Style: New Zealand Pilsner    
ABV: 4.8%    
IBU: 40    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

This year we decided to revisit this recipe and brew a Pilsner with New Zealand hops that is truer to the origins of the style, and allows for a harmonious blend of German Pilsen Malt and New Zealand grown hops. In years past our New Zealand Pilsners have tended toward an aggressive hop presence that didn’t reflect the delicate balance inherent to Pilsners, and our hope with this recipe is to rectify that. 

The aroma leads with fresh flowers and gentle notes of lemon and lime. On first sip this beer is round bodied with a bready sweetness, but a pronounced, and balanced, bitterness cuts the mouthfeel and allows for a crisp finish. The flavor is intermingled with malt tones of wheat cracker and fresh bread alongside hops tones of dried citrus peel and subtle pine and spice. 

Grains: Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Chit Malt, Honey Malt, Acid Malt
Hops: Taiheke, Nelson Sauvin
Yeast: German Lager

Style: Norwegian Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 5.8% 
IBU: 30   
Package: Draft Only

The sassafras leaves we gathered for this project grow wildly on a forested mountain in Warm Springs Mountain Preserve. Composed of thousands of acres in the western part of Virginia, this preserve is part of the Allegheny Highlands Conservation program, managed by The Nature Conservancy. 

These leaves are something we could sustainably collect in a large quantity, and we knew they would contribute a beautiful aroma and flavor to the finished beer. The team from the Nature Conservancy were kind enough to share this magnificent space with our team, teach us about the conservation work being done there, and gather almost 40 pounds of sassafras leaves.

To showcase this ingredient, we chose a Norwegian inspired Farmhouse Ale. We knew that its light refreshing body and mild estery yeast would enhance the fruity characteristics of the leaves, while not masking or competing with their fragrant profile. We worked entirely with Virginia grown, and malted grains, combining Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale with Greater Richmond Grains Organic Wheat, to produce a malt profile of sun-dried straw and fresh dough. This grist also contributes to a round soft mouthfeel that doesn’t linger, allowing for a dry but mellow finish.

The profile of this beer is an expressive display of fruity sassafras leaves. The aroma is a combination of fresh ginger, lemongrass, and citrus peel. The flavor is earthy and fruity, with a profile reminiscent of candied ginger, mountain mint, and lemon candy. Throughout the profile there is a unique spice-like quality and a robust fruitiness that the sassafras leaves deliver. They bring a brightness to the beer as well as a welcomed rustic earthiness that balances the intensity of their aroma. 

Grains: Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, Greater Richmond Grains Organic Raw Wheat, Murphy & Rude Cimmerian Wheat
Hops: Elixir, El Dorado
Yeast: Kveik 
Other: Sassafras Leaves Gathered From Warm Springs Mountain Preserve 

Style: Belgian Style Single    
ABV: 5.0%    
IBU: 40     
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

Belgian Singles are an often misunderstood style. They aren’t as sweet as a Belgian Blonde nor as hoppy as a Belgian Pale, instead they are more akin to a German Pilsner but fermented with expressive Abbey ale yeast. They strike a balance between a present and supportive malt profile and a spicy and floral hop profile. 

Built on a base of Murphy & Rude Virgina Pils, Avec Frère 5 is our attempt to highlight this balance. It is bitter and highly attenuated with aromas that are spicy, floral, and fruity. The flavor begins with bready malt tones but quickly moves toward pome fruit, citrus and spicy, yeast-driven phenolics. The finish is dry and bitter with hop notes of dried flowers and earthy herbs.

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Pilsner, Honey Malt, Acid Malt
Hops: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
Yeast: Belgian Ale

Style: Belgian Style Tripel
ABV: 9.0%
IBU: 30     
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

Brewed with Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Avec Frère 9 is a complex beer that begins sweet and finishes dry, with a pleasant warmth that hints to its significant ABV. Aromas of pear, apple, and citrus, mingle with subtle clove and spice that give way to straw like malt tones and a surprisingly refreshing body. 

