Center of the Universe Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Visited on a Sunday right at opening. Very slow.

V - More small town sports bar than brewpub - 3.5

Q - Served in a variety of beer glasses. 4

Ser - It was slow, but the bartender was attentive, engaging and knew her beer. 4

Sel - Surprising variety of beers on tap - Kolsch, APA, DIPA, pilsner, irish stout, American stout, barrel aged strong dark Belgian. 4

Across from an RV park if you are traveling.

 

 

 

 

Been here several times as it is probably the closest brewery to my home. Usually a good variety of beers 6-8 most times. No major standouts, but several good selections. El Duderino, And Oaky Pokey have been my favorites. Great staff (Tom is awesome) and they always seem to be doing something in the local community. Keep it up!

 

Quality brews from a responsible brewhouae!

 

 

 

 

Plenty of room to spread out and good brews to drink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second visit 1/17/15- I decided to try COTU again since I was in the area. Not much has changed and the beers are still pretty basic. The presence of a few food trucks may be bringing in better food but the beers don't even do them much justice. I paid $14 for a sample flight that was really boring. I'm lowering my initial rating as well since they haven't improved much of anything.

Initial review: Probably my least favorite RVA brewery. They don't take any chances with their beers- right down to their official beer of Richmonds minor league baseball team: Chin Music. Bland lager to match their bland IPAs, Pale Ales, etc.

I wish they would take some risks and brew something over the top like Strangeways and Hardywood every so often. A couple of tasty seasonals would definitely bring me back to Ashland. Right now, I'll stay in Scott's Addition and SW/HWP/Isley.

 

 

 

 

Nice little brewery off of I-95 in Ashland Virginia. It's across from a RV park, but there aren't any restaurants too close by. They always seem to have a food truck or two on site. The beer is very good, but their styles are in the norm, nothing "out there". The PocaHoptas is a very good IPA, but not too crazy. The best beer I had was the El Duderino, a vanilla Russian Stout, that wasn't overly sweet. They have a nice bar area and a great little outdoor beer garden for when the weather is cooperative. They offer a couple beers in cans and sell growlers. I enjoy the atmosphere ad the beer is pretty good too.

 

Went Saturday and they were having the Summer Moon Music Festival. Hop in line to buy my $5 pint and selected the Exit 89 Lager....eh....wasn't a bad beer, but certainly wasn't noteworthy. Took a few sips of a friends Pocohoptus, again it was fine but did not stand out. From there we walked around a bit saw all the food trucks, band was playing...but it was way too hot to be outside so we headed inside.

Plenty of space inside, everything was nice and clean, employees were friendly. Tried their Alt beer and their pale ale, again nothing terrible but I was wanting at least one of their beers to stand out and that didn't happen. The place was pretty busy so someone obviously enjoys there stuff but for me if I were passing through again I can't say I would stop in.

Seems like a new craft beer brewer, and the consumers couldn't be happier. Nice layout, clean and simple. There's a small bar and lots of standing / sitting room. I visited midday and the place was already packed and noisy, so I guess these guys are doing pretty good. It is Ashland, VA, so what more is there to do? It's a little too bright and cheery for my liking, but it's still a very nice place. There is a large outside seating area, but it is NOT dog-friendly.

There was a decent selection of beer on tap, with a few good one-offs and/or seasonals. They seem to be a bit more daring than your typical hometown flagship slingers. An oak-aged IPA caught my attention, particularly. Quality was decent, I didn't try everything, but they seem to know what they're doing to some extent.

Service was fine, considering the crowd, and I got to briefly chat with the owner. There was no kitchen seemingly, but they did have a food truck outside, so that's a plus, especially considering there's pretty much nothing else in the area...I think they neighbor a pallet warehouse.

Overall, a fun little place that's worth checking out if you're passing through the area. If you live within 10-20 miles, I'd say it's worth regularing.

Very nice, new facility. The bar area is small but the space will well used. There are couches with tables as well as high top tables and seating at the bar. The staff is very friendly, and they have a neat deal worked out with local food trucks to supply food. Different trucks on different days of the week. I didn't try the food options, I was more interested in the beer. They had 6 beers to sample, as well as a cask of a variation one of their selections. All of them were good, I will definitely be going back to refill my growlers and try their new stuff as it comes back.