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Mead can lay claim to being one of the oldest fermented beverages, but it’s the cutting-edge creative approach of owner Bill Cavender and fellow mead-makers Mike Palese and Zack Napier that sets apart Black Heath Meadery in Scott’s Addition.

Mike Palese (from left), Bill Cavender (owner) and Zack Napier join Jay Burnham (right) and me in the WRIR studio. Graves photo

Join co-host Jay Burnham and me on this week’s broadcast of the RVA BEER Show, 97.3 FM WRIR Independent Radio at 11:3o a.m. for a spirited discussion of mead, its ingredients, its history and the success of Black Heath. If you can’t catch the show, click on the link below for the broadcast. And don’t forget to support local breweries during American Craft Beer Week!

The meadow of a thousand starflies–be patient. It’s not night yet. Photo by Lee Graves

Two nights ago, fireflies appeared in my meadow for the first time this season. A blink here, a flash there, tentative sparks floating above the meadow. In coming weeks they will increase by the score until at season’s height they will create a spectacle of magical proportions—a silent fireworks display on the grandest scale, challenging the mind and the eyes to fully absorb the glittering display. Sunday night, though, the sparks were sporadic, nomadic, minutes apart, so that I felt I could trace the individual insects hovering above the grass. There was an intimacy to the moment that will not come again.

I struggle with their names. Calling them fireflies doesn’t really capture their presence. They don’t burst into flames, like some single-handed conflagration. Nor are they bolts of lightning, as the name lightning bugs suggests. How about starflies? I like the grace of that, and in my meadow they certainly create a flickering galaxy of ever-changing constellations.

The accompanying photo is of my meadow as I look out this evening from my deck. The air is soft tonight and less fragrant than Sunday, when the first starflies emerged. Then there was a thick honeysuckle pudding of smells in the air. Regardless of the weather, the view is a jewel. Deer often nestle among clumps of grass below during the night; my flashlight catches their eyes, red coals in the beam. Skunks, possums, turkey, foxes—I even saw a bear waddle across the creek once. The deck is sheltered by four trees—a pine (Virginia pine, I believe), a sweetgum (damn those pesky spiked balls they shed) and two grand old oaks, one a pin oak, the other a red oak. They are the lords of the meadow, reigning from this ridge over the poplars, oaks, pawlonia, locusts and others that form an amphitheater below. A perfect setting for a starfly festival.

I started renting this cottage three years ago. My stated purpose was to have a base in Charlottesville as I worked on my second beer book. Those who know me know better—I am a lover of the outdoors, of solitude (though I’m not a recluse), of birds, of breezes, of feeling the ocean of change swirl in waves, seen and unseen, passing within and without. At this moment I hear the yacking of a pileated woodpecker, its call like the sputtering of an old jalopy. A Canada goose just honked by, probably headed for the pond on the other side of the hill. Earlier I saw my first scarlet tanager of the season; Sunday, an indigo bunting. Wrens have built a nest among the beams that hold up the deck, only a few feet from where I sit now.

This cottage, this meadow, these trees and birds and all—they have changed me. Perhaps it’s my age as well—I’ll be 70 in November—but my soul finds rest here, like the artificial snow in one of those watery globes you shake up and watch as the flakes settle. Peace comes if you let it. Also, I have read more extensively in spiritual matters and tried to put into practice some of the disciplines of mindfulness. Meditation, yes, though I lack the discipline at the moment to make it part of the daily routine. Still, I try to pay attention to the small things I might ignore if I were in a hurry. The swallowtail butterflies clustered around a puddle in the driveway. The bumblebees that police their territory like buzzing bullies. The tracks in the mud—two hooves, like knuckles pressed in the ground, showing that a deer has passed recently. And, yes, the starflies. I’m eager to see the first one tonight. Wish I may, wish I might…Can you wish upon a starfly? I don’t see why not. If so, I wish you were here to share this with me.

Jeff Maisey, founder, publisher and editor of Virginia Craft Beer magazine, joins Jay Burnham and me on the RVA Beer Show this week. Tune in at 11:30 a.m. today (Friday) to hear the broadcast on WRIR 97.3 FM. If you can’t catch the broadcast, click on the link below and you won’t miss a thing. Cheers to all.

Ashley Ray of Center of the Universe, beer writers Robey Martin and Annie Tobey, and Cheyenne Burnham of Final Gravity joined us on the RVA Beer Show. Photo by Lee Graves

Women make up about 12 percent of weekly craft beer drinkers but about 50 percent of the adult population. What’s with that? Join Ashley Ray of Center of the Universe, Cheyenne Burnham of Final Gravity, beer writers Robey Martin and Annie Tobey, co-host Jay Burnham and me on the RVA Beer Show as we talk about the roles of women in craft beer. The show airs every other Friday at 11:30 a.m. on WRIR fm 97.3 Independent Radio. The link below accesses our March 9, 2018, program.

