Richmond, VA beer suggestions?

Veil.

 

Welcome! I'll post the obligatory link to the Richmond page, which basically has all the info you need for the city:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/place/city/72/

That being said, as @Readmorevols mentioned above, The Veil is the hotness in Richmond right now, with the head brewer an alum of Hill Farmstead and The Alchemist - Tuesdays are can releases of generally 3-4 beers (if you're lucky, one or two will last into the weekend), with a ton of great stuff on draft throughout the week. The Answer Brewpub makes some killer beers as well, with an equally great draft list, and Mekong next door is a legend nationally for its beer list and food (same owner). These three are your must-visits and are conveniently located within a mile or two of one another.

Hardywood, also nearby, arguably kick-started the craft beer scene in Richmond and typically has a solid lineup, although they're best known for some of their stouts that are unlikely to be on shelves right now.

Most of the other breweries are hit-or-miss, but generally pretty solid, with Triple Crossing in particular putting out some good IPAs.

Finally, I haven't been, but the East Coast Stone location is putting out beer now and may be worth a visit if you're into seeing how craft breweries can scale up.

Most of the breweries there are pretty good at keeping social media and/or online beer menus pretty well up to date. Enjoy your visit!

 

I'd do a Hardywood, Isley, Ardent, Strangeways, Veil circuit... Because it's pretty much where I've been and what's relatively close to each other

 

The Answer/Mekong combo is as good as or better than the Veil IMO, partially because the food is as excellent as the drink. Can't go wrong with either that pair or the Veil.

Hardywood and Triple Crossing are probably next on my list, though like @PaleCale said, Hardywood's real winners won't be here for another couple of months. I'm probably in the minority, but I'd put Lickinghole in this tier as well. They get no love because of the distance, but they put out at least as many high quality options as Triple Crossing. Its a bit of a hike and only open on weekends, so a tough one to hit if you're just visiting.

Ardent, Isley, Strangeways, and Legend come next as established options. They'll hit a lot of 3.5's on untappd, if that makes sense. Lots of above average, few excellent. You can make a nice little walkabout adventure with Veil, Ardent and Isley though.

 

I agree on The Answer. Quickly becoming one of my favorites.

 

If you hit up nothing else beer wise in Richmond go to both the Veil and Mekong/Answer. You don't have to choose between them (assuming you have time) since they are less than 3 miles away, just go to both.
I like triple crossing as well but opinions vary.

I agree with you, I really enjoy a lot of things Lickinghole has been putting out recently and visiting the farm is a nice experience. Unfortunately its hard to recommend with the others due to how far out it is. OP, you can probably find a good sampling of some recent BA'd beers at a bottleshop though.

 

Was up there last weekend and we went to the Veil and Mekong / the Answer . It was my first time checking them out and really enjoyed going to all of them .

The Veil had 8-10 beers on tap and cans of Young Lions left from the Tuesday canning when we got there Sat. afternoon . Tried 4 different 1/2 pints and bought 2 4pks of the YL . Everything I tried was real tasty . We were glad that they had any cans left but were thinking YL wasn't as good as the others because it wasn't hyped and was the last to sell . Tried one Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised . A nice 6% IPA with tropical fruit flavors from the hops and very fresh tasting . Should have bought more .

Mekong and the Answer had 50+ beers on tap each . Mostly guest taps but all quality stuff like Troeggs Nimble Giant and Rodenbach Alexander to name a couple . Try the Andalls , the blends that the owner AN makes . The one I tried was great and everyone raves about them .

Went back for lunch on Sun. after checking out of our room . Mekong opened at 11 and the Answer at noon . Food was really good and we walked next door to get some crowlers from the Answer . They had just 4 beers available to go ( the ones they brew ) but everything I've tried has been very good . Lookin forward to trying Piece of the Action ( all Mosaic IPA ) .

 

FYI - This and 2 other Answer beers are on tap at Ynot chesapeake tonight.