Give Me Liberty Or Give Me…Beer?, Assignment for Travel Writing

Famed for its role as the capital of the Confederate States during the Civil War, Richmond, Virginia holds a critical place in United States History textbooks. But hidden behind Revolutionary War-era landmarks and Confederate monuments on Historical Monument Avenue, Richmond enjoys a rather explosive craft beer scene that, in 2018, beat out cities like St. Louis, Chicago, Beijing, and New York to be named the number one beer destination in the world by Vinepair.com.

In 1935, the first canned beer in the United States was sold in Richmond’s Gottfried Krueger Brewery. While the practice of canning beer flourished following a 91% approval rate from buyers, Richmond’s place in the American beer industry soon tapered off. Decades later, in 2010, Richmond was still home to only one brewery. But a trickle of brewery openings in 2011 followed by Virginia legislation allowing the sale and sampling of beer on brewery premises set the stage for an explosion of craft beer culture in Richmond. 

The recent Vinepair award comes mostly in thanks to Richmond’s Beer Trail, which first opened in 2016 and now welcomes thousands of beer-lovers every year to 34 craft breweries, distilleries, and cideries around the city. Targeted toward young Washington, D.C. area day-trippers and local beer lovers, the Trail offers its participants a simple quid-pro-quo: drink beer, get gear. At each of the Trail’s stops, participants receive a stamp. Five stamps earn an item of free limited-edition Richmond Beer Trail gear. Craft and micro-breweries sprinkle each side of the James River that divides the city into its two primary regions aptly named the Northside and the Southside, and new ones seem to keep sprouting up throughout the city each year. 

Eleven of the Beer Trail’s stops are tucked away in a neighborhood called Scott’s Addition which, until about 10 years ago, served as merely the city’s industrial district, but has since been revitalized by the influx of hip boozy hangouts like Strangeways Brewing, Hardywood Brewing Co., and Starr Hill Richmond Beer Hall, plus a handful of upscale recreational facilities like boutique bowling alley River City Roll and shuffleboard social club Tang & Biscuit. The district encompasses 20 blocks of wide streets lined with faded brick warehouse-style buildings, a reminder of its industrial past. Bold street murals by local Richmond artists and hanging string lights add a causal stylishness to the walking commute between breweries for beer geeks and amateurs alike. If snooty wine tastings are the dinner parties of beverage tours, the Richmond Beer Trail is the college fraternity basement party. Though some breweries are more sophisticated than others, many, notably Bingo Beer Co. and Isley Brewing Co., are hotspots for sociable 20 and 30-somethings with rolled-up shirtsleeves looking to catch a buzz after a workday or a night out in Richmond’s trendiest neighborhood.

Perhaps the most famous Scott’s Addition brewery among beer lover circles is Richmond’s very own The Veil Brewing Co., whose flagship location entertains nightly food trucks to pair with their extensive list of sours, lagers, and IPAs. The Veil’s taproom stays remarkably consistent with its architectural framework. Its ultra-black painted interiors and exposed ducts evoke a glamorous nonchalance, softened by warm fairground lights and bearded hipster bartenders manning the dozens of taps behind the concrete bar. Some beer snobs may roll their eyes at the mere breadth of ingredients in their ales, but many argue that such is the “it” factor of The Veil: it has something for everyone. For those who would prefer to be drinking a fruity daiquiri than a hoppy stout, try the “Apri-Guav Meltee,” The Veil’s smoothie-style sour ale with guava and mango puree, literally brewed with candy peach rings and fruit roll-ups. For those with a more expert palate, The Veil offers several complex sours and mixed-fermentation beers, but if “crisp impressions of bready malt backed up gently by the earthy noble hops” doesn’t paint a clear flavor picture in your head, perhaps stick to a more amateur brew. Looking for dessert? The Veil’s “Bourbon Rocky Road Whangdoodle,” aged for 14 months in bourbon barrels with Dominican cacao nibs, almonds, cashews, and marshmallows is a delicious choice for a sweet tooth. According to their website, this beer “tastes like it should be blended up into some ice cream and served in a waffle cone.” For its flavor range and its fashionable ambiance, The Veil has become the mothership of Richmond’s Scott’s Addition beer scene. 

Just blocks south of Scott’s Addition, Richmond’s famous shopping district Carytown is home to some of the Beer Trail’s most eclectic and experimental breweries. Garden Grove, for example, in its artichoke green cottage-like structure, blends in perfectly with the quirkiness of Carytown’s personality. Sandwiched between a high-end thrift store and a vinyl record store, Garden Grove’s interior is much humbler than the vast warehouses of Scott’s Addition. Written in colorful chalk on the wall is the list of seasonal drafts, their quirky names and innovative brewing methodologies reflecting their unconventional setting. Take “Criminal Mischief,” for example, a vermouth-inspired gruit brewed with herbs and aged in red wine, or “Pink Panther,” a  sparkling wine-beer hybrid brewed with orange blossom honey. The beers brewed in this cozy taproom resonate with a different side of Richmond: the offbeat, alternative undercurrent that holds the historic city accountable to keep up with the times. 

East of Richmond’s downtown district, positioned on the North banks of the James River is the Rockett’s Landing neighborhood, a new frontier hotspot for craft breweries. The site of Richmond’s first port and Confederate shipyard, Rockett’s Landing stagnated with the decline of Richmond’s power plant system in 1887. The community remained inactive until its modern revival at the turn of the 21st century, and now the waterfront hosts several riverview restaurants, an active ramp for boaters and kayakers, and the enormous 250,000 square foot Stone Brewing Tap Room. California-founded Stone Brewing has received international recognition for their classic Stone IPA, their flagship brew since 1997, and chose Richmond to be their East Coast headquarters in 2016. Ivy grows on the building’s unmarked brick exterior, and it’s only accessible by a footbridge over a wooded meadow where goats (yes, goats) graze and bleat during warm months. The atmosphere of the expansive Tap Room draws a stark contrast from the spunk and gusto of the Scott’s Addition and Carytown breweries, its California roots permeating into the unhurried, laid back attitude of the space. The interior of the brewery is mostly exposed concrete, and natural light pours in from a wall of windows opening to a riverview patio. Stone knows what they do best, and they stick to their crowd-favorite West Coast IPAs, which bartenders pour from taps behind their three wooden bar stations around the indoor-outdoor Tap Room area. 

Locals will say that Richmond is a big city with a small-town feel, and its beer scene has that similar sense of friendliness and intimacy despite its recent abrupt growth. Richmond’s beer-lover community is a lively and inclusive one, evident in the shared sense of camaraderie in Richmond’s noisy industrial warehouse breweries and snug taverns alike. Strike up a conversation with any fellow drinker or bartender and they will be eager to offer IPA or lager recommendations or just chat about what the city’s beer scene has to offer. Thus, of course, is the spirit of the Richmond Beer Trail: a city once known for standing at the forefront of the Confederacy, now revitalized by an explorative beer-drinking experience meant for all and accessible to all.