Craft beer is on the agenda at the Richmond Technology Council (aka RVATech). This year the regional business association began billing its “Tech on Tap” events as a part of a “brewery tour.”

The third of four separate events was held June 19 (Juneteenth!) at Väsen Brewing Company. The sponsor: Dynatrace, a global company specializing in application performance monitoring and enterprise cloud intelligence. Väsen – the Swedish word for essence – is an outdoor-inspired brew pub with an original lineup that leans toward ales, double (D)IPAs, and saison-style beer.

Craft Beer and Tech: 3 Thoughts

Richmond has become a surprisingly rich home for craft breweries. There used to be only one, Legend Brewing Company. Over the past decade, however, the micro-brew scene exploded, with 32 separate breweries now sited on the Virginia Beer Trail Map.

Demographics and momentum helped attract these businesses. In turn, this vibrant local industry has drawn attention. Last year, Vinepair named Richmond the world’s top beer destination. But how is craft beer a good fit for a tech council, or technologists in general? Here are three thoughts:

Disruption. Micro-breweries define themselves in contrast to the beverage giants. Like tech innovators and entrepreneurs, they are disruptive by nature, aiming to use new techniques to expand the market and capture share from their well-established rivals. In some ways, the brewers are radicals, appealing to the small-batch “roots” of the industry. Like many tech companies, they also invoke non-business goals.

Nerd factor. Engineers and techies tend to know a lot about their particular areas of competence. Craft brewers also exude an aura of expertise, in terms of both the specialized equipment they use and the types of beers they concoct. (Väsen’s ”head brewery scientist,” for instance, has a Ph.D.) I suspect these two groups have an innate respect for each other.

Collaboration. Craft brewers have become well-known for joining forces and creating new labels. These “collaboration beers” resemble open source coding initiatives, or what can result from cross-pollination in tech-centric regions, such as most famously (but not exclusively) Silicon Valley. Brewers and technologists don’t mind sharing, amongst themselves and with their broader communities.

Enigmatic Brew

My choice at this latest Tech on Tap was a Goldenbear Tripel. Väsen describes it as “a strong abby-style Belgian ale dry-hopped with dank Enigma hops.” Enigma? That would be an Australian hop, descended from the Swiss Tettnang hop. In addition, it’s associated with flavorful words like “Pinot Gris,” “raspberries” and “rock melon.” (See above, nerd factor.) I’d simply say it was “clean.”

In other words, it was a nice way to end the day. Thanks, RVATech, and Dynatrace. The next event is Aug 21, at Buskey Cider, with Comcast Business on deck as sponsor.