At Pub 27 in Pompeii
Weekend Ale Trails! Virginia Beach: Reaver Beach: Diablo Rojo Imperial Red Rye
Date: April 2, 2019
The Story— Reaver Beach is a relatively new iteration of the old Beach Brewery, out in the middle of nowhere in a new, low semi-industrial park – it’s actually on Navy property so the rules are Byzantine: no entertainment, hence no bands or TV (there was one playing a series of “Godfather” movies on silent) or even games, or food, or food trucks – a menu offered choices from a local delivery pizza joint. They had a sizable logo merchandise sales operation but otherwise it was a brewery that had been forced to be – —a brewery.
The taproom is modest in size, but the brewery is pretty good sized. A side room with picnic tables is actually the loading dock with garage door and a big brewing space stretches behind it. Table-topped barrels and metal stools are familiar sites at taprooms; here the a hop-domed skull and crossed mashing oars logo show everywhere. Friendly people and a solid atmosphere with lovely brewing smells if you can catch a hoppy boil. Sixteen taps offer penty of choice and if you like the style you’ll probably like the beer, though the brewer had a pretty heavy hand with the vanilla in the milk stout. We both rated the Imperial Rye the top beer of our visit for its complex range of flavors—and we’re rye admirers.
The Beer— The 97 IBUs are hard to believe (alternative alphas?) but there’s enough to balance a wagon load of toasted rye and barley malt. Citrus develops as it drinks and those hops slowly grow some bitter. Big and fruity overall. A 9% powerhouse that requires pacing, it has enough flavor to make the deliberate approach worth it.
Value — Good.
About these posts: We taste and evaluate over a thousand beers every year. The beers posted here rank in the top quarter of those tastings. Values: “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.
For the next several weeks we’ll feature fun places to explore beer — and much more–a different destination each week. Our beers of the day will feature beers from this wonderfully wet destinations. For the first week of April, we’re featuring some of the gems we’ve found in Virginia Beach breweries. A caveat as always: the vast majorities of craft breweries may have a few beers that are usually available, but their most interesting beers are usual season or one-off brews that we may rave about, but you can’t find. Our specific beer descriptions, can tell you what sorts of beers the brewery does well; if you don’t find the exact beer on tap, you’ll probably find something similar.
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