Virginia Hops for Virginia Beer @hawksbillhops

For those that have been tracking the Richmond outpost of Stone Brewing, a few months back we learned that the IPA brewed with Virginia hops was set to be released (see previous post) as "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Beer."  I put out an all points bulletin and found some bottles at "my local" Bethesda Market near my old office, and thanks to Jay and Erin I was able to get four bottles from there.  I wanted to share these with a few of the people that have helped with that particular start-up, but I did manage to save a bottle for myself.  I enjoyed it out on the deck in Alexandria a couple of weekends ago when I didn't go out to Luray.  It is a satisfying brew, the kind of IPA Stone is well known for, with hints of fruit from Virginia produce mingling in for good measure.As it happens, I needed to run an errand to the Whole Foods in Alexandria for some vegetables to pair up with some ribs I was making.  To my surprise, they also had some bottles on the shelf, so I picked up another couple of bottles to stash away.I don't expect the three bottles I have on hand to last the summer - they may not even last much past planting season, which is coming up for the hop yards.  That's going to make balance a challenge - the brewery's opening happens right at the same time!