The intersection of black history and beer is a narrow one. Most folks, I believe, would be hard pressed to name two African-Americans who have made a mark on the chalkboard of beer history.

Beer cellar at Monticello. Photo by Lee Graves

I say two because Garrett Oliver has become a household name among beer aficionados. He started as an apprentice at Brooklyn Brewery, rose to head brewer in 1994 and has written and edited numerous books, including two of my go-to resources, The Brewmaster’s Table and The Oxford Companion to Beer.

Beyond Oliver, few African-American names jump to the tip of the tongue of Joe Blow beer lover. That’s a shame, because the history of black involvement in American brewing is a rich one, reaching back to colonial times and rubbing shoulders with the nation’s founders. Black History Month affords an opportunity to tell that story, and I’d been struggling to find a springboard to launch into the subject until yesterday, when a friend shared a piece published in USA Today. The headline reads: “Craft brewers seek to involve more African Americans.” The article quotes Oliver and several others in the industry, such as Kevin Blodger of Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore and Mark and Sharon Ridley, owners of a Brass Tap franchise in the D.C. metro area of Maryland.

It would have been unreasonable to expect the article to go back centuries to include names such as Peter Hemings. Or Bagwell Granger. Or Daniel Farley. Or the Nottoway Negroes. Or a ditcher named Botswain who sold George Washington six pounds of hops in 1798.

All of these Virginians were slaves except for Farley. He was a free black man living in Charlottesville who probably made his own homebrew and definitely sold hops to Thomas Jefferson for brewing at Monticello. And there we come to the most luminous intersection of black history and beer, in the figure of Peter Hemings. I contend that Hemings was the first black person professionally trained in the brewing arts in this country. His story exists within a broader context, though, which deserves wider appreciation for the role of slaves in making beer. The past can inspire the present, and it’s my hope that stories of Virginia’s black brewing history can frame a proud legacy and a sense of identity for African American beer lovers.

First, a bit of background. Beer has been with us since the dawn of civilization, perhaps even before hunter-gathers settled into an agrarian lifestyle. Beer was brewed by Native Americans before Europeans arrived. Beer was on board the three ships that delivered English settlers to Jamestown in 1607. And beer was a staple on plantations as those settlers moved westward into the Virginia wilderness.

The chore of producing sufficient ale to fortify family members and guests in this part of the country fell to the plantation mistress. Her role was largely supervisory—securing recipes, procuring ingredients, scheduling batches, ensuring quality—while the actual hands-on brewing in the kitchen was conducted by slaves. Brewing was a skill much valued, as shown in this ad in a Virginia newspaper: For sale: A valuable young Negro woman, very well qualified for all sorts of Housework, as Washing, Ironing, Sewing, Brewing, Baking, &c.

To brew good beer, you need the right ingredients. Although everything from persimmons to pea pods was used in colonial brew pots, traditional elements such as hops and barley provided the best ale. Virginia’s climate frowned on efforts to cultivate barley, but hops, which are a native species (according to Thomas Jefferson), grew readily, both wild on river banks and on homesteads. Landon Carter, son of Robert “King” Carter and one of the colonial era’s most prominent plantation owners, wrote a 16-page essay in the mid-1700s on growing hops. He described how to choose the best site, prepare the soil, train the bines to grow properly, harvest the cones and dry them for brewing. Being a wealthy planter with many civic and military duties in addition to running the Sabine Hall estate, Carter probably spent little time digging holes, shoveling manure or picking the sticky, rough hops. Those chores fell to slaves.

And at least some of those slaves paid attention and learned, as numerous records indicate. In addition to Botswain’s transaction with George Washington, bookkeepers at the College of William and Mary (where evidence indicates that a brew house existed in the 1700s) noted purchases of hops from a group named simply the “Nottoway Negroes.”

Martha Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson, recorded numerous brewing dates in her accounts.

The most telling tale comes from Monticello. Martha Jefferson, Thomas’ wife, was a prolific brewer. Her household accounts mention sixteen batches brewed her first year there, 1772-73, and from all indications those ales were well-hopped. She bought some hops from slaves at neighboring estates, but the gardens of slaves at Monticello served as a source for many of those hops. Though the Jeffersons purchased all kinds of produce, fish, game and other consumables from their slaves, “Hops was among the most frequently purchased product from the slave community by Martha,” writes author Peter Hatch, former director of gardens and grounds at Monticello.

