RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
Maybe my favorite brewpub along the Virginia Beach-Fayatetteville-Savannah-Hilton Head-Richmond post-Christmas Southern state journey, THE ANSWER opened 2014 in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition area on West Broad. Featuring an astounding 56 tap lines, the interactive community pub is the brainchild of Vietnamese restaurant entrepreneur An Bui, whose love for Belgian brews and IPA’s got the ball rolling.
Inside a long-windowed, overhead-doored professional Industrial building with extra seating at the enclosed cement-floored Adirondack-chaired covered deck, The Answer also has a game room for family entertainment. A block wood top bar matches the plank wood floor and the right side lounge (with three TV’s) counters the community tabled spot across the bar.
Topnotch outside brews by Oxbow, Perennial, Side Project and more join the 30-plus Answer fare. Highlighted this cold January ’26 eve were a series of superb stouts.
Spritzy lemon fizz tickled lo-alcohol table beer, Little One, placing roasted corn husk across skunky hop musk and light grassy astringency.
Mild straw clear Japanese lager, Kurisupiboi, retained dry lemony herbal hop musk for its sweet rice adjunct and crusty barley roast.
Brisk India Pale Lager, Hushed Casket, let crisp citrus spicing and sticky pine graze sweet vanilla-daubed oated wheat, leaving Simcoe/Riwaka-hopped grapefruit rind, orange pith and lemon pit bittering on its dry finish.
Mellow beige-yellowed Citra-hopped Imperial IPA, Unfamiliar Sheep, stayed bright ‘n lively as lemony yellow grapefruit bittering softly settled alongside milder mandarin orange, clementine and tangelo tanginess.
Thickly creamed Smoothie-like fruited sour, Quadrupel Mother Of Berries, embraced yogurt-milked boysenberry, loganberry, blackberry and raspberry tartness as slight orange concentrate bittering anchored this melted popsicle alternative.
As for the sturdy stouts, bold Answer variant, King Kahuna with Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, spread sweet coffee alongside toasted coconut, glazed hazelnut, toasted almond and macadamia atop black chocolate malting.
Treacly Christmastime Imperial Stout, Tis The Season, draped Vermont maple syrup upon Saigon cinnamon and Tahitian vanilla atop dark chocolate as black peppered Chai tea pungency and ancho chili heat ascended.
“Decadent” Imperial Stout, Colonel Angus, an Oreo cookie knockoff, soaked milk chocolate sweetness into whipped cake battered vanilla creaming, picking up creme brulee, caramel pudding and floured dough illusions.
Bourbon-aged stout, Swiss Chocolate Macaroon, swept bourbon chocolate sweetness inside biscotti, almondine, creme brulee, shredded coconut and cocoa butter tenacity.
