Long Weekend Getaway

We recently escaped the daily routine around the house for an extended weekend in the southern reaches of Virginia. We found a small cabin rental near Galax, Virginia, located next to a charming stream. The cabin sat at the end of a long, gravel single lane road. Peaceful seclusion at its finest.

One of the first things we noticed upon arrival was that the fire pit by the stream was already stacked with kindling with a pile of firewood left nearby. It was the perfect place to relax after a long day of driving. The Crowned Heads La Coalición provided the perfect accompaniment to a cool glass of Legend Brown Ale. 

On the second afternoon of the trip we made an extended visit to a local craft brewery, Creek Bottom Brewing Company. We had a great time enjoying great food and beer, so expect a review of this brewery in a future post. Returning to the cabin, we once again retreated to the stream side fire pit. This time I lit a cigar I have been looking forward to with much excitement.

Crowned Heads Le Carême Belicosos Finos LE 2021 is a limited edition of the wonderful La Carême. La Carême is one of my "keep on hand" stick, if possible. I say "if possible" because the cigar has been unavailable for a while, in any vitola. The Belicosos Finos Limited Edition was last released in 2019. After seeing an availability announcement, I was fortunate enough to get in a pre-order for a box of the 2021 release. The cigars arrived a few weeks ago and I brought one along to enjoy on the trip. It's a great stick and I look forward to enjoying the rest of the box, over time.

We did a little sightseeing during the trip but spent most of our days hanging out at the cabin. The view and the sounds of the water, and the many birds flitting about were quite enjoyable. We even spied a mature bald eagle sitting over the stream. The early morning dew added to the mystique and beauty. 

It wasn't all time by the fire. The deck on the house offered a nice view, which at one point included a point of Guinness Stout and an Oliva NUb Maduro on a sunny afternoon. 

The Shot Tower State Park provided a brief respite from the drive on the trip home. The 75 foot tower was visible from the highway and we saw it on the drive down, so vowed to check it out. There appeared to be a nice walk along the New River adjacent to the park, which was noted for further exploration on a future visit.

The five day getaway was a most welcome break. While much of the time was spent reading or just sitting around, it was devoid of chores, and despite reasonable internet connectivity, no work-related interruptions. It wasn't until we started planning possible excursions for 2021 that I realized how little time off I'd taken in 2020. Hopefully, we'll make up for that in the coming year.

Another Trip Around the Sun

A year ago I celebrated my first "Chinese Virus" birthday. In what would quickly evolve into a political agenda, we were just beginning the "two weeks to flatten the curve." This past weekend, a full year later, another birthday has come and gone, with little change in how we marked the occasion.

The day started with Holy Mass, after which Colleen prepared our usual Sunday bacon and eggs breakfast. Our dinner plans were for an assortment of smoked meats from a local BBQ place. Picking up our to-go order mid-afternoon, we stopped by the Starbucks to claim my free birthday froufrou coffee. Those errands complete, as we did last year, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the fire pit.

I had loaded up fire pit earlier in the day, so it was a simple matter of lighting the kindling. We enjoyed the coffee while the fire progressed. About the time the coffee was consumed, the fire was going strong and I broke out the beer and a cigar.

I selected a Padrón Black No. 200 Natural to enjoy for this afternoon celebration. This particular stick was a limited release included in the 2020 Cigar Rights of America variety pack. The tobaccos used in the 5½ x 56 Robusto Gordo are undisclosed. The wrapper is dull brown and on the dry side. The draw was extremely loose, with copious smoke production. The predominant flavors are dark chocolate, espresso, and a robust level of spice and black pepper. When I made the comment that I wasn't expecting the level of pepper, Colleen remarked that she could smell it in the smoke. The cigar burned well, even when I left it to run inside the house. The wrapper began blowing up heading into the last third, though I suspect that may have been caused by setting the cigar down several times on the edge of the fire pit while tending to the fire. It continued to smoke well until the final splitting near the end at the under two inch point.

