Last
time, in the mash tun…
I began
recalling my sojourn into the craft breweries of the Brew Ridge Trail, located
in a gorgeous part of Virginia between Charlottesville and Shenandoah. I
focused on my first stop, which was at the South Street Brewery Brew Pub in
downtown Charlottesville. If you haven’t read it yet, you probably should stop
reading this post right now, and go back to that
one, and read it first. This is, after all, a series of blog posts, and to
start reading at episode 2, having not read episode 1, is just absurd. It’s
kind of like when I watched all of the Mission Impossible movies in reverse
order, for no apparent reason but to be different. I never really felt like I
connected with the overarching plot lines that carried throughout the four
movies. That’s the kind of misery you’ll be subjecting yourself to if you don’t
stop reading right now, and read part 1 first. I’ll wait… I promise.
Oh,
you’re back. Good.
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| The building with the reddish brown roof in the lower left is the Devils Backbone Brew Pub. |
Now that
we’re all caught up, it’s on to part 2, the second stop on the voyage of epic
awesomeness in which I visited six beer producing venues in three days this
past June. The second stop was at the Devils Backbone Brewing Company Brew Pub
in Roseland, VA. If you’re unfamiliar with Roseland, VA, it’s not surprising.
Roseland is quite literally off the beaten path, tucked into the Blue Ridge
Mountains near the Wintergreen ski resort area of Virginia. In fact, the
brewpub is flanked on two sides by purple mountains majesty (actually blue
mountains). The whole thing deliberately reminded me of a ski lodge, with
massive tree timbers being used to construct the restaurant and an equally
deliberate log cabin vibe inside. As we were there in the summer, we took full
advantage of the outdoor seating – a large wrap around porch with 360 degree panoramic
views of beautiful country. Absolute peace and quiet. Calm. Seriously folks, I
cannot oversell this. I have been to many places on this earth of ours, and the
Devils Backbone brewpub in Roseland, VA in on the list of my favorites.
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| My oldest child, racing to the front door of the brew pub. |
Another
cool aspect of the DBBC Brew Pub, if you’re the outdoorsy type, is it’s
proximity to the Appalachian Trail – it’s less than a half mile off the trail.
This is something that the folks at the pub celebrate, and as you sit at the
bar, you can look around at all the pictures of the through hikers that have
paid them a visit over the years. There are quite a few. In fact, if you’re
really lucky, you may even meet one while you are there. Don’t be thrown off by
the smell of a through hiker – they are always good for a fascinating story to
tell and are some of the most genuinely nice people out there. In fact, that is
a good way to describe all of the folk in this part of the world – genuinely nice.
It may sound silly to say it or read it, but for those of you like me who live
in Northern Virginia, it’s probably been a while since you last talked to a
genuinely nice person.
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| Glorious hops, growing on the front porch! |
It was
lunch time when we arrived at the brew pub, and as it was a simply amazing day
outside, we decided to eat outside (this became a reoccurring theme throughout
the weekend as you’ll see). I had an absolutely amazing bacon cheeseburger with
gourmet potato chips, and they were out of this world. The server was very
friendly, the outdoor dining area was clean and pleasant, and there were dogs
snoozing in the shade. The dogs belonged to some on the staff, and apparently were
always there, just in case someone dropped food on the floor. The dining
experience is very laid back, even though the quality of the food is slightly
elevated.
The beer
was tremendous, as anyone who has had Devils Backbone beer before can attest.
Obviously, you factor in the “fresh off the line/straight from the brewery”
quotient to amplify the awesomeness and that’s where we are. I’m not making any
of this stuff up people – there are books with equations and all sorts of
whatnot. True story.
Anyways,
the beer that I was treated to at the brew pub was the Berliner Metro Weiss,
the Ein Kolsch, the Ramsey’s Draft Stout, the Scratch 97 Black Rye IPA, the 16
Point Imperial IPA, the Gold Leaf Lager, and the Wintergreen Weiss. If I’m
being honest with you, which I always try to do, all seven of these beers were
outstanding!
The
Kolsch was the weakest, but I’m tempted to attribute that to the style and not
to the execution of said style.
If you aren't a sour beer fan, you probably would be thrown off by the Berliner Metro
Weiss, as it is a Berliner Weiss, and sour as the day it was made. The addition
of the lactobacilli yeast give it a “tart and snappy sourness,” according to
the brewers themselves. Although, my lovely wife is not a sour beer fan, and
she actually said that it wasn't bad. I thought it was wonderful, but then
again, I've trained my palate to enjoy sours.
Also of
the Weiss family was there old standby – the Wintergreen Weiss. This is a great
beer, particularly for those who enjoy Hefeweizens and other wheat beers. It
has a very crisp flavor and a very smooth delivery. To call it refreshing would
be underselling it.
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| Another view from the mountain top. I could live here. |
The Gold
Leaf Lager is an award-winning pilsner lager and is also extremely crisp and
refreshing. Pilsners tend to get a bad rep because of big beer shenanigans, but
this one was very good and true to the style.
The
Ramsey’s Draft Stout is a dry Irish stout with chocolate and coffee notes
imparted from the malt. This was a wonderful beer, and I wish I was drinking
one right now as I write this. I recommend it to all of you.
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| Winter is coming, and you can take shelter at Devils Backbone. |
Now on
to the two stars of the show: The first was the 16 Point Imperial IPA. As the
name indicates, this is their Imperial Double IPA, and cleverly (or perhaps
uncleverly), they've named it by taking the name of their standard IPA (8 Point
IPA) and doubling the number of points on the namesake whitetail deer’s
antlers. All of that aside, the beer is truly wonderful. Very hoppy, very bold
flavor, very heavy malt backbone – not for the faint of heart, but for those of
us who like hops, and like IPAs, this is a treat.
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| Dark and mysterious, and delicious. |
The
other star of the show, and edging out the 16 Point by ever the slightest of
margins, was the Scratch 97 Black Rye IPA. Scratch 97 is a session-strength
Black IPA that was brewed with three types of rye malts and peppercorns, to
give it a deliciously spicy flavor profile that is balanced by plenty of
American hops. This beer also exemplifies why going to brewpubs and breweries
is of the utmost import, if you’re always searching for great beer. Scratch was
a collaboration project that was led by the brewers at Tröegs in Hershey, PA
and involved Devils Backbone and The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, PA. They
all got together after taking home gold medals at Great American Beer Festival
2012 and brewed up a collabo-brew for Philly Beer Week 2013 called Scratch 97.
The only way you can get this beer is to 1) go to Philly Beer Week 2013 (too
late), or 2) go to one of three breweries responsible when they are serving
their kegs of it (might be too late for that too). The search for great beer
often surprises.
Overall,
I was as impressed with the Devils Backbone Brew Pub operation as I can
possibly be. I am tempted to drive three plus hours right now just to eat lunch
there again (and drink great beer of course). I recommend this place to
everyone, whether you live down there, are just passing through, or are looking
for an adventure. You won’t be disappointed. For more details, check out their website, or go to Beer Advocate, Yelp,
or any other place to gather intelligence about beer and restaurants.
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| The view from inside the brew house, looking into the bar. |
Here’s
to craft-brewed happiness (and the Brew Ridge)… Cheers!
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