Beer of the Week! 09/09/2024

Center of the Universe Pocahoptus

Normally $13.99 / Now on Sale for 12.96 (12oz six-pack cans)
Unfiltered West Coast Style IPA

Chris Ray came to craft beer after playing Major League Baseball. He’s not the first person we’ve heard of to have this path, but it’s not a common story. Ray played for the Orioles, the Texas Rangers, and the Giants, but his time with the Mariners was brought to a halt by injury. It was time to think about what was next. The thing is, Ray was also a homebrewer.

Ray contacted his older brother, Phil, who was miserable doing the job he was doing, and they both talked about change. Turns out, change looked like beer. By 2012, they were in Ashland, VA (Chris’ wife is from Hanover County.), and Center of the Universe was born.

The Pocahoptus is one of Center of the Universe’s first beers. An unfiltered West Coast Style IPA, it contains, according to them, “four different hops from the Pacific Northwest combined with a base of imported English 2-row barley and Crystal malts.” It’s got a high grapefruit citrus profile. (We’d be willing to bet that one of those hops is Simcoe.) Those lovely, mild English malts provide a restrained malt backbone. More George Armstrong Custer than John Smith, it allows the hops to run right up front.

Remember … if the beer you’re drinking is making you miserable, our Beer of the Week can always be what’s next.