Exploring Virginia Beer at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion

After a couple years off we attended the 2021 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival which is one of the liveliest festivals. Held in the Birthplace of Country Music the festival showcases music on venues located on both the Virginia and Tennessee sides of State Street. COVID definitely affected this year's lineup but the organizers were still able to schedule fantastic artists over the three days. The festival targets local and national artists with special attention to Texas musicians. We heard great performances by Yarn, The Steel Wheels, Folk Soul Revival, Big Daddy Love, Town Mountain, and Blackberry Smoke. In addition, John Anderson and Hayes Carll represented Texas and we loved that Carll covered Ray Wylie Hubbard's Drunken Poet's Dream.

We acted like drunken poets at two Bristol breweries located within the festival's parameter. State Street Brewing Company is a relatively new brewery with outside seating accessible to hear the Country Music Mural stage or the continuous music at the Delta Blues BBQ.  The brewery opened a few years ago in the former Hayes Furniture building on the Commonwealth side of State Street and utilizes the 20,000-square-foot building to its fullest. Expect a spacious seating area and a long bar that runs parallel to the brewing equipment. There's enough diversity in their portfolio for all types of tastes - and for morning music we went with the Long Tom Peanut Butter Porter. In the afternoon we transitioned to their Dad Hat Kolsh and Splash Berliner Weiss before ending the evenings with the Cosmos Imperial IPA. 

We've visited Bristol Station Brews & Taproom a few times and it was great to see the brewery within the festival adjacent to the Piedmont stage.  Folk Soul Revival paired with the Piedmont Pilsner as fans are slightly bitter to their breakup and that matched the beer's profile. The Bristol Helle Raiser fit the Hayes Carll set and would have worked with 49 Winchester if we weren't late. It wasn't the Blue Mountain Steel Wheels ESB but the Bearded Goat Bock hit similar notes as the band's Rain in The Valley. And in the evening, give us the Wil's Lucky Dunkelweisen. 

 The BRRR will be back in our regular rotation. Look forward to visiting these and other area winery and breweries until then with theCompass Craft Beverage Finder. Cheers. 

Vineyard Pests: Brood X Periodical Cicadas Coming to a Vineyard Near You

This was the title of an article in the March 2021 Viticulture Notes by Tony K. Wolf, Viticulture Extension Specialist, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Winchester, Virginia and based on information from Dr. Doug Pfeiffer’s fruit extension site: https://www.virginiafruit.ento.vt.edu/. 

For those of us in Fairfax County Virginia, the 17-year, periodical cicada ‘Brood X’ has emerged in full force creating a mess on our driveways and walkways while emitting a deafening racket.  According to the Viticulture Notes article, residents of the northern Shenandoah Valley and parts of the northern piedmont can expect a similar situation. But what effect will the cicadas have on vineyards?  I reached out to several growers and wine producers and want to thank Jake Busching (Jake Busching Wines), Shannon Horton (Horton Vineyards), Jennifer Breaux (Breaux Vineyards), and Jack Sexton (Williams Gap Vineyard) for their responses.

https://www.cicadas.info/

Jake Busching had the most succinct answer. "Cicadas will harm new canes. They have a saw on their abdomen that cuts deep furrows into the cane so they can inject their eggs. The cane will most likely die from that point outwards. If you have older pruned vines you’re fine".  And Wolf explains, "...because lateral buds and shoots can easily compensate for the shoot damage that can occur with older vines ... injured shoots will be pruned off later ".  He continues, "However, young vines are subject to severe injury, with females using even the trunks as oviposition sites.  Oviposition may occur at multiple sites on one shoot or young trunk; affected areas become weak and will break easily (Eggs in the shoots may be seen on dissection of the injured material). Young vineyards should be protected."

It's obviously too late now, but the best advice is not to plant a new vineyard 1-2 years before an expected emergence of periodical cicada. 

Earning Night-time Driving Hours to Backroom Brewery

One night this week my soon-to-be-driving son asked if we could drive for a couple hours so that he could earn night-time driving hours. Of course, I replied, as long as it includes a stop at Backroom Brewery - over an hour away as shown by theCompass Craft Beverage Finder.  I had been targetting the brewery after several trips to visit the Sip Shenandoah Trail and learning that the brewery was Virginia's first farm brewery.  The operation is an outgrowth of the Sunflower Cottage herb farm where they planted hops in 2012; helped Warren County pass an ordinance to allow farm breweries in 2013;  built out a brewery that following year; and finally, opened an expanded brewery, event center, and tasting room in 2019. 

