Went to check out the new Stone Brewery in Richmond VA. The brewery is located within two miles of downtown in an older, desolate part of town. I had access to walk around to observe the brewery part. They are currently putting the finishing touches on the brewery which should start producing beer in June-July 2016? This place is absolutely massive and is equipped with top of the line beer equipment. This brewery will far exceed their Escondido operation from a production standpoint. Within the brewery is a decent sized tasting room, with two main beer bars and plenty of indoor/outdoor seating. They had roughly 10 beers on tap and offered various pour sizes. In addition to the main brewery, Stone has an additional project of adding a World Bistro and Garden along the James River that will begin in 1-2 years now. Another great addition, to the already awesome, quickly expanding RVA craft beer scene.
Nice! That should equate to great distribution on the Eastern seaboard and an excellent experience for those who never made it to Escondido. Miss being on the East Coast....but glad I'm back in California =) Enjoy Stone!
any Stone store is great, I fell in love with the Escondido Location, I live in the Los Angeles Area, and i have to drive to Pasadena to visit them frequently.
Just to give an idea of scale. Flip the top photo 180 degrees and that will match the aerial. I circled where the World Bistro and Garden will be located as well
It's open now, I went several weeks back at a random time on a Sunday. Cool place to hang out, nice facility, look forward to when they brew there, and have a few other offerings not on the shelf.
The Company Store / Tasting Room / Bar officially opened on March 2nd. Their normal hours are; Wed-Thu: 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm Fri-Sat: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm Sun: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm (off topic but the Green Flash Va. Beach facility is slated to have their Grand Opening over Memorial Day weekend.)
Stone RVA posted on their social media pages this morning that their first delivery of hop pellets have arrived. Not much longer until they finally start brewing.
Nice! Good timing as I'm making my way RVA this weekend. Looking forward to smells of beer brewing as I walk across the bridge!
Such attention to detail by Stone. If anyone happens to be in the Richmond area tomorrow they are doing a sampling of their CA brewed Stone IPA vs. the version brewed at the Richmond facility at Southern Railway Taphouse. http://theboomermagazine.com/entert...ng-richmond-pours-virginia-brewed-stone-beer/ "Virginia Brewery Prototype, reflects Stone Brewing’s attention to detail and its goal of producing consistent beers among its production breweries. Due to variations in water, climate, brewing equipment, etc., a single recipe would not necessarily produce the same result at different locations; therefore, Stone’s brewers pumped out the first beer, compared it with Stone IPA from San Diego, tweaked as needed, and struck upon the process and recipe that guarantee the familiar Stone IPA nose, taste and mouthfeel that fans are accustomed to."
I got to see Stone again a week or so ago and it's crazy to me how quickly they got this place up and running (especially when Stone's 213k sq ft 225k barrel facility is compared to something like Green Flash's 58k sq ft 100k barrel facility in VB - I mean nearly 1/2 of the entire green flash brewery in VB could fit in Stone RVA's cold storage room). I won't be able to make it tonight but I may have been lucky enough to get a taste and it may have been more floral than any Stone IPA I've had. They're doing other flagships first (Delicious, AB etc.) but I honestly can't wait until they have Enjoy By going there which I believe is supposed to start later this year.
