Down South Way, from the Rogue's notes

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel as seen from Fish'mans (Fisherman) Island. Cloudy, but mild (mid 60s) and

 this is the East-side, so...flat. Bad surf spot. Good fishin' venue. Hence the name. 11/4/2017.

   One of the vows upon the return to the coast was to head down south way. On a future day, for another surfing road trip. Last weekend, just a road trip. Eleventh hour provisions made. Wife and I even brought the pooch. Absolutely nothing to do with surfing. Like to try to tie in a break to each post. Somehow. Someways. Cruised across Fish'mans Island. Eastside facing the Ocean could argue some decent wave action from time to time. The con to that...accessible by boat only. Bayside west...facing the mouth of the Chesapeake...not so much. Pretty passive. Just passed by VA Beach. Nope, this trip was all about Williamsburg, VA. A hair inland. Sixty miles. Could argue a beer road trip. For the purposes of this post...that's my argument. That and a wee bit of history.  Especially the colonial era. Hard to find a more complete living example than Colonial Williamsburg. Wife gives me $hit because I get a tad carried away with the camera. Tend to get a lot of the same pics from trip to trip, so I tried to keep it original. Beer was! Gotta love it. We did.

Chowning's Tavern traffic.

Muzzle Flash, a hoppy amber ale from Williamsburg's Brass Cannon Brewing. Picked it up in the DoG Street Bottle Shop. Never made it out to the brewery...maybe next time. I liked this one. Nice hop bite (est. 50 IBUs) with a strong malt backbone. Big head on this, though I think it may have been a warm glass contributing. Poured a clear amber. Aromas of toffee and pine. Smooth finish. Sessionable at 5.8% ABV. Rated a B+.

Shops approaching the Capital Building

Wetherburn's Tavern

Merchant Square

Wethernburn's Tavern, where merriment was a specialty of the house. And no wonder with Bristol Ale on tap. Imported from bloody ol' England via Bristol, the beer at that time required high alcohol content and extra hops to keep it drinkable through the trip across the "pond."  Part of AleWerks Brewing's Historic collection; picked up at a colonial store in Merchant Square.  An English Strong Ale that poured a cloudy brown with sediment. Nice finger thick tan head. Smells of chocolate and malt. Tastes of vanilla and brown sugar. Smooth, slightly sweet, but crisp hop finish. This one is a strong hitter at 7.3% ABV. Rated a B.

 Discovered DoG (Duke of Gloucester) Street Pub on our last visit a couple years ago. Expanded since. Beer brings success. Success breeds expansion. Also within Merchant Square, we now had Hair of the Dog...an extensive bottle shop...in back. This place supported local brewers...Virginia's specifically. Obvious they love their craft. Did a collaboration with AleWerks to develop Maizie's ESB. Extra Special Bitter named after Maizie, the owner's pooch. At an estimated 30 IBUs and 6.1% ABV, poured a reddish-orange with a tan, finger thick head. Bitterness with little citrus up front. Toffee-malt hit in the back. Not a big fan of this one. The company dog got the better deal. Rated a C+.

The Virginia Beer Company was on our radar from the start of this trip. Like an approaching set in the distance, it didn't take long to hone in on this ride. Finished off the opening night with their 8-brew flight plan, sampling all on tap. Couple of belgians, IPA, DIPA, a blonde, and a Wheat Ale. Downing a reuben at lunch, I washed it back with the Saving Daylight Wheat Ale. Apropos considering it was the last day of DST. This was the brew that led us to our evening break and the tasting sesh. Light, straw yellow in color. Drank this directly from the can as well as the tasting. Distinct flavor from the Belgian yeast. Additional aroma and tastes of banana and grapefruit. Ever so light hopping on the end (25 IBUs) to produce a crisp, refreshing finish. A real session beer at 4.9% ABV. A starter in the Flight. Rated a B-.

"Fall back, and have another."

                  -DW

Closing Fife & Drum Corps.