With that expanded capability BackRoom offers almost two dozen beers in their tasting room, many brewed with homegrown herbs. The perfect example is their flagship Lemon Basil Wheat Ale,  brewed with fresh lemon zest & sweet basil -- and a remembrance of the days twisting lemon juice into Pyramid Hefeweisen.  The Kiss Me Kolsch and Regions Pilsner are solid thirst quenchers and the Backpacker Pale Ale a reminder of the old school pale ales without the hop punch.  However, the two favorites were the Shenandoah Sunset Hazy IPA and the Farmwork  Rosemary Rye Saison -- both just delicious versions of what you would expect from the styles and the ingredients. 

We hope to visit again soon on a weekday to savor more of these beers and try the kitchen. Cheers. 

Virginia Wine Chat — A Taste of the Shenandoah Valley

In 1982, the Shenandoah Valley AVA became the first  American Viticultural Area established in Virginia - and for that matter in West Virginia too as the boundaries include both Berkeley and Jefferson Counties in the Eastern Panhandle.  The fruitful valley is bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian and Allegheny Mountains to the west.  It is one of the largest AVAs in the country ranging about 150 miles northwest-southeast and 25 miles wide. This leads to several micro-climates allowing for a diverse planting of grapes, but in general, this cool climate region shares a predominate limestone soil and large diurnal temperatures - leading to more acidic grapes. (TTB - AVAs)

On Sunday, February 20th, Frank Morgan (drinkwhatyoulike.com) presented his Virginia Wine Chat on A Taste of the Shenandoah Valley featuring three wines from prominent wineries in that AVA.  This tasting was organized as an afterthought of the 2020 Shenandoah Cup wine competition, which Morgan oversaw, and where Cave Ridge Vineyard was awarded the cup for their 2017 Shenandoah Valley Petit Verdot.  This wine was aged 100% Hungarian Oak and during the chat Cave Ridge owner Randy Phillips discussed his decision to use this treatment -- particularly lower costs without substituting quality.  

As a recap on Hungarian oak, the barrels are made using Quercus petraea, sessile oak, from the Zemplén Hills in western Hungarian. This forest is close to Tokaj and contains the same rocky and volcanic soil that gives the Furmint grape its minerality. Sessile oaks make up over 95% of the acreage because that tree prefers tough conditions where the soils are stony and dry, and where the climate is colder. The tree then grows slower, creating a tight grain which leads to lower tannins and a richer aroma in barrels. This tightness also results in lower evaporation and smaller oxygen penetration.

Here are the descriptors of the wines and readers are highly encouraged to visit the Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail. 

2018 Brix & Columns Virginia Chardonnay ($26)
Allow to warm in glass; creamy lemons aroma, golden delicious apples dominate its profile with a little lychee, creme brulee. Barrel fermented and nine months in new and neutral French oak provides weight and doesn't diminish the lifting acids. 

2017 Bluestone Vineyard Estate Cabernet Franc ($25.50)
The grapes were grown in the highest elevation block of their estate and only free-run juice was fermented and then 40% aged in new French and 60% Hungarian oak. Bright cherry aroma, layers of dark fruit, finishing with firm and chewy tannins. Best feature - lack of vegetable or green peppers characters. 

2017 Cave Ridge Vineyard Shenandoah Valley Petit Verdot ($35)
The fermented wine was aged 100% in Hungarian oak barrels. Very amaro-ish; herbal olive leaf, chocolate coffee, & cherry aroma, chalky velvety character,  dense fruit,  rising acidity, approachable tannins.

A Visit and Conversation with Dry Mill Vineyards' Winemaker Karen Reed

Even though Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery is one of the closest Loudoun County wineries to the Washington Beltway, in the past few years I seemed to have traveled past it while visiting that county's wine and beer trail.  But not last weekend when we targeted Dry Mill specifically because of its proximity to DC. My remembrance was solid wines particularly their Viognier and Chardonnay and on our arrival, we started with the 2017 Virginia Viognier ($29) - as well as cups of wine augmented mulled cider. 

We finished the Viognier in their courtyard patio, braced from the winery winds by side coverings and heat lamps. The wine was as pleasant as the environment, stone fruit dominated the citrus starting with peaches then ending with lifting lemony citrus.  

