We love getting to know the breweries that make up the ever-growing craft brewing industry — which is why we started our new “Brewery Spotlight” blog series.
With each post in this series, you’ll get to know some of our favorite craft breweries, as well as what led them to become such an integrital part of the craft beer community.
Last time, we spoke with James Amato, the Marketing Manager at Divine Barrel Brewing out of Charlotte, NC.
This week, we are chatting with Allie Hochman, the General Manager of Starr Hill Brewing out of Richmond, VA.
Work For Your Beer (WFYB): We are so happy to chat with you, Allie. Let’s just dive into some questions! What year did Starr Hill open?
Allie (A): Starr Hill’s original location opened in Sept. 1999; our Richmond location opened Dec. 2019.
WFYB: What’s the most popular beer style you sell?
A: Our hazy IPAs – mostly Ramble On.
WFYB: What beer are you most proud of brewing?
A: This year I celebrated 12 years with Starr Hill… by finally brewing my 10th Anniversary beer! It was a Dreamsicle IPA with orange, vanilla, and lactose. It turned out delicious!
WFYB: Oooh… that does sound delicious! We’ll need to give it a try! Pivoting slightly… what is the weirdest beer you’ve ever made (whether you sold it or not)?
A: We brewed (and sold) an amber lager with lime, cilantro, and jalapeno and called it Salsa Fiesta. It was extremely polarizing, but there are folks out there who loved it and still ask for it to come back!
WFYB: We definitely need that Salsa Fiesta spice in our lives! We love the weird beers. Now… if you had to make the *perfect* mixed six-pack, what beers would you include in it?
A: My perfect six-pack would be
- Drift Down Kolsch – a Richmond-exclusive beer!
- The Love Hefeweizen
- Chasing Daylight West Coast IPA
- Little Red RooStarr Coffee Cream Stout
- Ramble On Juicy IPA
- Wild Thing: Black Currant – a limited-release pilot beer brewed in RVA
WFYB: We love learning how craft breweries help out their local communities. How would you say Starr Hill contributes to the Richmond community?
A: Each month, we partner with a local nonprofit as part of our Cheers For Charity program. Through this program, we give each nonprofit a full month to use Starr Hill as a platform for their organization to increase awareness, reach, and engagement with our guests and fans, as well as utilize our space and ongoing programming to show appreciation for their employees, volunteers, clients, and sponsors. All month long, we donate $1 per pint of The Love hefeweizen back to the organization, and the sky is the limit on the donation!
WFYB: That sounds like a great way to spotlight local charities in your community! Speaking of community: what brewery activities and fitness events do you host?
A: Track Starr Run Club on Tuesdays; monthly fitness classes with Turn Cardio Jam Studio; monthly fitness meetups with X-Fitness and River City Fit.
WFYB: Now, how about one fact people don’t know about Starr Hill?
A: Some people think that we “sold out” to AB InBev or another large brewing company, but since our founding in 1999, we have always been independently owned—our owner is from Virginia!
WFYB: Definitely something to clarify! We love to see larger independent breweries thrive! Now, what makes Starr Hill unique? Why should someone stop by your brewery versus the many other breweries in Richmond, VA?
A: The obvious answer is that we have an awesome open-air Rooftop bar, with plenty of seating for our fans and all their friends. We try to keep the vibe friendly and welcoming, with live music and local food trucks to satisfy our patrons’ cravings. Another thing that we’ve heard a lot from our fans: we always have a wide variety of different beer styles on tap. We have 24 taps that rotate, and we try to make sure we have something for EVERYONE, whether it’s an IPA, wheat beer, stout, lager, sour, hard seltzer (so excited we have this now!) or something different!
WFYB: Lastly, why do you support the #WorkForYourBeer mantra?
A: To get the most out of this lil thing we call Life, balance is very important – work and play, hops and malt… You get where I’m going with this. We know our fans and employees work hard, and we strive to be a place where they can let off some steam, have some fun, have good conversations, and recharge so they can face work tomorrow. We also love to support other local businesses, and those that promote a healthy lifestyle align with our desire to strike that balance for our fans—hosting fitness events and trivia and other programming that encourages community engagement—that’s what we’re all about.
WFYB: Preach! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Thank you to Allie and Starr Hill for taking the time to share their story with us here on the Work For Your Beer blog.
If you ever find yourself in Richmond and fancy yourself a drink, and a stellar rooftop view check out Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop!
Want to be considered for an upcoming feature? Email cheers@workforyourbeer.com to set up an interview!
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