| Beach Brewing Company 1505 Taylor Farm Rd. | Virginia Beach, VA 23453 (757) 563-2337 beachbrewingcompany.com |
Beach Brewing Company was founded in Fall 2010 in Virginia Beach, Virginia by Justin MacDonald. At first, they were brewing only 12 gallons at a time. Later, a 5 barrel brewhouse was purchased from a small brewery in New Hampshire, which they used for the next 3 years.
In January 2014, Beach Brewing brewed the first batches of beer on the new 15 barrel brewhouse and transferring the wort into shiny new 30 barrel fermenters. In February 2014, the taproom at the new facility opened to the public, just a block from the old location.
With a new location comes a new logo. The logo includes a spin on a Jolly Roger pirate flag with a hop cone as the skull, showing respect for the hop plant and its prodigious use in Beach Brewing beers, and crossed mash paddles, reflecting on humble brewing without mechanical assistance.
The bar area is tastefully decorated. The walls are painted inviting shades of mustard yellow, red, and black. The bar, which seats 12 people, was covered in pennies. A comfortable seating area to the side boasts black leather sofas and walls covered with wooden boards.
Beers are available in flights of 4, served on a mini wooden surfboard. There were 8 different beers on tap during my visit.
- Riptide Altbier – 5% ABV, 20 IBU
- Beachfest Coastal Festbier – 5.5% ABV, 25 IBU
- Loggerhead Honey Pale Ale – 5% ABV, 44 IBU
- Full Broadside Biere de Garde – 8% ABV, 22 IBU
- Fire At Sea Smoked Coffee Porter – 6.5% ABV, 16 IBU
- Hammerhead IPA – 6% ABV, 63 IBU
- Hoptopus Double IPA – 8.8% ABV, 108 IBU
- Seadevil Imperial Stout – 10% ABV, 75 IBU
My favorite was Hoptopus Double IPA. The aroma bursted with pine and citrus, and the flavor was loaded with grapefruit notes. I enjoyed the bitterness without the sweetness.
The brewery has 10 taps, offering flights and pints in house and growlers and kegs to go. Growlers come in 64 ounce and 32 ounce (Grenade) format. Kegs are available in ½ barrel and ⅙ barrel sizes. Their Hoptopus Double IPA is also available in 4 packs of 16 ounce cans to go.
Exciting news! Beach Brewing’s first-ever sour release will be Red Messenger, due to debut at the brewery in early December. It will be packaged in 750ml format and on draft in the taproom.
