Tap and Cap | Thoughts and opinions on all things beer.

Oak Creek Brewery and Grill – Lunch in Sedona If you ever find yourself in the middle of the desert and thirsty, I’ve found just the place to help you out. I’ve certainly done more beer drinking than I’ve done hiking. But fortunately both activities complement each other well and we happened to be in one of the best places in the world to do both last week. Sedona, Arizona is beautiful. Jaw droppingly beautiful. Every curve of the road puts a new awe-inspiring vista before you. We...

Review: Blue Mountain Barrel House Dark Hollow bourbon barrel aged stout Bourbon barrels are becoming a huge part of the craft beer movement. More and more breweries are using them to age their brews to add dimension and character to the styles that will best stand up to the strong flavors they can impart. A concern I’ve harbored since I first noticed these beers hitting the market has been that some breweries have employed this technique as a way to cover up imperfections in the beers they store in these barrels. My...

Review: Hardywood Park Chocolate Heat double chocolate milk stout with chili peppers I’ve sung the praises of a local favorite since the beginning of this blog. Hardywood Park is a white-hot rising star in the craft beer scene of central Virginia and I’ve enjoyed every beer I’ve had from them. Until now. I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s the thing… I first mentioned the Chocolate Heat “double chocolate milk stout brewed with with locally grown chili peppers” in my post about my first visit...

Stout braised beef rib recipe

The following recipe uses a strong coffee stout to absorb the dense, grass fed flavor of Deer Run’s beef ribs and creates a rich, hearty broth that will ward off the chill of late Virginia winter. I used a bottle of Twisted Pine’s Big Shot Espresso Stout (see pic) to braise the beef. You can serve these ribs and the resulting stew by themselves or over a bed of grains. I used pearled barley prepared by toasting the grain in butter and spooning in chicken broth until moist but not mushy (similar to preparing a risotto). The result was a delicious homage to the bounty of the Old Dominion.

Review: Williamsburg Alewerks Drake Tail IPA

Drake Tail IPA from Williamsburg Alewerks is tonight’s brew of choice. I last reviewed Alewerks’ coffeehouse stout earlier this month and was excited to return to the brewery’s stable this time sampling one of their year-round brews. The beer’s name was inspired by a model of Chesapeake Bay workboat called the “Hooper’s Island Draketail” which was a common sight on the bay during the...

Review: Blue Mountain Barrel House Mandolin ale

This week’s Barrel House ale is Mandolin. This was a difficult beer to classify as the bottle and website list it as “an artisanal ale” which is fairly nondescript in the world of craft beer. Further investigation reveals the Barrel House version to actually be a take on the French style Biere de Garde (apparently Blue Mountain had released a version before the Barrel House opened that had been classified as...

Review: O’Connor Great Dismal black IPA

Tonight I’m highlighting a beer from a brewery in the Tidewater region of Virginia. O’Connor brewing company is located in Norfolk and came recommended to me by a friend who travels to Tidewater for work on a regular basis. I had seen O’Connor around the local bottle shops but had never picked up any of their brews (for some strange reason). When talking to this friend he brought up the brewery and raved...

Review: Devil’s Backbone Dark Abby dubbel al...

I’ve tasted several of Devil’s Backbone’s other offering and have enjoyed them all. The IPA, Vienna Lager, and Schwarzbier have all been true to style and delicious, but also they have all been session beers. These are low alcohol, high drinkability brews that can be enjoyed back to back over several hours without the impairment one would endure from higher-gravity beers. So it surprised me to see a Belgian style dubbel in a DB six pack. Having never disappointed me before, I figured Dark Abby was worth a shot.

Review: Blue Mountain Barrel House Weizen

My next bottle in the Barrel House series is the Weizen. This is a straightforward Bavarian wheat beer from a 750 ml Champagne bottle. As a disclaimer, I have to say up front that this is an exercise in impartial objectivity. I had a few run ins with wheat beers and fruit before that resulted in a long-standing distaste for the style. Fortunately this has given me an opportunity to practice my chops with the BJCP style...

Now and then review: Hardywood Park Sidamo coffee ...

Aging beer isn’t an exact science. Many big beers benefit from being stored away for a year or more. Certain styles have their rough edges mellow and their base flavors develop even more complexity over time. The secret to enjoying these beers and the benefits of the aging process is in documentation. Being able to compare your initial thoughts on a brew and revisiting them a year or more later when you pop the aged...

Enhance your beer enjoyment with BJCP style guidel...

Over the last ten years I’ve collected a mental catalog of some great beers. I’m sure I’ve forgotten just as many. Association with what’s on the label and sharing notes with my beer buddies as well as a hefty dose of Googling have left me with a pretty good start on understanding the myriad style categories available at the local bottle shop. I know the difference between lagers and ales. I’m...

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