On Oct. 24, 1774, Martha noted: “Bought 7 lb of hops with an old shirt.” At the other end of the spectrum, in 1818 (well after Martha’s death in 1782), Thomas Jefferson paid Bagwell Granger, a notable figure in Monticello’s slave community, the amount of $20 for sixty pounds of hops. That equals about $800 today. “That seems like a lot,” noted one historian/author I consulted. “Still, it’s a fraction of what it would have cost to buy a family member’s freedom, when you think of it in that context.”

Hops grown at Monticello. Photo by Lee Graves

By the time of that purchase, brewing at Monticello was progressing on a sizable scale, thanks to Peter Hemings. A brother to Sally, James and others of the Hemings family, Peter served primarily as a tailor and chef. In 1813, however, Thomas Jefferson invited Capt. Joseph Miller to stay at Monticello and train Hemings as a brewer. Miller had been a professional brewer in London before coming to America to claim family estates and “to establish a brewery in which art I think him as skillful a man as has ever come to America,” Jefferson wrote.

Peter Hemings apparently was a quick study in brewing as well as his other skills and absorbed sophisticated brewing techniques. Jefferson described him as possessing “great intelligence and diligence both of which are necessary.” Improvisation also was required because barley, beer’s grain of choice, was not grown at the plantation and was expensive to import. So in 1814, they began to malt wheat; corn followed after Miller’s departure.

So, what was the beer like? Jefferson kept no recipes, but he did not tolerate insipid beer. He specified a bushel of malt for every eight to ten gallons of “strong beer, such as will keep for years.” And three-quarters of a pound of hops was used for every bushel of wheat.

Monticello’s brewing schedule was seasonal. In the fall, three sixty-gallon casks of ale were brewed in succession. Similar brewing followed in the spring. For production on that scale, Monticello needed a brew house, built in time for brewing in the fall of 1814. An undated drawing shows Jefferson’s plans for a Palladian-style brew house, but it is unknown if it was ever built. The location of the brew house that was used has not been determined, but Hemings would have been the hands-on supervisor of the ales it produced. Hemings was so accomplished that Jefferson invited his friend James Madison to send someone to learn from Peter.

Little else is known of Hemings other than a touching episode after Jefferson’s death in 1826. A lifetime of debt saddled the estate, and Jefferson’s heirs decided to hold an auction of property, including slaves in January 1827. The aforementioned Daniel Farley was one of those at the auction. Records suggest that Farley was the oldest son of Mary Hemings. That would have made him Peter Hemings’ nephew, though Farley was only two years younger than Monticello’s brewer, who was 57. Despite his age, Peter Hemings was appraised at the auction for $100, probably due to his multiple skills. Farley was able to purchase him for $1. “The token sale price suggests that the wish of his family members to purchase his freedom was recognized by those present at the sale,” noted one historian.

Peter Hemings lived out his days as a tailor in Charlottesville. No records indicate that he continued brewing. His legacy of making beer at Monticello, however, survives. Visitors to the “little mountain” will find a display of his brewing tools in a special exhibit. It falls to us to spread the word of his accomplishments and honor his name.

Join Jay Burnham and me on the RVA Beer Show as we talk with Mark Thompson, one of the seminal figures in Virginia’s craft beer scene.

Mark Thompson (left) joins Jay and me at The Veil in Scott’s Addition.

Thompson founded Starr Hill brewery in 1999 on West Main Street in Charlottesville–in the same building that held Virginia’s first brewpub–and led Starr Hill to becoming the state’s largest craft brewery. As chairman of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild, Thompson worked with state officials and other brewers to improve the landscape of craft brewing in the Old Dominion. Listen as he recalls those early days, takes a look at the current scene and describes his new project, The Brewing Tree in Nelson County.

Redemption comes in many forms.

For Blake Sherman and others at James River Brewery, it came Tuesday in the form of perhaps the world’s ugliest trophy.

But trophies are symbols of achievement, and for the Scottsville gang, the Best of Show award at the 2016 Virginia Craft Beer Cup competition was a thing of beauty, signifying far more than brewing one great beer. It was about turning an operation that initially suffered bumps and a bad reputation into a top-drawer destination for beer lovers.

Blake Sherman (from left), Shannon Brown and Carlean Stevens celebrate with the Best of Show trophy. Photo by Lee Graves

“I’m completely shocked,” said Sherman, head brewer, at the ceremony at Westrock in downtown Richmond. “I’m on cloud nine. We didn’t expect this. We came in here hoping for the best, and I’m just amazed that this even happened.”

