And here is the last of our Richmond VA beer reviews! Finally!
It isn’t often that we’re able to hit so many breweries in a single day, but with hard work, determination and Kyle; anything is possible. Its starting to get late and both Kyle and Melissa are getting full so we had to make a judgement call to only hit two more breweries. We chose Strangeways Brewing and The Answer Brewpub; easily the two best breweries of the day/week in our opinions.
Strangeways Brewing (Richmond, VA)
Strangeways was certainly where sh*t got strange. The décor in the front taproom was somewhere between a 3rd grade girls bedroom and Melissa’s taste in bedrooms 🙂 But the front room was nowhere near as impressive as the barrel collection in the backroom. The back is clearly where beer goes to party and get a little weird prior to visiting your flight glass. Speaking of flights and in order from least to most favorite…
- Lucky Charms: Didn’t exactly taste like the Lucky Charms we’re familiar with, but this Berliner Weisse did pack a magical punch. Normally a well done Berliner is hard to ignore, but in the case of this flight it was actually one of the least interesting we were served. But don’t let that deter you from getting a pint of it.
- Ape Armageddon Brandy Barrel Aged Imperial Stout: As the name points out, this brandy barrel aged stout is like being part of the wrong species in Planet of the Apes. The 11% was extremely boozy and not quite how we expected it to taste. A proper brandy is usually fruity and smooth. Ape was rather sharp and unrefined. Kyle personally enjoyed it, but I don’t imagine anyone would have enough stomach for more than 8 oz.
- Wampus Cat Triple IPA: What could have been my favorite of the flight, if only four more beers we’re stupid great. Can you believe I placed a super delicious, extremely hoppy, smooth 10% IPA so low on the totem pole?
- Tirami’Zu Brew Rum Barrel Aged Porter: This porter held a huge vanilla and chocolate flavor that were extremely refined. Not sure how long the beer sat around stewing in the rum barrel, but it turned out to near perfection. Ape could use a few pointers from Tirami’Zu.
- Sour Cherry Cobbler: Liquid cherry in a classic Berliner makes for a delicious treat. Yes it was extremely sweet, so a few ounces are really all that’s required. It looks like the beer is hit or miss according to Untappd.
- Pink Lemonade: Yes this was a shandy, but even then we’re not really sure how this qualified as a beer. This would be the perfect beer for mowing a lawn, or watching your childs soccer practice.
- Radler Pina Colada: Which leaves us with the Pina Colada as #1. Another shandy, and incredibly it was more impressive than the Pink Lemonade. Again, not sure how this qualified as a beer. It would probably be best consumed on a beach than a bar.
Strangeways had some unusual beers lined up for us that night and judging by the tap rotation with crazy names and high scores on Untappd, it’s probably a safe bet that you won’t leave disappointed. Strangeways earns a must visit 4.75 out of 5.
The Answer Brewpub (Richmond, VA)
The Answer Brewpub is our last stop of the night and was a personal recommendation from the very-opinionated, hophead Mikey Metaxes; who may or may not be a biased source as this place named a beer named after him. So you might be asking yourself, what is the question? I have no idea at the time of writing this but I imagine it was something along the lines of “do you want to drink phenomenal beer that looks, smells and tastes freaking awesome?”
- Hard in the Paint: Again, a DIPA being outshone by the uniqueness of the beers below; but still a great citrus IPA.
- You Down with OPP (Orange Pineapple Popsicle): Base gose with blood orange, pineapple and sea salt. We didn’t taste too much orange, as the pineapple was a bit overpowering. So if you enjoy pineapple this is the beer for you.
- Strawberry Popsicle: The strawberry variant to OPP with heavy emphasis on the strawberry part. It was a perfectly smooth strawberry flavor, with none of the artificial taste that usually comes along with fruit in beer form. Normally this would have been Melissa’s top choice, but Kromer Juice really stole the show.
- Kromer Juice – Mango: Another sour, another masterpiece. This Berliner Weisse is a hearty blend of mango and passionfruit. Not entirely sure what a passionfruit tastes like, but whatever was used in this impressive beverage was certainly delicious. Melissa was really torn between this and the Strawberry Popsicle for #1.
While we may never know the question, we certainly know that the Answer is your one-stop shop for an excellent beer. Yes, our beer review metric might be a tad skewed due to the IPA/sour combo so just to throw it out there that the brewery did offer an impressive array of styles and variants, but we could only stay for the four. So we chose the best of the best. The Answer earns itself a must visit 4.85 out of 5.
And thus ends our Richmond trip. Now there are still plenty of excellent breweries to visit in and around Richmond, VA so please don’t be disappointed we didn’t get the privilege of visiting your favorite. Let us know what we missed and we will be sure to add it to the list next time!
And if you missed any of our earlier posts from RVA see part 1, part 2, and part 3.
