Style: Pale Lager   
ABV: 5.2%   
IBU: 20  
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Fonio is the oldest cultivated grain in Africa. In addition to being highly nutritious and having a great taste, it also germinates quickly, can be harvested in as little as six weeks, is drought resistant, has minimal resource requirements, and can be stored for longer than most grains. Despite all of this, In recent years it has been heavily underutilized in favor of imported crops that are more expensive, don't grow as well, and don’t provide the same level of food security. By brewing with fonio we help to support small-scale growers and create a more viable market for this ancient grain. Fonio also has great potential as an ingredient in beer, it's easy to work with, and process for brewing, and it contributes to silky rounded mouthfeel as well as a subtle fruity and nutty profile.

In order to showcase this grain we opted to brew a very straightforward pale lager that we hopped with Virginia grown Cascade from Greenmont Hopworks. The aroma is light and floral with notes of white bread, jasmine rice, and lychee. The flavor is a blend of water cracker and straw with subtle white grape and floral tropical fruit. The fonio contributes a pleasant softness to this light bodied lager, but it doesn’t prevent it from having a dry refreshing finish. 

Grains: Pilsner, Fonio, Acid Malt
Hops: Greenmont Cascade
Yeast: House Lager

Style: Belgian Style Wit    
ABV: 4.7%    
IBU: 15    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

Our Belgian Wit is brewed with Murphy & Rude Soft White Wheat, made from a variety of wheat that Murphy & Rude brought back from the brink of extinction. The variety, Venus, was developed at Virginia Tech in the 2000s, but the rights to it were sold to the Michigan Crop Improvement Association in 2012. Despite hopes of broader uptake by the milling industry, MCIA moved on to other varieties but not before Murphy & Rude secured the last available certified seed stock in 2019. Working with Grapewood Farm (Montross) to sow initial trial acreage, licensing the variety with Virginia Tech in 2021, and sowing additional certified seed stock with Virginia Crop Improvement Association in 2022, Murphy & Rude had successfully brought Venus back to Virginia.

Venus’ bread-dough forward profile makes it incredibly well suited for a Belgian style, and was a natural addition to our Wit. The aroma is fruit-forward with specific notes of Meyer lemon, sweet orange, and rising bread dough. The flavor starts off sweet with a floral honey tone that fades into orange zest, before giving way to subtle clove in the finish. The beer is medium bodied and round on the palate, but it has a vigorous natural carbonation that helps to produce a refreshing dry finish with minimal bitterness.

Grains: Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Soft White Wheat, Flaked Wheat
Hops: American Noble Citra
Yeast: Belgian Wit
Other: Coriander, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel

Style: Norwegian Farmhouse Ale  
ABV: 5.8% 
IBU: 30   
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

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. 

For the first year of this project, we were lucky enough to gather an abundance of chanterelle mushrooms, but this year the mushrooms were less bountiful and we decided to turn to sassafras leaves. 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: Graf    
ABV: 4.4%    
IBU: 12    
Package: Draft Only

Anytime we get to collaborate on a beer we try to do our best to incorporate elements from all the partners involved. So when we started talking with Blue Bee Cider about a collaboration, we knew we wanted to produce something that had elements of both beer and cider. Which is why we chose to make a Graf, a hybrid of both fermented beverages. This particular Graf is modeled off an English Mild Ale, but in addition to a blend of some of our favorite Murphy & Rude Malts we also added, almost equal parts, apple pomace to the mash. 

Pomace is what remains from apples after they have been pressed for cider. The pomace we used for this project was from Hewe's Crab and Cox's Orange Pippin Apples, grown by Stony Creek Orchard, and pressed by Blue Bee Cider. Mashing the pomace with the grains this way allowed us to extract some of the remaining sugar from the apples as well as much of their flavor and aroma. The resulting beer is lighter bodied and drier than a typical English Mild, but still has plenty of toasty malt tones, accompanied by fruity apple and cider notes throughout.     

