The Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton.
PHOTO COURTESY BMB

As the Washington Post discovered, Thomas Jefferson was the area’s first brew-master (Is there anything that guy didn’t do!), growing his own hops and grain at Monticello and brewing both beer and cider for his guests. Flash forward a couple hundred years, and its the Starr Hill Brewing Company in Crozet, South Street Brewery downtown, the Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, and the Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company near Wintergreen carrying on the tradition.

So what was there verdict? Although the Post refrained from passing judgement, they did seem to like the Blue Mountain Brewery’s penchant for risk taking, mentioning the Afton brewery’s Double Barrel-Aged Chocolate Cherry Imperial Bourbon Stout, brewed with cocoa nibs and cherries in bourbon and wine barrels. At Starr Hill they deemed a limited-edition lime and ginger flavored brew called Lucy “delicious.” At Devil’s Backbone they took time out to identify Tom Peloso of the band Modest Mouse in the crowd, and suggested the place lacked atmosphere. And at South Street the copper bar and fireplace get some press.

Overall, though, a nice romp and swill through our budding beer trail, which appears to have left the writers a bit tipsy!