We made our way down the mountain to Devil's Backbone Brewing Company (DBBC) for great beer, delicious food, and fine entertainment. Devil's Backbone is one of the most popular breweries in the area and the atmosphere was full of energy and great southwest Virginia culture. As the 2010 World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Small Brewpub, my friends and I had high expectations.
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| My First Beer Sampler! Yum :) |
I decided to start out with the beer sampler that featured six different beers on tap. The first beer on the list was their most famous beer, the Gold Leaf Lager. This beer is considered an International Style Pilsner and was the 2009 and 2010 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Winner. This beer is pale gold in color, light body, with a crisp and dry finish. It has 4.5% alcohol by volume. I would recommend this beer to anyone after a round of golf. Definitely hit the spot and was a great first impression of what Devil's Backbone had to offer.
The next beer on the sampler was the Vienna Lager which was the 2009 Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal Winner. It was amber colored with medium body and a surprising caramel and toasted nuts finish. The flavors reminded me of Christmas and the winter Holidays. This was for sure a beer I could enjoy after a long day on the slopes in Wintergreen.
The next beer was by far my favorite. The Wintergreen Weiss is a Bavarian-style Hefeweizen that was smooth and refreshing. After the sampler, I ordered a large glass to finish off my day. This beer was the 2010 Great American Beer Festival Bronze medal winner. It was also light gold in color, with a fruity finish of cloves and banana. This was the beer that first inspired the owners of Devil's Backbone to start a brewery. When founder Steven Crandall was on a trip to the Alps, he fell in love with Hefeweizen and had to bring this style of beer back to the Blue Ridge.
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| Enjoying a nice, tall glass of Wintergreen Weiss |
Next up was the Eight Point IPA which is an American-style India Pale Ale. Even though IPA's are the most popular beer due to their strength and flavor, I personally have never been a huge fan. However, Eight Point definitely brought something to the table. With medium body and intense "hoppy" flavors and aromas, this beer had a great smell. DBBC calls this IPA a "west coast" style because of the variety of flavors produced by the different types of American hops. This beer is 5.9% alcohol by volume. For all the true IPA fans out there, this is surely a beer to try!
Morning Bear Coffee Stout was the most interesting beer I tried in the sampler. I had never had an Imperial coffee stout before. The beer smelled like coffee and chocolate. The first thing that came into mind after my first sip was a Irish Car Bomb that I frequently get at Rivermill in Blacksburg. The final flavor was a smooth mocha finish. This beer had by far the highest alcohol per volume of 9.1%. Yummmmmy!
Reilley's Red Ale was next up on the list. An Irish-style red ale with medium body and a nice copper color, this beer was also full of flavor. This beer had a hint of caramel. I am not a huge fan of dark ales so I would have to say this was my least favorite beer of the bunch.
I thoroughly enjoyed the beers at DBBC. Along with over ten of the own beers on tap there was also an extensive wine list. The DBBC was moderately priced and also had a delicious menu. I ordered their chili of the day which was turkey chili. It came with three mini jalapeno cornbread muffins that were heavenly. I would recommend DBBC to anyone traveling around this area of Virginia. This would be the perfect spot to relax in the winter time after a long day on the slopes or in the summer time after a round of golf. The restaurant was fairly large and had a nice outdoor seating area. They don't take reservations and at lunch time were completely full with plenty of parties waiting. I would highly recommend calling ahead or going down for a late lunch or early dinner. This was definitely a place that I want to go back and visit sometime. Thanks DBBC for a great experience!