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Flaked Wheat, Acid Malt
Hops: El Dorado
Yeast: Belgian Ale
Other:  Belgian Clear Candi Syrup

Style: Bière de Noël  
ABV: 9.0%    
IBU: 20    
Package: Draft & 750ml Bottles To-Go!!

Bière de Noël is a style traditionally brewed as a celebration of winter. They are rich, strong, dark, Belgian and French Ales that are often brewed with a modest amount of spices. Ours follows in this tradition and is brewed with clove, ceylon cinnamon, sweet orange peel, and a moderate amount of vanilla. 

This produces a sweet and fruity bouquet of dried fig, Glühwein, and spiced cookies. The flavor features notes of dried cherries, dates, and a blend of spices from both the yeast, and the addition of cinnamon and clove. At first sip, this beer has a creamy texture and full body, but a delicate natural carbonation and a subtle warmth, that hints to its strength, help to dry out the palate.

Grains: Pilsner, Red Malt, Special B, Murphy & Rude Chit Malt, Murphy & Rude Cimmerian Wheat
Hops: Nugget 
Yeast: Belgian Ale
Other: Belgian Extra Dark Candi Syrup, Sweet Orange Peel, Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, Ceylon Cinnamon, Clove

Style: American Stout    
ABV: 7.0%    
IBU: 50    
Package: Draft & 16oz 4-packs to-go!!

Our American stout is built on a base of English Pale malt from Murphy & Rude Malting Co. out of Charlottesville VA. That malt produces a nutty and sweet backbone that we combined with a blend of their Crystal malts, as well as their Chocolate Wheat, to build up sweeter tones of whole grain bread, graham cracker, mocha, and roasty black coffee. The end result is a smooth, dark, ale with a medium semi-sweet body that is balanced by a subtle hop flavor and a drying bitterness.

Grains: Murphy & Rude English Pale, Murphy & Rude Crystal Malt, Murphy & Rude Chocolate Wheat, Roasted Barley
Hops: Nugget
Yeast: House Ale

Style: Hazy Pale Ale    
ABV: 5.0%    
IBU: 32  
Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!

Nelson Sauvin is one of the most unique and sought after hops to come out of New Zealand. It is known for its distinct fruity profile, and its ability to deliver a very pleasant, mild, bitterness. We combined it with our favorite base malt, Murphy & Rude’s 6-Row Pale, to produce a hazy, hop forward Pale Ale with a round mouthfeel and a refreshing, bitter accented, finish.

The aroma is a delightful blend of crushed white grapes, candied grapefruit, and fresh white pine, but it also has subtle hints of passion fruit and tropical spices. The flavor delivers the classic gooseberry forward profile that has made this hop famous, alongside notes of papaya, lime zest, and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Murphy & Rude’s 6-Row Pale provides a round easy drinking body but the beer still finishes crisply, with a welcomed dry, lime pith like bitterness.        

Grains: Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, Acid Malt
Hops: Nelson Sauvin
Yeast: Kveik

Style: West Coast IPA    
ABV: 7.0%    
IBU: 45    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Like most of our West Coast IPAs, Wisdom of Wombats was brewed to have a bold and expressive hop character, alongside a noticeable bitterness, and dry refreshing finish. To balance the bitterness of this IPA, we relied on the mildly sweet, and flour-like, profile of Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat. While the aroma is reminiscent of freshly zested citrus, orange blossoms, and Douglas Fir, the flavor leans toward a more earthy profile, with notes of pine resin, grapefruit, and soft floral undertones.

Grains: Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat, Chit Malt, Acid Malt
Hops: Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe
Yeast: House Ale

Style: Hazy IPA    
ABV: 6.8    
IBU: 13    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Holtzman Effect was brewed with a combination of New Zealand Nelson Sauvin and Australian Vic Secret hops. Together they deliver striking and pronounced elements of passionfruit, pineapple, key lime, white peach, and red berries. This incredible aroma and flavor is paired with minimal bitterness and a soft full body, thanks to a generous addition of Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat.

