Trips to Richmond have, for me, until recently, always occurred in concert with other destinations. In 2018 we visited Asheville and Charleston before making the trek up. In 2021 we combined a visit with a wedding in Pennsylvania. And in 2024 my 40th birthday trip got smushed in with a beach trip (and smushed yet further when my oldest got pneumonia). This relative brevity has forced me to prioritize my precious drinking time such that I could not put forth a semi-authoritative take on Richmond beer. Until now, that is. After 40 years of traveling solely with justifiable purpose and/or others I finally took a solo trip in order to quench the deepest desires of my id. Which simply put is to visit a few more breweries than I previously had. I am both easy to please and lowkey kinda boring.
8. Brainstorm Brewhouse (link) - 1 Star/Incomplete
I don't want to drag Brainstorm too much as I had received reliable word that this was the promising new brewery in town. But the two beers I had on my visit (a fine pastry stout that relied too much on its sweetness and a muddled IPA) did not inspire confidence. I will wait to pass judgment until they get their own space that is not inside of a meadery that has two bars but only one bartender. Fun fact: This is the only place I have received a military discount—the aforementioned bartender was apologetic for ignoring me at the less-populated of the two bars, and apparently only had the ability to explicitly reward the troops. Perhaps my favorite (and only?) time I have accidentally stolen valor. Semper fi.
7. Strangeways Brewing (link) - 1.5 Stars
There's a lot to like here at first glance, but with one glaring problem I will get to in a minute. The tap list at the main location was interesting, varied, and expansive, and the place itself is your average strip mall taproom (positive). While I did give the Biere de Mars (Martian Spring) a try and liked it just fine, I mostly stuck to the Berliner Weisses that they are more known for. And while they were all good, as well as appropriately distinctive, the fact that they were mixed to order was a bit of a put-off. I am under no illusions that much of what passes for "craft" beer is less "special" than what it's led on to be, especially in a post-hype style like kettle sours. But serving your beer one step removed from a Coke Freestyle machine is a bridge too far for me.
6. Ardent Craft Ales (link) - 1.5 Stars
One of the most perfectly fine breweries I have ever been to. One hazy IPA on tap, one American IPA on tap, a couple kettle sours, all manner of other pale ales and lagers, all of it varying levels of fine. The American IPA (Batch #14) was probably the highlight, as it took me back to 2014 in a good way. There are certainly worse things in the world than going to a slightly above replacement-level brewery in a nice hybrid space in Scott's Addition.
5. Vasen Brewing Company (link) - 2 Stars
The somewhat more ambitious version of Arden gets bonus points for that ambition. I had two beers from their "Wanderlust" series (a braggot and a pub ale) which were both well-executed versions of unique styles. The IPA ("West Coast IPA"...name your beers!) was fine but forgettable. I would definitely like to go back sometime and try even more of this variety when there aren't a couple hundred guests. Seriously, this is the only brewery I've been to that smelled of the B.O. of its clientele. But I guess that's (mostly) a good problem to have.
4. Tabol/Anytime Beer Company (link) - 2 Stars
I don't normally include closed breweries on lists such as this, but it's hard to tell if this place is actually "closed." Because of this fundamental uncertainty, I will let an image I saved from their now-defunct website summarize their value proposition:
3. The Veil Brewing (link) - 3 Stars
I basically don't know how to evaluate The Veil. On one hand they are one of those overly hyped breweries that nonetheless lives up to the hype. On the other hand, to quote a great philosopher, they insist upon themselves. The expanded flagship in Scott's Addition and the location in Forest Hill are both sterile stereotypes of modern taprooms. There's too many IPAs with cutesy names and labels, even for someone like me. And the most annoying style in existence (overfruited sours that sell for $23 a four-pack) is their primary strength. Ultimately, a strange combination of quality and quantity wins out for me. I've had a fair number of failures from them (a Citra IPA with the Stranger Things cast on the label is the worst four-pack I've ever transported across state lines), but there's just so much on offer that you're going to find something you like. On this most recent visit, I had a straightforward IPA (Cat Boy) with English malts and Simcoe hops that reinforced for me that, beyond all the hype, these guys generally succeed at the main value proposition of making good beer. Simply closing your eyes and remembering that is probably my best advice for visiting The Veil.
2. The Answer Brewpub (link) - 4 Stars
What if I told you one of the twenty or so best breweries in existence was an unassuming Vietnamese restaurant with several dozen taps? Well you probably wouldn't be surprised because until 15 years ago or so, the most lauded beermongers in the world generally hailed from similarly modest origins. What makes The Answer singularly fascinating is their commitment to making hype styles of beer (hazies and overfruited sours) in an unabashedly earnest manner. What especially helps is that none of that latter style resembles the cloying "throw three fruits in the boil and call it a day" practice of many fine but less-inspiring breweries. Rather, The Answer's sours range from wispy little 3% fellows to high-gravity bombs featuring immaculately blended chocolate, vanilla, cheesecake, or whatever other savory ingredient you can imagine.
1. Triple Crossing Beer (link) - 4 Stars
It's difficult to describe precisely why Triple Crossing is among my favorite breweries in existence. On one hand it's actually very easy. They primarily make my favorite type of beer (IPAs) in a precise and purposeful way. While I would describe most of their offerings as "hazy," they're not leaning on the haze/mouthfeel/hype, opting instead for a more balanced approach. That balance produces a consistent character, where whatever blend of hops is not only distinctive but proudly displayed on a pedestal (I have regularly described their beers as "pillowy"). It's possible that no one else is as competent at executing the idea of a modern IPA as well as Triple Crossing.
At the same time, there is something that draws me to them which is more ethereal. I used the word "purposeful" above which gets at this but is, like most words, dreadfully insufficient. Perhaps the best way to think about this is to consider how they describe their beers. Not only is that write-up (and all their others) devoid of irony or cheekiness, but it also seems to trust the reader/drinker to be able to understand the thought process that went into each and every offering. This honesty and forthrightness indicates a desire to deliver not just quality beer, but a quality you can fully comprehend. This ethos is not just communicated in their prose but in how they go about business. How many other large, popular breweries resisted the urge to distrbute for over a decade? How many other beer mongers have a flagship beer featuring a hop as off the beaten path as Falconer's Flight? Everything about Triple Crossing is just slightly removed from (and dare I say, elevated above) the hype machine that helped birth it. I don't think it's possible for a brewery to be transcendent, but if anyone is it's them.
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