“We’ve had some tough times and overcome some reputation issues. To have this is huge—huge!” he said, flanked by two James River stalwarts—Shannon Brown and Carlean Stevens. He held the bulky metal trophy, made from parts of a beer keg joined in Frankenstein fashion.

The winning beer was River Runner ESB. The initials stand for English Special Bitter, a style with British roots and a reputation for drinkability, medium hop bitterness and a caramelly sweetness from the malt. This version sports 5.6 percent alcohol by volume and 12 International Bitterness Units. If you want a taste, the brewery will be pouring River Runner at the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest Saturday at Devils Backbone Basecamp Brewup & Meadows near Wintergreen.

Sherman credited John Bryce, formerly with Old Dominion and Starr Hill breweries and one of Virginia’s longtime brewing gurus, with the recipe for River Runner. Bryce and Jacque Landry, former brewer at South Street Brewery and currently at the soon-to-open Basic City Brewing Co. in Waynesboro, have been pivotal influences in turning James River around.

The brewery opened in September 2012 with a one-barrel pilot system using plastic fermenters. That quickly proved unequal to the task in terms of both volume and consistency. The search for a bigger and better setup took the owners to China, where they purchased a 20-barrel system.

James River Brewery was quick to post notice of its award at the Scottsville tasting room. Photo by Lee Graves

Unfortunately, installing it and getting it running proved elusive. It wasn’t until Bryce and Landry came on the scene with their extensive professional experience that James River hit its stride.

Now it takes some pretty good legs to keep up with the pace set by craft brewers in Virginia. The competition has grown from 35 beers entered by 24 breweries in 2012 to 378 beers entered by 83 breweries in 2016. It’s one of the few competitions where all the judges—37 in this case—are certified according to Beer Judge Certification Program standards, said Bill Butcher, founder of Port City Brewing Co. in Alexandria.

James River’s Best of Show wasn’t the only award to raise eyebrows. Tony Ammendolia’s Final Gravity Brewing Co., a sister to his Original Gravity homebrewing supply store on Lakeside Avenue in Richmond, came away with four awards in his first year of competition. Two of those were in the Double IPA category, bronze for The Message and gold for Venus Rising.

“I’m totally thrilled,” Ammendolia said. “I had high hopes for the stout and the amber ale, but I had no expectations for any of the IPAs, going up against some of the guys like The Answer.” Larceny, an IPA brewed by Brandon Tolbert at The Answer in Richmond, won the 2015 Best of Show.

Long-time observers also noted that the awards were spread out among numerous breweries throughout the state. Silver Best of Show went to Old Bust Head Brewing Co. in Warrenton for its Oktoberfest; bronze went to Backroom Brewery in Middletown for its Lemon Basil Wheat Beer. All in all, more than 50 breweries won medals, representing areas of the state ranging from Virginia Beach to Harrisonburg, from Alexandria to Abingdon.

It wasn’t so long ago that Devils Backbone Brewing Company dominated the competition. In 2014, for example, it swept all three Best of Show medals. With the announcement in April that it was being acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev, however, it no longer qualified as a craft brewery under the definition established by the Brewers Association.

Traditionally, the awards ceremony has been held at the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest, which has been at Devils Backbone since its inception. Brett Vassey, president and CEO of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild, said moving it to Westrock was partially because so many breweries now enter the competition.

“Also, quite frankly, what we thought was important was to be able to separate the events.” Vassey said. “This was the year to do it. We wanted to be able to set a precedent of having it at an independent location and having this stand on its own two feet.”

“We were concerned that if we separated the two events that it would diminish one or both,” Vassey said. “It’s turned out actually to expand both.”

Keeping the focus on small breweries is important, Vassey said. “I was amazed at how many brewers who have been in business less than a year got gold. That’s a great testament to the focus on quality.”

Evidence of a good event could be found in the many smiling faces that roamed the reception after the event. The space buzzed with chatter and congratulations, for newcomers like Ammendolia to veterans such as Tom Martin, whose Legend Brewing Co. won gold for a bourbon-barrel aged version of the iconic Legend Brown Ale, which won bronze.

Shannon Ely, sales representative for Old Bust Head, was one of those glowing after that brewery received the silver Best in Show. “This is wonderful. We’re in with a great bunch of breweries, so this means a lot.”

The full list of winners at the 2016 Virginia Craft Beer Cup follows:

Best of Show: James River Brewery, first for River Runner ESB; Old Bust Head Brewing Co., second, Oktoberfest; Backroom Brewery, third, Lemon Basil Wheat Beer.

Light American Beer: Beer Hound Brewery, first for Olde Yella; Wolf Hills Brewing Co., second, Carry on Wheatward Sun; Beer Hound Brewery, third, Teddy.

