The Complete Craft Brewery Guide to Richmond, VA
Photo via Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Drink Features craft beer
As recently as 2010, there was only ONE brewery in the city of Richmond.
The capital of Virginia possesses a long and storied history when it comes to the adding of yeast to wort, stretching back centuries to the days of David G. Yuengling Jr. and his massive James River Steam Brewery, but as in so many other cities, the period of consolidation following national Prohibition spelled an end to local brewing efforts for many decades. It wasn’t until 1994 when Richmond’s oldest operating brewery, Legend Brewing Co., kicked off the city’s modern craft beer revival, but for a long time the going was very slow. Finally, a trickle of openings in 2011 and 2012 gave way to a flood of new Virginia breweries, helped along by 2012 legislation that finally allowed the sale and sampling of beer on brewery premises. The stage was set for an explosion of high-profile brewery openings that mirrored the simultaneous growth of beer scenes in other cities such as Chicago, Seattle or Atlanta.
Today, there are more than 40 breweries in the immediate Richmond vicinity, including quite a few that have made persistent national buzz, slowly making the city into a bonafide beer geek road trip destination, among the finest on the East Coast in terms of volume and quality. It has, in short, been a remarkable decade of growth for the Richmond beer scene, especially considering that the city’s population is still less than 230,000. Outside of perhaps Asheville, NC, there are few cities with a more impressive, higher quality brewery-per-capita ratio.
How fortunate, then, that Richmond, Virginia also happens to be where I reside! Arriving in 2019, I immediately set about the task of visiting every possible brewery, with the eventual goal of writing this exact city beer guide. Since then, I’ve seen both new brewery openings and brewery closures (especially in 2023), and I can now report that I have visited every single one of them, 40-plus in total, which is a checklist that even many longtime RVA beer geeks probably haven’t gotten around to completing. Sadly, numerous breweries have now shut down since I started updating this guide—the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in that to be certain.
Some of the breweries in this guide are located within what anyone would recognize as “urban Richmond.” Some are on its outskirts. Some are quite a distance away, but located in small towns that are still considered to be within the gravitational pull of Richmond. Regardless, in every single case I have physically visited the brewery and sampled a variety of its beers. For each brewery I’ll give at least a basic description of its vibe and its beer lineup, along with any notable beers they produce. Note: This isn’t including Richmond’s impressive cider scene, which can boast half a dozen cideries of its own. The only breweries not included are corporate chain brewpubs and brewpubs with only a minor beer focus.
For the sake of organization, I’ve split the breweries into geographical zones of the city and its surrounding areas.
Downtown Richmond Vicinity
“Downtown” Richmond, in this context, includes both downtown proper and the bigger and more urban neighborhoods that surround it to the east, including Union Hill, Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom and more. Unfortunately, this area has seen multiple brewery losses since I first started compiling this list in early 2020. First of the new decade to close was Shiplock Brewing, which lasted just over a year in the polished taproom space in Shockoe Bottom formerly occupied by 7 Hills Seafood & Brewing. Following it during the COVID-19 pandemic was the Shockoe Bottom taproom of Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, a particularly sad loss given that it was one of the few brewery taprooms in the city with a dedicated kitchen of its own. As a company, Lickinghole Creek is still in operation, but its sole brewery is located roughly 45 minutes west of the city in rural Goochland. That leaves only two more breweries operating in the immediate downtown Richmond area.
Defunct breweries: Shiplock Brewing, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery Shockoe Bottom
Richbrau Brewing
There have been several historic breweries by the name of “Richbrau” in Richmond over the years, with this Richbrau as at least the third example, paying deference to the others as it opened in 2019. Located in Shockoe Bottom and surrounded by high-rise apartments, it has an urban, industrial taproom vibe and a small cluster of streetside seating that is pleasant on a nice day. One gets the sense that the clientele is probably largely made up of the high-rise dwellers who are able to stop in as their first or last drink of the night.
The beer lineup here usually tends to focus around the current hype cycle, consisting mostly of hazy IPA, flavored imperial stouts and a variety of flavored sours. Still, they make a few beers with nuance to them, like the crisp Floodwall pale ale, and it’s hard to go wrong with an all-Citra IPA like Psychic Horse. The big stouts, on the other hand, such as the coffee-infused Edgar, sometimes seem to be overtaken by their flavorings. On the plus side, more recent visits to Richbrau have featured a more balanced lineup of beers, with additional lagers and solid classic styles such as hefeweizen.
If you’re into fanciful, randallized imperial stouts that have been rested atop ingredients such as carrot cake, Chips Ahoy cookies or brownies, Richbrau may also be worth a look.
Notable beers: Psychic Horse IPA, King of Strays (passionfruit & guava sour), Hefeweizen
Triple Crossing Foushee
This is the original location of Richmond’s beloved Triple Crossing, a brewery that has been very well represented in the top tier of Paste blind tastings over the years. Unlike the larger Fulton location, the Foushee St. Triple Crossing has more of an old-school vibe, with lower capacity, low lighting and a “drinking in a friend’s basement” sort of feel, although you’re likely to be more focused on the spectacular array of beers than the decor. Like the other Triple Crossing location, a wide variety of beer is on tap here, along with a cooler that will be selling a few varieties of cans—whatever is new that particular week. Small batches are brewed on this site, with larger operations running out of the Fulton location.
In terms of beer, Triple Crossing made a name for itself during the rise of hazy IPA, and we’re willing to make the claim that they’re still making the most dependably great IPAs in the Richmond area—an assessment also shared by many other Richmond brewers. Flagship Falcon Smash is dependably awesome, as are occasional releases such as the Interstellar Burst DIPA. At the same time, though, Triple Crossing makes a name for itself with spectacular versions of many other styles, especially pilsner (multiple different releases), dark lager, imperial stout and mixed fermentation wild ales. They are the total package, and deserve whatever hype they’ve received over the years.
The Foushee location likewise serves a small array of pizzas made at the larger Triple Crossing Fulton, but the menu here is smaller, with more of a “bar snacks” vibe. For a full-on dinner, the Fulton location may be a better bet. The beers, however, are equally awesome regardless of location.
Notable beers: Falcon Smash IPA, Interstellar Burst DIPA, Pathway Pils, Czech Dark Lager
East of Downtown
Starting from the center of Richmond, “east” is pretty much the only direction that isn’t exceedingly brewery rich, as there are only a couple in this direction currently. They are, however, two of the most notable in town. If you continue east and leave Richmond, you won’t run across any other breweries until you get near Williamsburg, VA. This makes “East of Richmond” the least fruitful direction for breweries.
Stone Brewing Taproom RVA
California craft powerhouse Stone opened their East Coast headquarters in Richmond in 2016, which came along at a time when too many regional breweries were unfortunately overextending themselves, assuming that the growth of the craft segment would hold steady rather than decrease. That didn’t ultimately spell any kind of doom for this taproom location, but it didn’t help either—the promised Stone World Bistro & Gardens never materialized in Richmond, and negotiations with the city and state dragged on interminably. After the closure of Stone’s location in Berlin, and subsequent cost-cutting measures, one has to assume that the full Stone experience won’t ever be coming to RVA, but the (gigantic) brewery and taproom remains.
What we have here is a big, polished taproom, albeit one without a kitchen (they now have an in-house food truck), which occasionally plays host to bands and features some experimental, local Stone beers. It’s the loud, boisterous sort of experience you’d expect from Stone given the company’s famously in-your-face branding, with a variety of IPAs, but some sneaky good lagers and kettle sours backing them up. With that said, the place feels like it was built to accommodate significantly larger crowds than what you’re actually likely to see on a weekday night. Their influence is felt more in the local restaurant and bar scene, where Stone beers are ubiquitous. After the company’s acquisition by Sapporo, one wonders about the parent company’s future plans for this facility, and whether it will eventually be used to brew more Sapporo than it will Stone.