Our beer selection for the day was Legend Brown Ale. This English Brown Ale is, in my opinion, an easily overlooked ale. It's the Legend Brewing beer most often seen on draft around here, but I pass it by due to its ubiquitous nature. However, I recently picked up a six-pack and, again, questioned why I don't enjoy it more often. The brown ale features a malt and nut aroma. Mildly sweet caramel, molasses, nuts and some roasted malt come out in the sipping. The finish is short and clean. It's an easy sipper and at a moderate 6% ABV, just right for an afternoon of relaxation. The slight sweetness of the beer offset the robust spiciness in the cigar.

The cigar finished, we headed inside for an early dinner. The smoked pulled pork, brisket, ribs, and chicken, along with sides of green beans, coleslaw, and potato salad made for a fitting feast. And we still have leftovers for a meal later in the week!

My was hunger satiated, but I was still in the mood for more relaxation by the fire. The sun would be up for a couple more hours, though by this time I did need a jacket. I returned outside, stirred the coals and added more wood. Soon I had a suitable fire going again and lit another cigar.

The second smoke was the Black Label Trading Company Bishops Blend. This 2020 limited release was one of my favorites from 2020. As noted in previous posts, this cigar is features an Ecuador Maduro wrapper, an Ecuador Habano binder, and a mix of Nicaraguan, Connecticut broadleaf, and Pennsylvania broadleaf filler tobaccos. The smoke is full bodied with flavors of coffee, cocoa, and some interesting dark fruit notes. Sadly, I have but a single stick left. I typically don't hoard cigars, even limited releases, but I may hold the last one for another special occasion.

We're low key people, so the low key celebration was most pleasant. I do look forward to the day when our personal freedoms are not arbitrarily limited by politicians seeking to exert control and push a political agenda under the guise of "health and safety."

Date Day Part 2 - Strangeways and Legend Breweries

After we finished up a fun-filled hour at the range, Colleen and I headed over to our next planned stop, Strangeways Brewing. We don't get down to Richmond often, and this place has been on my "need to do" list for sometime. Strangeways has 36 beers on tap, so deciding where to start was an issue. The friendly bartender suggested we start with the "Nucleus Flight" consisting of six of the brewery's core beers.

The beers on the flight are Albino Monkey White Ale, Woodbooger Belgian Style Brown Ale, GWAR Blood Red Ale, Phantasmic Belgian IPA, Hop Howler, and Überlin Berliner Weisse. We enjoyed the entire flight. Interestingly, Colleen and I were in agreement in picking Albino Monkey, Woodbooger, and Phantasmic as our favorites, but it was quite difficult to actually rank the six beers in order of preference.

The 3.5 ounce servings were enough for us to share but not so big that we couldn't try out more beers. So after the flight we grabbed a bag of tortilla chips and some salsa from the cooler, and tried a couple more 5.5 ounce tasters.

Colleen selected the Tirami'zu Brew Rum Barrel Aged Porter. This porter is brewed with coffee, cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and aged for 3 months in rum barrels. How could one go wrong with that? The beer did justice to its namesake with flavors of rum, chocolate and coffee. The mouthfeel was thick and creamy. My next selection was Legalize It Come Togther Hoppy Wheat Ale. The juicy citrus hops were joined by a nice wheat flavor that for a unique flavor profile.

The beers at Strangeways are as unique as their names. As we prepared to leave for our next stop, I still was curious about a few other beers on the list. One that had been tempting me the whole time was Virginia Stingo Red Wine Barrel-Aged English Strong Ale. At 10% ABV, I couldn't add it to my tasting list, but the bartender offered me a small taste. The Old Ale was aged for nine months in oak barrels that previously held red wine. And what a fantastic flavor that created! Boozy, with lots of dark fruit with caramel sweetness. In retrospect, I should have brought a bottle home.

After Strangeways, our original plans were to grab a quick bite to eat and head home. However, we decided to get food, and more beer, at another area mainstay, Legend Brewing Company.

