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| Crozet, Virginia |
Last
time, in the mash tun…
… I
dazzled and amazed you all with the story of the brewery on the slopes of the
Blue Ridge – Blue Mountain Brewery. I recalled the panoramic views, delicious
food, and sensational brews, and painted a picture of one of the most relaxing
and peaceful scenes in the beer world (perhaps even in the entire world).
Seeing that this is the final chapter of the #EpicBeerWeekend quest, and seeing
how there have been five stops so far in the adventure, you owe it to yourself
as a committed reader to go back and read the first five installments (if you
haven’t already) so that you feel connected, and can look at this adventure
from 50,000 feet and truly appreciate it – and gain inspiration to set out on a
similar journey of your own. Here’s a helpful link to episode
1, just to make it easier on you.
And, now
the exciting conclusion of the #EpicBeerWeekend on the #BrewRidgeTrail…
On the
final day of the expedition, we left the beautiful picturesque scenery behind
(sort of) and traveled to an old railroad town outside of Charlottesville
called Crozet, Virginia, which happens to be the home of one of the larger
production breweries in the mid-Atlantic region – Starr Hill Brewery.
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| It's a factory |
Unlike
the scenic brewpubs along VA-151 or the converted old factory brewpub in
downtown Charlottesville that we had visited so far, Starr Hill was a common
looking warehouse style production facility. The exterior is stark white with
no real markings on it save for the star on one of the facades. In fact, if you didn't know what it looked like beforehand, it would be very easy to drive
right passed it. There were no whistles and there were no bells.
We
parked in the stone lot next to the railroad tracks and traversed up the ramp
to what we assumed was the entrance (other patrons with growlers in hand
entering through that door helped to give it away). As we entered the building,
we passed through a room where we were surrounded by pallets of empty bottles
and kegs, only to be met on the other side by a lady who was checking IDs and accepting
payment for tastings and tours. Five bucks got you a flight of six plus a tour…
not too bad of a deal.
After
being carded, we entered the “tap room,” which was a large area of the same
room where the beer is made. When you drink at the Starr Hill tap room, you’re
surrounded by machines. They dressed it up a little bit, with beer signs, merch,
Christmas lights, and a large flat screen TV for watching sports, but the truth
is, you’re sitting in a beer production factory, among the machines. I’m not
sure if the tasting room is open during brewing hours, but I imagine if it was,
it would be awfully loud in there.
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| Keeping it simple never fails. |
Another
cool aspect of the Starr Hill tasting room is that it is 100% manned by
volunteers who love beer. The guy working when we were there had a day job, but
hung out at the brewery on weekends because he enjoys it (I’m sure he gets lots
of beer too). Very cool people who love to tell stories. Very laid back.
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| Cool volunteers serving up cool brews in the tasting room. |
The beer
was very good, as anyone who has ever had Starr Hill beers will tell you. The
six on the flight were the Starr Pils, which is so much better on draught than
it is in a bottle, the Monticello Reserve Ale, which is based on an old Thomas
Jefferson recipe, the Smoke Out rauchbier, which is possibly the best rauchbier
on this side of the Atlantic, the Grateful Pale Ale, which is a sessionable
pale ale that is really delicious, the Northern Lights IPA, which is one of my
own personal faves, and the Dark Starr Stout, which is one of the best dry
Irish stouts on this side of the Atlantic. The cool volunteer dude who was
working also slipped a Double Platinum Double IPA into my flight because we got
to talking about IPAs and we was a really cool volunteer dude. I hope I didn't get him in trouble just now. In addition to the samples, I had a pint of the
Whiter Shade of Pale White IPA, which is a delicious witbier/IPA blend/hybrid
brew. In fact, it was so good, I filled up my growler with it and picked up a
few bombers to take home and share with others.
The tour
was informative, though the guy who gave it may have also been a volunteer, and
if so, it showed. He may be very knowledgeable about the brewing process, but
it didn't come off that way. I suppose that’s the downfall of knowing how these
things work. I promise I’m not judging. I enjoy walking around and seeing
commercial brewing operations, and getting ideas.
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| Where the magic happens. |
So after
all was said and done, we bought some glassware, took a few stickers, and left
Starr Hill and Crozet, Virginia, having had a very enjoyable, educational, and
beer-focused afternoon. This also drew to a close our extended weekend along
the Brew Ridge Trail, and we began the 3 hour or so drive back to the urban sprawl.
I know I say it all the time, but you really should check these guys out. It’s
one thing to live vicariously through this illustrious blog, and by following
these adventures on the twittering machine (@SousBrewer), but getting out and
seeing these places, and drinking this beer yourselves is where the money is.
This
concludes the #EpicBeerWeekend on the #BrewRidgeTrail series of blog posts. We
started this voyage together back in July, and six posts later, we've reached the
end. I feel that this exercise in expository blogging was fulfilling –
hopefully you did too – but we’ll get back to topically relevant posts for a
while, starting next time. Until then…
Here’s
to craft-brewed happiness (and the Brew Ridge Trail)… Cheers!
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