Center of the Universe (COTU)

Bald Irishman is an Irish Red Ale brewed with 5 different malts and a whole lotta love! Brewed for our Satellite club fundraisers, dubbed the "El Balderinos" 10% of the proceeds from this brew will go to support the St. Baldrick's foundation, an organization which provides life-saving research for children with cancer.

Flight School is a Belgian Abbey-style ale brewed with five different malts – Mild, Munich, Honey, ESB and Belgian caramel malt. Dark Belgian Candi Sugar, added during the boil, contributes more fermentables while also adding darker color and rich molasses and caramel character. German and American hop add a subtle bitterness and earthy aromas. Flight School is fermented with a yeast strain originating from one of Belgium’s celebrated breweries. After primary fermentation is complete, the beer is aged on dried orange peel. We then moved Flight School into some barrels that we got from Barrel Oak Winery in Northern Virginia. The barrels had originally been used to age Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Barrel Oak Winery used the bourbon barrels to age their port-style Chambourcin. Flight School aged in these barrels for about a month. The result is a deep ruby Belgian-style ale that is layered with flavors – oak, vanilla, ripe fruit, and some spice, just to name a few.

We took our Scotchtown Scotch Ale and aged it in A. Smith Bowman Bourbon Barrels to add just the right amount of bourbon barrel flavor. This is a small batch and will only be available at the brewery for a limited time.

Hops: Galaxy & Simcoe

Chic Saison is a French Farmhouse Saison brewed with Mangosteens! Mangosteens are grown in Southeast Asia and contribute a tart and tropical fruit punch that pairs perfectly with the estery and spicy qualities of the French Saison.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels and COTU Brewing proudly present an amber lager as crisp as opening night and as smooth as a walk-off swing. Chin Music is the perfect brew to enjoy while watching America’s favorite pastime, baseball. COTU uses water that is similar to some of the great lager-brewing areas of Europe. Four different malted barleys are used in the mashing process. In the boil kettle, German Tettnang hops create a modest bitterness, just enough to balance with the malt. A Czech yeast strain is used during fermentation that leaves the beer looking clean and tasting malty. Chin Music then goes through a cold conditioning period (lagering) until the flavors are just right. Naturally carbonated, Chin Music is then filtered to remove any excess yeast. The result is a beautiful and crisp amber lager from COTU. Leave the ordinary beer in the bat rack. And swing away with Chin Music.

Crazy Bet is no longer available on draft, however can be purchased in the bottle for a limited time. English mild ale malts were the main building block for Crazy Bet. Several different caramel malts were used, adding additional sweetness and a deep ruby color. Numerous hop additions throughout the boil of Columbus, Mount Hood, and Nugget combine to add both a balanced bitterness and intense aromas. Additionally dry-hopped in the fermenter with more Columbus and Nugget, Crazy Bet Imperial Amber is sweet upfront and bitter in the end. Just like her namesake. We think she’d like it.

Inspired by overachievers, line fouls, and nihilists, Dos Duderinos is here to settle the score. Twice the power of El Duderino, this libation isn’t for the weak minded.

El Duderino is inspired by slackers, sweaters, eccentric friends and exotic drinks (the White Russian to be exact). This decadent chocolate milk stout has been a year in the making and has been piloted and tested at the brewery countless times to ensure its quality. The final masterpiece pours midnight black and is capped with a tan pillowy head. Eight different malts and whole vanilla beans create flavors of chocolate and espresso, offering a perfect way to mellow out after a rough set on the lanes.

Exit 89 Lager begins with water from the North Anna River. Once filtered it's soft and has a mineral content similar to some of the great lager brewing areas of Europe. We use this water to mash in with four different malts. In the boil kettle, several additions of German Tettnang hops create a modest bitterness, just enough to balance the malt. The result is a beautiful, crisp amber (Vienna-style) lager.

Flight School is a Belgian Abbey-style ale brewed with five different malts – Mild, Munich, Honey, ESB and Belgian caramel malt. Dark Belgian Candi Sugar, added during the boil, contributes more fermentables while also adding darker color and rich molasses and caramel character. German and American hops add a subtle bitterness and earthy aromas. Flight School is fermented with a yeast strain originating from one of Belgium’s celebrated breweries. After primary fermentation is complete, the beer is aged on dried orange peel. The result is a deep ruby Belgian-style ale that is both complex and bold. And, we think, quite tasty.

Hop Bursted Double IPA

Homefront IPA was developed in 2011 by Fremont Brewing Company and Center of the Universe Brewing Company in order to raise money and awareness for Operation Homefront. Homefront IPA is a West Coast style IPA, brewed with orange peel and aged on Louisville Slugger bats donated by none other than Louisville Slugger. After the beer is brewed, the bats will be dried and auctioned off. Homefront IPA is a unique charity beer in that 100% of the proceeds go to Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront is a charity that provides emergency financial assistance to military heroes and their families. With the help of 6 participating breweries and various suppliers that donated the hops and grains used to make the beer, Hops for Heroes was able to raise $165,000 dollars for Operation Homefront in 2012.

