Grand Opening this Saturday (April 16th): https://www.facebook.com/events/216342412086689/ They seem to be highly anticipated, on account of the brewer's stellar resume. Anyone reckon that this will be bigger than any Hardywood bottle release ever?
Bigger how? Its not a bottle release so hopefully there won't be lines. I think most of the beer geeks in Richmond are excited about this, so I'd expect it to be really crowded. I'll be stopping by at some point on Saturday.
Since they will be releasing cans, yes there will be probably be a line. That said, the majority of these cans from what I undertsand will be a part of the regular rotation, and therefore available regularly.
Yeah based on pictures they've posted and things they've said, it doesn't sound like cans will be very hard to come by once things get rolling. I'll probably skip trying to get them this weekend unless its really easy.
Definitely a lot of buzz about this brewery and I'm hoping their beer lives up to the extremely high expectations everyone will have of them based on the brewer's resume. One thing is for sure. Veil already has HW beat before they have even opened up since their opening time is 11am on Saturday.
From what I can tell via their Facebook page, it looks like they're going to have (at least) two of their regulars available this weekend (Crucial Taunt DIPA, Master Shredder citrus wheat IPA) and a limited release grapefruit IPA (Dull Fangs). Sleeping Forever sounds great, also (and I see they'll have cans as well) -- a huge imperial stout (13% ABV), and they've already put a batch into bourbon barrels.
The article that ran yesterday in Richmond Magazine confirmed which cans would be available, price as well as their normal hours after this weekend. Veil also confirmed that their normal hours would begin this Sunday. I, for one, would love to check them out on Sat. but think it's going to be insanely busy so I may just plan a trip down there Sun or maybe even next week one evening. The lines I expect will be quite impressive for a brewery that is opening their doors to the public for the first time as well as most attendees not having a sip of their beers. The "hype" is strong with this one. Four Packs (16oz) available Saturday - Crucial Taunt DIPA (Year Round) = $13 - Master Shredder Wheat IPA (Year Round) = $13 Mixed Four Pack (16oz) available Saturday (One each in 4pk) = $16 - Crucial Taunt - Master Shredder - Sleeping Forever Imperial Stout (Annual Release) - Dull Fangs IPA w/ Grapefruit Normal Hours (Beginning Apr 17th) - Tues - Thurs: 4pm - 9pm - Fri: 4pm - 11pm - Sat: Noon - 11pm - Sun: Noon - 8pm (effective 4/17)
Last I checked, there was upwards of 650 people committed to attending on FB. That area does not have a lot of parking (street, random few spots in front of businesses and the lot down the block from Isley is about it), so in order to restrain my madness I may have to wait until next week as well.
Wow so they just posted an update about the cans, one major takeaway: "NO GROWLERS WILL BE FILLED. EVER" Damn! I was actually hoping to skip the can madness and just grab a growler or 2. I'm still skipping the can madness, but damn!
eh, I like the no growler fills. should keep lines moving quick and it allows them to maximize their profit margins
I wonder what the reasoning behind that is. I've noticed a growing backlash against growlers in the last year or two and, if the reasoning behind it is along the lines of quality control, I can respect it even if it's a little inconvenient at times. Here's to hoping there's crowlers in their future, though.
I can't help but chuckle a little bit when reading their all-caps paragraphs in the FB posts about maintaining the "temperature/integrity" of the beer and bringing in coolers to store it properly, but that they're going to search them. THESE CANS OF BEER ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS!!!
The hype behind this brewery is staggering, will it live up to it? People traveling from up and down the east coast for this opening, you'd think it was the best thing to come out of VA.
Personally, I would luv to swing on by but I just can't justify spending 5 hours in the car with the hope that they are the new Alchemist, Tree House, Trillium (insert others...) of the South. No doubt hype has become a very large theme within the craft beer scene these daze along with what seemingly is becoming an increased need of some to enhance their beer cred resume and / or to obtain trade bait. Alternatively, I appreciate that, regardless of distance traveled, some just want to go, see the digs, try the beer and hang out. To each their own either way but I do look forward hearing the reviews from those who do go and, as of now, Veil is definitely on my must stop in list when I find myself in the Richmond area.
What time are folks showing up? It sounds like as long as you're there at 11 you're guaranteed to get something since they'll be setting limits based on how many people are there. I like that style. It makes lining up at 5 AM useless
You don't brew for Alchemist, Cantillon and Hill Farmstead and not know what you're doing. Hype is justified imo and I'd imagine they will live up to the hype.
