CulturAle Press

Short Pump Weekend: Rock Bottom Short Pump Give Into the Dark Stout

Date:  May 19, 2019

The Story—   Rock Bottom is a chain, but has long had the sense to hire good brewers and give them a long leash to put their individual stamp on each of their locations.  They appeal to a broad audience and are never going to be as daring as cult faves like Aslin or the Veil, however you’ll find plenty of interesting beers and fairly reliable, if somewhat chain-y, food.

We’ve been to the Short Pump location several times and have never been disappointed.  The lighter beers are crowd pleasers they have to brew, but their more substantial beers are engaging.  We don’t think any brewer does a beer a favor by dumping in mango in any form, but with that exception the bigger and more complex ales were well worth the visit.

The Beer—  The Give Into the Dark Stout was creamier and stronger than Guinness but just as dark.  Guinness is so clean that we sometimes look at our empty glass and wonder “where did that go?”  Rock Bottom’s version is substantial enough to remind you of what you’re drinking along the way.   Bottom line: more substance, almost the same darkness and with the same sort of moreish edge that makes stouts so easy to savor all night long.

Value — Six bucks for a UK 20 ounce pint.   You’d pay about the same in England for a stout that’s about one third less strong.  You’d pay about half again as much for a stout that’s about this strength — if you could find one on tap at your local.

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.

May and early June are some of the best times to take a weekend and go brewery hunting.  Most rates haven’t reached their out-of-school peak, and the chances for good weather are … pretty good.  So for a few weeks, we’ll give you some Mid Atlantic suggestions for weekend excursions.

We’re including beers and breweries we’ve found in researching our guide to breweries and inns of the Mid Atlantic.  We won’t adhere to the “must be walkable” rule here, though.  Once again we present our standard caveat: only a few of the beers we describe will be at the brewery if you go there, but they’ll probably have a beer that’s close to the style and if they do one stout well, they’ll probably do others about as well.  We hope the “story” will be at least as valuable as the actual beer review.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”