Beer Around Here - New Realm

Food, fire pits, fenced in children pens and fantastic beer; this addition of Beer Around Here covers, New Realm, located 1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23454.

New Realms, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is known for its innovation and adherence to traditional techniques. New Real's experimentation pushes the boundary of expectation at the same time, never straining the limits of quality, driving for excellence in every beer produced.

Several minutes past Red-Mill, New Realm is an easy jaunt from the Sandbrige oceanfront and an excellent place for the family to enjoy games, firepits, inspired food, and the most crucial attraction incredible beer. As one walks through their gate and onto their patio ringed with gas fires and milling groups enjoying the fall evenings, you know you've entered a new realm. Entering the facility to see an expansive room walled by brick and murals, there is a massive bar with 30 taps, a colorful display of 15 or so available drafts, then mirroring the massive bar glass industrial sized doors to watch the production teams at work. It's my experience if you ask the bartender, there is usually something not displayed but waiting for discovery.

Making sure only the most enjoyable breweries and watering-holes make it to the Beer Around Here list, my cousin and I went and had ourselves a flight of beer to make some suggestions. A New Realm flight is made up of six snifters of any listed beer. From the twelve tried, we decided on our favorite six must-try beers! From their mainstay brews, Hoptripolis IPA was our favorite. An IPA which made me miss summer Hoptripolis is a rich hoppy IPA with hints of citrus, pineapple, and peach. Golden in color, it is a beer worthy of getting a six-pack of on your way out the door. Hazy like a Fox New England, IPA, utilizing a double dry-hopped process once burring fermentation, and once post-fermentation, this beer has a tremendous orange juice character with intense aromatics. My favorite tried was the Munich Dunkel Lager, this might be an effect of sitting by a fire pit as the sun disappears early on a fall night, but the rich amber lager seemed perfect for the moment.

Some must-tries if you can make a trip soon are on the small batches list. Tyrannosaurus Flex, Imperial / Double New England, IPA is a must-have, Tyran-Flex has a summary I can not replicate so enjoy the description form the brewer themselves.

"A Hazy DIPA hopped exclusively with hops from New Zealand. Wai-is, Motueka, and Rakau hop combined with Norwegian Kviek yeast give this monster DIPA a cretaceous amount of juicy, fruity notes such as mango, pineapple, peach, apricot, and citrus. Balanced with an herbal, piney, and lightly dank full-body, this hazy beast is the ruler of the realm!"

I'm not much of a cider guy, but in the fall, exceptions can be made. If they are your cup of tea, you must try New Realms Inkjet cider. Combining sweet, savory, and tart, this cider makes one think they have a blackberry mimosa, not a craft-brewed cider.

The last beer is a bit of a mystery, and I had to go back for seconds. It is a limited brew and had a name I barely caught; the bartender just told me to ask for the Chocolat Imperial IPA, so I did and was not disappointed. Rich, dark, heavily aromatic with a hint of spice try ordering it and see if the bartenders can point you in the right direction.

Give New Realm a visit next time you are in town visiting the beautiful Sandbrige beach. Enjoy your time, some beer, good food, and remember to drink responsibly allocating a designated driver before you go. If your family is looking for a new place for dinner or a local attraction, just ask the Beach People and let us help you!