Notable beers: Fear.Movie.Lions DIPA, Enjoy By IPA, Espresso Totalitarian Imperial Stout
Triple Crossing Fulton
Now the flagship location for Triple Crossing, the Fulton brewery down the street from Stone Brewing reflects all of Triple Crossing’s Richmond success this decade, being much larger and more multi-purpose than the original, pub-like brewery on Foushee St. As implied above, the food menu here is significantly more robust, with an array of delicious, crispy pizzas and an increasingly varied menu of charcuterie, entrees and specials.
Seating is plentiful, whether inside the main brewery or on the patio, with an outdoorsy feel that is lovely on nice days. The beer is obviously just as good here as well, with lots of options, with incentives toward buying larger pours rather than smaller ones—it’s often “pay $1 more for 6 more ounces,” which feels foolish to pass up.
This location also has a pretty active events calendar, which has included such activities as film screenings, videogame tournaments, musicians and more. Triple Crossing also uses the abundance of back room space to host festivals like Covenant Beer Fest or Kolsch Fest, making Fulton a location you’re likely to visit for many reasons. But mostly because the beer is just so good.
Notable beers: Falcon Smash IPA, Interstellar Burst DIPA, Pathway Pils, Czech Dark Lager
North of Downtown
This group includes a variety of breweries that are vaguely North (and somewhat west) of downtown Richmond, but still within what you’d call Richmond proper. Two of them (Hardywood Park, Main Line) are in the same small industrial area, just east of the RVA brewery district of Scott’s Addition, but we’re filing them here because there’s already so many to file into the upcoming Scott’s Addition section.
Defunct breweries: Castleburg Brewery & Taproom
Final Gravity Brewing
One of Richmond’s best breweries tends to fly under the radar in a national sense, but locals know that they’re making some of the best IPAs and stouts in town. Final Gravity is a small place, growing out of the connected homebrewing shop, aptly titled Original Gravity. It resides north of downtown Richmond, and is probably the furthest you can get north in terms of breweries while still calling it “Richmond city” proper.
We were already familiar with Final Gravity, however, given that the brewery surprised us by placing two IPAs into the ranked portion of our 324 IPA blind tasting. That included taking home the #12 spot overall with a beer called The Doppler Effect, now effectively the Final Gravity IPA flagship. Although hard to find around Richmond, it is absolutely one of the city’s best hazy (or semi-hazy) IPAs, standing toe-to-toe with the better-known selections from the likes of Triple Crossing and The Veil.
On a more universal level, though, Final Gravity is just a very solid brewery in general. They demonstrate a passion for non-adjunct porter and stout, which I can definitely appreciate, often having multiple ones on at the same time, and also tend to brew a smattering of Belgian styles and lagers in addition to excellent hazy IPAs. The only knock, perhaps, is the lack of an attractive and functional website with an updated draft list—which should be essential when one’s beers are only available at the brewery. Luckily, you can typically find that information on Untappd.
Notable beers: The Doppler Effect IPA, Obelisk (American stout), Irish Goodbye (export stout)
Hardywood Park RVA
As we stated above, as recently as 2010 there was only one brewery in Richmond (Legend Brewing Co.), so you really have to give a lot of credit to Hardywood Park for kickstarting the modern RVA brewery revival when they opened in 2011. No other brewery in the city has been so tied to its boom period since that date, and Hardywood remains perhaps the most recognizable Richmond brand on a national level, even if the likes of The Veil perhaps receive more beer geek hype. Hardywood, however, is probably second to none in terms of the respect they receive from other breweries in town.
This is the original Hardywood Park location, right down the street from Main Line, and just east of what would become the major RVA brewery cluster in Scott’s Addition. It’s a fairly open facility, with plenty of newly revamped outside seating and room for big band performances inside. The installation of an in-house pizza kitchen in 2021 gave Hardywood its own restaurant/brewpub-like vibe for the first time in its history.
As for the beer, Hardywood Park displays a pretty balanced lineup of lagers, IPAs, Belgian ales and big stouts, being particularly well known for their pioneering flavored stouts such as Gingerbread Stout (GBS) and its many, many variants. Lagers such as Pilsner and Richmond Lager are very well-spread around the city, being perhaps the most commonly sighted Richmond craft beers in general, while brewery exclusives are typically plentiful. It’s a brewery that has also given rise to several other locals, as former Hardywood Park brewers have moved on to start their own breweries, further perpetuating the growth of RVA’s beer scene.
Notable beers: Hardywood Pils, Fightin’ Hokies Lager, Peach Tripel, Gingerbread Stout
Main Line Brewing
This brewery, one of the younger players in RVA, opened quietly in the closing days of 2019 and seemingly had a rough time in the subsequent COVID pandemic, with many locals not having a chance to familiarize themselves with it. Located just around the corner from Hardywood Park, and in the same building as Richmond’s Cirrus Vodka distillery (that’s a plus), they have space to spare for performances, events and larger crowds, and have become known as a popular concert destination. The wood-heavy taproom still feels a bit on the thrown-together side, but they do seem to have at least a modicum of loyal supporters.
The beers are an array of styles, ranging from basic and approachable (blonde ale, amber ale), to the necessary IPAs, to flavor experiments like “salted caramel stout” that actually turned out pretty well. It’s a place that feels like it was built for casual weeknight hangouts and occasional band performances, and it seems like their status as an event-centric brewery has helped get them through a tumultuous beginning.
And yes, there’s a few in-house hard seltzer brands.
Notable beers: Bombshell Blonde, Velada (imperial brown ale), To Helles and Back
Tabol Brewing
Tabol Brewing opened in early 2019 but has already transformed rather drastically from its originally stated philosophy, possibly due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, Tabol opened with a focus of almost entirely wild ales, regardless of style—this meant terroir-driven, wild yeast takes on pale ale, lager, IPA and even imperial stout, with curious experiments such as “brett ale aged on coffee” among others. This made Tabol without a doubt one of the most unique breweries in Richmond.
However, more recently the brewery has completed a full-on shift in the direction of lager, now branding itself as a lager brewery producing a wide array of lager styles. Thankfully, they’re quite skilled at this as well, and their flagship Czech pilsner Top Pils is one of the more dependably excellent of its kind in the area. All in all, the beer lineup here isn’t quite as eclectic and unusual as it once way, but it’s hard to fault the lager focus—it’s not like there are many other lager-focused breweries in Richmond either, except for the likes of Bingo. At a time when craft lager is often the saving grace of beer culture, it’s good to have access to more of it.
As for the taproom, it’s an attractive place with a hilariously diverse array of tables and chairs, and a playful sense of design. An in-house food truck option now provides regular access to meals, and there’s an ample amount of outdoor seating on the back patio.
Notable beers: Top Pilsner (Czech pils), Jack Johnson & Tom O’Leary (Porter), Marke (German pils)
West of Downtown
The general idea of “west of downtown” would definitely include Scott’s Addition, but we’ll break that off entirely to the next section, as that particular neighborhood is chock full of breweries. Rather, this portion will simply include additional breweries West of downtown Richmond, but still roughly within Richmond’s urban sprawl.
Note: This area lost one of its few breweries—the only brewery in Richmond neighborhood The Fan, home to Virginia Commonwealth University—in the summer of 2022, when Canon & Draw Brewing Co. ceased operations. This continues the more recent trend of brewery closures in the areas closest to downtown Richmond, preceded by the closures of Shiplock Brewing Co., the Lickinghole Creek taproom in Shockoe Bottom, and now Canon & Draw.
Defunct breweries: Canon & Draw
The Answer Brewpub
Richmond’s Mekong Restaurant was one of the cradles of RVA’s beer civilization, as it were. As one of the first restaurants in the city to maintain a serious, curated beer list in the mid-1990s, the Vietnamese restaurant became a focal point around which the local beer scene coalesced. It only made sense that two decades later, the ownership of Mekong would later branch out into a brewery of their own, right next door.