Next, we turned to their off-dry Mead ($25) - quite flavorful at 1.7% RS. What was lacking was a little lift in the tail, so I blended a bottle at home with the Supreme Core Pounda Gold to see if this livens the finish. This concept is a switch-hitter in the sense that either the hard cider or mead could be the dominant partner, and in fact, each side of the plate worked well. Augmenting the cider with a little mead added body and depth whereas adding cider to the mead did add more effervescence. But my tastes indicated a 50-50 blend - where both profiles contributed equally. 

It was at that point that I learned that winemaker Karen Reed was working in the tasting room, and to my ignorance, was hired a decade ago by Dry Mill after previous engagements at White Hall Vineyards, Clos Pegase Winery in Napa, Hillsborough Vineyards - and with a Masters Degree in Viticulture from the University of Adelaide, Australia.  I duly noted to follow up with Reed concerning her background which led to an email exchange this week learning more about the winery and herself. 

In particular, she is passionate about her Merlot and the fruit sourced from Russ Mountain Vineyard in Bluemont. Reed related how that vineyard specializes in Merlot and it is some of the best in the state, "if you blind taste my Merlots with anything from the right bank of Bordeaux, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference".  Thus Merlot is the star of their cellar with the 2017 Merlot the current - and last release - as they lost the contract that year. 

Ms. Reed is also excited about her 2017 Chambourcin. She relates, "it's not a grape that I was familiar with until moving to Virginia and it's always been a bit of a conundrum to me.  Most wineries try to get a lot of tannin extraction from it, and then put a lot of new oak on the wine.  However, when I tried this technique in previous years, I always felt like I was fighting with the wine -- trying too hard.  And it always ended up having that traditional "Virginia red flavor" which you used to find in a lot of wines from the 1990s.  In 2016, I made the decision to let the wine be what it wanted to be, a food-friendly, fruit-forward, easy-drinking wine.  The result was a wine reminiscent of a Barbara d'Alba... slightly higher acid, easy to drink, goes with every meal, but still sporting some rich fruit characteristics.  I love it.

And a lesson I learned is to reach out with these conversations before the visit so that I could taste these recommended wines on that visit and not have to plan a second outing.  We did return home with the 2017 Barrel Chardonnay ($27) which owner Dean Vanhuss had recommended when he stopped by our table to thank us for visiting.  Spicy butter and vanilla are the dominant notes for this wine with layers of green apples slowly evolving as the wine warms.  And the finish engages quite a while; a nice recommendation. 

Cheers to Karen Reed and Dry Mill -- until our next visit.

Drinking Through Family History: Toms Brook, Virginia and North Mountain Vineyard

In the early 1740s two brothers, Charles and George Hottel, traveled a well-known route among German immigrants from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. After finding available farmland at the foot of North Moutain at the headwaters of Toms Brook, they returned to Lancaster to lead their father Johannes Hodel (John Hottel) and other family members including their sister Barbara Anna, and her husband, George Keller back to the valley. Upon settling in the Shenandoah, they received land grants from Lord Fairfax, ending a twenty-plus year journey from Alsheim-Gronau Germany. In between, the family had arrived in Philadelphia, initially settled in Lancaster where Barbara Anna met and married Hans Georg Keller, a fellow emigrant from Germany who arrived in Philadelphia one month after the Hottels.

At Toms Brook, located northwest of Woodstock, George Keller would rise in esteem as a churchman and eventually being named by Governor Dunmore as one of the first eight Justices of the Peace in Dunmore (now Shenandoah) County. Their daughter Ann Keller married Henry Fravel, the son of Swiss immigrants, and whose family farm was ten miles away from the Kellers. In 1786 Elizabeth Fravel (the daughter of Ann and Henry Fravel) married Johannes Huber - another descendent of German immigrants and the great-grandfather of my grandfather's mother, Cora Agnes Hoover.

These early settlers are buried in various cemeteries in the area with John Hottel's grave marker now unknown in the old Keller Cemetary. However, his descendants erected a new memorial in the cemetery that was dedicated on September 11, 1982 -- 250 years to the day when the Hottel family arrived in America. That same year North Mountain Vineyard was established, most likely on land once farmed by one of these relatives. In fact, the winery is located on Swartz Road, a family name that married into the Hottel line and whose descendent circled back to the Kellers through a descendent of Henry and Ann (Keller) Fravel. Today the winery grows several cold-climate grapes such as Riesling, a grape the Hottels, Kellers, and Hubers would have recognized from their Rhine homeland. They might even recognize the European styled architecture of the winery.