Grains: Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat, Flaked Oats, Acid Malt
Hops: Nelson Sauvin, Vic Secret
Yeast: Kviek

Style: Bière de Printemps  
ABV: 7.5%    
IBU: 42      
Package: Draft & 750ml Bottles

Literally meaning “Spring Beer,” our Bière de Printemps is brewed as a celebration of the return of warmer weather. While every year’s version is different, they are always beers that are designed to be refreshing, highly drinkable, and brett forward. This year's version is a Farmhouse Ale, brewed with a base of Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils and Malted Spelt. It was fermented with our preferred Saison yeast strain before being packaged and allowed to naturally condition with Brettanomyces bruxellensis.

The aroma is very floral and fruity, displaying notes of lychee and honeysuckle alongside dried pineapple and chamomile. The flavor retains a traditional Saison profile but combines it with funkier, fruity, Brett undertones, with specific notes of Tellicherry Peppercorn, citron, dried flowers, and lemon rind. This year’s version is very light bodied with a vigorous, and softly textured, natural carbonation and a dry finish that highlights a noticeable and refreshing bitterness.

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Murphy & Rude Malted Spelt, Murphy & Rude Belgian Amber
Hops: Southern Tropic, Southern Sublime, American Nobel Citra
Yeast House Saion, Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Other: Clear Belgian Candi Sugar

Style: Bière de Vin  
ABV: 6.8%   
IBU: 30     
Package: Draft & 750ml Bottles

This Bière de Vin is the culmination of conditioning our open fermented brett Saison on Albariño grape skins from Blenheim Vineyards. Prior to conditioning, this beer was a fruity and funky Saison with floral notes, and a crisp minerality. It had some mild yeast derived spice, alongside earthy malt tones of straw and dried grass from a grist of Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, and Malted Corn, as well as Deep Roots Milling Buckwheat Flour.

Conditioning on the Albariño grape skins transformed the beer, developing a gentle acidity, and a floral aroma of white grape, persevered lemon, and barnyard funk. The flavor is much fruitier with notes of dried grapefruit, white strawberry, and fresh grape skins. Natural carbonation adds a liveliness to the tart mouthfeel, and brings the floral and fruity elements to the forefront. Meanwhile, the finish highlights another addition from the grape skins: pleasant drying tannins that cut through the otherwise round body.

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Murphy & Rude Malted Corn (blend of Bloody Butcher & Buena Vista), Deep Roots Milling Buckwheat Flour, Acid Malt
Hops: Greemont Mother, Greenmont Hopworks Chinook
Yeast: House Farmhouse Blend 
Other: Blenheim Vineyards Albariño Pomace

Style: Mixed Fermentation Saison    
ABV: 7.2%    
IBU: 30    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

We are very fortunate that the creek that gives our brewery its name also happens to be an amazing habitat for pawpaw trees. During the peak of pawpaw season, you can actually smell the fruit before you see them, parts of the forests around our creek develop a heady aroma of overripe tropical fruit, notes of brown bananas and funky mango linger in the summer air. Despite an abundance of trees, individual seasons can be fickle, but recently we were lucky enough to get our biggest harvest ever: 370 POUNDS of pawpaws. To compliment them, we conditioned them on a blend of Saison and Belgian Tripel.

The blend was conditioned on pawpaws for 3 months. In addition to imbuing the beer with much of their unique character, this also introduced the wild culture of microbes living on the pawpaws. This culture produced acidity, and many of the characteristics you might expect from some of our Wild Ales. Finally, we conditioned this beer in bottles and kegs for 6 months with one of our favorite isolates of Brettanomyces.  

The aroma is funky and tropical with a nose that is reminiscent of cherimoya, green mango, and caramelized pineapple. The flavor is tart up front, and leads with tropical flavors of papaya and pineapple, that give way to fresh lemon and melon rind. The body is light and accompanied by a pleasant rounding carbonation that accents its dry finish.

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, Malted Spelt, Flaked Wheat, Chit Malt, Acid Malt
Hops: Taiheke, El Dorado, Moutere, Southern Cross, Kohatu, Motueka
Yeast: House Saison, Belgian Ale, Wild Culture From Pawpaws, Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Other: Wild Pawpaws, Belgian Clear Candi Syrup