Stone and Inspiration

Over a year and a half ago, I bought in to the Stone Brewing Company's IndieGoGo campaign to build brewing operations in Berlin and on the East Coast. The collaboration beers that were made available included partnerships with Dogfish Head, Victory, Surly and plenty of others. Once the East Coast operation was announced to be Richmond, I was excited. Troegs is already a routine destination, being about an hour and a half away, and now here was another great venue. The Stone Bistro and World Gardens in Escondido is pretty awesome, and eventually the Richmond site will be host to its own gardens and bistro. For now, it's just a taproom.

Anyway, I'd received notice back in November -- right after I'd made a trek to grab my bottle of Zuper Magik w00tstout -- that what had originally been a Surly collaboration was ready for pickup. Since Todd Haug, the Surly brewer they were going to work with, had left Surly, this was now a "Todd Haug/Stone" collaboration, and was called Saurer Axtmann. The name did not bode well for something Pat would like, as he is not a fan of sours.

I plotted a trip to get the beer during my winter break, but didn't receive confirmation from Stone that they knew I'd be arriving, so I pushed my journey back to January 6th. It was freaking cold yesterday morning (eight degrees Fahrenheit, but negative eight wind chill), but I trundled out of the house and down the 95s to Richmond.

Wanting to do more than just hit the brewery and go home, I'd already hit up the National Park Service website to see what was in Richmond besides the obvious Civil War sites. I settled on an historic site dedicated to someone I was not familiar with -- the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. It was right off of I-95, and only about 15 minutes away from Stone.

Quality Row in Richmond's Jackson Ward

When I arrived, I found street parking (the only parking available) right in front of the alley that led to the visitor center, and a ranger who was more than eager to show their new video and lead me on a tour of Mrs. Walker's home. 

Watch the video to learn who Maggie Walker was and why she is an important civil rights icon, even though she was born in 1864 and lived in an era when women couldn't vote. I can't believe I haven't heard of her until now. 

And her home! It's gorgeous, and most amazingly, 90% of the furnishing are original. The books in her makeshift library. The mirrors. The cut glass and china. The toy dolls. Even the reproductions are done so well and based on known items (either to match the rest of a set, such as the dining room chairs that needed reproductions after four of the six were stolen in the early 1970s, or to match something in a photo of Mrs. Walker, such as the recliner in the parlor) so as to blend seamlessly with the rest of the decor. 

the parlor was off limits to the rambunctious Walker children and grandchildren, unless they were practicing on the piano

Over 600 books were in Maggie Walker's collection

Walker and her husband both graduated high school in a time when segregation was law. The Richmond Colored Normal School and the blue ribbon on Maggie Walker's diploma indicated that she'd taken extra classes to become a teacher. She had to give up teaching when she married Armistead

Mrs. Walker was very proud of her family's achievements as well, as seen by the display of her son Melvin's Shaw University diploma.

The kitchen did not have a refrigerator, just this small reproduction icebox. 

Growing up poor and helping her mother wash, press and fold clothes for a living, Maggie Walker knew the importance of a good wash room. Three sinks, a stove for heating, electric fans to circulate the air, and an automatic sheet press are all found here.

As Mrs. Walker aged, she suffered debilitating effects of diabetes, leading to her becoming wheelchair-bound. This manual elevator was installed to allow her to move between floors of her home without the need for her to be carried up and down the stairs. It was actually outside the confines of the house, and so, yes, that is snow on the floor. 

Children and grandchildren were a big reason the house had two additions put on the house after Maggie Walker purchased it in 1904. These are some of the original toys played with by her grandchildren.

Even though Mrs. Walker had the home converted from gas lighting to electric lighting, some fixtures remained dual purpose, in the event of a power outage.

In a time when both women and people of color were actively discriminated against, Maggie Walker rose to a position of  president of a bank that she founded herself, generous philanthropist and community leader. 

Mrs. Walker died here in her home in 1934, surrounded by the things that she loved and cherished. 

I was very moved by my visit, and it dovetails beautifully with my 2016 road trip visits to Little Rock Central High School, the Brown v. BOE site in Topeka and other experiences. 

Saurer Axtmann

Loral & Dr. Rudi's Inevitable Double IPA

From there, I drove the short distance to Stone Brewing RVA. The Saurer Axtmann is a Berliner Weisse style, though not overly sour to me. In the meantime, I had two growlers that I needed to decide on filling, so I sampled some others.

I found six packs of the Exalted IPA in the cooler, so I figured I'd do a growler of the Koteka Rise and Grind (an Imperial Red Ale tasting of coffee and bourbon) and something else. The bartender suggested the Chai Infused Russian Imperial Stout, which is a 2015 offering. I tasted it and went with that without much hesitation. As she said, the chai and the aging has taken the bourbony edge off the beer, and it is smooth as silk. Of course, that's dangerous in a 10.6% beer. ;) 

Exalted IPA and Koteka Rise and Grind

From Stone, I still felt I had some time to kill before heading home. I figured I needed to be back by 6:30 in order to be able to get over to the Autocrossers, Inc holiday party at the start (since Pat and I were bringing food and participating in the gift exchange). I decided to swing by one of the Richmond National Battlefield Park units, Fort Harrison. Sadly, it turns out the visitor center here is seasonal, and so was closed. But I still wandered around the snow-covered paths of the fort for about thirty minutes before I was too chilled and went back to the warm confines of the WRX.

The battle here took place in late September 1864

Most of the earthworks were of Confederate origin, but after the fort fell to the Union, they renamed it Fort Burnham and changed the configuration somewhat

Confederate cannons aimed towards the James River in the distance

Earthworks

A lone cannon protecting Confederate earthworks. To the right of the cannon, most of the Fort is Burnham (Union built)

Cannon at sunset

I bolted for home, heat cranked in the WRX, and considered maybe journeying back down this way next weekend for the MLK holiday. I forgot to bring a Stone Brewing giftcard with me, so there is that, plus I would like to visit the Richmond battlefield in warmer conditions. 

But overall, it was a good day, and I learned things that were inspiring and new to me. This is why I like to explore and wander.