North Mountain's estate vineyard is planted in primarily silty loam soils with the newer Sonnenberg Vineyard, located in the eastern half, and dominated by layers of sandstone. This vineyard is planted with Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt, and Riesling.  The original western vineyard is distinguished by a layer of limestone and includes Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, Traminette, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon vines.

During the partial re-opening of Virginia wineries, we stopped by North Mountain for curbside pickup for the 2017 Riesling ($25),  Grüner Veltliner ($24), and 2017 Zweigelt Rosé ($24). We will be opening these wines during the next few weeks and posting updates with the tasting notes. In the meanwhile here are the winery's notes for the Riesling and Zweigelt. The Grüner appears to be a non-vintage blend from multiple vineyards within the Shenandoah Valley AVA. Cheers.

2017 Riesling ($25)
100% Riesling grown on the west-facing slope of Sonnenberg, our hill behind the winery building. Peaches, pear, and apple on the nose, palate, and finish. A subtle minerality lingers throughout.

2017 Zweigelt Rosé ($24)
Our Winery, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, presents this refreshing rosé wine with hints of pomegranate, zesty citrus, and ripe strawberries. Zweigelt is a native to Austria and was created in the 1920s by Professor Fritz Zweigelt, by crossing Blaufränkisch with St. Laurent.

Drinking Through Family History: Woodstock, Virginia

My mother's father's maternal line flows forth from the Shenandoah Valley in an area ranging from Strasburg to Edinburg and dominated by names like Hoover, Smoot, Gochenour, Grandstaff, Keller, and Hottel. These families were mostly German, Swiss, and Dutch immigrants arriving in the colonies at Philadelphia, then migrating to York and Lancaster, before finally settling in what is now Shenandoah County. They were a mixture of Mennonites and Lutherans, primarily farmers, who received their initial land grants from Lord Fairfax.

One of these immigrants was Hans Wilhelm Huber who along with his wife Anna Margaretha, emigrated from Germany and arrived in Philadelphia in 1736. A dozen years later the Hubers settled near the North Fork around Woodstock Virginia after an initial residency in Lebanon PA. Their son, Johannes Huber (John Hoover), married Elizabeth Fravel, whose family lineage arrived in the valley a couple generations earlier and included the Keller and Hottel families. The next two generations of Hoovers were farmers with the last male in my line, Perry Monroe Hoover, marrying Mary Jane Smoot -- bringing Gochenours and Grandstaffs into our mix. The Hoover, Smoot, and Gochenour farms were located very close to Woodstock, where many of these ancestors are buried.

These families participated in the growth of Woodstock starting with its original charter in 1761 - making it the 4th oldest town in Virginia - and on land which George Washington had surveyed in his youth and who sponsored the charter in Virginia's House of Burgesses. The town became the county seat of Shenandoah County with Thomas Jefferson designing the original courthouse that is the oldest courthouse still in use west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Clerk of the Circuit Court Thomas Marshall, father of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, was one of the first judges to utilize the courthouse. Ardent revolutionaries, the community contributed soldiers to the 8th Virginia Regiment that saw action in Saratoga among many other battles, and suffered through Valley Forge. During the Civil War, the community was generally reluctant to participate in the southern cause, being religiously opposed to slavery, but a few members enlisted or were conscripted into the Company F (the Muhlenberg Rifles) of the 10th Virginia Infantry as well as Company C of the 33rd Virginia Infantry -- part of the Stonewall Brigade.

Today, Woodstock Brewhouse is located near in the center of town, near the historic courthouse. The brewery opened four years ago after renovating the Casey Jones Work-Clothes Company factory - which operated from 1925 through the early 1940s. You are familiar with this company through its Wrangler brand which rose to national prominence after the company and brand where purchased by the Blue Bell Overall Company in 1943. The brewery commemorates this history through its Casey Jones Vanilla Porter as well as the nearby North Fork of the Shenandoah River with the North Fork Golden Ale and Seven Bender American Pale Ale. These last two are your hydration beers during local hiking and fishing excursions.