Grains: Murphy & Rude English Pale, Murphy & Rude Honey Light, Murphy & Rude Brown, Murphy & Rude Crystal 260
Hops: American Noble Simcoe
Yeast: House Ale
Other: Hewe's Crab & Cox's Orange Pippin Apple Pomace from Blue Bee Cider

Style: Märzen     
ABV: 6.0%     
IBU: 25     
Package: Draft or 32oz. Crowler Can to-go!!

Our Oktoberfest is brewed as a traditional German Märzen. This orange hued lager has an aroma and flavor profile that is rich with bready, toasty malt notes and a pleasant light bread crust character. The Initial malt flavor suggests sweetness, but the finish is moderately dry and refreshing.

Grains: Munich, Vienna, Pilsen Malt, Honey Malt, Acid Malt, Roasted Barley
Hops: Nugget 
Yeast: House Lager

Style: Extra Pale Ale    
ABV: 6.0%    
IBU: 45    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

The term Extra Pale Ale has been used to mean a few different things over the years, but in our case, we use it to mean a Pale Ale that has a little extra ABV, and a bit more aggressive hopping. We aimed for a light-colored Pale Ale that we wanted to be crisp, hoppy, and quaffable. To do this we used an extra light colored German base malt and layered in Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat, for a bit of body, before hopping it aggressively with Mosaic and Chinook.

Pouring a beautiful light gold hue this Pale has an aroma that leads with notes of balsam pine, pomelo, and orange blossom. The flavor has some sweetness at first, but notes of pine resin, grapefruit peel, and subtle hop spice help to produce a pleasant pithy bitterness that accents its dry finish.

Grains: Heidelberger, Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat, Acid Malt
Hops: Mosaic, Chinook
Yeast: House Ale

Style: White IPA    
ABV: 6.5%    
IBU: 32     
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Daffodil Daydream combines an expressive yeast strain alongside New Zealand, German, and American hops to produce a White IPA with a round mouthfeel built on Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat. The aroma is full of hop notes of lime, white grape, and tropical fruit. The flavor carries many of those notes with the addition of fresh baked bread and a subtle grassy note that fades to a refreshing bitter and dry finish.  

Grains: Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat, Flaked Oats, Acid Malt
Hops: Nelson Sauvin, Hallertau Blanc, Citra
Yeast: Kveik

Style: West Coast IPA    
ABV: 7.0%   
IBU: 45    
Package: Draft or 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: Danish Old Ale    
ABV: 9.2%   
IBU: 40    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles

Our Danish Old Ale is modeled on a historic Danish tradition of brewing strong beers in March or April, conditioning them over the summer, and then serving them in fall and winter. This history is similar to the German tradition of Märzen, meaning March, and the English tradition of "March Beer," sometimes known as "October Beer," both of which were stronger beers brewed in spring conditioned over the summer and served in autumn.   

Our homage to this tradition is a big, 9.2% ABV, Farmhouse ale brewed with a blend of Murphy & Rude malts and fermented with a fruit forward yeast, before being conditioned on second use oak spirals for a subtle addition of oak. The aroma is fruity with notes of black currants and blackberries, that mingle with earthy notes of black walnuts, dried leaves, and fall mushrooms. The flavor is sweet up front, with notes of crushed red apples and toasted malt that gives way to a drier finish, accented by tones of almond skin, subtle oaky vanilla, and a hint of alcohol warmth.  

Grains: Murphy & Rude Pale, Murphy & Rude Belgian Amber, Murphy & Rude Crystal Malt
Hops: Hallertauer Tradition
Yeast: Kveik
Other: Belgian Extra Dark Candi Syrup, Oak Spirals

Style: Belgian Sour Brown    
ABV: 6.0%   
IBU: 20    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

We brewed this beer to pay tribute to the Brown Ales of Belgium, which we adore for their complexity and wide range of profiles. To achieve its beautiful brown hue, and desired malt profile, we relied on a blend of some of our favorite Murphy & Rude speciality malts. We then fermented this beer with our preferred Belgian Ale yeast, before letting it condition for almost six months with a mixed culture that blends our house wild culture with Lactobacillus and Bretanomyces.

