winter Fest Doppelbock
just in time for Christmas and the company’s annual
New Year’s Eve bash. Coincidently, Brewmaster Ed Canty
commissioned his new 25-barrel brewhouse. The release of the
strong (15–20% abv) Anisocria, available on draft at
the brewery pub in eight-ounce cordial glasses and in a limited
bottled edition, punctuated the micro’s holiday season.
Brews in Brief
• Winston-Salem, N.C.’s Foothills Brewing introduced
a new English-style robust People’s Porter. •
Boscos President Jerry Feinstone was honored by the Tennessee
Restaurant Association as the 2007 Restaurateur of the Year.
• Financially challenged Avado Brands sold 83 of its
Don Pablo’s Mexican restaurants and Hops Grillhouse
& Brewery restaurants. Several other Hops facilities were
sold separately from this deal. • Just before Thanksgiving,
French Broad Brewing of Asheville released its first bottles
ever. According to Head Brewer Drew Barton, Wee Heavy-est
is a “kicked-up Belgian version of the popular Wee Heavy-er.”
• Abita Brewing of Covington, La., is expanding, with
new offices and warehouse space as well as additional brewing
capacity. New tanks should be installed by spring, bringing
the 22-year-old micro’s capacity to 170,000 barrels.
The nation’s 32nd-largest brewery, Abita sold in excess
of 62,000 barrels in 2007. • South Carolina has a new
distributor specializing in craft beers. Jeff LeVine founded
Carolina Craft Distributing with quality in mind. Working
with a climate-controlled warehouse and refrigerated trucks,
the company prides itself on in-store promotions. According
to LeVine, Carolina Craft Distributing is “the first
true micro-beer distributor in the state of South Carolina.”
• According to the Fayetteville, N.C., Observer, eight-year-old
Huske Hardware closed suddenly “amid legal issues surrounding
its owners.” • After only a brief run, Georgia’s
Old Savannah Brewing also closed unexpectedly. |