Thus, Richmond was granted The Answer, one of the city’s best-known brewpub destinations. The menu here is Vietnamese fusion of sorts, similar to Mekong next door but with a more playful, often fried, bar food focus rather than the more traditional dishes of Mekong. The beer, meanwhile, is hyper-modern, with a strong focus on hazy IPA, intensely fruited sours and flavored stouts, although other styles do squeak through the cracks as well. Those who travel to The Answer for its own beer are often in search of the extremes, however, either in the form of the “Joose” series of fruited smoothie beers, or the “Andall” stouts, which are all fancifully flavored. Be aware, these beers do not deal in subtlety; they’re all about extremely bombastic flavors.
Notable beers: AF (series of hazy session IPAs), Joose (series of extremely fruited sours), Andall stouts (series of creatively flavored stouts)
Garden Grove Brewing and Urban Winery
Richmond’s most steadfastly original brewery, without a doubt. Even with more than 30 in the area, there’s nothing else quite like Garden Grove, because this is a company that elected to follow its own whims rather than chasing trends, and I can’t help but love them for it. In a marketplace that is filled with hazy IPA, pastry stout and fruited sours, these guys made a choice to do essentially everything else.
Within the warm, pub-like confines of Garden Grove, you can expect to find a wonderful variety of beers that often hark back to European inspirations: Franco-Belgian saisons, abbey ales (tripel, quad), German and Czech lagers (pilsner, helles), hefeweizens, stouts and porters, and yes, the occasional pale ale and IPA. Here, though, IPA often takes up a single tap handle, rather than half or more of them. And that’s not even getting into Garden Grove’s cider, mead and wine production, which comes entirely from grapes grown at Virginia vineyards. Word to the wise: Even if you’re a beer geek, don’t sleep on the wines, as varietal expressions like the Virginia Petit Verdot are routinely fantastic. The Czech Pils also made our list of essential Richmond pilsners.
Throw in a diverse array of events, and you have an unmatched social hub in Richmond’s Carytown neighborhood. Garden Grove tends to have quite a few regularly occurring scheduled events, such as weekly trivia, weekly D&D, monthly taproom dinners and bands pretty much every weekend. Variety is the watchword here, and perhaps no one in RVA does variety better.
Notable beers: Czech or German Pils, Evangeline (or any saison), Lucifina (milk stout)
Scott’s Addition
The epicenter of Richmond’s brewery scene (not to mention several cider, mead, wine and spirits producers) is the small neighborhood of Scott’s Addition, which can currently boast no fewer than seven breweries within a few square blocks. Unsurprisingly, this is a very popular area for visitors to park for an afternoon, traipsing to various breweries and restaurants that are all within walking distance. Most of the breweries here are on the younger side, although there are also some outposts of older and larger breweries as well. All are seeking to benefit from the proximity of so many other breweries and the reputation of the neighborhood as a beer mecca, although those same factors also mean a lot of increased competition. You can sense there is definitely a push-and-pull for attention here, which culminated in the closure of Isley Brewing Co.–the first brewer to set up shop in Scott’s Addition in 2012–in 2023, when it felt like the scene had noticeably passed them by.
Defunct breweries: Isley Brewing Co., The Veil Funkhaust Cafe
Ardent Craft Ales
From top to bottom, across a bevy of styles, Ardent is one of the most solid, dependable breweries in RVA. They’re one of those places that everyone seems to like and respect, although they might not be the first one that a beer geek would necessarily think to seek out. Unlike the nationally famous Triple Crossing or The Veil, Ardent is more of a brewery you tend to discover slowly while spending time in Richmond, but it’s almost inevitable that it becomes a favorite watering hole.
The word that comes to mind here is “balanced,” as Ardent almost always has a decent array of styles represented in its tap list, and they’re almost all above average in execution. The flagship IPA X is sneakily among the best local examples of juicy modern IPA, while their year-round wheat ale is a nice touch, as are the regular supply of crisp lagers. They also do well with big stouts, such as the decadent (and adjunct-free) Dark Rye, or the base Imperial Milk Stout, which is further dressed up in a number of variants. They even have a respectable wild program, to boot.
Beyond that, the popular and spacious Ardent patio is undoubtedly the most chill place to have a beer in Scott’s Addition, a neighborhood that has a tendency to be a bit hectic and loud. It’s a great little island of composed sanity to relax in with a beer and a snack, from either the brewery’s kitchen, or their own Eazzy Burger concept next door.
Notable beers: IPA X, Dark Rye (imperial stout), Ardent Saison, Schwarzbier
Bingo Beer Co.
One of the few Richmond breweries that can make a claim to specifically building themselves around lagers, Bingo Beer Co. can fly a bit under the radar, despite the fact that their 16 oz cans have fairly wide distribution around the city—wider than many of the other RVA locals, in fact. Like Ardent, they display what we’d call a “high batting average” in terms of the number of their releases that are quite good, and above average for style—especially when it comes to classic German lager styles like pilsner, schwarzbier, doppelbock or Vienna lager. Beyond the lagers, however, they do just about everything else as well, from solid goses (standard and fancifully fruited) to mixed ferm saisons and hazy IPAs.
In terms of physically visiting the brewery, though, what sets Bingo apart from others around RVA is the taproom’s focus on games and sociability. With an interior that evokes a rather ebullient, Dave & Buster-y type vibe, it’s a place you’re likely to see families with younger kids, right alongside 20 and 30-somethings playing skeeball, pinball or ping pong. That can make it loud and bustling on any given night, which can seem a bit at odds with a menu full of carefully crafted European lagers and saisons, but what do we know? If you fall into the vociferously “no kids in taprooms!” camp, though, it’s something you’ll probably want to know.
Of course, if you want a more quiet vibe, the multi-level backyard patio is also one of the better equipped in town. Bingo is also one of the few RVA breweries with a full kitchen, serving a full menu of sandwiches and fried appetizers.
Notable beers: Bingo Lager, Black Lager, Fassionola Gose
Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop
Starr Hill is actually the largest Virginia craft brewery in terms of production volume, and their planned extension into RVA took longer than initially expected to finish construction. We were rewarded, however, with one of the city’s more attractive and professional-looking taprooms, with plenty of space and a vaulted patio on the building’s roof that is a lovely venue for beers on a warm summer evening. They don’t have their own kitchen on site, but there’s always at least one food truck parked out front.
Starr Hill is a brand that I believe some beer geeks are overlooking these days—an older craft brewery that has done a good job of reinventing itself and staying relevant, in a way that reminds me of Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing. Their beer lineup hasn’t remained stuck in the past, but embraced new styles, and if I’m being honest, they’re currently making beer that is comparable to other local RVA breweries that are considerably more hyped, especially if you’re talking about taproom exclusives.
Excellent recent beers include hazy IPA Looking Glass, which is probably the best pure IPA I’ve had from Starr Hill to date, and selections like pilsner The Warehouse or a solid passionfruit kettle sour that can hang with the best of them. There’s actually a nice variety of ales and lagers here most of the time, missing perhaps only a handful of Belgian ales. Regardless, Starr Hill deserves more looks from people who had written it off as an older “legacy” brewery, and this attractive taproom will likely help with that.
Notable beers: Warehouse (pilsner), Mariah (passionfruit gose), Looking Glass (Hazy IPA), Little Red Roostarr (Coffee stout)
Strangeways Brewing Scott’s Addition
Strangeways followed the class of 2012 breweries by opening its first location in 2013, and currently operates two locations in Richmond, and one in Fredericksburg. One gets the sense that the Scott’s Addition location was likely built only a mile or so away from the other Strangeways facility in order to jump on the bandwagon of brewery taprooms in this particular district, which benefit heavily from foot traffic. In terms of the vibe, Strangeways S.A. feels like a pretty typical, homey taproom, lacking a kitchen of its own but hosting food trucks and allowing for delivery of food from a variety of Scott’s Addition restaurants (Smohk BBQ in the same alley is delicious). Trivia is also big here, with all the Strangeways locations usually featuring trivia nights weekly.
