Active Woman Traveler

To extend my enjoyment of life's palatable pleasures, I've expanded my interests into spirits and cocktails. So now let's combine the two of them with the Hodge Gingerbread & Stout Cocktail from The Craft Beer Channel. 

To learn how to make this sumptious cocktail, watch the Craft Beer Channel YouTube video.

The Growth of Virginia Craft Beer

Hot in the July sun, but patient and curious, the crowd listened to Gov. Terry McAuliffe beside the lake in West Creek Business Park. 

“Today’s announcement and the whole craft brewing industry has been spectacular for the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Gov. McAuliffe said. “It equates to about $623 million a year of economic activity. It equates to over 8,000 jobs.”

The announcement heralded a new 60,000-square-foot facility for Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, with brewhouse, taproom, amphitheater, garden, and more amenities supplementing their current space. The operations are projected to create 56 jobs and to allow Hardywood, already the largest brewery purchaser of Virginia agricultural products, to purchase 300,000 pounds of local hops, grains and adjuncts. 

“By putting an emphasis on local ingredients, the craft beer industry is growing their connection to Virginia’s agriculture community in a big way and our farmers are keen to supply them with the products they need to make their outstanding beers,” said Secretary of Agriculture & Forestry Todd Haymore. 

If you have yet to become enamored of the fizzy fermented beverage called beer, you may not care about the growth of the industry. But like the drink itself, there’s more to this than meets the eye: inhale the sweet smell of success, wafting past the confines of the glass; taste flavors that have blossomed beyond those that used to define American beer; and wrap the experience into a complete context of enjoyment.

Nationally, craft beer production volume increased 16 percent during the first half of the year, according to mid-year data released by the Brewers Association (BA) on July 27, 2015, the not-for-profit trade association of small and independent American craft brewers.

“Industry growth is occurring in all regions and stemming from a mix of sources including various retail settings and a variety of unique brewery business models,” reported Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association. 

As of June 30, 2015, BA reported, 3,739 breweries were operating in the U.S, an increase of 699 breweries over 2014, with 1,755 breweries in planning. The trade association estimates that craft brewers employ an estimated 115,469 full-time and part-time workers, thus contributing significantly to the U.S. economy.

According to the “Beer Serves America” report on July 28, 2015, jointly commissioned by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the overall U.S. beer industry contributed $253 billion to the American economy and supported 1.75 million jobs in 2014.

Virginia reflects the same rise in numbers: since 2012, the number of state breweries has increased from 44 to 121. 

Individual breweries continue to grow, too. Devils Backbone Brewing announced in July that it was expanding distribution to North Carolina, expanding their Rockbridge County production brewery – again.

In the Richmond area, the brewery count has reached 14, with eight more on the way. Our current breweries continue to grow. Among other indicators: Hardywood Park is projecting that 2015 production will top 14,000 barrels; Center of the Universe expanded distribution into Hampton Roads and plans an equipment expansion; Midnight moved into a larger production facility.  

Local and state governments have encouraged established breweries to open facilities in the commonwealth, too. 

Last October, California’s Stone Brewing announced their choice of Richmond as their East Coast production facility and restaurant, vowing to use Virginia vendors for equipment, supplies and ingredients, and to hire for 300 jobs. Virginia Beach has landed San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing Co. for its East Coast expansion, and Loudoun County recently declared Victory, announcing that the Pennsylvania-based Victory Brewing will open a brewpub in Leesburg. 

If those industry reports don’t mean anything to you, consider the closer-to-home effects. 

Picture yourself at a brewery tasting room – as you glance around you, evidence of the beer boom surrounds you.

That beer you’re holding may use local ingredients – malted barley, hops, and flavor adjuncts like herbs, berries and pumpkins. Facilities exist and are in development to smoke and malt the barley and to process hops. These products support the local economy and bring freshness and flavor to your glass.

