Picture It: I am sitting with friends at a table in the center of Mekong's dining room. There are people just standing all around us. Everyone in sight is holding at least one beer glass filled with amazing, rare beer that An Bui, Mekong's beer celebrity, has selected for Mekong’s 15th Anniversary Dinner. The room is crowded, loud and starting to get very hot, but none of us care. On the table we have at least eight glasses, which all feel half full, of incredible beer that we are sampling and life is awesome.
If you've been drinking gin and tonics with 95 percent tonic all summer just to keep yourself hydrated while that case of PBR sits in your refrigerator, then I am putting forth a call to you.
Give that case to a VCU (grad) student and drink good beer!
Richmond has a vibrant craft beer scene and it's only improving. I have visited many shops and restaurants over the past year in my lifelong pursuit to drink unique, surprising and most of all delicious beer and I've found that Richmond has a lot to offer, especially for an up-and-coming discoverer of beer like myself.
Best of all, the Brewers Association website reports that "growth of the craft brewing industry in the first half of 2010 was 9 percent by volume and 12 percent by retail dollars," so our options will only get better! If you are ready to join me in this pursuit, or even if you're further along than I am (good for you!), here are a few great ways to find and taste delicious beer in Richmond:
- Head to Corks & Kegs off of Three Chopt Road or Once Upon a Vine North on MacArthur Boulevard and have them build you a six pack of beer you've never tried before. Everyone there is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about beer, and they'll even tailor the choices to your tastes. They also both have weekly tastings.
- Visit any Capital Ale House or the Commercial Taphouse on Robinson in the Fan for happy hour. They all have incredible draft selections and Commercial Taphouse in particular has a perfectly cozy pub feeling. Excellent places to expand your horizons.
- Eat (and drink) out on the deck at Legend's brewpub. Yes, Richmond has its own microbrewery that supplies almost 10,000 barrels of traditional-style European beer to Virginia. Plus, it overlooks the James River and the whole city. That kind of atmosphere will make you happy about life and beer.
- Join Wine & Beer Westpark for one of their Beer Theater tastings. Matty Lake and friends host tastings of a guest brewery while video conferencing with the brewmaster. The setup allows you to taste new beer and gain more insight on what you're tasting from the guy who made it. Pretty neat idea. They have a great selection and monthly tastings as well.
- Stop by Secco Wine Bar and River City Cellars, both in Carytown. The wine bar and shop tandem have a boutique selection of great beer and the staff is very knowledgeable and can make excellent recommendations, especially for food pairings.
- Indulge yourself and attend one of Can Can's monthly beer dinners, which offers a four to five course menu and a beer paired with each course for $45. Excellent food, excellent pairings and a relaxed atmosphere. Commercial Taphouse also does a three-course dinner with two beers per course, monthly as well.
- Go to Mekong's 15th Anniversary dinner. What? You missed it?! That's OK. It was a great time with lots of really great beer, but Mekong still has the best combined food and beer menu in the city. An Bui is a super nice guy who knows that beer is the answer. They have excellent Belgian selections on draft and in bottles.
Still don't know what kind of beer to try? Most people recommend starting with a lighter beer and moving to heavier, richer beers. Try out a wheat beer, move on to an IPA or Saison, next try a malty, sweeter beer, and finish with a strong ale like an Imperial Stout or Imperial IPA. Then if you're really big stuff, try a sour beer.
Now that you've done your leg work you can head to any grocery store or bodega and find something you'll like that will like you back. When it comes to drinking good beer, Matty Lake from Westpark says it best, "I love that I can go home and have a different beer every day and have 365 totally different experiences. Otherwise, why not just drink water?" Cheers!
Corbin Craft is a freelance writer and relative newcomer to Richmond. He enjoys craft beer, books, and movies. He can be found walking his dog in the Fan and arguing about beer after drinking a few too many.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement