Raise a glass along the Brew Ridge Trail.
Guest enjoy the patio at Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton.
Meet the “Brew Hopper”—one who travels for the purpose of tasting the wide range of beers available at Commonwealth craft breweries.
And to fulfill the quest for great beer, follow the Brew Ridge Trail, a stretch of highway between Nelson County and Charlottesville that features six breweries: Blue Mountain Brewery, Devil’s Backbone Brewery, Blue Mountain Barrel House, South Street Brewery, Starr Hill and Wild Wolf Brewing (with more destinations soon to be added).
Each brewery hosts tastings so you can sample its offerings and sells beer on draft and in bottles so you don’t go away empty-handed. Don’t forget to bring your growler for a fill.
“You get different perspectives on beer at the different breweries,” says Matt Nucci, co-owner of Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, “but we all make great beer.”
Indeed, Virginia beers are worthy of distinction. In 2013’s Great American Beer Festival, hosted in Denver, Virginia Breweries took home 14 medals, including four gold medals. Soon after, DRAFT Magazine named Virginia as one of four states to “beer tour now.”
And people are heeding the call: “I’ve seen people out on birthdays, bachelor parties and bachelorette parties,” says Jason Oliver, brewmaster at Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company in Roseland.
“The word is out, and people make it a destination.” BrewRidgeTrail.com