If you’re at the tasting room during an event, you may be chatting with tourists or enjoying live music (the outlets for local musicians have multiplied magnificently), a fair of local vendors or a game of Jenga.

Perhaps the most welcome results are in your mouth. Besides brewing beers that represent classic styles, our brewers use newer techniques – hop bursting in Starr Hill’s updated Northern Lights IPA, for example – and perfectly paired adjuncts, such as Isley’s Choosy Mother peanut butter porter, Ardent’s Honey Ginger and Lickinghole Creek’s Rosemary Saison, plus numerous barrel-aged beers.

You’ll also see evidence of industry growth when you’re out and about, as local restaurants and retailers have added tap lines and packaged beers. 

“Hardywood’s new $28 million expansion in Goochland … along with expansions from California breweries like Stone and Green Flash, solidify Virginia’s position as one of the best places to make craft beer on the East Coast,” said Secretary Haymore. 

“Drink beer, drink wine, drink everything you can to help us increase our economic activity,” Gov. McAuliffe told the West Creek crowd. That’s one government directive that’s easy to support.

Energetic Journeys

Picture yourself on a tropical beach: shimmering white sand, warm sunshine and gentle breezes, cerulean sky, crashing waves. In your vision, what are you doing? Are you lying in a lounger with a margarita and a magazine or are you hugging your board, eager to ride the waves? 

If you’d be hugging the surfboard, and if even the thought of lounging for hours on end makes you crazy with boredom, four Richmonders have some travel suggestions for you.

Coach Gina Lucido of the University of Richmond women’s field hockey team; Don Garber, head coach of Richmond’s Marathon Training Team and a member of the 50 States Marathon Club; executive director of Richmond’s Sports Backers, Jon Lugbill; and Dr. Douglas Cutter, medical director for HCA Virginia Sports Medicine, medical director for the Richmond marathon, a team physician for the Richmond Flying Squirrels and team physician for the University of Richmond - where do they go? What do they do? What tips and recommendations do they have?

Read more at Richmond Navigator

Virginia Beach, Virginia

One destination, one easy drive from Richmond, and three different beach experiences. What’s not to love about Virginia Beach? I admit it – this nearby beach had dropped from my radar until recently. I went there for the 2014 Shamrock Marathon, one of the area’s many successful racing events, and I saw the destination with fresh eyes.

If you’re like me, your first image of Virginia Beach is the resort area. The beautifully maintained boardwalk stretches for three miles, providing one pathway for strolling or jogging and another for biking or rollerblading. On one side of the boardwalk lie the Atlantic Ocean and the wide, sandy, lifeguard-patrolled beach. On the other side, you find plenty of top-notch hotel accommodations, a variety of restaurants and lots of shops. 

Several miles south of the resort is the laid-back Sandbridge neighborhood. At Sandbridge, you can play along the five miles of sand dunes and dancing sea oats and lifeguard-patrolled beaches, visit the natural wonders of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park, and relax in rental beach homes.

North of the resort lie the quieter waters of the Chesapeake Bay, gentle waves splashing on the shoreline. Here, you can visit First Landing State Park and romp on the beach or explore its lagoons, cypress trees and rare plants, or paddle the region’s backwaters.

Agritourism

One cuisine, and one cuisine only, pervades my thoughts at the beach: seafood, of course. And since I like to know where my food comes from and I love to enjoy it fresh, I was thrilled to take the oyster farm tour with Pleasure House Oysters. 

This boat tour along the Lynnhaven River gave me an enjoyable education into the farming of one of my favorite delicacies. Not only did the guide explain the process of growing and harvesting oysters, we even stopped at one of the oyster beds and waded through the fields of mollusks. Better yet – we tried oysters fresh from the riverbed. And even better – the guide also served us oysters from other regions so we could viscerally understand how the source affects the end product. 

Oh, and as if it could get any better, we also had a charcuterie plate and a bottle of Virginia wine! 

Read more at Richmond Navigator