We opted for a couple of starter plates for an early dinner; the Munich platter with Bratwurst, Kielbasa or and Andouille, (we upgraded to all three) a soft pretzel, sauerkraut, havarti cheese and spicy mustard, and the Smoked Salmon platter with honey smoked salmon, avocado, roasted red pepper, Fuji apple, dill cream cheese and grilled pita. The two plates contained more than enough tasty food for us to share.

As for the beer, I had a Golden IPA and Colleen enjoyed the seasonal Winter White. Both beers were fine accompaniments to the food, over which we lingered for quite a while. We also enjoyed a sample of the just released Ütebier. This struck me as a cross between an American Pale Ale and a very crisp Pilsener. It was an interesting flavor, and one I might seek out in a bottle locally.

Believe it or not, after all the food and beer enjoyed in the long day, we debated a bit about the next stop in our adventure. We'd already made it a longer day than planned, but as noted, we don't make it down to Richmond all that often and debated extending the road trip. In the end, we opted to start the long drive home, vowing we'd be back soon.

Legend Winter White

I picked this one up last week to serve to some friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so much, I decided to kick off my holiday vacation this week with a glass of Legend Brewing's winter seasonal. Even though it's not my typical style preference, it was a good choice for some late evening relaxing.

Legend Brewing Winter White "Belgian Style Ale" pours a cloudy amber-orange color with a thin white head. The aroma contains hints of pepper, banana, bread, and a bit of yeast "funk." It's a pleasant but not overpowering combination.

The flavor is what is expected in a Witbier. There's a tingly carbonation that releases flavors of white pepper, lemon zest, banana and a touch of bread. Some subtle spice and citrus lingers in the end. The mouthfeel is moderately thick and leaves a sticky finish.

Legend is Virginia's oldest production craft brewery, established in 1994. I don't think they get as much attention as some of the newer craft breweries  —only their Brown Ale shows up with any regularity on local taps. The Winter White is enjoyable, though not complexly flavored beer  At just 5% ABV, it's refreshing and easy to sip. I can see keeping it on the list for our next holiday gathering.

Virginia Named A Top Beer Destination

Confirming what the followers of these Musings already knew, wise people that you are, the Travel Channel has listed Virginia as one of the top 7 beer destinations in North America.

Virginia's Lagers and Ales 

The entire state of Virginia is so obsessed with its beer culture, it is officially naming the month of August "Virginia Craft Brew Month." Virginia has more than 40 breweries, a 25% increase in the past 2 years alone. Head to Roseland, VA, to the popular Devils Backbone Brewing Company, home to the annual Virginia Craft Beer Fest, and Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, VA, the state's first countryside brewery, hop farm and tasting room. Central Virginia’s oldest and largest microbrewery, Legend Brewery, provides true premium beers to many local restaurants and is one of the few craft breweries in the entire region to produce both lagers and ales. While you're in town, check out the Richmond, VA, skyline from the brewery’s outdoor deck, one of the best places for the view!

Congratulations to Virginia's craft breweries. See "Top 7 Beer Destinations" for the complete list.

More information on Virginia Craft Beer Month here.

Cidery Coming To Richmond

Richmond BizSense is reporting on a new cidery planned for Richmond, VA.

A Richmond cider startup hopes to open this fall and join the blossoming “drink local” movement. 

Entrepreneur Courtney Mailey will open Blue Bee Cider in Manchester, joining a rapidly expanding fermented cider market. She said Blue Bee would be Richmond’s first cidery — or at least the first in a long while. 

“I’ll be the first since colonial days. I believe William Byrd had a pretty substantial cider operation,” Mailey said.

The first product, due out this fall, is an apple juice. By next spring, Blue Bee Cider plans two cider varieties, followed by a cider fortified with brandy in about a year.

The cidery is under construction in a building across the street from Legend Brewing Company. That should make for some fun road trips.

See "Cider startup builds buzz" for more information and some pictures of the site under renovation.

You can track Blue Bee's progress on Twitter and Facebook.