Czech Lager: Port City Brewing Co., first for Downright Pilsner; Lost Rhino Brewing Co., second, Rhino Chasers Pilsner; Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, third, Pony Pasture Pilsner.

Munich Lager: Fair Winds Brewing Co., first for Hells Navigator; Three Notch’d Brewing Co., second, Brew Betties Maibock; South Street Brewery, third, My Personal Helles.

Kolsch: Mad Fox Brewing Co., first for Kolsch Ale; Ornery Beer Co., second, Kolsch; Bull and Bones Brewhaus, third, Kolsch.

German Pils and International Lager: Sunken City Brewing Co., first for Dam Lager; Back Bay Brewing Co., second, Gringo; Escutcheon Brewing Co., third for John Riggins’ 4^th and 1 Pilsner.

Marzen and Vienna Lager: Old Bust Head Brewing Co., first for Oktoberfest; Starr Hill Brewery, second, Jomo; Caboose Brewing Co., third, Crossroads Vienna Lager.

German Wheat Beer: Lost Rhino Brewing Co., first for Final Glide HefeWeizen; Starr Hill Brewery, second, The Love; River Company Brewery, third, Farmhouse Hefeweizen.

British Bitter: James River Brewery, first for River Runner ESB; Lake Anne Brew House, second, Lord Fairfax English Pale Ale; Port City Brewing Co., third, Monumental IPA.

Old Ale and Wee Heavy: Backroom Brewery, first for The Ferminator; Heritage Brewing Co., second, King’s Mountain; Redbeard Brewing Co., third, 221B Baker Brown.

Darker European Beer: Ardent Craft Ales, first for Schwarzbier; Big Ugly Brewing Co., second, Ghost Rider Porter; Bull and Bones Brewhaus, third, Appalachia Alt.

British Dark Ale: Pleasure House Brewing, first for No Waves; Midnight Brewery, second, Not My Job; Three Notch’d Brewing Co., third, No Veto Brown Ale.

Irish Red Ale: Dirt Farm Brewing, first for Red Merl; Pale Fire Brewing Co., second, Red Molly; Capitol City Brewing Co., third, Irish Red Ale.

Irish Stout: Backroom Brewery, first for Oatmeal Stout: Final Gravity Brewing Co., second, Irish Goodbye; Old 690 Brewing Co., third, Old 690 Chocolate Milk Stout.

American Blonde and Brown Ale: Caboose Brewing Co., first for Caboose Brown Ale; Castleburg Brewery and Taproom, second, Bishop’s Brown Ale; Legend Brewing Co., third, Brown Ale.

American Pale Ale: Pro Re Nata, first for Old Trail Pale Ale; Three Notch’d Brewing Co., second, Ghost of the 43^rd Pale Ale; Beltway Brewing Co., third, Rain or Shine.

American Amber Ale: Final Gravity Brewing Co., first for Fire Station 5; O’Connor Brewing Co., second, Red Nun Ale; Lake Anne Brew House, third, Reston Red.

American Dark Ale: Old Ox Brewery, first for Black Ox; Sunken City Brewing Co., second, The Columbian Coffee Stout; Port City Brewing Co., third, Porter.

American IPA: The Answer, first for Larceny; Fair Winds Brewing Co., second, Howling Gale IPA; Old Ox Brewery, third, Hoppy Place.

Specialty IPA: Sunken City Brewing Co., first for Red Clay IPA; Lost Rhino Brewing Co., second, Dawn Patrol Session IPA; Parkway Brewing Co., third, Factory Girl Session IPA.

Double IPA: Final Gravity Brewing Co., first for Venus Rising; Pale Fire Brewing Co., second, Village Green; Final Gravity, third, The Message.

Strong Ale: Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, first for Virginia Black Bear; Triple Crossing Brewing Co., second, Black Dolphin; Studio Brew, third, Czardust.

Belgian Blond and Saison: The Bold Mariner Brewing Co., first for Scurvy Dog; The Virginia Beer Co., second, Saison Tournante; Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, third, Singel.

Sour European Ale: Strangeways Brewing, first for Uberlin Berliner Weisse; Ornery Beer Co., second, Go Go Gose; Corcoran Brewing, third, Life Gose Round.

Belgian Wit, Pale Ale and Biere de Garde: Starr Hill Brewing Co., first for Sublime; Bull and Bones Brewhaus, second, Sun Lit Wit; Reaver Beach Brewing Co., third, Full Broadside.

Strong Belgian Ale: Apocalypse Ale Works, first for Brohead Fred; Garden Grove Brewing Co., second, Death; Chaos Mountain Brewing, third, Agents of Chaos.

