Dueweke has advanced from an extract recipe to grain, and he has found that the best potatoes are thin and dark orange in color. They seem to be sweeter than the lighter-colored ones. He'll be rubbing shoulders with one of history's greats, Thomas Jefferson, whose Sweet Potato Pie ranks second only to the Declaration of Independence on his list of lifetime achievements. Speaking of history, let's go deeper underground with some local tunnel lore. Tom Robinson is looking for folks interested in excavating and preserving tunnels under Chimborazo Hill in east Richmond.
Research indicates there are several beer tunnels in the labyrinth under Chimborazo Hill.
Robinson is a history buff who serves as director of the Virginia Police and Fire Museum on West Marshall Street. He also is an agent for M Realty LLC and is in negotiations on properties that include the site of the old James River Steam Brewery downstream from where the Annabel Lee drops anchor. Pa. David Yuengling Jr., son of the company's founder, owned and operated the James River Steam Brewery in Richmond from 1866 to 1877. Robinson said the Chimborazo tunnels pre-date those, and there are records of a brewery in the building that became Chimborazo Hospital during the Civil War. The entrance now is blocked, but Robinson believes the tunnels are reasonably dry.