The COTU Kolsch is created using Pilsner malts with a touch of German Munich malt. The resulting straw-colored beer is both light in body, but balanced with the subtle hop spiciness of German Tettnang hops.

Pilsner malt and German Munich and Caramunich malts are the backbone of this beer. The rich toasted and bready flavors imparted by the Munich malts are balanced with a sharp but balanced bitterness imparted by the imported German hops.

Main St. Ale aged in brandy barrels.

Monkey’s Uncle is COTU’s take on a classic beer style from Belgium – the Tripel. Fresh lemongrass, grown by our friends just down the street at Village Garden, was added at the end of the boil, resulting in a refreshing treat. We hope you enjoy it.

Oak aged Ray Rays’s Pale Ale.

Oak aged blend of our imperial red and IPA.

Our Pocahoptas IPA, aged for a month on white oak

We took our Crazy Bet and aged it in a few A. Smith Bourbon barrels to add a deep, oak flavor to our Crazy Bet (description below). English mild ale malts were the main building block for Crazy Bet. Several different caramel malts were used, adding additional sweetness and a deep ruby color. Numerous hop additions throughout the boil of Columbus, Mount Hood, and Nugget combine to add both a balanced bitterness and intense aromas. Additionally dry-hopped in the fermenter with more Columbus and Nugget, Crazy Bet Imperial Amber is sweet upfront and bitter in the end. Just like her namesake. We think she’d like it.

Center of the Universe’s Oktoberfest is our take on the classic Munich fest biers. German Munich and Vienna malts are used to give the beer a slightly sweet and malty flavor with some toasted notes as well. Noble German hops were added during the boil, adding just enough bitterness to balance with the flavors of the malt. We then chose a Czech yeast strain that accentuated the malt and fermented nice and clean. After fermentation COTU Oktoberfest went through an extended cold conditioning period known as lagering. After lagering, the beer was filtered, removing any yeast that had not yet dropped out naturally. COTU Oktoberfest is malty, clean and refreshing. Golden to amber in color, COTU Oktoberfest would be right at home in the festival tents of Munich. Or Virginia. Prost!

16 months in the making, what began as an RV excursion, a couple of beers, and an idea shared amongst friends has become the sweet reality called “ORANGE IS THE NEW SOUT.” This imperial chocolate stout is crafted using fresh oranges and sea salt creating a truffle like flavor clocking in at 10.5% abv which will keep your spirits warm and bright all winter long.

A mildly spiced brown ale just in time for the cold days in Virginia! Plowed is spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon.

This hop forward India Pale Ale features four different hops from the Pacific Northwest combined with a base of imported English 2-row barley and Crystal malts. Dry-hopped for additional hop flavor and aroma.

The time has come to honor Scott Golden, the winner of COTU’s inaugural Wort Share Competition. The Wort Share took place in February when COTU offered up some freshly prepared wort for local RVA region homebrewers. 6 weeks later we welcomed back those 60 local brewers for a friendly beer tasting competition. The top 3 then returned to COTU to brew Scott’s beer with head brewer Mike Killelea. Scott’s winning beer is a light and refreshing spiced summer Belgian-style ale. Enjoy this light bodied beer bursting with citrus and spice notes and accompanied by traditional Belgian esters. The beer comes in at 4.5% alcohol by volume with an accompanied 20 IBU’s. This is a limited one-off batch, so come and get you fill and take home a special labeled bottle for your enjoyment later!

The namesake beer of COTU’s founders, Ray Ray’s Pale Ale starts with imported English 2-row barley that provides a full rich flavor. Near continuous additions of Cascade hops contribute both a balanced bitterness and classic spicy and citrusy aromas and flavors.

Our Scotchtown Ale is COTU’s take on a classic Scottish-style ale. Brewed with eight different malts, including roasted barley and smoked malt, Scotchtown is a distinctly malt-forward beer. East Kent Goldings hops add a subtle bitterness, just enough to balance the rich malt flavor.

