Recently, it seems that vacations have been hard to take. So many things have conspired to occupy our time that the Savage Boleks have not truly been able to relax. That changed when we took a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. We wanted to learn more about pre-revolutionary times, hang out around period actors, and enjoy some period eats at one of the taverns.
And, with any trip that the Savage Boleks take, one can rest assured that, at some point, we will find ourselves in a brewery, taproom or brewpub. There are bonus points if it is a place that we have not been before. Those points were awarded this time because we found ourselves at the Virginia Beer Company, which was only footsteps from the history that motivated this particular vacation.
We happened to visit the Virginia Beer Company when it was celebrating its sixth anniversary. Co-owners Chris Smith and Robby Willey started this craft brewery in an old C&P Telephone warehouse less than a mile from Colonial Williamsburg. The 10,000 square foot facility now houses a 30 barrel brewing and 5 barrel pilot system. The brewers have worked with over 300 recipes, with the motto of Beer - People - Purpose.
As part of its sixth anniversary, the brewers at Virginia Beer Company featured their "Waypost 2022." There were three beers, each of which was an Imperial Milk Stout. The first is the Cascara, which is stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee and cherries. The second beer is the Mexican Chocolate, which I will save for a post on its own. The final beer is the Sidecar Waypost, which will become the subject of this post.
A Sidecar is a cocktail whose origins date back to around the end of World War I. The first recipes, which appeared in 1922, call for the drink to be prepared with Cognac, orange liqueur (think Cointreau) and lemon juice. Once mixed, the drink has been described as a lighter, fruity whisky sour. If one were to watch the movie Star of Midnight, he or she would see William Powell play the role of Dazell, someone who downed several of those drinks, only to leave the tab to a Miss Donna Mantin, played by Ginger Rogers.
However, I am not William Powell and I don't drink mixed drinks. Nevertheless, Virginia Beer Company's Sidecar Waypost presents the flavors of a Sidecar for a beer drinker. The brewers start with Columbus hops, and Chiswick yeast, along with a variety of malts, such as 2-Row, chocolate and roasted malts, to brew an Imperial Milk Stout. The nod to the Sidecar comes first with the use of orange zest and lemon zest. However, it really comes through with the aging of the beer in Cognac barrels.
It is the use of the Cognac barrels that sets this beer apart. I have had many a barrel-aged beer. Most are aged in bourbon barrels, which add a flavor that is easily recognized and, quite frankly, easily repeated. The flavor added by the Cognac barrels was distinctively different. It was smoother, and, if possible, a little boozier than the beers that I have had in bourbon barrels. That booziness was perhaps a little much, especially with the roasted malts, because it became a little difficult to try to ascertain the orange and lemon flavors in the beer. It took some effort, but I was able to discern them as I enjoyed the beer.
The Waypost Series were excellent beers and, if Virginia Beer Company produces these beers every year, it is definitely worth the trip down to the tap room. I think we'll be back again very soon.
ENJOY!
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