The Veil - outstanding Craft Beer from Virginia, U.S.
The Veil from the USA are certainly one of the most respected breweries in the world. This reputation is more than deserved: Because their beers simply extraordinary! Not only their New England-style IPAs, but also their Fruit Sours, Wild Ales or barrel-aged Imperial Stouts. It's amazing what is possible in terms of taste and quality with absolute dedication to craftmanship. You have to try their beers!
Apprenticed to the best
The Veil founder Matt Tarpey learned his craft at The Alchemist – where he brewed the legendary Double NEIPA Heady Topper – and Hill Farmstead, where he was Shaun Hill's personal assistant, among others. And his resume contains another interesting detail: in 2014, he did an exclusive internship at Cantillon in Brussels and remains on friendly terms with the brewery to this day. During his time at Hill Farmstead, Tarpey also meets his later partner Dustin Durrance for the first time. They, too, remain friends. And Durrance, along with third founder Dave Michelow, helps Tarpey build a brewery in Richmond, Virginia, in 2015/16. With that team, it's hardly surprising that the beers met the highest quality standards right when The Veil launched in April 2016.
The opening sparked a flurry of hype. But justified: The Hype is real! It wasn't just local Richmond fans, no, people came from all parts of Virginia (by comparison, the U.S. state covers a third of the area of Germany) and even from neighboring North Carolina. And they made The Veil a success story from the start.
Outstanding beers, outstanding quality
But success doesn't come by chance. There's hard work behind it, and at The Veil that means developing the best possible beer recipes and a constant mode of adjustment and improvement. The brewery's beers are characterized by a clean, clear and stringent line. The most important thing is the taste in combination with high drinkability. That the flavor is intense at Tarpey's previous stops mentioned above is unsurprising. His beers stand for powerful aromas and flavors. But it's also important to Tarpey that they remain sessionable. That's why he brews many IPAs with a low alcohol content - for example, The Veil house NEIPA Master Shredder, at just 5.5% alcohol. But the taste doesn't suffer at all! Rather, you want to shred another glass right after.
The influences of brewer Tarpey can be felt in every beer. Of course, The Veil's beers clearly have their own character. And yet: He brought The Alchemist-style New England IPA to Virginia from Vermont; his Belgian Lambic-inspired Wild Ales are a nod to Cantillon; the barrel-aging and blending program recounts his time at Hill Farmstead.
The Veil uses a coolship for its spontaneously fermented beers; only the freshest, highest-quality hops go into its hop-forward beers; and the fruit for Wild, Sour or Farmhouse Ales is, at its best, sourced from regional, sustainable agriculture. And the design by Skirven & Croft, two local designers, perfectly reflects the quality of the beers on an aesthetic level as well.
Healthy growth
The Veil now operates four locations - in addition to the Taproom at the original brewery in Scott's Addition, there's the Funkhaüst Café - where The Veil brews their Farmhouse Beers, Saisons and Wild Ales - and in Forest Hill. In addition, a taproom opened in 2019 in Norfolk, on the Atlantic coast.
Food trucks will offer the perfect food to go with The Veil's beers at each taproom: Be it Mexican Food (Tacos, Burritos), NY-Style Pizza or juicy Burgers. In doing so, they invite visitors to stay longer, create a family environment, and strengthen local communities.
The Veils beers were previously only available in Europe at large festivals like Mikkeller's MBCC. Or individual cans via private tradings. All the more we are happy to be able to offer you some cans of the brewery's great beers now!
Facts
WENIGER