Before we dive into the flavor profile, style of beer, etc., I think it’s important we take you through where this beer came from. A timeline of where beer originated, before it was beer, is necessary to truly understand and appreciate the dark wonder that is “Shut Up.” So, without further ado, lets take you back to Shut Up’s roots. The year was 2006. June 6th to be exact. It’s a hot day at the distillery in Versailles, Kentucky. The head distiller was transferring some freshly distilled bourbon into oak barrels to rest for the next 7 years. Now the site of this distillery isn’t just another place in Kentucky where delicious bourbon is produced. It happens to be the oldest in the state, rich with history and stained with some of the finest bourbon in the country. But, I digress. Little did these barrels, or the distillers themselves, know that these barrels were destined for greatness. They put the bungs in and transferred the barrels into the cellar to age. On another steamy summer day in 2013, much like that of 2006, a great copper colored liquid emerged from its resting place. The bourbon was removed from the barrels and packaged. As previously arranged, the barrels were purchased and picked up by a new purveyor of alcohol, a winery. This winery, located in Delaplane, VA, was intrigued by the flavors of this celebrated bourbon. So much so that it decided to age their chambourcin port-style wine inside the very vessel this bourbon called home for the last 7 years. The port was made of the of the chambourcin grape, which produces a slightly sweet flavor with essences of plums and black cherries. That sounds delicious by itself, but the winery didn’t stop there. The port-style wine is then littered with fresh cocoa nibs in order to impart a dark chocolate decadence to the wine. Both the port and the nibs are added to the barrel to meld with the sweet Bourbon that once resided there. In May of 2014, the wine maker dipped his wine thief into the barrels to discover that his creation was now complete. This is when the barrels’ journey takes an interesting turn. Phil and Chris Ray, who were lucky enough to call just at the right moment, leave the Center of the Universe brewery and head up to the Northern Virginia winery to retrieve just the rare barrels they were looking for their imperial stout. The 1.5-hour trip each way is rewarded with the acquisition of the historic barrels and the anticipation of creating something amazing. That same day, back at the brewery, head brewer Mike Killelea took the final measurements from Brite Tank 1 and realized that it was time to prepare the imperial stout for its journey into the “wonder” barrels. Upon arrival at the brewery, Chris and Phil were giddy with excitement from their journey and couldn’t wait to introduce the base beer to it’s new home. Over the next few hours, barrel-by-barrel, the stout was moved in. Once completed, it was time to sit, wait, and imagine what the first sip of this brew would entail, and mean, for the universe. Fast forward to August 5th, 2014. The day has come. The beer has enjoyed about 4 months of rest inside its barrel home. The essence of premium bourbon and port-style wine is successfully infused and blended with the flavor of the imperial stout. The brewery team gathers around the first barrel to be moved back in the tank. The bung is removed and the room is filled with a floral ecstasy of dark chocolate, raspberry, and toffee. Mike dips the wine thief into the barrel and pulls out a midnight black sample of Shut Up. The clouds break and a beam of light shines in from the heavens into the brew room. (Ok, that didn’t really happen, but it should have.) The team takes a sip. Everyone shuts up. It’s perfect. Shut up finished at 10.2%, but you wouldn’t know it with its smooth finish. Dark chocolate, raspberry, cocoa, and espresso engulf the pallet. The hops are present at 65IBU’s, but blend perfectly with the surrounding flavors. The beer travels through a flavor roller coaster as it warms creating a unique experience with each sip. Enjoy this beer with friends, or in the solidarity of your home to shut up the stresses and troubles of the outside world. Enjoy Shut Up on its own, or pair it with a well-marbled steak and some blue cheeses.

Slingshot Kolsch is created using Pilsner malts with a touch of German Munich malt.  The resulting straw-colored beer is both light in body, but balanced with the subtle hop spiciness of German Tettnang hops.

It's that time of year again! Light those grills, pull out the lucky shirt, and pour yourself a glass of fresh TAILGATOR AID. Brewed with heaps of Citra hops and tons of grapefruit, this beer will get your tailgate going in the right direction!

El Duderino aged in bourbon barrels.

El Duderino aged in apple brandy barrels.

The angry uncle of Pocahoptas. This one time beer is a result of being our first brew on the system. A little off here, short some water there, and we are left with a double IPA very similar to Pocahoptas, but much stronger.

Base beer for Shut Up! Imperial Stout aged in port barrels. Its Summer, it’s 90 degrees, and we are releasing an Imperial Stout. Deal with it. Head on out to COTU for this brewery only release of a delectable, unseasonable, Imperial Stout bursting with flavors of coffee, dark chocolate, and cherry. This beer clocks in at 9.5% and the hops can be felt from start to finish. There is no better way to cool yourself off than with a glass of this Unseasonable Stout, because stouts should be enjoyed all year round.

Base brew for Travesty. Big milk stout with a light roast, and smooth chocolate notes.

El Dorado Amarillo and Ahtanum hops

The 2015 COTU WORT SHARE brew is a delicious and bright SESSION IPA engineered by JOHN ARTHUR, the winner of this year’s homebrew competition. Warrior, Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic, Motueka, and Amarillo hops are generously used creating a light bodied IPA chocked full of citrus and spice notes. The brew clocks in at 4.5% making it a perfect edition to a hot summer day.