Smartmouth & Benchtop in Norfolk?

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by TheEpeeist, Dec 6, 2021.

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  1. TheEpeeist

    TheEpeeist Maven (1,434) Nov 5, 2008 Virginia
    Trader

    i'll be visiting a friend in Norfolk for a few days. thought i might stop by Smartmouth as i'm intrigued by some of their stouts.

    no ratings on BA so wondering what local opinions are for their Harvesting the Past series and the Sweetmouth Milk Stouts.

    Benchtop seems to be recommended by a few on previous threads. i'm interested in local opinions for the Old Wooden Ship barleywine and Wicked Walter.

    i've liked lot of the dark stuff from The Veil but too expensive for me. any must haves from them?

    thanks all.
     
    #1 TheEpeeist, Dec 6, 2021
  2. montman

    montman Maven (1,444) Mar 10, 2009 Virginia
    Trader

    I live half a mile from Smartmouth and Benchtop, so they and Veil are my most frequently visited local breweries.
    The recent batches of Benchtop's WW and OWS were both really good imo, and there is a good chance bottles are left since they were released 3 weeks ago.
    I can't comment on Smartmouth's new stouts, most of what they put out is solid and consistent, but don't often "wow" us enough to go pasts draft pours. They are basically across the street from each other and Benchtop is by far our more frequent stop, fwiw.
    Definitely stop by Veil, it is only about a mile from the other two. Although I get that their stout bottle pricing can be fairly high, they may still have a few Dark Daze stouts left on draft from black Friday which are fun to try. They have 6oz pours and will have a big draft list either way, so you can try plenty of options there.
     
    #2 montman, Dec 6, 2021
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  3. MistaRyte

    MistaRyte Pooh-Bah (2,681) Jan 14, 2008 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'll also add that if you hit Smartmouth and Benchtop, you may as well hit the Birch (beer bar) and check out what they have stout-wise, and complete the Deadly Triangle of Chelsea.
     
    #3 MistaRyte, Dec 7, 2021
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  4. TheEpeeist

    TheEpeeist Maven (1,434) Nov 5, 2008 Virginia
    Trader

    thanks for all the suggestions!

    Birch is definitely a favorite. got my first taste of Tipopils there as well as numerous growlers of the same.

    i decided on Benchtop for my visit. i had a pour of Walter's Brunch that was excellent and grabbed bottles of OWS & WW. i also noticed they had Lukr pulls that i'll try out next time i'm there.

    i did stop by Veil and grabbed a 4-pack of the Veil Xtreme blueberry gose which was very tasty even if essentially a fruit smoothie. the rest of the 4-pack will be stocking stuffers for my daughters.
     
    #4 TheEpeeist, Dec 10, 2021
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