The beer, meanwhile, has a tendency to be all over the map both in terms of both variety and quality. This location in particular manages to maintain a huge array of different beers—35 on tap, one time we visited, although some are flavored spin-offs of others. There’s a definite focus on sugary kettle sours and flavored beers of all kinds, and noticeably less commitment to IPA than many other breweries in the area, which can be a refreshing change of pace. Strangeways isn’t afraid, however, to honestly market their many dessert beers as overtly sweet, with names like “Imperial Smuckers Jelly” and “Lucky Charms.” At the same time, however, they do make some space for non-adjunct classic styles as well, making entries like a solid oktoberfest lager and excellent standard gose. This is a brewery where it can feel like the gimmick-laden flavored beers are the reason for its existence, but they’re arguably at their best when being more subtle.
Notable beers: Dyson Sphere (gose), FEST Bavarian Style Lager
Three Notch’d Brewing Co.
Three Notch’d doesn’t always feel like a major presence in Richmond, or even in Scott’s Addition, but the brewery has no fewer than SIX locations in Virginia, with hubs in cities like Charlottesville, Roanoke and Harrisonburg as well. The lower profile may be due more to the easygoing vibe—this strikes us as one of the friendliest and most low key of Richmond’s taprooms, with particularly friendly, chatty staff and quite a few daily drink specials. It can be quite friendly to the wallet as well, with beer flights being a particular value—not something you see very often these days. That value alone can make visiting this industrial taproom an attractive proposition. The company also just opened and beer-and-whiskey focused dining concept next door.
As for the beer, Three Notch’d largely seems to stick to classics of the genre: Lots of IPA in a variety of styles, a handful of stouts, a line of fruited goses, and maybe some lager if you’re lucky. This is more a place for kettle sours than ambitious or esoteric wild ales, but they produce some excellent versions of styles you might consider “brewpub classics,” especially the sneaky-good American pale ale known as Ghost. All in all, Three Notch’d strikes an unpretentious, casual vibe, and feels like it’s filled with drinkers who care a bit less about the geekier fine points of what they’re drinking, and are more interested in the camaraderie of drinking together.
Notable beers: Ghost (American pale ale), Jack’s Java Espresso Stout, Blood Orange Gose
Väsen Brewing Co.
Judging from the crowds alone, you’d soon be able to deduce that Väsen has become one of the trendier Scott’s Addition breweries, sharing that title with The Veil—we would suspect that many visiting beer geeks hit one, and then the other. This can result in the taproom—it rocks something of an outdoorsy, “hikers and cyclists” theme—being packed to the gills on weekends, and seating can become scarce as a result. The beer fans, however, put up with the crowds thanks to the wide variety of interesting beer.
If you were just casually glancing at the Väsen beer list, you might initially peg it as simply another one of those hyper-modern breweries that is specializing entirely in massively fruity hazy IPA, and indeed popular DIPAs like Feasta fit that profile nicely, exploding with huge notes of peach and orange. But as you peruse the beer list, it becomes clear that there’s also considerably more going on at Väsen, as there’s almost always a few Belgian riffs on styles such as tripel or dubbel in the rotation, along with classic German ales, a few lagers and some truly funky, brettanomyces-forward wild ales. Some drinkers may ignore more humble, solid options like Väsen’s simply named hefeweizen, but these beers give depth to a lineup that could otherwise have been dominated by modern IPA and fruited sours. All in all, it’s easy to see why Väsen seems to possess “next big thing” status in the minds of many RVA beer geeks, as you know there will always be something interesting on tap.
Notable beers: Feasta DIPA, Goldenbear Tripel, Hefeweizen, various fruited sours
The Veil Brewing Co.
The biggest hype players of the RVA craft beer scene, The Veil has a tendency to dominate conversation about Richmond beer, especially when it comes to out-of-town beer geeks who often travel to Richmond with the express goal of loading up on Veil cans.
The truth of this particular brewery is more complicated than it might appear to either devotees or detractors—what The Veil does best is catering to several different crowds at the same time. On one side of the spectrum, you have its ostentatiously flavored beers—ridiculously fruited smoothies, insanely complicated BA imperial stouts with half a dozen dessert adjuncts, and triple (and quadruple!) IPAs so loaded with plant matter that they strain the boundaries of credibility.
At the same time, however, The Veil also produces beautifully nuanced, artisanal beers on the sidelines—gorgeous, rustic lagers, occasional Belgian ales and stunning mixed fermentation beers and fruited sours that appeal to more refined palates. These beers are reason enough to visit on their own, although the IPA saturation (I once saw 13 IPAs on tap at a single Veil taproom) can sometimes crowd out the other selections. At their best, though, The Veil produces some of the best lager and mixed ferm beers in town in particular.
The company’s two facilities in RVA reflect these different sides of the same ethos. The flagship Scott’s Addition taproom is crowded and busy, full of out-of-towners buying cans by the case and carrying them away, and IPA consumption seems to be king. In 2023, this location moved closer to Starr Hill and added an in-house kitchen inspired by Japanese Teppanyaki. Meanwhile, the southern Veil location in Forest Hill, south of the James River, is more of a pure, polished taproom with its own (absolutely delicious) in-house Mexican food concept. There’s a little something for any kind of beer drinker.
Notable beers: Never Never Forever Forever (passionfruit gose), Master Shredder IPA, Cave (pilsner), anything “mixed fermie.”
Manchester/South of the James
South of the James River, one finds a collection of quieter Richmond neighborhoods and a handful of breweries to sustain them. Whereas the areas immediately north of the river are more urban and crowded, the south side of the James is home to many converted factory apartments, townhomes, and neighborhoods of single family homes. A cluster of breweries can be found in the neighborhood of Manchester, which houses the city’s oldest operating brewery, Legend Brewing Co., in business since 1994. Overall, there’s not a ton of beer down here, but the history and quality make it worth a visit—one gets a sense that even longtime Richmond residents sometimes forget that these places south of the river exist. And with the opening of newer places like Benchtop Brewing’s Richmond taproom, South of the James just might be the city’s new buzzy brewery area.
Defunct breweries: Dogtown Brewing Co.
Basic City Beer Co. Southside RVA
Basic City Beer Co. is primarily based in the Virginia city of Waynesboro, but it also maintains this outpost and small-scale brewery in Manchester. The converted factory setting gives Basic City plenty of indoor space, one of the most expansive footprints in the area with its large game room factored in, which is a good thing when the place is swarming with people on the weekends for its popular monthly craft markets. Visiting Basic makes for a natural tandem when visiting Legend, which is just a few buildings down. Fresh, crispy pizzas are now available every day via local RVA staple Billy Pie.
In terms of the beer, Basic City produces an array of solid hazy IPAs, none more consistently excellent than the flagship DIPA/tropical fruit bomb Bask, which is perennially one of the better and more underrated hazy, hoppy beers in Richmond. It’s the kind of IPA that would receive considerably more attention (and higher Untappd ratings) if it had Triple Crossing or The Veil’s label on it, to be frank. Basic City can also boast an excellent, year-round pilsner (Our Daily Pils), an award-winning dark lager (Ought), and an imperial stout called Grin that can be found in several equally tasty iterations, from vanilla to “mole.” All in all, Basic City is a quality brewery with solid year-rounders, but one that doesn’t always receive the local attention it deserves.
Notable beers: Bask (DIPA), Our Daily Pils (pilsner), Ought (Czech dark lager), Grin (imperial stout)
Benchtop Brewing
The newest brewery addition south of the James River is this Manchester outpost of Norfolk, VA’s Benchtop Brewing, a brewery that was already somewhat familiar to me before moving to Virginia, owing to their finalist entry in our blind tasting of 324 IPAs. That beer, Proven Theory IPA, remains the company flagship and is one of the best modern, East-West Coast fusion IPAs in the state today—packed with both dank and juicy tropical aromatics, but with enough corresponding bitterness and dryness in its finish to serve as a bridge to an older era of India pale ale. It’s a fantastic, balanced beer that eschews the bombast that has become almost universal in the style.