While I do eventually think the Veil will be a good/great/etc, the hype already is a bit silly when no one has even had a single one of their beers. I even saw an ISO post already. haha.
he worked at HF and spent some time learning/interning at Cantillon (and also worked at Alchemist, Portsmouth and O'Connor here in VA). don't think he "brewed" at HF/Cantillon... though I'm 100% positive he learned valuable knowledge at those breweries.
I know Virginians and those nearby like to speak ill of the Richmond Hype Machine™; and while I think complaints about the areas beer fans are a little overstated, I hope this doesn't get too blown out of proportion. Personally, I love the idea of a weekly can release place with the same sort of ethos as Tree House or Tired Hands etc. but places like that only exist with high quality beer. If The Veil turns into something along those lines it would be amazing to have such great beer nearby -- but I hope it would happen organically as opposed to having beer fans desperate for trade fodder and hype forcing the idea of it.
I mean... everywhere does to a degree. I think it's just more palpable there because RVA has a really active, passionate beer community without a brewery that has the same reputation that other large, active, passionate beer markets have (nothing against Hardywood, Lickinghole, The Answer, etc).
Seriously? Ask the guys on the New England Tree House thread if they genuinely like what the model and release days scene look like there. Kudos to the gang at Tree House as they are certainly doing everything within the realm of possibility to appease the masses but their loyal faithful have got to be wondering what happened to the good old days. AnyWho... I certainly wish the guys at Veil all the success in the world if they are willing to pay the price it takes to repeatedly put forward a solid product and take care of their customers to the best of their ability. But, let there be no mistake that wild success, especially with small breweries that have limited self distribution, will breed another host of problems.
I was speaking in terms of the brewery's mentality (new cans out often with a few mainstays, sticking to a few well-done styles, relatively cost-efficient, etc), not the consumers'.
Should have posted this update yesterday for those who did not see (and are interested) but Veil is changing up the 4pks that will be available in the hopes to spread the product to more people. They will not be selling individual 4pks of Crucial Taunt and Master Shredder. They will be just one split 4pk (2 each) for $13 and then the Mixed 4pk of all 4.
I read that differently. I see it as they will have 4 packs of both Crucial Taunt and Master Shredder for $13, not split in any way. Then they will have 1 split 4-pack with each of the 4 beers.
Having visited TH now a bit, honestly, its a great model. You get exactly just enough to come back next week and maybe a can or two to share with your buddies. The waits are not that bad and the people are very nice. If Veil has the same model, I would be happy with it, just not able to get it very often as its a long ass drive to RVA for me.
Now I got-cha. Sure seems like the scene @ the Veil this Saturday is shaping up to be similar to that found in Monson, Ma from Wed - Sat... sans the country scenery. @c64person , I'm with ya. Generally well behaved crowds at TH. However, as anyone who has been there a number of times can attest, it can turn into a real sh^t show depending on the beer being released and especially around a holiday. In turn, that limits can allotments per customer which, in the case of TH given its remote location, makes you wonder if the time and effort was worth it in the end. Maybe it's just me but I'm starting to see a similar can allocation theme in this thread.
They made a edit to that yesterday. Below is the exact update they provided. "The second 4-pack option will be a split 4-pack of our flagship wheat IPA Master Shredder and our flagship double IPA Crucial Taunt. The decision to make these variety packs was made to be able to spread the wealth to as many people as possible...."
Does anyone know the capacity of Treehouse and/or the capacity of The Veil? There is a lot of money behind The Veil, I wouldn't be surprised to find out they have more capacity than TH (although I am purely speculating).
Okay, so don't yell at me if I should know this but aside from this thread I don't see it covered on FB and their website is out of date. Where has their model been described? I get that the release they'll have beers on tap for on site consumption and are doing a ticket release for 4 pack of cans. But they're definitely, not ever, planning on doing any kind of distribution?
From what I've heard, they are planning to distribute their cans regularly. Don't know how far from Richmond at this point. I'm sure their sours will mostly be sold at the brewery in bottles and draft, at least initially. The comment you saw was regarding growlers - that's not something they'll ever do, they said.
They will be distributing not only their beer, but Ocelot's too in Richmond. I don't know if that includes cans or not though. Given their no-growler policy and the things they said about keeping the cans cold, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to keep control of can sales.
