The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

this shall be the official thread of all things related to beer. I figured with the emergence of craft beer in our area and all of the new hampton roads breweries opening up we could discuss what's good and what's not good. I will be posting any new beers I try and try to give my best recommendation. I encourage any other beer enthusiasts to do the same. Hopefully there is more than just me on here.

Mod Edit: just editing the title of the thread.

Just a quick rundown from me. I'll probably do the same thing later Fatmonarch as far as discussing more on specific beers.

My favorite local brewery right now is Beach Brewing Company off Dam Neck, between London Bridge and Drakesmile. Run by an ODU grad. Everything there is a little hoppy. Their Seadevil Stout is delicious. and if you love hops you have to try their Hoptopus. Every saturday they do a cask thing where they tap a cask and it's usually one of their beers that has some type of spices/fruits/etc added.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of St. George's Brewery's "old english-style" beers. But they did make a Black Forest Ale they only sell at Busch Gardens that I really like.

And I'd drink anything from O'Connors except the Red Nun.

I have not tried anything from the new Smashmouth brewery over by the Birch, nor have I tried anything from Williamsburg Aleworks.

I've been out to Seattle a bit and I enjoy craft beers and supporting local beer companies, but I really hate beer snobs.

I'm an o'connor guy. I have to say that el guapo is one of my favorite all time beers and the new winter pecan porter is spot on. O'connor is owned by an ODU grad and the head brewer is also an ODU grad. I've had a few of the smartmouth test batches, but nothing of their final products so I won't say whether its good or not. I've heard good things though about a couple of their beers.

I haven't had beach in a while, but hoptopus did stand out. Also their sea devil stout was good. I agree about st. George. I feel like they underachieve with the resources they have. Williamsburg has a few excellent beers, but they are very average IMHO when it comes to a few of their regular beers. Their seasonals are phenomenal though.

Smartmouths rule g and O'connors el guapo are my current favorites. As I'm friends with Kevin I give him the edge but equally delicious. I still need to pay a visit to beach brewery.



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I really like O'Connor's Norfolk Canyon and El Guapo, Smart Mouth's IPA, Beach's Hoptopus and Williamsburg's Pumpkin beer. Smart Mouth is probably my top choice at the moment but that can change with the wind. I'm really getting into Richmond's Hardywood Park Brewery right now. They are doing some great things up there and I highly recommend trying it if you get a chance.

Have any of y'all made the trek to Asheville? Oskar Blues just opened up there and Sierra Nevada and New Belgium will have breweries there soon. Other than those three, there are at least 18 more. It makes for an awesome couple of days. The same can be said, on a much smaller scale, with Charlottesville. Blue Mountain, Devils Backbone, South Street, Starr Hill and Wild Wolf are all quality breweries.

Does O'Connor's have a tasting room/bar area yet? Or anyone know what time you can go there to get a beer? Also, I love El Guapo!

O'connor is open for tastings, growler fills, and pints from 4-7pm weds-fri and 12-7 on Saturday. The guy at the tasting bar (Johannes) is awesome and will talk serious beer with you. There are usually brewers around too if you have questions or want a quick tour. I think smartmouth has essentially the same hours so its likely you could hit both up on the same trip.

I just picked up a six pack of Bell's two hearted ale from total wine for tonight. I also had a couple beers in DC this weekend: port city's monumental IPA from a cask and DC Brau's Embers of the Deceased which is a smoked sour wheat beer. They were both great. the Embers of the Deceased was an interesting style which was very light to the palette and had a very mild camp fire smoke start. I would definitely recommend trying it if you see it. It's very different.

LOVE Bell's two hearted. Good choice.

If you like banana bread, I highly suggest Wells Banana bread beer. Had it at a bar in NYC and it was one of the best things I've ever tried.

Yeah, it's a little fruity to drink a beer that doesn't taste like beer, but in this case, it's WELLS worth it lol.

You can buy it at Total Wine right in Ghent.

dear god, how much is a craft beer in NYC!?

(01-03-2013 09:24 AM)pandorazboxx Wrote:  dear god, how much is a craft beer in NYC!?

It was about 8 dollars for a single bottle, if I recall correctly. And this was at an absolute hole in the wall that only serves craft beers and nothing else.

(01-03-2013 05:43 PM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 09:24 AM)pandorazboxx Wrote:  dear god, how much is a craft beer in NYC!?

It was about 8 dollars for a single bottle, if I recall correctly. And this was at an absolute hole in the wall that only serves craft beers and nothing else.

I have to imagine its cheaper at total wine.

I'm heading to Florida tomorrow so hopefully I'll have a chance to grab a local beer. A cigar city beer sounds good right now.

(01-03-2013 06:47 PM)Fatmonarch Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 05:43 PM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 09:24 AM)pandorazboxx Wrote:  dear god, how much is a craft beer in NYC!?

It was about 8 dollars for a single bottle, if I recall correctly. And this was at an absolute hole in the wall that only serves craft beers and nothing else.

I have to imagine its cheaper at total wine.

I'm heading to Florida tomorrow so hopefully I'll have a chance to grab a local beer. A cigar city beer sounds good right now.

I believe it's something like 10-12 for a 6 pack at Total wine and totally worth it. It's literally like drinking banana bread and it tastes amazing.

http://wtkr.com/2013/01/03/norfolk-named...n-america/ duh...

Ahead of Milwaukee ehhh? Now that's surprising.

What a great surge! Last year, we were only #24!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2...at%20Sheet

way to go guys! Thank you football games!

Are you guys ready for another brewery in Hampton Roads? Here comes Virginia Beach's own Big Bug Brewing.

http://www.bigbugbrewing.com/home

(01-04-2013 07:32 AM)pandorazboxx Wrote:  What a great surge! Last year, we were only #24!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2...at%20Sheet

way to go guys! Thank you football games!

Wonder how much Blaine contributed to our number 2 ranking??

Both of the Smartmouth beers I've had are great. (Rule G and Murphy's Law) I've had O'Connor's before but I don't remember which one I had. I'll have to try El Guapo or the Dismal Swamp beer. I love that every local bar I go to has the local stuff on tap.