And when fishing or visiting the seven bends of the North Fork, venture over the one-lane bridge or the swinging walking bridge to Muse Vineyards. The winery rests on the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the vineyards planted with a mixture of Bordeaux and Rhone grapes close to the river. In 2003 Robert Muse and Sally Cowal purchased an abandoned vineyard that formed the base for Muse and later purchased a 200-year-old Mennonite farm adjacent to their property which allowed them to expand to thirty acres of vines. The soil for the various vineyards are quite distinct, with the blocks closer to the river dominated by silt loam alluvium and the vineyards closer to the mountains containing rocky red clay soils. Since its inception, the winery has gained a very favorable reputation for its Clio ($35-ish) Bordeaux-style red wine and Thalia ($24) Rhone-style white wine. We concur completely.

Tasting an Expanded Spirits Portfolio at Mt. Defiance Distillery

The Middleburg AVA is a popular destination in Virginia wine country and a couple years ago Mt. Defiance Cidery augmented the area wine offerings with craft cider. Soon afterwards the distillery section of the operation came online providing visitors an opportunity to sample classic spirits. And in past year Mt. Defiance Distillery has expanded their portfolio to now include three Rum offerings, Apple Brandy & Liqueur, Cassis, and Absinthe.

Because of the screwy Virginia ABC regulations, cider is sampled in Mt. Defiance's tasting room and the spirits nearer to the distillery. Visitors are allowed four one ounce pours of spirits per day. The distillery, like others in the Commonwealth, provide a range of cocktails so visitors aren't forced to sample neat. However, neat was my preference and so between two of us we chose the Amber Rum, Dark Rum, Apple Liqueur, Cassis, and Absinthe.

According to Distiller Peter Ahlf, previously the Amber and Dark rums were both aged for 6 - 8 months in small (15 gal) used rye barrels.  The difference is that Ahlf adds caramelized sugar to the Dark Rum just before bottling. Check your bottle label because Batch 12 was aged for 14 months in a 55 gallon used bourbon barrel and Batch 13 was a blend of 12 and previous methods. I don't know which version I sampled but the Dark Rum does have a pronounced honey-caramel profile when compared to the Amber - which is very smooth with a lighter honey accent. Both are very nice, but I preferred the lighter Amber style.

The Apple Liqueur is produced using a mash of sweet cider with crushed apples which is mixed with their Apple Brandy and additional sugar for sweetening. (The Brandy is produced by aging distilled hard cider and hen cutting to 80 proof). Thus, the liqueur is lower in alcohol at 50 proof / 25% alcohol and a bit on the sweeter side.

Cassis is a liqueur made from blackcurrants and Mt. Defiance's version is excellent. Ahlf says that his goal was to emphasize the liqueur's bright fruit flavor over sweetness and he succeeded. There's no syrupy or gritty sugar texture and the blackcurrant flavors are prevalent. Ahlf also mentioned that beet sugar worked much better than cane sugar as a sweetener. Interesting. 

The final spirit we sampled was the much anticipated Absinthe as Mt. Defiance utilizes the traditional brouilleur (water dripper) and sugar cube to prepare the spirit. They also use traditional ingredients such as Virginia grown Grand Wormwood, Lemon Balm and Hyssop; Aniseed from Andalucía, Spain; and Fennel Doux from Provence, France.  In general I'm not a great fan of Anise based spirits, but this Absinthe was rock solid - not overly liquorish - but relatively smooth. I was pleasantly surprised on this one.

To help navigate to Mt. Defiance or any of the Middleburg area wineries check out theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App. Cheers.

Another Corn Vodka, Virginia's Belmont Farm Kopper Kettle Vodka

Virginia's Belmont Farm Distillery is the country's oldest craft whiskey distillery, founded by Chuck and Jeanette Miller in the late 1980’s. Their Virginia Lightening was the first craft spirit I ever tasted and lately the distillery and Miller have become more famous as the distiller of Tim Smith's Climax Moonshine. Not mentioned in the Discovery Channel Moonshiners series is that Belmont Farm is also producing a corn vodka, the Kopper Kettle Vodka ($20) - Single Estate Grain to Glass. Like their other spirits, the corn is grown directly on the estate and then fermented and distilled on site using a copper pot manufactured in 1933. Like the Prairie Organic Vodka, this vodka is distilled to taste but then filtered through a secret filtration system. Sipping neat, the vodka has a slight, but noticeable burn and the sweet corn flavors are muted. However, by simply adding a few drops of water, the alcohol is pushed down and the vodka displays a new vibrancy with the corn flavors exerting control. For a cocktail, the distillery recommends Sex on the Farm, a recipe containing 1.5 oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Peach Schnapps (or Catoctin Creek Peach Brandy), 2 oz Cranberry Juice, and 2 oz Orange Juice. Combine, add ice, shake, and garnish with an Orange wedge and cherry. Cheers.