Local Breweries Make Good Showing at USBTC

The Winter session of the United States Beer Tasting Championship was completed recently. In the USBTC competition the beers are judged in regional field trials. The regional winners in each category then move on to a national judging to determine the Grand Champions.

In the Mid-Atlantic regional trials several Virginia breweries made good showings.

Barleywine: Grand Illumination, Williamsburg AleWerks, Williamsburg, VA
Porter: Legend Porter, Legend Brewing Company, Richmond, VA
Porter Honorable Mention: Washington’s Porter, Williamsburg AleWerks, Williamsburg, VA
Brown Ale Honorable Mention: Tavern Ale, Williamsburg AleWerks, Williamsburg, VA
Spice/Smoke Beer: Smoke-Out Rauch Beer, Starr Hill Brewing Company, Crozet, VA

Our friends in Maryland did well also.

Strong/Old Ale: Winter Storm, Clipper City Brewing, Baltimore, MD
Imperial Porter: Gonzo Imperial Porter, Flying Dog, Frederick, MD

Two of these regional winners went on to be named Grand Champions in their categories. Williamsburg AleWerks Grand Illumination won the Barleywine category. In the Imperial Porter category, Flying Gonzo Imperial Porter came out on top.

Congratulations to all the winners! I was happy to several old favorites in the winner's circle. Be sure to check out the complete results here to see how your favorite breweries did in the competition.

Odds & Ends From Around Virginia

Beernews.org let us know that Old Dominion Brewery will release their popular Dominion Millennium Ale in February. When asked about the possibility of a release party, Casey Hollingsworth, VP of Sales and Marketing for Coastal Brewing told Beernews.org "that there is the possibility of release events taking place at the two Old Dominion Brew Houses (DC Convention Center and College Park)." Last year Millennium did not make it to Fredericksburg, and I had to look northward for a supply. Perhaps with the recent distribution improvements for Old Dominion beers I'll be able to buy Millennium locally this year.

First Tracks Online Ski Magazine has a report on Wintergreen Hibernator Doppelbock. This is a new beer brewed by Blue Mountain Brewery specially for the Wintergreen Ski Resort. Wintergreen is a popular tourist attraction so it's good to see craft beer promoted there. According to the brewery's website Wintergreen Hibernator is also available on draft at the brewpub.

The online version of the Roanoke Times has an article on a new brewpub in Blacksburg, VA. Bull & Bones Brewhaus and Grill opened to the public on January 1. The 10,000 square foot restaurant features a 100-foot granite-topped bar. The brewpub will feature seven house brews, as well as three macro-beers. The owners say they hope to "eventually win skeptical customers over to their handcrafted brews." Amen to that.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on expansion plans at Legend Brewery. The Richmond brewery plans to add a bottling line, fermenters, and storage tanks. The plans also call for making Legend beers available in 6-packs of 12 ounce bottles. The brewery hopes to expand its distribution range as well.

Legend Oktoberfest

I brought home another locally brewed Oktoberfest beer yesterday to enjoy with dinner. This time it was the Oktoberfest from Richmond's Legend Brewery. Legend Oktoberfest pours a deep, reddish-copper color. An easy pour creates a thick, creamy, beige, and very long-lasting head. The aroma is mild and malty, with faint caramel notes. The flavor consists mainly of the expected, slightly sweet malt. There are also hints of caramel and a light roastiness. Some hop bitterness is also detectable. The mouthfeel is smooth with little noticeable carbonation. The finish is clean and slightly bitter with a short lived sweet malt aftertaste.

We enjoyed the Oktoberfest with a somewhat decadent 4-meat pizza topped with sausage, bacon, pepperoni, and canadian bacon. The slight roasted flavor and bitterness of the beer matched the meat flavors well and the clean finish allowed the food flavors to be enjoyed. I found the Legend Oktoberfest to be an easy drinking and enjoyable beer. I have another bottle of this beer in the refrigerator and look forward to opening it soon. To compare this one to the Blue & Gray Oktoberfest we had recently, I found the Blue & Gray beer to have a bolder flavor profile, which I personally preferred. Of course, your mileage (and tastes) may vary.