That kind of balance is key to Benchtop’s beer portfolio, which does embrace hazy IPA, but also leans heavily in the direction of lagers (poured from a Czech Lukr side pull tower), most of which receive subtly wood-inflected maturation in small foeders before release. Note that these are still clean lagers rather than wild ones—the wood influence is quite subtle, but adds an extra layer to superlative pilsners such as Galileo, which layers bready malt with spicy and herbal Saaz hops. Benchtop demonstrates a science-focused approach and theme in these beers, with a very nerdy sense of humor that sees, for instance, every porter and stout apparently having names that are deep-cut culls from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. And that’s how you end up with a porter called “Wicked Lobstrosity.”
As for the taproom here, there is no brewhouse on site, and all beer is currently being transported from Norfolk. The taproom does, however, boast a small kitchen, in which Benchtop is exploring an upscale hot dog concept. Perhaps that’s not what you were expecting to hear, but I can say from experience that the Banh Mi hot dog is one of the tastiest brewery bites in town.
Notable beers: Proven Theory IPA, Galileo Czech Pilsner, Blaine Train (BBA imperial stout)
Legend Brewing Co.
Richmond’s oldest operating brewery truly is a torch-bearer at this point for an earlier era of the industry, but one that seems to happily keep steaming along, doing a robust business. Considering what a beer center the city is today, it’s almost unfathomable to think that Legend was the only brewer in the area between 1994 and 2010, a span of 16 years. Imagine going 16 years with no local competition, and then a decade later there are now more than 40 other brewers in the area. And yet despite it all, Legend has maintained a devoted local following—no doubt aided by its riverfront patio, which is exceptionally nice on a summer night.
This place has the epitome of “classic brewpub” vibe, with a full menu of burgers, sandwiches and fried finger foods, and an interior where seemingly every object is wooden and worn, including a dedicated game room. A mug club proudly chronicles the history of the brewery’s supporters, with the mugs of prominent deceased patrons on display. It’s just that kind of place where you can immediately feel that countless pints have been drained.
As for the beer, Legend comfortably delivers classic styles—the fact that its classic flagship is a brown ale illustrates how different things were in the decades prior. Also pleasant is the spicy, woodsy Legend Pilsner, and the understated, endlessly drinkable Legend Porter. It’s not a brewery that chases brewing trends particularly often, but to their credit they often pull off serviceable takes on kettle sours/hazy IPA when they choose to do so. The heart and soul of Legend, however, rests with pints of brown ale on the patio, ideally at sunset. That’s the ethos that has gotten them through almost 30 years to date. They should celebrate their 30th year in the spring of 2024.
Notable beers: Legend Brown Ale, Legend Pilsner, Legend Porter
The Veil Forest Hill
As previously mentioned, this is one of three locations for The Veil in Richmond, after the revamped 2023 Scott’s Addition taproom. This locale opened post-pandemic and was clearly built with volume in mind, sporting considerable indoor and outdoor space to throw back a few pints. Beyond the impressive building, which houses a few Airbnb rentals, there are two notable points to this location:
— The tap list tends to be very large, with even more variety on tap here than at the Scott’s Addition location. If you’re looking for a specific Veil beer on tap, this is probably your best bet. They’re also increasingly experimenting with non-alcoholic drinks.
— Unlike the Scott’s Addition location, which typically hosts rotating food trucks, this location has a permanent, in-house Mexican restaurant that is very much worth a taste.
Notable beers: Never Never Forever Forever (passionfruit gose), Master Shredder IPA, Cave (pilsner), anything “mixed fermie.”
Outside of Richmond/Greater RVA Area
And finally, we have one last array of breweries that collectively fall outside of what you would probably describe as Richmond city limits, but are still clearly within the gravitational field of Richmond, also known as simply “RVA.” These breweries can be found to the North, to the South, and to the West—curiously, there’s very little in the way of breweries east of Richmond until you get close to Williamsburg, VA. They include a few of the older and more historically significant breweries in the area, as well as some of the youngest RVA-area breweries. Together, these breweries will take us beyond 40 in total.
Sadly, this group of breweries said goodbye to one of their smallest and most charming members in late 2022, in the form of Molly’s Bicycle Shop & Blind Dog Brewery, a small brewing operation located, as the name would imply, inside a tiny local bike shop. They made solid, to-style beers in classic styles, and provided fresh beer in an immediate area south of RVA where there were no other local breweries. Thankfully for locals, another brewery simultaneously has sprung up nearly across the street from the former Molly’s location, in the form of Three Leg Run, a brewery/winery/meadery.
Defunct breweries: Molly’s Bicycle Shop & Blind Dog Brewery
Center of the Universe Brewing Co.
Center of the Universe was one of the first breweries of the modern RVA brewery boom to follow in the footsteps of Legend and Hardywood Park, opening its doors in 2012. That’s not much more than a decade ago now, but the generational divide present between “early 2010s” and “late 2010s” makes COTU feel like more of an elder statesman among the many up-and-comers, as they established themselves before innovations such as the mainstreaming of hazy IPA. Situated just south of the tourist town of Ashland, Center of the Universe can boast plenty of space and a pretty nifty patio for outdoor drinking.
The beer lineup for Center of the Universe caters to both classics and somewhat more adventurous fare, and there has been some effort here to keep up with modern trends, although not a total embrace of them. Flagship IPA Pocahoptas is well-balanced, bright and pleasant, with a bitter backbone—pretty much exactly what you’d expect or hope for in a brewery founded in 2012. Center of the Universe does well in executing less common styles such as English mild, but they also make some excellent lagers such as their annual Oktoberfest marzen. They also have a running gag of The Big Lebowski appreciation, which manifests in beers like El Duderino White Russian Stout, Donny Coffee Brown Ale, and The Jesus Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout. Further north, in Ashland itself, COTU also operates its Origin Beer Lab, which serves some of the brand’s year-rounders but also serves as an experimental brewhouse.
Notable beers: Pocahoptas IPA, El Duderino White Russian Stout
Courthouse Creek Cider
The only cidery on this list, Courthouse Creek is included for the fact that they also brew a handful of beers on site—all of which are gluten free. Courthouse Creek also previously operated a small, too-often overlooked taproom in Scott’s Addition, but their farmhouse location west of Richmond, in Maidens, VA, is far more impressive to visit. This truly is one of the more picturesque locations in the RVA-area alcohol industry, set on a farm growing numerous heirloom apple varieties, never far from the buzz of happy honeybees. It’s a lovely farm setting that is plenty popular, as much of the outdoor seating is often filled on weekends, when musical performances are also common.
All in all, the vibe here very much feels like a farm winery, but with the addition of solid gluten-free beers and excellent ciders—especially the wild and barrel-aged stuff. You’ll be surprised how bustling Courthouse Creek tends to be on a nice day, despite its relative distance from Richmond, but the allure is easy to understand.
Crazy Rooster Brewing Co.
One of the younger breweries in the area, Crazy Rooster Brewing Co. is a no-frills brewery in an industrial park located west of the RVA suburb of Midlothian, albeit one that seems to have gotten off to a running start as far as the quality of the beer is concerned. There’s no in-house food here beyond a few snacks, but food trucks are a common sight, and a front patio gives a decent amount of outdoor seating. Founded by Grateful Dead devotees, the vibe is unsurprisingly easygoing.
The brewing aesthetic here nods primarily toward classic beer styles of yore, with a year-round American amber ale that feels particularly like a statement of grounded principles. The dank, weedy, bitter West IPA Fadeaway is an excellent West Coast IPA that genuinely captures the vibe of the style as it tended to exist a decade ago—notably different from how the term is now being used by some brewers to imply IPA’s next evolution. Crazy Rooster also features a solid year-round oatmeal stout (Crowin’ Midnight), and even their ventures into hazy IPA are quite pleasant, with the Late Day Shadow NE-IPA displaying a pleasantly restrained stone fruit juiciness. Their beer likely won’t be easy to find in RVA just yet, but it’s a brewery that immediately puts itself forward as focused and capable.
