Sorry for the delay! I was supposed to post this weeks ago and just haven’t gotten to it. Blogging is hard. So without ado, we present Virginia trip Day 2, Virginia Beach. Continued…
Wasserhund Brewing Company (Virginia Beach, VA)
Tucked behind a bike shop in a busy shopping area in Virginia Beach, VA is Wasserhund Brewing Company. This spacious brewpub is home to German-styled beer and gastropub styled pizza. Upon entering the establishment you’re greeted by the monthly charity area which just so happened to be the aquarium we just visited (and highly recommend).
With 12 beers on draft (10 different styles) we read over the menu, ordered a flight and our favorite carb; pizza. In order from least to most favorite we had the Sarahs Gluten Free Mojito IPA, Doggy Paddle IPA, German Shepheweizen hefe, Locals Lager with Blood Orange, Bitchin Bacon Stout and the California Common.
Made for individuals with Celiac’s disease, Sarahs Gluten Free Mojito IPA was brewed with sorghum and honey rather than barley so you notice an unusual flavor combination right off the bat. The body is session like and has a subtle citrus nose but not very mojito tasting or smelling. While I’m certain there are many people who are appreciative of the beer, we just weren’t the biggest fans. Doggy Paddle IPA is a West Coast style IPA with a heavy citrus nose but a really bitter finish in our opinion. The German Shepheweizen also had a really bitter finish which is odd considering it is a hefe. Perhaps the Germans like their beers more bitter? Locals Lager with Blood Orange is where our flight went from “eh” to “oh” real quick.
Locals Lager with Blood Orange is what I’d normally call a lawn mower beer but since we’re in Virginia Beach it would probably be a beach beer. The orange flavor was present, not over powering and smelled delicious. Bitchin Bacon Stout continued the trend with a full bodied chocolate, oatmeal stout that was a really well done stout. Our only complaint was the lack of bacon flavor. There was some smoky presence, but nothing that really said bacon. A surprising first place was the California Common. As previously described in another blog post, a California Common used to be “the poor man’s beer” and has grown in popularity after being perfected by Anchor Brewing Company (Anchor Steam Beer). This Cali Common however was fermented using their Kolsch yeast, giving it a significantly fruitier and smoother body than previous cali commons we’ve had.
Wasserhund Brewing Company makes fantastic pizza, and brews a large spectrum of German-centric beers that will cater to all pallets including those with Celiac’s disease. Wasserhund fetched 3.8 tennis balls out of 5.
Back Bay Brewing Company (Virginia Beach, VA)
Also of Virginia Beach, VA… Seriously how big is this town? Back Bay Brewing Company is a down and dirty, pet friendly brewhouse founded in 2011. And Kale-Kyle has now officially joined us after leaving work a tad early to drink some quality beers at one of his favorite local breweries.
Back Bay had 8 brews on draft so we grabbed one of everything. False Cape Ale, Raspberry Ginger Lager, Atlantic Ave IPA, Steel Pier Bohemian Lager, Best Coast NEIPA, Duck Dive West Coast IPA, Queen Anne’s Revenge Imperial Stout and Owl’s Kriek. Skipping over False Cape average Ale, the Raspberry Ginger Lager was really potent in the ginger aspect. If you really enjoy fresh ginger flavor, you will appreciate this but if you came for the raspberry like Melissa did, you will be sorely disappointed. Atlantic Ave IPA and Steel Pier Bohemian were also average beers. Atlantic is a mosaic + nugget IPA that was supposed to taste of peach, mango and other fruit but it fell short in all of those characteristics. Steel Pier had a honey wheat flavor, that was pleasant but nothing to write home for.
Best Coast NEIPA is where we started to go from average tier to above average. This hazy IPA had a smooth mouth feel, and just enough bitter to not drown out a grapefruit backend. It was just really well done and stuck out to me on our flight paddle. Duck Dive West Coast IPA was a cleaner and crisper IPA when stacked against Best Coast, nothing crazy defining, but it was really refreshing. Queen Anne’s Imp Stout was very light bodied for being a 10% stout, but the espresso came as advertised. Lastly, the Owl’s Kriek got style point for being a kriek beer in a cask outside of Vermont. While krieks aren’t for everyone, as they have unusual sour cherry flavors and are a mixed bag for peat and earth tones, they are always appreciated by us because they’re few and far in between.
Back Bay Brewing Company is an easy place to miss from the road but a great stop to take if you want good beer, in a dog friendly establishment with a tabletop shuffle board set. Back Bay Brewing Company earned a satisfying 4 out of 5.
Pleasure House Brewing (Virginia Beach, VA)
The breweries we tend to appreciate the most are the ones who have a strong local patronage and are often described as a ‘locals bar’ either in discussion, or in an online review. Pleasure House Brewing, also of Virginia Beach, VA is had been accurately described to us as such a place. Dart boards, games, tons of seating, drunk locals and a rambunctious bartender made our short stop here fly by faster than it should have. It was one of those places where everyone knew each other and even if they didn’t know you, you were immediately welcomed into the conversation. Needless to say, we were none too thrilled to leave after finishing our 11 sample flight.
Since there were 11 beers on the flight, let’s just pick our top five for discussion. Sic Transit Solitas Strong Ale, Glo Blonde Ale, OB’s Wattleseed Export Stout, Winter Bock and Lynnhaven Coffee & Cream Stout. Sic Transit Solitas is a strong ale that has more bark than bite due to its shockingly low ABV at only 9.3%. We felt that the brew should have hit 10% at a minimum considering the flavor profile. It’s hard to describe but if you get the chance to taste it you will immediately know what we mean by that. We did like the smooth finish and the relatively light body. Glo is described as a spicy, sweet blonde ale, and it hits all the notes in a well-balanced way with no flavor too subtle or too in your face. Normally we don’t highlight styles like blondes, but this is one of those rare exceptions that the beer was something more than just space filler on a flight board. There was also an Amarillo dry-hopped version of this beer, but we preferred the original.
OB’s Wattleseed Export Stout aged in Ironclad Distillery (Newport News, VA) bourbon barrels managed to do what many breweries still cannot; make a beer absorb the oak and bourbon flavors without the glaring booze overtones. I’m not going to pretend I know how to make a good bourbon barrel aged beer, but I can tell you that this 8% stout had great flavor without the strong alcohol notes. The original OB Wattleseed was aged in Woodford Reserve barrels and I’m kind of disappointed I will never get the chance to drink the original blend.
Tied for best on flight was Lynnhaven Coffee & Cream Stout and the Winter Bock. My pick being the stout and Mel’s being the bock. In my opinion, this was the most unusual non-barrel aged stout we had on the trip. It wasn’t quite a coffee stout, and it wasn’t quite milk stout; it was some weird flavor in-between that you either loved or hated. Melissa wasn’t a huge fan, but Kyle and I really enjoyed the beer. The Winter Bock was labeled hellesbock; a pale, hopped German style lager. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it, but Melissa was adamant that this was her favorite beer here and to get it.
There is really no getting around the damn name so I’m just going to say that no, Pleasure House is not a rub-n-tug. This is a brewery, I swear. The only thing that was pleasured was our pallets. Jokes aside, this brewery is a lot of fun and if you’re in the area we recommend a stop. We give Pleasure House 4 erections thumbs up out of 5.