The Session #12: Barleywine

This month's session is hosted by Jon at The Brew Site. The chosen theme is Barleywine, alternately written as Barley Wine. A substyle of Strong Ales, the style is divided into English and American versions. The American versions typically have a more assertive hop character. English versions are usually more suitable candidates for long-term aging, and many aficionados actively search out vintage bottles. Interestingly, in the U.S. Barleywines are labeled Barleywine Style Ale. The appellation simply alerting the consumer that barleywines are high in ABV like wines, but are indeed beers. An example of our government regulators hard at work protecting the American consumer by making matters more confusing.

Sticking with a local theme, I selected the 2007 Barleywine from Legend Brewing in Richmond, VA. A couple of other Legend beers were reviewed previously. The brewer used a London ale yeast strain and English hop varieties; Fuggles and then Goldings for dry hopping. The Legend web site notes that the barleywine is aged for 6 months before release.

Legend Barleywine pours an attractive chestnut-brown color with a thin head. The head soon drops but leaves a persistent ring and minimal lacing. A complex aroma of caramel, raisons, and plums meets the nose. As the beer warms light alcohol aromas are released. The bottle I had is from the late 2007 bottling and is labeled 11.5% ABV. The taste of this barleywine lives up to the clues offered by the aroma. A sweet caramel maltiness, along with dark fruits like figs and plums are detected. There's a substantial, though not over-powering hoppiness as well. The mouthfeel is smooth with a light carbonation. This barleywine leans towards the English style rather than the more aggressively hopped Amerian style. Legend brewer John Wampler writes that the beer is "Probably a hybrid the way it turned out, leaning toward the English." However you choose to classify it (if you must), this is a very nice drink and we'll surely visit this local offering again.

We paired the Legend Barleywine with a banana split dessert made with a warm barleywine sauce. The recipe was taken from the chocolate chapter of our well-worn copy of The Best of American Beer & Food by Lucy Saunders. Barleywine, dark brown sugar, chopped almonds and butter are simmered into a smooth sauce. The barleywine sauce was poured over bananas which were in turn topped with butter-pecan ice cream. The dish was then topped with Colleens world-famous chocolate hardening sauce. The almonds and the dark fruit flavors of the barleywine blended very well and the dessert complimented our drinks quite nicely.

That's it for this month's session. It was fun to plan out a special evening treat around an enjoyable, if not somewhat decadent, beer and food combination. Be sure to check out The Brew Site for a summary of this month's Session.

Update: Jon has posted the Session summary here.

Two Legend Beers, Two Football Games

By coincidence, I ended up having beers from the Legend Brewing Company in Richmond, VA with both football games I watched this weekend. On Saturday it was the Patriots - Giants game at a friend's house. I had recently given my buddy Frank a bottle of Legend Pale Ale and he shared it last night. It was one of the beers we enjoyed as the Patriots broke numerous NFL records. Legend Pale Ale pours a clear copper-orange color with a thick head. There’s a pleasing citrus hop aroma. The aroma has hints of peaches and other fruits. The taste is clean with a nice citrus hop tang. The aftertaste has some piney hops, along with a good malt balance. This is a refreshing and pleasing APA. I had never tried this one before but would not hesitate to have it again.

Today my family watched the Washington Redskins dominate the Dallas Cowboys with a 27-6 win. I had also picked up a bottle of Legend Brown Ale when I picked up the aforementioned Pale Ale. Colleen and I decided to enjoy the Brown Ale with some Brie and Wensleydale cheeses as the game started. The Brown Ale is said to be Legend's most popular beer. This English Brown Ale pours a reddish-brown color with an off-white short lived head. The aroma is caramel malt with a bit of brown sugar. The caramel malt taste is what you would expect from a brown ale. There are caramel malts along with some light roasted malts. Some citrus hops come through at the end, followed with a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. This is decent English brown ale, and typical of the style.

Both games saw favorable outcomes for our favored teams. The two beers from an old Virginia brewery added to the enjoyment.