Notable beers: West IPA Fadeaway, Crowin’ Midnight (oatmeal stout), Devil’s Pay (American amber ale)
Dancing Kilt Brewery
Another brewing entity that opened its doors to the public during the pandemic, Dancing Kilt is a determined throwback to the breweries and pubs that typified craft beer not just 10 years ago, but decades ago. This feels very much like a passion project, and an avowedly old-fashioned one, which has made the most of its strip mall interior to evoke the warmth of an English or Irish pub in the middle of industrial Chester, VA, south of Richmond. From the moment you walk in, greeted by the strains of Irish folk music and the smell of pub grub, it’s clear that the atmosphere is meant to evoke a homey watering hole somewhere in the U.K. Notably, there is no space for outdoor seating here, making it one of the only RVA breweries that is indoor only. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the clientele seems to trend older.
The beer styles, fittingly, are almost entirely Continental, surpassing even Richmond’s Garden Grove in terms of dedication to this particular theme. Traditional British ales, German ales and lagers, and Belgian styles all abound, offering eclectic choices between styles such as Irish red ale, nut brown ale, Czech pils, hefeweizen and various Belgian abbey ales. Unfortunately, though, the beer itself seems to vary rather wildly in quality, and one gets the sense that the brewer may still be adjusting to brewing recipes on large-scale equipment. In particular, the porters and stouts seem to suffer from astringency and off-flavors, making them difficult to enjoy.
It’s hard not to be charmed by the throwback theming of Dancing Kilt’s taproom, and I admire their dedication to brewing European styles that are badly underrepresented in the modern American beer market. I can only hope the consistency of these beers improves with time, because the brewery’s theme deserves that kind of execution.
Notable beers: Kubik Pilsner, Perchta Hefeweizen
Extra Billy’s Brewery & Smokehouse
Extra Billy’s has been in business in the southern Richmond suburb of Midlothian since the year 2000, although it’s unclear if there was always a brewhouse on site from the time the business began. This is a pretty humble little brewing operation, with just five or six beers on tap at any given time, and one gets the sense that the “beer program,” as it were, takes a backseat to the business’ main function as a family BBQ hangout. Styles are very “retro brewpub,” with entries such as red ale, brown ale, IPA, etc.—Belgian tripel occupies the role of “big, experimental brew.” The recipes feel a bit on the dated side, as one might expect, but the surprisingly hoppy brown ale is a nice change of pace, drinking like an embryonic black IPA.
In terms of the restaurant itself, meanwhile, you’re looking at an aesthetic that feels halfway between Texas Roadhouse and English pub, with the bar side of the business adorned in old glass bottles that feel like a temple to a bygone craft beer age. All in all, the business feels like something of a relic, but it clearly must have a loyal contingent of local fans to have made it through the pandemic relatively unscathed.
Notable beers: Citrawation IPA, Billy’s Brown Ale
Fine Creek Brewing Co.
Fine Creek is one of the most unique breweries on the outskirts of the RVA scene, in the sense that it functions as part of a larger compound, catering primarily to the wedding industry. The Mill at Fine Creek is an event space for weddings and celebrations, with a surrounding satellite of supporting businesses—a bakery, some cabins, and the brewery. Knowing this, you’d be forgiven for expecting the brewery to be a “play it safe” venture, designed solely to provide fresh beer for thirsty, non-picky wedding guests—and indeed, there’s really no reason that Fine Creek’s beer would need to be great in order to serve its function. That makes Fine Creek’s status as one of RVA’s best overall breweries all the more surprising, as their output greatly exceeds what anyone would expect of it.
Fine Creek possesses a beautiful venue with roaring fireplaces indoors, and copious amounts of seating outdoors on vaulted porches and sprawling patios and gardens. They need the space, too—despite the fact that many Richmond drinkers don’t seem very familiar with their beer, the place is regularly packed on nice days despite its remote location in Powhatan County, VA, suggesting that their quality is well known in beer circles.
As for the styles brewed here, it’s a solid array that displays impeccable craftsmanship, from crisp and bready helles lager to stylistically pitch-perfect American stout. IPAs are present, but rarely feel like the focus—instead, Fine Creek’s best beers are often wild ales, as they legitimately produce some of the best brettanomyces and mixed-culture saisons the state has to offer. Of all the breweries on the outskirts of Richmond, Fine Creek easily justifies a pilgrimage.
Notable beers: Dry-hopped brett saison, helles lager, American stout
5 Fields Brewing Co.
This small, fledgling brewing operation can be found in the small town of Charles City, VA–population as of the 2020 census was merely 104 people. Essentially, this is less a standalone brewery and more an extension of the historic Indian Fields Tavern restaurant on site, which has operated in various capacities since the 1970s in an old farmhouse. The restaurant maintains a pretty nice outdoor music venue, with the recent addition of the 5 Fields Brewing Co. brand seemingly geared toward serving drinks for concerts and shows being held at that venue. At the moment, guests can sample beers during shows, but the brews are also unsurprisingly available to diners at the Indian Fields Tavern. Beer styles are approachable and familiar, ranging from the likes of lager and pale ale to brown ale and bock.
Note: 5 Fields Brewing Co. does have its own building next to the Indian Fields Tavern, with a tasting room that the owners intend to have open to the public on a regular basis in 2024.
Notable beers: Bout Damn Time IPA, 5 and Dime Lager
Hardywood Park West Creek
The West Creek location of Hardywood Park, unsurprisingly located west of Richmond proper, is as clear an indication you’ll find of what a decade of success in the craft beer industry can buy a company. This massive facility is a testament to the impact that Hardywood Park has had on the Richmond brewery scene since its founding in 2011, and its ability to grow into a regional powerhouse by establishing themselves in the market before the waves of subsequent breweries that would open in the decade to follow. Beautiful to look at, and entirely powered by renewable energy, the space combines ample indoor seating with tons of outdoor space, both in the form of patios and wide-open grassy areas that slope down toward the titular creek. Guests are free to stroll the grounds with a beer in hand, and it’s common to see entire extended families doing so at once. If you’ve ever visited Sierra Nevada’s Asheville-adjacent brewery in Fletcher, NC, Hardywood Park West Creek evokes some of the same theming on a smaller scale.
For food, there’s always a food truck or two operating at West Creek, and the company has finally gotten around to offering some of its own food in a limited capacity as well. Beers cover all the same bases as the original Hardywood Park location, but keep your eyes out for collaborations here, including a few collaboration wines with local vineyards, emblazoned with paintings of Virginia bird species, many of which can be seen on the West Creek grounds. This brewery location is simply an impressive spectacle, but one that can get quite crowded on the weekends, or during events.
Notable beers: Hardywood Pils, Fightin’ Hokies Lager, Peach Tripel, Gingerbread Stout
Hidden Wit Brewing Co.
Opened in late 2023 and located far off the beaten path southwest of Richmond–almost as remote-feeling as Lickinghole Creek’s farm brewery–is Hidden Wit Brewing Co., a place that feels like a hub for rural residents in the area to have a brewery to call their own. Impressively situated in a brand new, expensive-looking building with plenty of indoor space and table capacity, Hidden Wit immediately feels like probably the best-funded new brewery to open in the area in recent memory.
The brewery grounds are a draw here, with multiple indoor rooms and large capacity for drinkers and diners, complete with fireplace and big screen TV. Outdoors feels quite family friendly, as a large area of turf is home to scores of children running wild as parents look on from nearby tables. There’s even more space behind the brewery that may yet be developed into further attractions, but this hasn’t happened yet.