Intriguing Virginia Wine Festival Alert: Epicurience Virginia 2015

For those interested in local wine and food, you will want to check out Epicurience Virginia, a multi-day festival culminating with a grand tasting on September 5th. This final event occurs at Morven Park in Leesburg and offers both an early entry VIP ticket ($145) as well as a reasonable general admission ticket ($85). At face value you may not think this price is reasonable, but wait until you read the details.

General Admission Tickets

1. There will be forty exhibitors providing Virginia wine and food samples. 
2. The event features local chefs Chris Edwards from Salamander Resort & Spa, Jason Lage from Market Table Bistro, and Bonnie Moore from Willowsford. Each will provide cooking demonstrations throughout the day. 
3. Live music throughout the event from Justin Trawick, Todd Wright, Andrew Tufano, Tommy Gann, Bruce Parker, and Dusty Roads
4. Virginia wine education programs featuring individual sessions on Get to Know Virginia Chardonnays, Virginia Dark Horses (Petit Manseng, Tannat, Albariño), Think Pink: Virginia Rosés, and Virginia's Native Grape: Norton
5. **Ultimate Winemaker Experience: team up with Loudoun Winemakers for a Speed Blending Competition! Winemakers and participants will have 30 minutes to sample blending components and complete their blend entry. The last 30 minutes will be used to judge and announce the three finalist for the session. You must purchase admission into the event before entering the random drawing of participants. Click here to be selected.

VIP Tickets

1. All of the above
2. Exclusive Beer Tasting featuring never released, limited production beers from Lost Rhino Brewing Company
3. Epicurience Virginia Wine Blend Sneak Peek: get a sneak peek of the 2013 Epicurience Virginia Red Wine Blend created from wines by Bluemont Vineyards, Breaux Vineyards, Sunset Hills Vineyards and Tarara Winery.
4. Cocktail Samplings
5. Chef Joy's VIP Tasting
6. Premier Wine Tastings from Stone Tower Winery

Now that sounds like an informative and entertaining outing. Visit Loudoun can recommend lodging options and take a look at the theCompass mobile app to find wineries, breweries, distilleries, and cider houses in the area. Cheers.

#VABreweryChallenge: Beer and Wine at Quattro Goomba (#17)

Loudoun County is full of great wine destinations and one popular site has always been Quattro Goomba’s Winery. Following the Corcoran model this month, the operation enhanced their profile by establishing a working brewery onsite: Quattro Goomba's Brewery. The grounds are a great picnicking location with plenty of room for games and blankets. If you forget to pack a picnic, don't worry, the onsite pizzeria (Quattro, the Pizza Shop) makes a tasty pie. On our arrival my son joined a wiffle ball game and afterwards there was ample space for outfield practice. The brewery is located in a barn next to the winery - however the two operations can not mingle. Beer must remain in the brewery and no wine is allowed inside. Silly regulations.The brewery produces small batches of multiple styles, however, these tend to disappear on busy weekends. Thus, there were only three choices on our arrival. In general, these were solid beers, representative of their style.

• Mangia la Frutta Farmhouse Saison - some wheat and rye with fruit and spices throughout. Very nice.
• Fanny's your aunt English Pale Ale - not as hoppy as their American brethren, a refreshing beer.
• Torque Milk Stout - creamy with roasted chocolate flavors. The lactose presents a favorably profile even on hot days.

theCompass Spirits: Chesapeake Bay Distillery's Blue Ridge Vodka

This past weekend I refused a request to bring home a bottle of Absolut and instead picked up a bottle of Blue Ridge Vodka ($25) from Chesapeake Bay Distillery.  The distillery is nine years old and two of the three partners are or were active-duty Navy seals. The vodka is distilled from regional corn (thus gluten-free) which are also GMO free. The corn's sweetness shines through the nose as toasted sugar with the flavor as creamed honey cornbread. The vodka finishes with a mild burn - very smooth. Nicely done.