The resulting beer has an aroma that combines cocoa nibs and toffee with fruity notes of dried cherries and damson plums. The flavor leads with a notable sourness and specific notes of tamarind, caramel, tart cherries, and bready malt. It has a medium body that is cut by a drying acidity and pleasantly clean finish.   

Grains: Vienna, Flaked Oats, Murphy & Rude Biscuit Malt, Murphy & Rude Brown Malt, Murphy & Rude Chocolate Wheat
Hops: American Nobel Simcoe
Yeast: Belgian Ale, “Slashes” Wild Culture, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Lactobacillus Blend

Style: Mixed Fermentation Saison    
ABV: 7.2%    
IBU: 16     
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

This project began by blending the acidity of an all stainless fermented Sour Gold with a Brett forward Saison that had been aged in Blenheim Petit Verdot Barrels for two years. This blend was then conditioned on freshly pressed Chardonnay grape skins from Blenheim Vineyards for six months. The resulting beer is an expressive display of white wine notes with a delicate light tartness and a pleasant fruit forward Brett character.

The aroma leads with juicy white grapes followed by fresh apple blossoms, and fruity tones of dried pear. The flavor has a restrained acidity and Brett character that allow for a more white wine forward profile, with specific notes of lemon zest, ripe cantaloupe, and tart apple. The body of this beer is light, with minimal bitterness, and a pleasant dry finish, with a hint of lingering fruit.  

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, Epiphany Malted Triticale, Murphy & Rude Biscuit
Hops: Taiheke, Motueka, Southern Cross, Kohatu, Moutere, House Aged Hersbrucker
Yeast: House Saison, “Slashes” Wild Culture from Ashland, VA, Brett Blend
Other: Blenheim Vineyards Chardonnay Grape Skins 

Style: American Sour Ale  
ABV: 5.4%  
IBU: 10  
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

This beer is a blend of two different barrels of Norwegian Farmhouse Ale that were both brewed entirely with Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, and fermented with Kviek yeast, before being barrel aged for just over two years, with two unique cultures. Our “Slashes” wild culture, caught in Ashland VA, dominates the aroma, leading with a tart profile of peach skin, red currants, and fresh cranberries. The flavor, on the other hand, displays more of our “Resettle” culture with a sour profile of gooseberry, lemon juice, and green plum. This blend is light bodied, and its tart profile gives it a refreshing character that is accented by subtle tannins and a dry finish.

Grains: Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale
Hops: Nugget
Yeast: Kviek, “Slashes” Wild Culture from Ashland, VA, Resettle Culture
Other: Foraged Virginia Pine Tips, Foraged Loblolly Pine Tips

This Gose is light bodied and crisp with a strong salty minerality and light fruit notes. The flavor of eelgrass comes through as a herbal starchiness and a mild seaweed umami.

The beer was brewed in collaboration with Black Narrows Brewing (The first craft brewery on the Eastern Shore) and the Nature Conservancy's Volgenau Virginia Coast Reserve Chapter. Eelgrass, a keystone plant in eelgrass meadow habitats which once covered the coast and bay in Virginia, was largely eradicated in Virginia by hurricanes and disease in the 1930's. These meadows once provided shelter for spawning seahorses, bay scallops, and horseshoe crabs, as well as providing a physical barrier to erosion from the barrier islands, oyster reefs and the eastern shore beaches. Eelgrass provides both a substrate for new barrier island formation as its leaves pile on sandbars, and a form of sequestered "blue carbon" trapping large amounts of atmospheric CO2.

In 1999, a patch of eelgrass was found in a seaside bay off the coast of Virginia, likely the result of seeds or plants drifting down the coast from Chincoteague Bay. Since then, in no small part due to the efforts of volunteers and staff at the TNC, eelgrass meadows now cover an area larger than 9,000 acres. This collaboration is a celebration of the restoration that can occur when people passionately pursue conservation, like the over 500 volunteers who have aided in collecting and distributing eelgrass seeds in the past decade.