Richmond Beer Week kicked off this past Friday, and there’s an insanely awesome number of hoppy events going on all over town this week. You can find the full calendar here, but here a few extra awesome-sounding events.
On Monday (11/8) from 4 to 7 p.m. Once Upon a Vine South is hosting a Mega-Beer Tasting with more than 25 beers to taste, many of which will be aged, vintage or limited release. There’ll be unique brews from Dogfish Head, Brooklyn Brewery, Great Divide Brewing, Uinta, Ommegang, Brasserie D’Achouffe and Allagash.
Commercial Taphouse has two special events. On Tuesday (11/9) they’ll have special brews from Breckenridge Brewery, including a firkin of Christmas Ale, and on Thursday (11/11) they’ll have special releases from Harpoon Brewery.
On Wednesday (11/10) Ellwood Thompson’s will host a tasting with the owners of Cricket Hill Brewery. John Watts and Rick Reed will be bringing a variety of beers and they’ll be more than happy to chat about them.
Also on Wednesday, the Byrd Theatre will have a special screening of “Beer Wars,” a documentary about small craft brewers struggling to succeed within a corporate beer business. A suggested donation of $10 gets you in to a public reception at 5:30 with some free beer for tasting, and the showing at 7 p.m. Blue Mountain Brewery founder Matt Nucci will also be there to talk about the future of Virginia’s beer scene.
Thursday (11/11) brings a beer and cheese pairing at Whole Foods. Allagash Belgian-style beers will be paired with artisanal cheeses.
On Friday (11/12), several Shockoe Slip restaurants are hosting a Slip and Slide to the Bottom Walking Tour. Four restaurants within walking distance of each other will host beer tastings from different breweries. Sine will have brews from Virginia’s Blue Mountain Brewery, Fish Bowl Bistro and Bar will have specials from Full Sail, McCormack’s Irish Pub will have libations from Flying Dog Brewery and Havana will have a special event pairing Brooklyn Brewery beers with cigars.
Both Mekong and Capital Ale House (all locations) have neat events going on every night. Some of the standouts include a 12% Import and Stillwater tasting at Mekong on Thursday, and the Richmond Beer Week Finale event at all Capital Ale House locations on Friday, which will include lots of rare beers for tasting. See Mekong’s full beer week calendar here.
Happy pint-hoisting all week long! And, a little shameless plug, the Grace Manor Inn is the perfect central location for beer-tasting adventures.