The beer program at Hidden Wit, meanwhile, feels rooted in classic styles and homebrewing traditions, “focused on local ingredients and drinkability” according to its founders. Early mainstays include the requisite hazy and more old-school IPAs, along with a strawberry blonde ale and a well-made Irish dry stout that was apparently the inspiration for the brewery as a commercial venture. Keep an eye out for fox-related puns.
Notable beers: Tod & Copper (Red ale), Sly Fox (IPA), We Should Open a Brewery (Irish dry stout)
Holy Mackerel Small Batch Beers
Essentially an outpost of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida’s Holy Mackerel Small Batch Beers, this under-the-radar locale opened in the summer of 2021 as a local country seafood joint on the south side of the James River, not far from the town of Hopewell southeast of Richmond. The parent company has been in operation since 2006, drawing its history from a founder who once won one of Boston Beer Co.’s “we’ll brew your beer nationally” homebrewing competitions, and they still make that winning beer from the late 1990s, a Belgian tripel/golden strong ale now called Panic Attack. Judging from the “crooked and demented” slogan, the company made its name off experimental (at least for the time) beers, as well as a party atmosphere and attached restaurant.
This country location in Richmond’s orbit, unfortunately, doesn’t feel like it has the strongest beer focus—when I focused, only four of the beers on tap were actually produced by Holy Mackerel, and the tap list was badly out of date, with most of the spots occupied by guest drafts. It’s unclear whether there is actually a brewhouse on site, or whether the beers are being shipped up from Florida, but I can say that they do in fact know their way around a classic Belgian ale—the Special Golden Ale is a worthy golden strong ale in its own right. With that said, a casual glance around in this place reveals a clientele that is perfectly happy ordering domestic light lager, rather than the Holy Mackerel’s own beer. It’s not too surprising, then, to see a website that doesn’t actually include any information about the beer.
Notable beers: Special Golden Ale, No Name IPA
Intermission Beer Co.
Just outside the northern orbit of Richmond proper, and just a minute off the busy I-95 corridor, you’ll find Intermission Beer Co., a humble operation with a particular (but understated) focus on gluten-reduced and beers. This is an interesting aspect of Intermission’s business, given that they don’t seem to heavily promote the gluten-reduced aspect, but it applies to almost all of their releases—valuable information for drinkers to be sure. That fact alone makes Intermission perhaps the only Richmond-area brewery with a particular focus on gluten-reduced beers, after the closure of Castleburg.
This is a homey, welcoming little taproom full of games and sociable folks—it feels like a place where a D&D group might meet every week, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that was the case. The beer runs the gamut from gluten-reduced, fruited wheat beers to solid Belgian ales, hazy IPA and the occasional flavored stout, with no particular style being dominant. And yes, there’s a line of hard seltzers as well.
Somewhat oddly, Intermission is opening a second taproom in late 2023 only a mile or so further north, called the Intermission Brewpub & Arcade. It’s unclear if this is meant to replace the original Intermission brewery location.
Notable beers: Insignificant Other (IPA), Conjured Darkness (milk stout)
Kindred Spirit Brewing
Tucked away in the same West Side area that is home to Hardywood Park West Creek, you have Kindred Spirit Brewing, a friendly “neighborhood” brewery that feels like it could easily fly under the radar. Founded in 2016, they’re a reliable presence with a nice, inviting taproom that projects more of a sports bar/venue kind of feel, with TVs airing live sports—something of a rarity in the Richmond scene. Kindred Spirit also seems to host live entertainment fairly often on the weekends, and you’ll often find a singer-songwriter or small band practicing their craft on the patio. They recently opened a kitchen concept with the types of sandwiches and brewpub staples you would probably expect for the vibe.
Beer-wise, Kindred Spirit typically maintains double digit numbers of draft lines flowing, with most of them dedicated to a wide assortment of pale ale, IPA and DIPA, both clear and hazy. The hop-forward beers are supplemented by a handful of lagers, occasional Belgian ales and typically an imperial stout or two, all of which tend to be flavor bombs. At the end of the day, the brewery isn’t necessarily the most memorable locale in town, but given its proximity to Hardywood Park West Creek, it’s only natural to visit both of them at once when you’re on Richmond’s western perimeter.
Notable beers: Headspace (IPA), Goodness (imperial stout)
Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery
The original Lickinghole Creek brewery location is located on a farm in Goochland, VA that, even by rural Virginia standards, is pretty much in the middle of nowhere—as I can attest after driving out there. It’s a beautiful, wide-open place with a ton of land, allowing for rambling walks on the brewery’s property. Definitely visit on a nice day, to take full advantage of the outdoor space. Until 2020, the brand also operated a Shockoe Bottom taproom in Richmond proper, but it sadly closed during the pandemic, robbing RVA of an easier way to taste Lickinghole Creek beer on a more regular basis.
Their beer aesthetic is typically rooted in both classic and modern IPA, which are nicely paired alongside a selection of fruited kettle sours, occasional Belgian ales and a wide variety of big stouts, many of which are often adjunct-free—another rarity in the modern beer scene, which is so focused on pastry stout.
As for specific beers, the citrus-heavy 9 Mile IPA is one of Richmond’s better flagship IPAs, while I appreciate the consistent presence of the adjunct-free One Lion “tropical style stout” as well. There’s usually some barrel-aged variants on tap here, which include such styles as imperial stouts (especially in the “Despot”) series, doppelbock, barleywine and Belgian quad. In fact, the lineup tends to swing in the direction of “big” beers in general. In particular, year-round DIPA Nuclear Nugget is a bruiser and something of a throwback, with an unabashedly boozy profile that reminds me of the prime era of Bell’s Hopslam.
Notable beers: 9 Mile IPA, One Lion (tropical stout), Hide the Despot (imperial stout), Nuclear Nugget DIPA
Midnight Brewery
Quietly one of the older and more dependable producers of classic styles in the area, Midnight Brewery was founded in the class of 2012, alongside Center of the Universe Brewing Co., with whom they have several things in common. Unlike some of the other breweries of their era, which attempted to expand as far and wide as possible, Midnight maintains a more humble footprint—a local stalwart that doesn’t really try to overstep its bounds. One gets the sense that much of their beer is sold in the taproom, though you can find cans of some of the year-round styles in local shops as well.
As for the beer, what you’ll typically find here is on-point executions of classic beer styles. They do lighter styles pretty well, be that dead-center kolsch or Vienna lager, and have even adapted to the era of hazy IPA pretty handily—flagship IPA Luputopia is a concentrated dank and citrus bomb that also manages to be fairly balanced and approachable. You won’t find much in the way of wild ales here, but you will be rewarded with what might be RVA’s best year-round, standard-strength, non-adjunct dark beer, Midnight Granite Oatmeal Stout. Those who appreciate that kind of undervalued style will likely find a lot to love about Midnight Brewery.
We should note that the economic challenges of the last few years have seemingly resulted in somewhat elevated pricing for draft beer at Midnight’s taproom, even on the lighter styles one typically expects to be the best value. We should all acknowledge the difficulties that small breweries are facing, but it’s still going to be difficult for some consumers to accept paying $7.50-$8.50 for a pour of kolsch or IPA.
Notable beers: Midnight Granite (oatmeal stout), Luputopia (IPA), New Beginning (kolsch)
Origin Beer Lab
One might actually make the trip up north of Richmond, to this Ashland, VA brewery without realizing that it’s an extension of Center of the Universe Brewing Co., but even if you did, you wouldn’t likely end up disappointed—Origin has a charm that’s all its own. Located in the tourist-friendly main strip of Ashland—most definitely a tourist town—Origin functions as the research brewery for COTU, developing new recipes and generally tinkering with things, hence the science theming and a mug club known as the “Lab Rats.” There’s even an air of “customer participation” here, as evidenced by a whiteboard where customers can cast their votes on which beers the brewer should produce next. It makes for a unique atmosphere, as do the train tracks that run directly outside the brewery door, occasionally punctuating conversation with the roar of passing cars. It makes for a hip, geeky counterpoint to the more classic brewery experience at COTU.
