Style: Helles Lager    
ABV: 4.5%    
IBU: 25    
Package: Draft Only

We revisited our Helles recipe to give it a cleaner finish, a breadier body, and touch more hop flavor and aroma. It still relies on a fairly simple and traditional recipe, producing a beer that presents as a classic example of the popular Southern German lager. It has a round body with a rich but mild malt character that leans toward fresh baked bread and raw dough, the hops deliver floral and subtlety spicy noble character and a restrained bitterness that aids the dry finish, making for an incredibly easy drinking beer.

 Grains: Pilsner, Chit Malt, Honey Malt, Acid Malt
Hops: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
Yeast: House Lager

Style: Rye Lager    
ABV: 5.0%    
IBU: 35    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

Rye is so commonly paired with darker malts that many folks seem to think that the two are related. The reality is that rye adds an array of unique flavors, aromas, and textural elements that do not have to be paired with richer dark malts. We brewed this light hued lager with a healthy amount of Murphy & Rude’s malted Rye to help illustrate what we love about rye, and to show what it is capable of on its own. 

The resulting beer has mild aromas of soda cracker and toasted seeds alongside a pleasant fruitiness from Mosaic hops. The flavor brings our more traditional rye spice character, but also showcases the pleasant clean earthiness that rye can deliver. The malted rye also allows this dry lager to have a full, almost slick, mouthfeel which is balanced with a refreshing bitterness and a crisp snappy finish. 

Grains: Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Abruzzi Rye Malt, Flaked Rye, Acid Malt
Hops: Mosaic
Yeast: House Lager

Style: Norwegian Farmhouse Ale   
ABV: 4.0%   
IBU: 15   
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!

We have done a pretty deep dive into the Farmhouse brewing traditions of Northern Europe. After brewing many beers following these traditions we have finally decided to brew one that isn't an homage to a specific style, but still follows in the footsteps of their brewing ethos. We are calling it a Norwegian Table Beer. We brewed it with hand-gathered local juniper boughs, as well as Virginia grown barley and wheat from Murphy & Rude, before fermenting it with our preferred strain of Norwegian Kveik yeast.

The result is an approachable and refreshing Farmhouse Ale, that still retains many of the elements we love from these brewing traditions. The aroma is herbal and woodsy, thanks to the use of juniper branches, with specific notes of fresh dill, pine wood, and dried lemon. The flavor is floral and citrusy with notes of botanical gin, orange zest, and green tea. This beer has a light body and a dry finish with woody tannins and hint of bitterness.  

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Murphy & Rude Soft White Wheat, Murphy & Rude Chit
Hops: Chinook
Yeast: Kveik
Other: Juniper Boughs (Juniperus virginiana) A note on this, some people call this Eastern Red Cedar, it is not actually cedar but instead is a variety of juniper native to our region.

Style: Schwarzbier     
ABV: 5.0%    
IBU: 25    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Our Schwarzbier combines the refreshing and smooth profile of a lager with dark roasted malt tones. Its toasty and nutty aroma has highlights of baker’s chocolate and cocoa nibs, while its flavor combines toast pumpernickel with cold brewed coffee and rich dark chocolate. The combination produces a beer that has characteristics of dark malt but with medium body, mild bitterness, and smooth finish.

Grains: Vienna, Munich, Pilsner, Murphy & Rude Chocolate Wheat, Speciality Roasted Malt, Acid Malt
Hops: American Noble Citra, Nugget
Yeast: House Lager

Style: Maibock    
ABV: 6.5%    
IBU: 20   

Our Earth to Beer Maibock is part of a national Earth Day beer campaign that raises funds for environmental organizations across the country. We worked with Shalom Farms, a nonprofit farm and food justice organization, to brew a lager with sweet potatoes and yarrow. We deeply admired their dedication to equitable and healthy food systems, and this project will help promote and raise funds for their mission and their work.

