There's Always More Virginia Beer To Try

When I'm out for a beer, or two, I always look for beers from Virginia breweries, putting my focus on ones I've not tried previously. With well over 200 breweries in operation in Virginia, that search is generally successful. Yet, I am still amazed at the number of new beers consistently showing up on the menus at my favorite craft beer haunts.

This weekend Colleen and I stopped by Capital Ale House on Sunday afternoon. Perusing the draft list, I was faced with numerous options from Virginia breweries. I settled right away on VIPA Virgindia Pale Ale from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. This is a very tasty, citrusy IPA brewed with local ingredients; "Virginia-grown hops from Piedmont Hops, LLC, Huguenot Hops and Misty Mill Hops at Rockmill Farm, as well as two-row barley grown by Bay's Best Feed in Heathsville, VA and malted at Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville, VA." How good was it?  When Colleen took a sip from my glass, she asked. "Can we get this in the store?"  (Yes, we can.)

As tempted as I was to enjoy another pint of VIPA, there's alway another Virginia beer to try. In this case, it was Christmas In June from Fair Winds Brewing Company. This hoppy lager features a tropical citrus and pine flavors balanced by grassy bitterness in the finish. This is only the third beer I've had from the brewery, but I've yet to be disappointed. One of these days we need to make the trek up I-95 to Lorton and pay them a visit. 

There were still more Virginia beers listed on the menu, including a few more I've not tried. Those were left for another outing. Fortunately, there's will always be more interesting Virginia craft beers to try.