Wild Yeast Specialty Beer: Triple Crossing Brewing Co., first for Brett Saison Anniversary Ale; Reaver Beach Brewing Co., second, Reaver’s Salvation; Reaver’s Beach, third, Reaver en Noir.

Fruit Beer: The Answer, first for Mami Cereza; Midnight Brewery, second, Watermelon Lime Kolsch; Big Ugly Brewing Co., third, Mango Rockers IPA.

Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer: Backroom Brewery, first for Lemon Basil Wheat Beer; Beer Hound Brewery, second, Snots; Steam Bell Beer Works, third, Tiramisu Stout.

Specialty and Experimental Beers: Parkway Brewing Co., first for Floyd Fest Hi-Test; South Street Brewery, second, Peanut Butter Cup Soft-Serv; Fair Winds Brewing Co., third, Sirens Lure.

Smoked or Wood-Aged Beer: Legend Brewing Co., first for Bourbon Barrel Brown; Adventure Brewing Co., second, 2^nd Anniversary Barleywine; Ardent Craft Ales, third, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Honey Ginger.

The City of Brotherly Love served as the gathering ground for some 13,000 brewers and beer industry folks who spent several days in May toasting growth, tasting beers, attending seminars and, in a sense, circling their wagons.

The 2016 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewAmerica Expo celebrated the growth of craft beer in the United States through seminars, a trade show and events around Philadelphia. Photo by Lee Graves

The record attendance at the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewAmerica Expo reflected the meteoric rise of a sector of the beer industry that has enjoyed double-digit growth in eight of the past 10 years. That growth amounted to 13 percent by volume last year, according to the Brewers Association, of Boulder, Colo., the not-for-profit trade group that supports small and independent brewers in the U.S.

“By any objective measure, the state of the union is very strong,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO of the association. “But we cannot, we must not rest on our laurels.”

The proposed purchase of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the continued acquisition of craft breweries by ABI and other elements in the business landscape provoked images of storm clouds, castle walls and embattled breweries among the week’s speakers. Pease said the association is fighting to ensure that craft brewers have fair access to resources and markets. “We are right in the middle of that battle, and we must not cede an inch,” he said.

In a “state of the industry” address, Bart Watson, the association’s chief economist, noted that the rate of growth dropped from 2014, when the increase was 18 percent by volume. Craft beer’s share of the market in 2015 was 12 percent by volume and 21 percent by dollars. The hottest part of the sector was among microbreweries (those selling less than 15,000 barrels annually), which grew 24.2 percent. IPAs and seasonals are still the top styles, and pilsners, golden ales and other sessionable styles may be “the next frontier.”

While many breweries are expanding and seeking wider distribution, the benefits of staying small and local were stressed in one seminar. Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner of Russian River Brewing Co. in California, said that success is measured not just by volume. Russian River produces about 16,000 barrels annually, is wholly owned by her and her husband, Vinnie, and limits much of its distribution. She advised brewers not to lose the joy of their passion and to strike a balance between business and life in general.

“Know yourself and know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” said panelist Jeff Althouse, CEO of Oakshire Brewing Co. in Eugene, Ore.

The conference, which will be held in Washington, D.C., in 2017, included sessions on a range of topics—historic beer styles, technical aspects of brewing, marketing strategies, understanding trends, raising capital, ensuring consistent quality and improving the science and lexicon of food and beer pairings.

In addition, a major program to document the modern history of brewing was announced at the conference. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is launching a three-year initiative to collect, document and preserve memorabilia and other elements of brewing history to tell the story of craft brewers and the brewing industry and their impact on society over the past 30 years. The effort, which is part of the Smithsonian Food History project, is made possible by a donation from the Brewers Association.

The museum already has a collection dating from 1870 to the 1960s. The rise of craft brewing warrants its own chapter, given that the number of breweries in the country has surpassed the previous high of 4,131 in 1873. The new initiative will include artifacts, oral history, at least two public programs a year and other features.

“The craft brewing revolution in America has had a profound social, cultural and economic impact on this country,” Pease said.

The conference concluded May 6 with the World Beer Cup, which featured competition from breweries in 55 countries. Several Virginia breweries came away with medals: Devils Backbone Brewing Co., gold medals for Schwartz Bier and Reilly’s Red; Crooked Run Brewing, gold for Supernatural; Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, silver for Coconut Delight; Lost Rhino Brewing Co., silver for Rhinofest; Pale Fire Brewing Co., bronzes for Salad Days and Red Molly; Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, bronze for Ruse; O’Connor’s Brewing Co., bronze for O’Connor’s Dry Irish Stout.

You don’t mind if I ramble, do you?

