One of our favorite pastimes? Visiting craft breweries close to and far from home. Since we once homebrewed, we’re fascinated by what these local folks can do. Many of them began as living room brewers before expanding.
When we visited Waynesboro, Virginia, this past summer, we stumbled upon one of the more unique establishments and Virginia’s first rural brewery.
Photo by P.C. Zick – The bar at Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, VA
Located just a few miles from where the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park ends and the Blue Ridge Parkway begins, Blue Mountain Brewery provided us with a lovely summer evening of excellent food and superb craft beers. The sun was blazing hot when we arrived, so we opted to eat at the bar inside and enjoy one of the brewery’s IPAs–both hoppy and flavorful.
Afterwards, we took a couple of different samplings out to the large deck and yard area and discovered they grow their own hops! Their website states, they craft “real American beer inspired by thousands of years of tradition but not limited by convention.”
It shows in the four different taps we tried.
Photo by P.C. Zick – The hops grow in the shadows of the Appalachian chain of mountains at Blue Mountain Brewery
We sat in Adirondack chairs in the yard and watched folks play cornhole. The clouds played peek-a-boo with the setting sun.
And as they’ve done for millions of years, the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains oversaw yet another day settling over the lush valley of Virginia.
Photo by P.C. Zick – View of the mountains from the yard at Blue Mountain Brewery.
Visit Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, Virginia –
9519 Critzers Shop Road Afton, Virginia
Monday – Saturdays: 11-10pm / Sunday: 11-9pm
P.C. ZICK 