Outer Banks Brewing Station

What's a vacation in the Outer Banks without a stop at the Outer Banks Brewing Station? At least for us, it's a required stop. This trip we opted to avoid the usual dinner crowds and stopped in for a late lunch. Four beers were listed on the beer menu; Ölsch (a Kölsch), LemonGrass Wheat Ale, Intergalactic IPA, and Captain's Porter. Our party all opted for our usual favorite styles; the IPA for me, Colleen ordered the Wheat, and our travel companion, Checkered Flag, chose the Ölsch.

IPA, Wheat, Kölsch

The Intergalactic IPA was a cloudy, but attractive orange color with a moderate white head. Keeping with the space theme, and paraphrasing Darth Vader, "the hops are strong with this one." The aroma is full of grapefruit citrus. The taste follows suit with grapefruit, orange and a hint of lemon zest. The finish brings about some grassy bitterness. This is a slightly out of balance, bold, and tasty beer. I spent a lot of time swirling and sniffing the hoppy aromas while savoring my pint.

I grabbed a couple sips of Colleen's LemonGrass Wheat Ale. The aroma is earthy with notes of lemon and pepper. The flavor is that of a hefewiezen with banana and yeast. The lemongrass adds a bit of a zestiness, along with some mild peppery notes. Quite refreshing, and served without a fruit slice thankfully.

The Ölsch has always been on the menu during our visits in the past to the Brewing Station, but I've never ordered it. Towards the end of our meal I realized I hadn't gotten a taste of the Ölsch. I stole a sip and found it to have a nice flavor of sweet, grainy malt. A surprisingly bitter finish comes up in the end. Next time I'll try to do a more complete, um, review of this one.

I enjoyed the pub's "Bratwich" for lunch. The grilled Bratwursts are from the Weeping Radish Butchery, and served with sautéed onions, peppers, sauerkraut and creamy mustard on a hoagie roll. It was quite a tasty accompaniment to the IPA. I would have enjoyed another pint of the Intergalactic IPA, but there was a beach to get to!

Fredericksburg Brewfest

Mark your calendars! October 19 is the date of the Fredericksburg Brewfest and Homebrew Contest. The event will be held at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds.

Join us for an amazing day of music, food and craft beer! The gates open at 11AM so come early and stay late to enjoy all the day has to offer! 

We will have craft brewers from all over the region sampling some of their award winning beers. They will be pouring some of your favorites as well as a sneak peek in to what will be on tap for 2014. 

The Fredericksburg Brewfest Homebrew Cup will be awarded in late afternoon where certified beer judges will crown the best “Homebrew” entered in the competition. 

For those of you who enjoy a glass of wine or whiskey, we will also have a select number of Virginia Wineries and Distilleries sampling their award winning beverages as well. 

Live bands will be on stage throughout the day with fan favorite, TBA, taking the stage at 4PM to close out the evening. 

Bring your friends, family and join us for Fredericksburg’s premier BEER event!

See fredbrewfest.com for details and to purchase advance tickets.

Crab Cakes and IPAs

We headed over to Red Drum Tap House for dinner one evening while in the Outer Banks. I like this stop as they have a decent selection of North Carolina beers AND a seafood menu. Upon entering I noticed one of the specials was a Crab Cake platter, so my main course selection was made before I sat down. Now to get down to the beer selection.

I opted to start out with Hoppyum IPA from Foothills Brewing Company. We were starting our meal with the spicy Taphouse Wings, and I figured the hoppy beer should be a good match for the spicy appetizer. I could tell right away from the strong citrus aroma that I had made a good choice. The flavor was bitter and resinous, and full of citrus juiciness. Quite frankly, it was my kind of beer. And indeed, it was a good foil to the spicy hot wings.

I finished my glass of beer about the time the main course arrived. I decided to go with Freedom IPA by Natty Greene's Brewing Company to accompany the crab cakes. Another bold American-style IPA, this beer was noticeably different than the previous beer. The citrusy hops were balanced by a hint of sweetness. The sweet malt mitigated the citrus, but did not hide it. My crab cakes were accompanied by a Aioli sauce and the beer made a nice pairing with the garlicky and tart sauce. I enjoyed both of the IPAs very much. They each went especially well with the accompanying foods.