It’s been kind of a rambling week. Plus, my brain wants to go outside and play—it’s a crystalline day of robin’s-egg skies and golden sunshine.

Now that I think about it, the week does seem to have a theme. Always, there’s beer, but food played in a jumbo portion of activities and accidents.

The accident occurred after a toothsome time in Harrisonburg Wednesday evening. Adam Shifflett, co-founder of Brothers Craft Brewing, hosted a “Flights and Bites” six-course beer dinner featuring the culinary creativity of the chefs at Joshua Wilton House and Local Chop and Grill House. I had taken meticulous notes as Shifflett explained the beers and the chefs described the food. The next morning, however, I discovered that my dog had eaten my notes. Actually, if it was any critter, it was my cat, Bob, who lately has been wearing a mischievous grin that I don’t trust. Anyway, my notes had vanished.

But I do remember some high points (they were all high points, actually), beginning with a tart saison paired with Virginia blue crab salad with smoked salt dressing on Challah slider rolls. Yummy, since crab is one of my favorite edibles. The saison was almost too edgy for the subtleties of the crab salad, but the consensus at our table (I shared space with Annie Tobey, who needs no introduction, and two couples out for an evening of culinary exploration) was 12 thumbs up.

Subsequent courses featured a twice-cooked lamb bacon dish paired with Brothers’ Brown Out brown ale, smoked sausage taco with guajillo peppers served with Scarlet Empire imperial red ale, and, to finish the evening, charred mushroom stuffed with roasted chilies and a mole sauce using Resolute, which was the paired beer as well. Resolute is the Brothers’ stand-in-line-for imperial Russian stout aged in bourbon barrels. This final course earned the highest praise from our dinner mates, which surprised me because Resolute is an exquisitely complex and demanding beer at 13.5 percent ABV. Kudos to all concerned.

Friday afternoon, I got in another rambling mood and headed the Wrangler to Old Bust Head Brewing Company outside Warrenton. One of my RVA beer buddies, Shannon Ely, serves as a beer ambassador for the brand, and I was eager to visit a place whose brews I have enjoyed.

Chris Galiffa and I seem to run into each other at strange times and places, including Starr Hill as well as Old Bust Head (photo courtesy of Daddy G’s Rockin’ Salsa)

Well, low and behold, I walk in and my good friend Chris Galiffa, founder of Daddy G’s Rockin’ Salsa, is at the bar sampling a flight of brews. Chris and I have this strange cosmic thing going on where we bump into each other, completely out of the blue, at strange places (well, usually breweries). He is a dear fellow, and we always yack about beer, his salsa, mutual friends and music. He is indeed a rockin’ guy; he and David Hunter, founder of Fans of Virginia Craft Breweries, have been belting out great tunes as the Fredds for years.

Aslin Beer Company draws a crowd on a Friday afternoon in Herndon. Photo by Lee Graves

I put together a mixed tape of Old Bust Head brews (if you have the English Style Pale Ale, let it warm up some—it brings out the wonderful bready character of the malt and the earthiness of the British Goldings and Fuggle hops) and headed for Aslin Beer Company in Herndon. While Old Bust Head created a feeling of space with long picnic tables and a capacious bar, Aslin was tucked in a tight warehouse space and had the chummy, elbow-to-elbow feel of your favorite semi-urban watering hole.

Though the brewery has only a two-barrel system and is not yet distributing, Aslin has created considerable buzz with imperial IPAs such as Master of Karate and Dunley Place (markedly different hop profiles in each) plus a surprisingly tawny saison called Animal (farm)House. I also sampled Deceiver, an imperial stout rich with silky chocolate and coffee notes, and their Lemon Strawberry Kölsch, which was refreshing but didn’t have the finish or depth of the others.

Cody and Jenn Specketer. Photo by Lee Graves

Now, the food part of Aslin comes through some mutual friends—Cody and Jenn Specketer, whose travels to Richmond were documented recently on their Bites, Barrels and Brews blog. The site describes two food adventures: one infusing Aslin’s Hoppy Brown Ale into what they deemed “the asshole of all baked goods”—the pumpkin roll; the other using Mind the Hop IPA for a fish-and-chips meal.

The folks at Aslin were gracious and spent time explaining their brews, the brewhouse and just chatting. Jeff Scott in particular was a welcome face. He had at one time worked at the same company with my son-in-law, Don Madden, and now is Aslin’s self-described “beer slinger/ambassador.” A more personable minister of beer could hardly be imagined.

I’m eager to return to Aslin and hope to swing by there this coming weekend, when another of my favorite NoVa breweries, Ocelot Brewing Company in Sterling, will celebrate its first anniversary. Their imperial IPAs linger in my memory from a previous visit.

