Roanoke Railhouse Brewery

I began my recent weekend in Roanoke, VA, with a stop at the Roanoke Railhouse Brewery. The brewery opens their tap room on Friday and Saturday afternoons, so I planned my travel to arrive in town early enough on Friday to enjoy a pint or two of the brewery's beers. As my GPS announced "You have arrived at your destination," I looked around and saw no brewery. Around the block I went, catching sight of the brewery sign as I passed by a second time. The brewery occupies space in an auto tire and service garage. I found street parking nearby and made my way to the marked entrance.

Even as I walked in the door, I had my doubts if I was in the right place. It appeared I was a car repair shop. I backed out the door to double check that I had read the sign correctly. Yea, this should be the place. I heard the sounds of people talking, so I followed the path marked out by ropes and cardboard boxes, winding my way through a corridor towards the back.

Finally I arrived in the brewery area, and found a large crowd surrounding the small serving area. It took me about 10 minutes to work my way to the front of the crowd and order a beer. I learned that the brewery serves $2 drafts for one hour on Friday, which explained the crowd. After "happy hour" the crowd was smaller, although there was a continuous stream of folks coming through. The visitors appeared equally divided between first timers, and the regular fans of the brewery.

Four beers were available the day of my visit; Track 1 Amber Lager, Switch Monkey Belgian Ale, Castle's Irish Red, and a seasonal Red Belgian. The Castle's Irish Red appeared to be the most popular, so I opted to start with that. This beer is one the brewery brewed under contract for a local establishment. I was told that business closed after the last batch of beer had been brewed, and that there were no plans to brew the beer again. The Irish Ale was a reddish bronze color with a faint malt aroma. The flavor was malty with a roasted, nutty bitterness in the finish.

I next opted to try the "seasonal Red Belgian." This beer was described as a "happy accident." It seems the brewer was working on a batch of Switch Monkey and mistakenly used caramel malt, creating a darker version of Belgian Ale. Many folks were enjoying it so I figured I'd give it a shot. The beer was a light brown color with what seemed to me, to be a funky, off-putting aroma. There was mild maltiness to the beer, but not much else to arouse my taste buds. Taste is subjective, and although I opted to leave the beer unfinished, I saw many folks ordering refills of pints and growlers. I was running out of time, and ordered another pint of the enjoyable Irish Red.

I typically don't order sample trays when visiting a new brewery. I don't find that the small samples and multiple flavors provide a good opportunity to enjoy to beers. In retrospect, that's a rule I will ignore when I next visit Roanoke Railhouse. A tasting flight here consists of four, 9 ounce samples; 36 ounces of beer for just $6.00. That's a lot of bang for the buck!

I had been most interested trying the brewery's Railhouse IPA, but it was not available at the time of my visit. However, the hotel where I was staying had quite an impressive craft beer menu, which included the IPA. I ordered a glass with my dinner later that evening. Railhouse IPA pours a dark amber color with minimal head and carbonation. The aroma is earthy with some pine and citrus notes. The flavor is fairly reserved, with a base of bready malts and some pine and grassy hop notes. I noted a hint of butterscotch and a toasted background. The overall flavor was balanced, and gave little hint of the reported 7% ABV.

I enjoyed my visit to Roanoke Railhouse Brewery and was struck by the number of fans visiting this small, hidden shop. I look forward to trying a few more of their selections in the future. I may not have to wait for a return trip to Roanoke either; the brewery will be expanding its distribution state-wide soon.

A Hotel Beer Surprise

I was attending a convention in a Roanoke, VA hotel this past weekend. Although I did stop at the Roanoke Railhouse Brewery before checking in, I expected to see little else in the form of craft beer during the course of the weekend. Imagine my surprise, and delight, when I discovered this menu at the hotel restaurant:

Click to embiggen

That's 19 honest to goodness craft beers! While they did also serve the usual array of factory beers, the place actually printed a special craft beer menu. Sadly, the hotel-catered events I attended as part of the convention weekend, did not feature any of the above mentioned beers. However despite a busy weekend of meetings and other events, I did manage a couple of visits to the house pub for a good beer, or two three.

