The Answer

Correct, they only had 1 of their beers on tap. Did not try any of the andalls. I had a few other local beers while there. I had the Hardywood barrel aged GBS, which was good and I had a cloudy APA or IPA with dinner, which was terrible (diacetyl). Can't remember who made that one.

 

Answer usually only has 1-3 of their beers on tap at any given time. plus they were at a festival in tidewater yesterday so they may have reserved some beer for kegs to take with them for that

 

I went to the Common Ground fest in Virginia Beach yesterday . They had Hard in the Paint and She Bangin and both were excellent . She Bangin lasted maybe 2 hours . That was with huge pours . When we walked in they gave us 16oz snifters instead of the small tasting glasses we were expecting . Got to try Crucial Taunt from the Veil , that was very good also .

Was a fun time . Real casual fest , biggest line I saw for anything was 4 people . Weather was great and the campground site had lots of trees for shade .

 

Agree with all of this, it was great. I had never had She Bangin before & basically got a full pour yesteday at common grounds.

 

Looks like The Answer has taken advantage of the new Untappd for Business and are now using that for their taplist. Just search for "The Answer" as the venue and you will see it along with current taps. Just started tonight according to a post by An. Hopefully it stays up-to-date

 

Where do i get an updated tap list for Mekong?

 

Mekong has never had their list online even though it has said "coming soon" on their website for some time now. They don't even have video screens like The Answer but maybe now that they are doing it through Untappd then Mekong will soon follow.

 

Yup, it's a traditional, sit-down-at-tables restaurant. Safe travels.

 

Both Mekong and Answer always have Andalls on. The real question is which ones they will have when you stop by. The names aren't always relative to the Andall. They often name them after their regular customers but also the name can hint at the beer itself. Just read the description of each. They turn them over pretty quick and typically have 4-5+ on at any one time. Regardless of what they have just know it will be very good. I stopped by over the weekend and got small pours of several Andalls and brought a few Crowlers of their regular brewery stuff home. Was not disappointed by any of their own own beers or Andalls which is how it almost always goes.

 

The Andalls are year round, and its not a policy to always have a stout on, but it seems like they do. Its usually some combination of stouts, barleywines, and berliner wiesses.

 

Just an fyi the Answer has plenty of restaurant like tables to sit at as well. Different food than Mekong, but I've actually had more meals at the Answer.

 

I would almost say The Answer is better for families if you have a kids who are very tough to keep still. Especially if it's not packed inside. The space is march larger and more wide open. Plus some stuff to keep them somewhat occupied. Giant Jenga, a couple video games, windows to look outside, etc.

 

Will The Answer fill any growler? Or does it have to be their branded growler?

 

They won't fill everything they serve, but for the ones they do I don't think it matters.

Come to think of it.. I'm not sure I've ever seen an Answer branded growler. Hmm...

 

It's been a while since I filled a growler at The Answer since they have Crowlers and I always fill with their beers (these are the way to go if you want their beer) but they will fill any flip top growler (32 or 64) with house beers. As @jwd3 said, they do not fill every non-Answer beer they have on but the ones they do can be filled from any growler. Their taplist is on Untappd and you can see exactly which beers they are filling along with price. They do a very good job keeping the list updated.

If you purchase a growler from them it's $6 for the 32oz and $10 for the 64oz. Definitely worth it even if you just want to collect one since other places I have seen their particular style they sell going for much more.

 

They covered it above, but just to reiterate, they will fill your growler, but do not bring a screw top. My first time there, that was what we just happened to have in the car, and it was a no go. Luckily they had crowlers instead, but going forward we made sure to bring a flip top.

 

There's little I can add to the discussion about how awesome An is, how terrific the beer list is, what killer beers they're brewing of their own at The Answer, etc etc. However, I do want to point out -- after experiencing it first-hand the other night -- that Mekong Express, the Monday-night "house band," is ridiculously awesome.