The Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia have always been known for beautiful scenic drives and civil war history. Which makes this the perfect backdrop for craft beer and yes the beer revolution ( not the Civil War) has started in the Shenandoah Valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive converge at Afton,VA, which is also the start of the Brewridge Trail. Taking State RT#151 you will encounter 3 Breweries, a cidery and a distillery. The locals have named this route "Alcohol Valley". After navigating the Brewridge Trail, I headed back to Charlottesville, via Crozet and Starr Hill Brewery. Thomas Jefferson had built a brewery in his Monticello home and was one of Charlottesville's early brewers. His brewing legacy lives on in Charlottesville and this was the perfect overnight stop to visit Jefferson's home town breweries.
It was on to Richmond to spend some time with good friends and take in a Tommy Emmanuel concert. Time did not allow me to visit the many breweries of Richmond, but that will be another day. On the way back north I decided to take the back roads and the Huguenot trail led me to a few surprise breweries on the way to Harrisonburg, VA. It is great to see that the craft beer movement is growing in the heart of Virginia. All of the breweries I visited on this trip offered a unique, fun experience and I recommend that you visit them all. Here are a few that especially enjoyed.
It was on to Richmond to spend some time with good friends and take in a Tommy Emmanuel concert. Time did not allow me to visit the many breweries of Richmond, but that will be another day. On the way back north I decided to take the back roads and the Huguenot trail led me to a few surprise breweries on the way to Harrisonburg, VA. It is great to see that the craft beer movement is growing in the heart of Virginia. All of the breweries I visited on this trip offered a unique, fun experience and I recommend that you visit them all. Here are a few that especially enjoyed.
- Blue Mountain Brewery - is the first Brewery on the Brewridge trail if you start from I-64. IT is a beautiful setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have a very large outdoor eating area bordered by cascade hops plants. The indoor area is equally nice with a very nice bar area. I did not eat at the brewery, however, the food coming out of the kitchen looked great. They had 10 of their brews on tap during my visit and with it being a nice warm day I particularly enjoyed the Full Nelson, Summer Haze and Red Zeppelin.
- 3 Notch'd Brewing Co.- is one of the four breweries in Charlottesville and is located midway between the center of town and the UVA campus. The tasting room has a small bar and two nice areas to sit, relax and enjoy their beer. I sampled five of their brews and I highly recommend the Java Espresso Stout, Oats McGoats and the 40 Mile IPA. The atmosphere in the brewery made it very comfortable to relax and talk, which I made it easy to meet new beer friends from Delaware and Charlottesville.
- C'ville-ian Brewing Co. - This is the newest brewery to Charlottesville, located off of West Main Street. This is a great Nano-brewery, with a quaint, comfortable tasting area and some very good beer. I had the opportunity to meet and chat with one of the founders and brewer, Steve Gibbs. He loves to brew the big beers and stays away from the session brews. He backs this up with very good beer. The Cavalier Chocolate Stout is worth the stop alone. I also enjoyed Blenheim Brown and the Sacagawheaton Smoked Hefe ( I'm not a big wheat beer fan, but this is the exception and it had the perfect amount of smoke. The IPA just kicked and I didn't have an opportunity to get a taste , Steve says its a great IPA, so trust me it is probably a great IPA. If you are in Charlottesville, this is a must stop. I know Steve and team will have much success with this location and great beer.
- Champion Brewing Co.- This was the last brewery for me to visit in Charlottesville and what a great stop it was. The tasting room was very nice with a large bar and a very very large outdoor area with tables. They also host a different food truck every night. Tonight I had a great Grilled Pimento cheese sandwich with sweet potato hush puppies on the side. Oh yes, the beer is very nice, i enjoyed the Missle IPA and went Inter-continental with the ICBm IPA. The last beer of the night was a smooth Pacecar Porter. I also had a chance to meet Sean, a local Journalist with The Charlottesville Tomorrow. After we solved all of the world's problems , we had a nice discussion about craft beer. He confirmed what I was seeing, the Beer Revolution is alive in Virginia.
- James River Brewing Co.- Just South of Charlottesville you will find the neat small, historic town of Scottsville which sets along the , you guessed it, James River. A very popular canoeing and boating town which makes it perfect for a great craft brewery. The James River Brewery fits the bill, located in an old building with a small bar area, a few seating areas and a very nice biergarten. I was fortunate to have Bill Parker behind the bar and he has the passion for craft beer. Bill said I was living his dream by doing the beer quest and he is living mine by working and enjoying beer at a very nice brewery. They are brewing some great beer here. The Vanilla Porter, 1865, Packet Boat Porter and the Green eyed Lady Strong Ale ( the green eyed lady could sneak up on you and you might want to swim the river) were my favorites. Bill also blended the green eyed lady with the packet boat porter and words can not describe that combination. If you are paddeling up the James River, land at Scottsville and visit the brewery, just be cautious with the green eyed lady or you'll be up the river without a paddle.