Blue Mountain’s Kölsch and Imperial Porter (on nitrogen)Breweries in this area are becoming more and more scarce. With Old Dominion Brewery moving to Delaware, we’re left with our local brewpubs and not much else. Baltimore is one option, but for a more scenic beer getaway, heading down into the area around Charlottesville is the way to go. In the last couple years, some new breweries have sprouted up and others have expanded. The result is a vibrant beer community that emphasizes local ingredients and fresh, tasty beer. It’s a roughly 2.5 hour drive out to Charlottesville, but if you want to break up the drive, a detour to Sperryville to visit Copper Fox adds only 20 minutes to your driving time.
Copper Fox’s main product, Wasmund’s Single Malt Whiskey, is a fiercely local spirit: the barley comes from a farm in Heathsville, VA and the apple and cherrywood used to smoke the grain all comes from sources around the property. Although VA law prohibits tasting or bottle sales at the distillery, I’ve had a chance to taste the products before, and the results of Wasmund’s innovative techniques is a whiskey that is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted: intensely smoky, with hints of the apple and cherrywood.
Tours are available on the weekends at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. and are led either by Rick Wasmund or his mother. The other advantage of stopping off in Sperryville is that you get closer to the gorgeous stretch of mountains around the Shenandoah National Park, making the drive down to Charlottesville even more picturesque.
The next logical stop is Starr Hill in Crozet. Starr Hill is now distributed by Anheuser-Busch, which means the previously regional-only beers are starting to be seen further afield. It’s unclear if the recent InBev-A/B merger will affect their distribution deal with Starr Hill.
A short drive up towards the mountains from Crozet leads to Afton, where Blue Mountain brewing is located. A gorgeous mountain view from the outside patio is the perfect complement to a Full Nelson Pale Ale or Blue Mountain Lager, and the brewers are always doing experimental batches of seasonal beers. The brewery has been open for only a couple years and is notable for also being the site of a hop farm: The Cascade hops grown on the premises are used in several of their beers.