Red Drum is decorated with a lot breweriana. The bar also has a mixed and varied glassware collection, and it's interesting to see what brewery's logo accompanies the beer, such as this National Bohemian glass from a previous trip. This visit, my Hoppyum IPA was served in a thick-walled Dos Equis glass. The Natty Greene's beer came in the usual shaker pint, but with a Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale logo. No glass snobs here, drinking a beer at Red Drum, with its eclectic glass collection, reminds me of drinking at my own home.

Endless River Kölsch

If I'm not tracking down Maryland beers in North Caroline, I try to stick with local beers when visiting. Another new to me beer I tried out during our trip was Endless River Kölsch, from Mother Earth Brewing.

Endless River Kölsh-style Ale pours a clear straw-yellow color with a brilliant, pure white head. As with my Red Sky At Night I lost some of the foam to the strong winds blowing off the ocean. Despite the windy venue, I was still able to pick up the yeast and grain aromas of the beer. The flavor was light with a grainy, toasted bread flavor. There was a buttery biscuit aspect to the taste. The creamy mouthfeel leads into a dry finish, with a very mild bitterness left behind.

I enjoyed my glass of Endless River Kölsch, with some pita chips and humus. The salty chips complimented the flavors of the beer quite well. The moderately low 4.9% ABV made for a refreshing early afternoon beachfront snack.

Red Sky At Night

Nope, not a post about a picturesque sunset. I'm talking about the tasty Saison from Baltimore's Heavy Seas Brewing. Red Sky At Night is a favorite of ours, but one that's been an elusive libation. Last year the brewer was only able to brew a limited quantity, and none of it seemed to make it to Fredericksburg. I knew the beer was back this year, but again, never saw it locally.

Since I knew we'd be traveling to the Outer Banks for vacation, I held out hope that Chip's would have some. A couple years ago I found some other Heavy Seas beers there that I couldn't get locally. (Now as then, I consider this a failure of our local distributor, not the brewery.) Entering Chip's I immediately scanned the shelves and, sure enough, spied 2 six packs of Red Sky. Colleen grabbed one and asked at the counter if we could get a case. The answer was there's two sixers left in the cooler, and two left on the shelf. That's all that was left, so we grabbed what was left.

Back at the beach house that afternoon, we cracked a few open to enjoy before dinner. The beer is as we remembered. It presents a pleasing Belgian yeast and sweet banana fruitiness, in combination with some wheat in the background. There's a bit of mild white pepper in the finish. This is an enjoyable beer with a light mouthfeel.

Taking the accompanying photograph turned in to an adventure, but one that was quite apropos. As soon as I finished pouring my beer, a gust of wind came off the ocean, scattering the foam from my glass into the wind. Three times the bottle blew off the deck railing before I snapped the picture. Despite my desire to drink this "stormy" beer outside, I was quickly forced to retreat indoors.

Wall of Beer

A feast for the eyes.

Vacation.

Chip's Beer & Wine.

Questions?

O'Connor El Guapo IPA

O'Connor Brewing Company is located in Norfolk, VA but their beers haven't made it up our way yet. When I spied their display at a Tidewater grocery store, the El Guapo IPA was an impulse purchase. I've not had any beers from the brewery previously and figured the IPA would make a good end of day treat.

The beer pours a bright and clear copper red with a thick, persistent head. There's a sweet caramel and floral aroma. I found the flavor to favor the sweet malt, with the pine and citrus hops bringing up the rear. The finish is clean and bitter. El Guapo has a "juicy" aspect to it. I'm guessing it's the agave nectar used in the brewing. It reminded me of the mouthfeel of some fresh hopped beers, though less imposing.

I enjoyed my glass while relaxing late one evening after a long drive to the beach. Although I was not eating anything, I had the thought it would be great paired with some fish tacos heaped with fresh pico de gallo. Must be the Blue Agave nectar speaking.

Guns & Coffee

We travelled alongside this guy on our way to the beach last week. I'll bet his car gets photographed a lot. (By friend and foe.)

For you nanny-state types, relax, my passenger took the photo.