Darker beer styles seem to be a specialty here if you ask us, as our visits have yielded a spot-on schwarzbier and excellent, non-adjunct imperial stout on several occasions. There’s also an inspired historic beer series, available at both this location and COTU, which focuses on recreating such styles as World War II-era British mild, or an 18th century Philadelphia porter. It doesn’t feel like the kind of theme that would ever move a ton of product in supermarkets, but we applaud the ingenuity, because it certainly helps Origin (and COTU by extension) stand out in a positive way.
Notable beers: Downtown Lager, schwarzbier, nectarine gose
Steam Bell Beer Works
The original brewery from the same ownership team that eventually opened the now-departed Canon & Draw Brewing Co. in the heart of Richmond, Steam Bell is located a ways southwest of the city in the requisite sort of industrial complex you would expect. It has a fair amount of outdoor seating in the back, and I’ll always remember it as the first brewery we visited for outdoor service during the pandemic—the first of many.
In terms of the beer lineup, Steam Bell feels like a somewhat more sophisticated and eclectic older sibling to the now-closed Canon & Draw, with a beer selection that focuses less intently on hazy IPA and heavily fruited beers, and instead includes some more rustic styles such as traditional saison and grisette. Wild ales can frequently be found here as well—I once tasted a lovely brettanomyces saison, aged two years in wine barrels and conditioned on raspberries and blackberries. Other highlights have included a very burly and well-executed American barleywine and routinely excellent kettle sours, such as a pink guava or margarita gose, in addition to the brewery’s very popular Tiramisu Stout and its many variants. This is a brewery that quietly does a lot of things well, but perhaps isn’t noticed quite as often due to its relatively remote location. Certainly worth a trip.
Notable beers: Tiramisu Stout, Extra Plenty Gose: Margarita, various wild ales
Talleysville Brewing Co.
Talleysville Brewing Co. isn’t really a standalone brewery project, but is rather the name for the beer program within the well-established New Kent Winery, which has been in operation east of Richmond (about halfway to Williamsburg) since 2008. Until late 2020, the winery was an exclusively grape-focused operation, but they expanded their purview to include quite a few on-site beers as well. In fact, they likely deserve some credit just for having a well-rounded beer lineup at this point—you might not expect a winery’s beer program that is still in its infancy to have 11 different beers on tap. Talleysville is unsurprisingly a small operation, however, and your best bet for getting these beers is in the New Kent winery tasting room—a pleasant, large, rural facility with plenty of outdoor space in particular.
The beer styles being offered mostly hit on quaffable American classics, with riffs on pale ale, IPA and wheat ales, along with red ale and generic “summer ale.” There are, however, some more adventurous offerings as well that incorporate fruit into the proceedings, such as a hefeweizen conditioned on mango, or saison paired with blackberries. A standout is the particularly creamy-in-texture Talleysville Twilight Milk Stout, which sits at a respectable 7.3% ABV—accessible, but not lacking in character. Most of the people visiting New Kent are likely still coming here for wine, but the Talleysville beer program provides a serviceable alternative for the beer geeks.
Notable beers: Talleysville Twilight Milk Stout, Long Leaf Lager
Three Leg Run
Opening just across the street from the former location of low-key staple Molly’s Bicycle Shop & Blind Dog Brewery is the more polished-looking Three Leg Run, a brewery that sets itself apart in the sheer breadth of the fermentables it’s tackling. Specifically, this place is not only producing beer, but also their own wine and mead, putting them in a class of versatility that only Carytown’s Garden Grove can match. All of the beverages can be enjoyed in a surprisingly attractive and well put-together taproom that feels odd to find in a strip mall in small-town Chester, VA, but the designers certainly deserve some credit for building an impressive indoor space. As far as I can tell, there is no outdoor seating here.
Beers are available in a modest range of styles with the occasionally modern twist, such as flagship Mexican Lager El Vikingo, which is unexpectedly made with the Norwegian yeast strain known as Kveik. All in all, though, Three Leg Run is catering mostly to familiar styles and palates, both in terms of its beer program and uncomplicated wines. It feels like place where locals might gather to host a birthday party or watch a football game, a feeling only reinforced by freezer machines producing wine or mead slushies.
Notable beers: El Vikingo (Mexican lager), Paper Boy (brown ale)
Trapezium Brewing Co.
This is definitely stretching even the boundaries of what might be considered “RVA-adjacent,” but considering that I made the trip down to Petersburg, VA to check out Trapezium, it falls solidly into the “might as well include it too” camp. This is a fairly impressive-looking brewery with a large taproom in downtown Petersburg, boasting both a pizza kitchen and a brewery on site. Outdoor seating is plentiful, as the brewery is essentially built with an attractive, plaza-like courtyard out front that shows off the exposed brick of the building. It makes for an obvious warm-weather hangout, and the vibe is congenial and inviting for hang-outs with friends over pizza and beer.
As for those beers, they come primarily in classic styles, with occasional flourishes of more challenging flavors. A witbier with notes of chamomile and rose hips is perhaps the most dependable flagship, and you’ll also find both classic and modern IPA styles, a few approachable lagers and perhaps even a “baklava”-flavored imperial stout. There are occasionally mixed culture wild ales to be found here as well, although it doesn’t feel like a major focus. Most of the beers here seem calculated for maximum drinkability and thirst-quenching properties, which is okay by us.
More recently, Trapezium seems to have set its sights on moving more intently into the Richmond market, with stated plans to open the Church Hill neighborhood’s first brewery location in a former Masonic Temple. An opening was originally scheduled for 2022, but few details on when this one will arrive have been forthcoming. Its status remains unknown.
Notable beers: Lucky 47 White Ale, Lucky 25 American Brown Ale, Houseboat Blonde Ale
Triple Crossing Midlothian
The newest addition to Triple Crossing’s impressive RVA empire is the Midlothian location, a self-contained restaurant and beer emporium clearly meant to service the large numbers of suburban customers who don’t want to drive all the way up to Richmond to visit the Foushee and Fulton locations.
This Triple Crossing location feels more like an “on premise” hub, with less focus on can sales/releases, and a menu that is expanded in a few small but key ways from the restaurant menu served at the larger Fulton location—a burger and chicken sandwich are a few of the new additions, which you won’t find at other TC locations. The interior is on the smaller side, and can often get notably loud and crowded when near capacity, but the location makes up for this with a large back patio area overlooking the retention pond of an office park. This location feels like it got off to something of a stumbling start in terms of food quality and ongoing construction, but we trust it will eventually be able to match other Triple Crossing locations in and around Richmond.
WayGone Brewery
A modest suburban brewery opened in late 2023, WayGone slid into a vacated strip mall location and immediately set about producing beer for the locals. To date, they seem to be simply producing beer for on-premise consumption, though there are plans for future canning runs of the company’s most popular beers to be available on site. The brewery has done a good job sprucing up a humble facade for the business, adding amenities such as dart boards and a small sports lounge with TV and couches. The vibe is definitely “neighborhood bar hangout.” There’s no in-house food, though they’ve incorporated the ability to order from the longtime Irish pub next door, which is a nice touch.
Beer-wise, WayGone is just getting its feet under it on a large, professional scale, but represents the outgrowth of the longtime homebrewing operations of its founders. They seem to be passionate about hops and IPA first and foremost, with a large chunk of the tap handles being dedicated to IPA in a variety of styles both older and more modern–the flagship Cloudy Dreamz may be the best overall example. Other regularly available brands include a more generally accessible “hoppy lager” and launch stout Cabin Branch, a surprisingly dry stout flavored with cacao nibs and vanilla bean. House-made hard seltzer may also be on the menu.
Notable beers: Cloudy Dreamz (hazy IPA), Afterthought (hoppy lager)
Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident craft beer geek. You can follow him on Twitter for much more drinks writing.