Richmond’s newest brewery, SetBreak Brewing Company, will make its debut with a soft open Saturday, Jan. 17 at Black Heath Meadery’s Festival of Wood & Fire.

Co-founded by Black Heath owner Bill Cavender and longtime professional brewer Rob Quicke, SetBreak will be located in the back bar area of the meadery’s building at 1313 Altamont Ave. in Scott’s Addition.

According to the Brewers Association, there were 345 breweries in Virginia at the end of 2025, making the state number 19 in the country in terms of breweries per capita. Black Heath Meadery celebrated its tenth anniversary last year.

Saturday’s event, as the name implies, will focus on barrel-aged beers.

The Answer Brewpub, Vasen, The Veil and Ardent will all be on hand at the event with guest taps. While the full lineup of beers is still being confirmed, SetBreak plans to debut at least one ale and one lager.

Vasen is scheduled to bring a keg of RedGold, a 4% fruity red sour ale fermented on locally sourced raspberries. The Veil says it will bring Xtreme Slumber, a 17% imperial stout aged in bourbon, cognac, apple brandy and maple syrup barrels, aged a second time in bourbon barrels, then conditioned on vanilla beans and cinnamon. Twelve of the taps at the event will be dedicated to mead, which the meadery barrel-ages in select batches.

In keeping with the festival’s theme, River City Wood Fire will be onsite to sell pizza. The food truck will start serving at noon, one hour before the event starts, and remain until 6 p.m.

“A lot of people like barrel-aged beer,” says Amanda Lee, the social media manager for both SetBreak and Black Heath Meadery. “Making it really is a craft. And winter is a great time for it.”

The brewery’s name comes from the pause that bands take between musical sets. Both Cavender and Quicke are big fans of performing and playing music: Cavender says he enjoys playing the drums for fun, and Quicke is a guitar player in the local band Murder Factory. Cavender also says he usually sees one live band a week both locally and out of town, frequently with Quicke.

He and Quicke plan to use an approach similar to musical collaboration in their brews: using time-honored standards, yet leaving plenty of room for improvisation.

“SetBreak is about creating beers that feel familiar, but are still exciting,” Cavender says.

In a partnership with Cavender that lasted two years, the owners of Brainstorm Brewhouse sold beer in Black Heath’s back bar until the business relocated last fall to the former Dogtown Brewing space on 1209 Hull Street Road in Manchester, where Brainstorm started its own partnership with Bolo’s Eatery.

SetBreak plans to create a rotating selection of four to six beers. The brewery purchased the 2.5 barrel system that Brainstorm was using after Brainstorm bought its own system. Crowlers to go are likely, Cavender says, with a potential for canning the beers for takeout in the future. Lambics, west coast IPAs and lagers are among Cavender’s favorite styles.

SetBreak Brewing Company plans to open for business full time in February.

Black Heath’s Festival of Wood & Fire takes place on Saturday, Jan. 17 from 1-9 p.m at 1313 Altamont Ave. The event is free to attend.