Active Woman Traveler

Richmond’s booziest neighborhood may just be the coolest for Halloween weekend 2016. The producers of fermented beverages have teamed up for the Scott’s Addition Halloween Booz Crawl on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. This trick-or-treat bar crawl will allow attendees to try the neighborhood’s variety of alcohol and to be entered to win prizes.

The neighborhood hosts four breweries, two cideries, a meadery and a distillery (with more in the works). 

Starting at 6 p.m., revelers can pick up Booz Crawl cards at any of the participating locations and receive three unique stamps. At the end of the night, trick-or-treaters can turn the card in at any location and be entered to win. Prizes include a $25 gift card from each producer. Seven drawings will take place from all collected and completed cards, and winners will be announced the following day.

All locations will be holding their weekly events: tastings, full pours, food trucks and music. The Veil will also host a costume and dance party, from 6 p.m. to midnight. Ardent releases the Roggenbier, a German style using rye malt. Buskey Cider offers spooky dry ice cocktails. And Reservoir offers extended hours, just for this event (open till 9 p.m.)

Spirited participants in the Booz Crawl include

Ardent Craft Ales, 3200 W. Leigh St.

Blue Bee Cider, 1320 Summit Ave.

Buskey Cider, 2910 W. Leigh St.

Isley Brewing Company, 1715 Summit Ave.

Reservoir Distillery, 1800A Summit Ave.

Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, 2930 W. Broad St.

The Veil Brewing Company, 1301 Roseneath Rd.

Great American Beer Festival Winners

Virginia breweries claimed 13 awards at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colorado, including two awards for Richmond breweries, plus one award in the Pro-Am Competition. Put on by the Brewers’ Association brewery trade group, the GABF awards are among the most coveted and prestigious by American brewers. 

The beers are judged by the festival’s professional judge panel, identifying three beers that best represent each of the 96 beer-style categories adopted by the Great American Beer Festival. 

Festival attendees can also sip the beer entered in the competition during GABF tasting sessions. The festival, begun in 1982, is held annually in Denver. This year, Charlie Papazian, GABF founder and primary mover in the growth of craft beer, was recognized for his 35 years of leadership. 

• Ardent Craft Ales, Richmond: Bronze for Brett Saison in Brett Beer 
• Blue Mountain Barrel House and Organic Brewery, Arrington: Silver for 13.Five Ofest in Vienna-style Lager
• Devils Backbone Brewing, Roseland and Lexington: Gold for Vienna Lager in Vienna-style Lager; Gold for Danzig in Baltic-style Porter
• Sweetwater Tavern (Great American Restaurants), Centreville: Silver for Wit’s End Ale in Belgian-style Witbier
• Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Richmond: Silver for Grosse Teufel in the Historical Beer category
• Lost Rhino Brewing, Ashburn: Silver for Face Plant in English-style IPA
• Ocelot Brewing, Sterling: Gold for Sunnyside Dweller in Kellerbier or Zwickelbier
• Ornery Beer, Woodbridge: Gold for Light of Cologne in German-style Kölsch
• Port City Brewing, Alexandria: Silver for Colossal Five in Old Ale or Strong Ale
• South Street Brewery, Charlottesville: Silver for Twisted Gourd in Pumpkin Spice Beer; Bronze for Slippery When Wit in Session Beer
• Spencer Devon Brewing, Fredericksburg: Bronze for Sunken Road, Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale
• Starr Hill Brewery, Crozet: Silver for the Vernal Equinox English IPA, teamed up with home brewer Gary Layton, winner of the Starr Hill JAMBEEREE homebrew competition, in the Pro-Am division

(Photo © Brewers Association)

A Tasty New Space

Same tasty beer – redesigned digs – more of everything. At Center of the Universe Brewing in Ashland, Virginia. 

For those who've had the pleasure of experiencing COTU's taproom, picture the original tasting room: knock down the wall between the main room and the hallway, put the service bar in the space where the hallway used to be, and you've got the expanded main area. Remove the drop ceiling and imagine the industrial ceiling in a soft matte black with subtle pendant lighting. Now add a splash of colors, blending turquoise and a rich twilight blue, accented in an astro-inspired mural at one end of the room and in the drop lights over the tables. The horseshoe booths upholstered in red add to the retro touch, while the high tables in the middle invite more communal imbibing. (I challenge you to view the Isoceles trapezoid tables without puzzling over the shapes you could create.)

Another mural will be gracing the long wall above the bar (absent the windows behind the bar, which overlook the canning line), once the new paint cures sufficiently.

Now all of this looks pretty cool, but you should also know that the taps have expanded from eight to twelve.

You might also want to know that – as of Monday, Aug. 1, co-owner Phil Ray tells me – one of the taps will be equipped to pour soda water to be mixed with one of several syrups, accommodating kids, designated drivers, and wise imbibers who know they have had enough. The crafted sodas also accommodate COTU's radlers, like the current Summer Moon imperial wheat beer blended with lemon-lime soda: lower your alcohol intake without sacrificing taste.

Next, recall entering the old taproom – public spaces were to your left, but some nebulous, closed-off area was to the right. Those were offices. Now, the space has been converted to more taproom space, accommodating the pinball machines as well as plenty of seating. COTU also added decorative pocket doors and taps, so the overflow space can easily host private events.

In all, the COTU interior now has seating for 115 total, plus standing room (final official fire marshall number still TBD), including 60 comfortably accommodated in the overflow room. And, of course, the outside beer garden is still open for business.

If you can't make it out to Center of the Universe for the Grand Re-Opening Party on Saturday, July 30, check out the Gose Fest on Aug. 6 or the Bloody Beer Bingo Brunch on Aug. 7 (featuring Texas Beach Bloody Mary mix plus games and brunch-inspired burritos). 

Breckenridge Mango Mosaic Pale Ale

Greet the warm summer weather with beers that are light and refreshing. When you can’t make it to the beach (or you’re there and want to embrace the sand, surf and spray to the fullest), pop open an ale that will bring to mind the rhythm of the waves.

Breckenridge Mango Mosaic Pale Ale – now year round – can transport you, using Mosaic hops and generous amounts of mango for exotic tropical notes. Though light and refreshing, the body of the beer satisfies. As a pale ale, Mango Mosaic achieves balance: malt flavors on the mid-palate and tropic hops singing “Don’t worry, be happy” on the end.

At 5.5 percent ABV, the brew borders on sessionable, perfect for warm summer days. Or, now that the beer is available year-round, you can enjoy its bright notes après ski – or simply après work – paired with foods like chicken, fish or an easy-eating cheese plate. At only 29 IBUs, its bitterness won’t spoil your palate for other flavors.

In talking about the beer’s creation, Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery president Todd Usry says, “We’ve used Mosaic hops for several years in other beers, and we love the floral, tropical fruit, earthy characteristics that it gives - great aroma and a sweetness unlike other hops we’ve experimented with. We thought it would pair naturally with a tropical fruit like mango, so we got busy in our pilot brewery up in Breck to find the right balance of hops to fruit.” 

Mango Mosaic is available in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles and on draft. 

Beer cocktail: Mosaic Mango Mania

Though this beer doesn’t need any flavor enhancements, I couldn’t resist experimenting with spirits that complement the pale ale. For additional summertime flavors and extra kick, pour 1 ½ ounces of your favorite tequila into a tulip glass, then top it with Breckenridge Mango Mosaic. The tequila adds a touch of dry alcohol bite and more essence of summer without overpowering the beauty of the pale ale.