![]() He says it’s a simple process: “I’ll pretty much just open bags of hops and smell ‘em, and if I think they smell good I’ll brew with them.” Each is brewed to showcase a particular hop or combination of hops that Ammendolia finds pleasing. In addition to Venus Rising, Final Gravity typically has a rotating selection of other IPAs and double IPAs on offer, releasing a new one nearly every week, most with space-themed names like Sunspots, Apollo and Doppler Effect. His focus unquestionably is on hoppy styles. Near the back of the shop, behind several refrigerators housing hops and a selection of yeast cultures from the local RVA Yeast Labs, among others, is a small sectioned-off drywall room where Ammendolia brews four times a week. So, in 2015, Ammendolia moved the shop from its original, 1,000-square-foot space, to a 5,000-square-foot shop a block north, and opened Final Gravity Brewing. So a homebrew shop was something I could do realistically and utilize my retail skills.”Ī year after opening the shop, the State of Virginia passed Senate Bill 604 which allowed breweries to sell their own beer on premise without having to run a full-service restaurant or brewpub-meaning, it would allow Original Gravity to open a brewery. “I would’ve opened a brewery when I first started out,” says Ammendolia, “but I didn’t want to get into massive debt. A few months later, I read PUNCH contributor Aaron Goldfarb’s story about New England IPAs and was pleasantly surprised to see Final Gravity near the top of list, again besting many of the country’s most hyped IPAs. Floral and fruity with a fuzzy orange hue, it was as good, if not better, than the other uber-hyped IPAs on the table that night. ![]() Last winter, while visiting my parents in rural Virginia, my friend Dave brought a Crowler of Final Gravity’s flagship Venus Rising double IPA to our annual Christmas party. I first heard whispers about this under-the-radar operation late last year from a couple of friends who live in Richmond. ![]() Every trip, I come back with a new favorite bakery, restaurant or brewery this year it’s a nanobrewery called Final Gravity Brewing tucked inside a homebrew shop in a suburban strip mall. It’s a relatively easy trip from New York City on Amtrak, and the city is laid back, artsy in a punky DIY way, not too crowded and boasts plenty of great food and drink.
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