A Poor Milestone for Craft Beer

I stopped for gas Friday afternoon and as I was filling the tank I glanced down and saw this:

A New Belgian Brewing bottle cap, lying in the parking lot of the local gas and convenience store. It's hardly uncommon to see factory beer trash lying around, but I've often noted the lack of craft beer litter. Unfortunately it seems even the litterbugs have discovered good beer. Seriously folks, the trash can was two feet away.

Change of Plans: Fordham Wisteria Wheat

I had tentatively planned to hit the range after work earlier this week, but that trip was sidelined by a surprise late afternoon teleconference. (I need to reexamine that whole "Arrive early - Leave early" routine; the former works, the latter seems to fail frequently.) So it was time for plan B, let's taste another new beer.

Not long ago I received a few bottles of Fordham Brewery Wisteria Wheat from the brewery. I was happy they generously sent three bottles so I could share. I'm not a big Hefeweizen fan, but Colleen and "Checkered Flag" definitely are, so I appreciated their impressions too.

At Colleen's request we dusted off the tall Hefeweizen glasses, even though they hold much more than 12 ounces. It took a hard pour to build up a moderate head over an unfiltered, hazy orange beer. The foam was not persistent and dropped rapidly. The expected mix of banana and light spices came through in the aroma. The flavor followed suit with a strong sweet banana and yeast flavor. A hint of tartness comes through at the end. The finish is dry and very clean. Very little aftertaste is left behind on the palate. A moderate carbonation, mild flavor and just 5.1% ABV, made for a refreshing pre-dinner drink.

My tasting companions said they enjoyed the Wisteria Wheat very much. "Checkered Flag" pointed out that he finished his glass before the rest of us. That's not the usual order of drinking speed around here. However, given that wheat beer was one of our friend's gateway beers, that's not surprising.

I was still disappointed to miss out on shooting, however the fun of trying out a new beer with the same folks I hoped to have been shooting with was certainly an acceptable alternative.

Note: This beer was provided by Fordham Brewery. It is through my own free will that I consumed and reviewed it. No compensation was received for this review.

Run n' Gun

Not exactly USPSA.  

Flying Dog Single Hop Citra IPA

Another entry in the Flying Dog Single Hop series, this Imperial IPA is brewed to showcase the Citra hop. When the sample from the brewery arrived last week, I knew based on the name alone, that my citrus-loving palate was in for a treat.

Flying Dog Single Hop Imperial IPA with Citra pours a clear yellow-orange. The bright white head appeared quickly, and persisted as a thin layer during whole length of my drink (which admittedly was not an extended period of time.) I was immediately struck by the strong aroma of grapefruit-like citrus. Upon taking the first sip, that grapefruit juice impression was reenforced with a tingling in my sinuses. "Wow," I exclaimed, "this is interesting."

That initial citrus hit moderated as the beer warmed. After a short time in the glass, the sweet malt started coming through in both the aroma and flavor. The beer took on more of the malty aspects of a Double IPA. It was then that the warmth of the 10% ABV made itself known in the taste as well. The finish was clean and citrusy, but balanced with a hint of sweetness; like a bit of sugar on your morning grapefruit half. 

I've enjoyed all of the Flying Dog Single Hop beers I've tried. This Citra-based one might just be my favorite so far, although I admit that impression could be influenced by it being the most recent. BTW, if you're a home brewer, the Citra Single Hop IPA is the featured beer for the May “Stove Toppers” homebrew kit from Flying Dog.

Note: Flying Dog sent me an unsolicited bottle of this beer. It is through my own free will that I consumed and reviewed it. No compensation was received for this review.

Hitler Reacts to Gun Control Failure

I imagine this is how Boomberg reacted when he realized that some U.S. Senators have actually read the Constitution.

H/T to Michael Bane.

Coexist, The Irony

The car hijacked by Muslim terrorists in Boston sported a COEXIST bumper sticker.

Source...

Another unwitting propagandist for intolerance learns a lesson. Maybe. Doubtful.