One of their two farms is located less than 10 miles down the road from our brewery, which is where we sourced the sweet potatoes and yarrow for this project. We roasted those sweet potatoes and mashed them with Murphy & Rude malts and organic raw wheat, from Greater Richmond Grains. The yarrow we dried, before adding it to the whirlpool along with Greenmont Mother hops from Greenmont Hopworks.

Sourcing in this way helps us to reduce our carbon footprint, both reducing the costs and environmental impact of shipping.  It also allows us to have a more direct relationship with the quality of the ingredients we work with, and allows us to support the community and businesses that call our region home. Beyond that, focusing on local and sustainable sourcing ensures that our beers are rooted deeply in a sense of place, and that they are a reflection of the farms and forests that surround our brewery.

The yarrow and sweet potatoes contribute rustic notes to their otherwise traditional Maibock, transforming this spring lager into an herbal and earthy expression of both ingredients. The aroma leads with yarrow derived notes of fresh sage and baked apples alongside malt tones of dried grass and graham cracker. The flavor of the beer is spicier, with upfront notes of allspice and ceylon cinnamon that fade into a rich sweet potato like earthiness. On the palate this beer is sweet at first, with a pleasant roundness, but restrained bitterness and natural carbonation combine to produce a refreshing dry finish. 

This beer is released as part of a national campaign called Earth To Beer. More than 35 breweries in over 20 states are participating by making specially packaged beer with environmentally responsible ingredients and by giving back to local environmental organizations that make Earth Day their every day.

Grains: Murphy & Rude Virginia Pils, Murphy & Rude Vienna, Murphy & Rude Munich, Greater Richmond Grains Organic Raw Wheat, Murphy & Rude Chocolate Wheat
Hops: Greenmont Hopworks, Greenmont Mother 
Yeast: House Lager 
Other: Shalom Farms Sweet Potatoes, Shalom Farms Yarrow

Style: Graf    
ABV: 4.4%    
IBU: 12    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

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: Hazy IPA    
ABV: 6.8%    
IBU: 13    
Package: Draft & 16oz. 4-packs 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: New Zealand IPA    
ABV: 6.8%    
IBU: 50    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Prince of Parties has always been a celebration of New Zealand hops, but for the first time we chose to model this recipe after a West Coast IPA. We felt that a more neutral yeast profile, and a snappy bitter finish, would better showcase what makes hops grown in New Zealand unique. The resulting beer does not disappoint, and the specific hops notes are much more distinct.

The aroma is a blend of fruity and citrus hops with notes of dried limes, Valencia orange, and subtle tropical fruit. The flavor has a hint of sweetness up front but slowly fades into a pithy bitterness and dry finish, transitioning from candied lime to white grape and eventually finishing with bitter and citrusy grapefruit juice.

Grains: Pilsner, Acid Malt
Hops: Moutere, Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Taiheke
Yeast: House Ale

Style: Black IPA   
ABV: 7.5%    
IBU: 42    
Package: Draft & 32oz. Crowler Cans to-go!!

Shadow Crop is a Black IPA that is intended to represent the harmonious merging of roasty dark malts and pungent hops. A combination of Columbus and Chinook deliver an aroma that is dank and woody with top notes of pine resin and orange peel. Behind this Murphy & Rude specialty malts layer in tones of cold brew coffee and hints of char. The flavor is robust and leads with grapefruit, but also showcases earthy, spicy, notes and a restrained black coffee character. While there is a medium body, it is blanched against a dry finish that showcases a growing bitterness and light roasty tones.

Grains: Pale, Murphy & Rude Honey Light, Murphy & Rude Crystal 15, Chocolate Malt, Black Malt, Murphy & Rude Cimmerian Wheat
Hops: Columbus, Chinook, Simcoe, Cryo Pop
Yeast: House Ale

Style: Belgian Style Quadrupel   
ABV: 11.0%    
IBU: 20    
Package: Draft & 500ml Bottles to-go!!

