Blue Mountain Brewery – Afton, VA
I love Brewpubs/Breweries so much that I check the time that they open and then I get there early ,just in case, they open even earlier. It’s all about beer drinking efficiencies. It hasn’t happened once, but I really need my Beer Karma to step it up.
I waited in the parking lot for the Blue Mountain Brewery to open. I was on my way back to Ohio from Charlottesville after a business trip ( Or was that just a 600 mile Beer Run… Hmmmm??) Quickly, I plopped down on a bar stool and took a deep breathe… I get excited when I can look across the bar and over the taps and see some 300-barrel fermenters staring at me !! I introduced myself to Tom, the bartender, and he hooked me up with a sampler of beers and I proceeded to dive in.
My next move was grabbing a menu and trying to decide what I needed to fuel my trip back home ( in addition to beer ) and while I really wanted to try the Brat pizza with caramelized onions and apples and local brats from Double H Farm… I went with the Veggie Quesadilla which was a very good choice and it went perfectly with the Pint of Chocolate Pumpkin Porter on Nitro !! Which is a Pumpkin beer unlike most…..They use the Pumpkins as a source of fermentable sugar and don’t try to put a pumpkin pie in a glass. (Best pumpkin beer I’ve had to date for sure!!)
As I eat, I make small talk with Jerry , a frequent customer, who stopped in to fill his 68 oz Blue Mountain Growler …yep, you heard me, 68oz !! It’s not your typical 64oz big time growler. It’s 4 additional ounces of beautiful beer. I guess it’s the closest thing to a baker’s dozen that I can find.
After that little nugget of information, Tom tells me that when I’m done eating I can take a peek in the back where Taylor and Matt (owners/brewers) are in the process of emptying the Mash Tun ( That smell is my own private aphrodisiac.) There’s also a fresh batch of Full Nelson just hitting the brew kettle.
I inhale the last few bites and jump off the bar stool and head back. Both guys are extremely hospitable and let me take some photos and show me around the Brewery. They have been around about 3 years while Taylor has 10 years experience as a brewer for Goose Island and Charlottesville’s own South Street Brewery. They have some nice bourbon barrels over in one corner that just produced “Dark Hollow”- Their tasty Imperial Stout was in the process of its last week of bottle conditioning, so I couldn’t get one at the time. ( I have since landed a bottle from Cowboy Neal and I have to say that it’s absolutely Amazing!)
I didn’t want to bother them as they were working so I headed back out into the dining room/bar which is very open and spacious with a nice brick fireplace at one end and a soft comfortable couch. I could probably spend a couple of hours there, if I had the time.
So now, it’s time to roll… I grab my usual allotment of swag. A t-shirt or three and a beer glass or two and I head out to take peek at the deck and patio area. It must have the most amazing views in the Spring and snowy days. (It was rainy and wet this January day ) Then, it’s time to check out the hop farm. Oh yeah, did I mention they have a hop farm and grow their own !! Very Cool !!
Anyway …back inside I order two of the 68 oz Flip Top growlers — Full Nelson and MacHayden’s Scotch Ale, grab my box-o-goodies and say my farewells… 64 West, here I come (That’s the highway, not another brewery.)
Blue Mountain Brewery exceeded my expectations every step of the way. I won’t hesitate to come back on my way through again!
Seriously, I really can’t wait for my next business trip/ beer run to Charlottesville …
