Bottoms Up: Plain X Stout at Hunter Gatherer

Darker beers typically lend themselves to higher alcohol content as well as bitterness. At Hunter-Gatherer, a brewery and alehouse located on Main Street, there exists a beer that is not only a stout, but a stout that nearly every beer drinker can love.

Kevin Varner, the owner and head brewer at Hunter-Gatherer says that he makes three variations of the stout, but the Plain X can be enjoyed any time.

“The name comes from those old jugs of alcohol,” Varner said. “The stronger the alcohol, the more X’s it had.”

The brewery, which is hops throw from the State House, makes three variations of the stout leading up to the Plain XXX Stout.

The Plain X, however, is much lighter in weight and has a lower ABV, making it possible to have multiples without feeling full or getting drunk.

Varner, who has been brewing since college, has built Hunter-Gatherer to be about the beer. There are no TV’s in the brewery, just good beer.

The famous beer reviewer, Michael Jackson, toured the country stopping at bars and breweries in each state. When he reviewed Hunter-Gatherer, he had one quip about the beer that Varner is especially proud of.

“The beer is the hero, rather than the brewery.”

Aaron Ransdell

Bitter Banger at Terra

Lynchburg Lemonade at Moosehead Saloon

Blue Lagoon Fish Bowl at Lattitude 22

Ecstasy Martini at Saki Tumi

Guinness cocktails

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 12:01 PM.