Modeled after a Belgian Quadrupel, Avec Frère 11 is the biggest beer in our Belgian Abbey Beer series, and pays homage to many of the Belgian Dark Strong Ales that helped inspire the series. The nose is rich and sweet with aromas of cherry, rose, and bready malt. The flavor is similar to the aroma, but with impressions of dried fruit, persimmon, spicy yeast, and a rich, sweet, malty character that leaves hints of vanilla. This beer’s mouthfeel is round and full bodied but mellows to a pleasantly dry and warming finish.

Grains: Vienna, Pilsner, Red X, Special B
Hops: Greenmont Mother 
Yeast: Belgian Ale
Other: Belgian Extra Dark Candi Syrup

Style: Bière de Printemps  
ABV: 6.5%    
IBU: 35      
Package: Draft & 750ml Bottles to-go!!

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 vintage is a Farmhouse Ale, brewed with Fine Creek grown coriander, Greenmont Mother hops, and a base of Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale and Buena Vista Corn. It was fermented with RVA Yeast Labs, Ghost Ale yeast before being packaged and allowed to naturally condition with a strain of Brettanomyces, also from RVA Yeast Lab.

The result is a fruity, citrusy, display of Brett alongside, a soft round texture and minimal bitterness. Natural carbonation balances the body, keeping it dry and refreshing. Making this year one of the most approachable and easy drinking Brett beers we have made. The aroma displays meyer lemon alongside dried pineapple and fragrant ripe pawpaw. The flavor has some funkier Brett undertones, but they are balanced by more prominent notes of lemon zest, dried orange blossom, and freshly cut straw.

Grains: Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, Murphy & Rude Malted Corn: Buena Vista
Hops: Greenmont Mother
Yeast: RVA Yeast Labs, Ghost Ale, RVA Yeast Labs Brettanomyces “Beersel”
Other: Fine Creek Grown Coriander, Grains of Paradise

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: Bière de Coupage  
ABV: 6.7%    
IBU: 20      
Package: Draft & 750ml Bottles

Bière de Coupage is a phrase that has been used in different ways over the years, but in general refers to a blend of young and old beer. Inspired by this tradition of blending, we took fresh Avec Frère 7, Belgian Style Dubbel, and blended it with two beers that both spent over two years in barrels, each conditioning with a different culture. This blend allows us to display mature mixed culture beer, with a complex profile and acidity, alongside fresher beer with a mellower profile and balancing bitterness, that would normally stunt the development of our other mixed cultures.

The fruit forward aroma leads with notes of black plums, dried cherries, and red grapes but also has layers of sweet vanilla, toffee, and toasted malt. Meanwhile the flavor displays a much brighter acidity than the aroma would suggest, with tart notes of red currant and unripe raspberry, that slowly mellow into notes of red wine and burnt sugar. The body has mild round juice like quality but quickly fades to a dry finish with pleasant toasty oak notes and mild tannins. This is a beer that will continue to develop in bottles and can be enjoyed fresh or after some aging.  

Below are the beers blended in this year’s Bière de Coupage:

-Sour Red Ale, aged over two years in barrels with our “Slashes” Wild Culture

-Spelt Saison, aged two years in Blenheim Vineyards Petit Verdot Barrels with a single strain of Brettanomyces bruxellensis

-Avec Frère 7, Belgian Style Dubbel, fermented in stainless steel with Belgian Ale yeast

Grains: Murphy & Rude 6-Row Pale, Murphy & Rude Malted Spelt, Epiphany Malted Wheat, Greater Richmond Grains Organic Raw Wheat, Murphy & Rude Soft Red Wheat, Murphy & Rude Belgian Amber, Red Malt, Vienna, Crystal Malt,
Hops: American Nobel Citra, American Nobel Simcoe, Nugget, House Aged Hersbrucker,
Yeast: “Resettle” Culture, “Slashes” Wild Culture, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, House Saison, Belgian Ale, Lactobacillus Blend
Other: Belgian Candi Syrup