The craft beer business has been on a steady rise across the nation, but nowhere is it more popular or in greater demand than in the Southeast. Places like Asheville, North Carolina, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. have been on the forefront of the movement, but now other states are beginning to rise with the tide. One of the most notable is the Old Dominion; that’s right, Virginia is riding the wave that began with its burgeoning wine industry and is cranking out the craft brew at a high clip. That craft beer made in Virginia has become so big that it needs its own month – August is Virginia Craft Beer Month, if you were not aware – is a testament to the changing tastes of the citizens. The bottom line is, there are so many craft breweries opening because there is a high demand for full flavored, interesting, local beers.
With new legislation easing the requirements of brewers to serve on site, nano-breweries are popping up all over the state, and producing unique twists on traditional beer styles that you can’t find anywhere else. You usually can’t find them in stores either, which means a pilgrimage is usually the only way to sample these tasty libations. Well, not anymore. This weekend the biggest, and smallest, craft breweries in Virginia will be on hand at the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest on the Devils Backbone campus in Roseland, Virginia.
This festival will be the capstone on Virginia Craft Beer Month, with over 30 Old Dominion Breweries represented on site. Big names like Starr Hill (Crozet), Port City (Alexandria), and Legend (Richmond) will be on hand, but so will smaller breweries you may never have heard of like Wolf Hills (Abingdon), Blue Lab (Lexington), and Beer Hound (Barboursville). Plus, what beer fest would be complete without great music. Local bands will be performing starting at 2pm with Charlottesville natives, and national act, Sons of Bill headlining at 8pm. There will also be awards given out to the best beers in 15 categories, so there is a lot on the line for these breweries, which means the consumer will come out on top.
This is a great opportunity – probably the only opportunity – to taste the best craft beer Virginia has to offer. The festival runs from 2pm-10pm at Devils Backbone Brewing Company at the base of Wintergreen Mountain.
Here is a BRO-TV video spotlighting some of the brewers who will be in attendance:
Blue Ridge Brews from Blue Ridge Outdoors on Vimeo.