To put a bow on this ramble-athon, I must confess that any and all of my writings concerning food must be taken with a grain of pepper. In the poker game of life, the Great Dealer in the Sky gave me four aces—a great family, awesome friends, a love of music and a talent for writing. But I got a two of clubs in one regard: foodiness. My diet is monkishly mundane, my culinary skills are childishly simplistic and my palate is frustratingly unsophisticated.

If you ever want a recipe for stovetop popcorn, an awesome PB&J sandwich or French toast, give me a shoot (beer pairings included). Otherwise, I have to wait for the Great Dealer to say “Deuces wild!” before I can speak with any authority or comfort about food.

How things change in a year. The announcement of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery’s $28 million expansion in Goochland County this week made me think back to this time last year, when Stone had yet to announce that Richmond would be the site for its own expansion. I thought I’d share this column I wrote for the Richmond Times-Dispatch while I was doing the regular gig to lend a bit of perspective to RVA’s place in beer history. We live in a golden era for brewing, but these latest developments are links in a chain extending back centuries.

Published Aug. 13, 2014

If Stone Brewing Co. comes to Richmond, it will mark a new chapter in RVA history, particularly for beer lovers.

Serendipitously, there’s history aplenty — beer history — already serving as bookends to the brewery’s proposed site. A more fitting use of the land can hardly be imagined, for it would link the founding of our city — and our nation’s greatest struggle — to the indelible tale of beer, a story that connects us to the dawn of civilization.

The California-based brewery is eyeing a location on 12.5 acres just east of downtown Richmond. Williamsburg Avenue and Nicholson Street serve as boundaries, with Gillies Creek Park just across the way.

If Stone does indeed build there, folks could one day enjoy a pint of Arrogant Bastard Ale (I’m drinking one as I write this) and savor what I will call the Tale of Two Hills. By looking east from the Stone beer garden, they could view Fulton Hill rising above the houses along Williamsburg Road. If they dialed back their vision to 1607, they would see a Powhatan village there; and if they fine-tuned that vision to a particular day in late May, they would see a party of Englishmen arriving in a boat, just days after landing at Jamestown.

The group included captains John Smith and Christopher Newport. Their mission was to find a route to the South Sea, where untold riches awaited. Among their provisions — according to Gabriel Archer, who chronicled the trip — were “beere, Aquavitae [brandy] and sack [wine].” These libations were intended to break the ice between the visitors and the Powhatans, for relations were ticklish at best.

So they had a party. Seriously. With dancing and all kinds of carrying on. They partied a little too hard, though, for the combination of different drinks left Parahunt, son of the powerful Chief Powhatan, feeling “very sick,” according to Archer. Newport assured Parahunt he would feel better after sleeping it off. When this proved true, Newport achieved status as a medicine man and was bombarded with questions about other maladies.

On the day after the party — May 24, 1607, according to a monument by the city’s Canal Walk — the Englishmen proceeded to the falls of the James River and planted a cross in honor of King James I.

There’s more to the story than I can tell here. Suffice it to say that beer was part of Richmond’s founding, and it was a force for good.

Now, let’s return to that beer garden we hope Stone will build. By looking over the other shoulder, folks might spy Chimborazo Hill and the National Park Service site dedicated to the hospital that stood there during the Civil War. Chimborazo Hospital was one of the largest, most sophisticated and most efficient facilities of its kind in the Confederacy. Over the course of 3½ years, it treated roughly 75,000 sick and wounded people, more than any other hospital, North or South.

A brewery had been built nearby. Details are sketchy, but according to the research I’ve done for my upcoming book (subtle product placement), a man named John Goodman established a lager brewery in 1859. Accounts identify its location as Rocketts, which extended west of today’s Rocketts Landing.

Lager was new to Richmond in those days, and Goodman’s brews were part of a taste sensation. An account in The Richmond Dispatch of Jan. 30, 1860, raved about “the superiority of the beer over that of any other brewery known to the imbibers of that peculiar beverage.”

As the hospital came into use, the nearby brewery, capable of producing 400 kegs at a time, had a medical application, for “alcohol in various forms probably was the most popular drug of the times,” according to one news account. The brewery did not survive, and cellars used to the store the beer were abandoned and sealed.

Now, regarding that potential beer garden. I know profits, growth and product weigh more heavily than history in the formula for business success. But considering that Richmond has a thriving beer presence — a dozen breweries pouring in the extended metro area — and considering the potential for accessing a centrally located market, wouldn’t it be nice to think of the Stone folks looking at Richmond and feeling the pull of destiny as part of beer’s past as well as its future?

To that end, there’s no place like Richmond, just as there’s no place like Stone.