Month: September 2016

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA — Governor Terry McAuliffe announced yesterday that the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail received $50,000 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program grant fund.

The objectives of the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail initiative are to use the experience of craft beer as a driver for new visits, to co-promote the Valley’s amazing outdoor and tourism assets, and leverage the power of a collective advertising and outreach program.

“We are very excited about this grant, because we can greatly expand how we promote our region. The Shenandoah Valley’s craft beer scene is likely to continue in its expansion and with it we expect to see continued growth of the craft beer market as a pull for visitors,” said Sheryl Wagner, spokesperson for the Trail.

“We see this as a strategic tourism investment that builds off the booming craft beer industry,” adds Wagner.

“We want to give travelers a new reason to choose our region as their preferred destination, visit the local breweries, taste the great beer we have on tap, and then go back to their communities and spread the word about us a fun destination.”

“Research tells us that today’s visitors desire authentic, interactive experiences combined with multiple-destination proximity. We think the Beerwerks Trail provides a new way showcase one of the fastest growing attractions in our market to a slightly younger demographic – who also love the great outdoors, music festivals, farmer’s markers, and exploring vibrant, walkable main street communities,” says Wagner.

“Tourists may initially choose to come for the brewery experience, but they’ll also explore our region, eat in our local restaurants and stay overnight. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

The grant will help support targeted print, digital, and social media marketing of the trail over the next fiscal year.

A collaborative group of destination marketing organizations partnered to apply for the $50,000 grant and supply matching funds for the project. They are the City of Staunton, Augusta County, the City of Waynesboro, Harrisonburg Tourism, and Lexington & The Rockbridge Area Tourism.

In total, VTC awarded $927,000 for 43 tourism marketing projects across the state to help increase visitation and revenue for Virginia’s localities through tourism. The grants are designed to help local and regional tourism entities attract more visitors by leveraging local marketing dollars, and will ultimately impact at least 159 other statewide tourism entities. The local organizations match the state grant funds by a minimum of 2:1 in order to support marketing projects.

Every VTC dollar invested in grants resulted in $16 of direct visitor spending. Marketing campaigns that received Marketing Leverage Grants increased visitation by 15%.

About the VTC Marketing Leverage Program

The VTC Marketing Leverage Program is designed to stimulate new tourism marketing through partnerships by leveraging limited marketing dollars, resulting in increased visitor spending.  A minimum of three entities must partner financially to apply and may consist of Virginia towns, cities, counties, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, other local or regional destination marketing organizations, private businesses, museums, attractions, cultural events, and other not-for-profit entities.

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NATURAL BRIDGE, VA (September 10, 2016) – The newest brewery along the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail, called Great Valley Farm Brewery, will be opening its doors to thirsty visitors in fall 2016.

With breath-taking views, this new brewery is a perfect stop after making family memories visiting nearby attractions in Rockbridge County, such as Virginia Safari Park, Natural Bridge and Caverns, and historic Lexington.

Specializing in small batches of high-quality beers using select ingredients from their own on-site farm, Great Valley Farm Brewery will soon become one of your favorite brewery destinations. Great Valley Farm Brewery has its own on-site vineyard, hop plantings, fruit and herb gardens. The brewery’s owners planted the first portion of their vineyard in 2012 and plan to add wine production and sales in the future. With the addition of hops, fruits, and herbs grown on-site, the Bailey’s are able to create endless flavor combinations.

Owner Nathan Bailey says, “Our core focus will be on creating beers in the Belgian Farmhouse tradition, as well as other Belgian styles. However, we will rotate through a number of different beer styles throughout the year and will have something for everyone.”

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LEXINGTON, VA (September 8, 2016) – On Saturday, September 10, Devils Backbone Brewing Company will welcome cyclists in its first Brewery 2 Brewery ride to benefit the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. This 75-mile recreational ride will start at the Devils Backbone Outpost Brewery & Tap Room (50 North Wind Lane, Lexington) and wind through the Virginia heartland on paved state and county maintained roads, including the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. Cyclists will finish at Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows (200 Mosbys Run, Roseland) where they will be greeted with live music by Mississippi Leg Hound and cold Devils Backbone Daypack beers.

“I’m excited to see people push themselves on this ride,” says Coey Jenkins, Quality Manager at Devils Backbone and an avid biker. “It’s a hard course, but riding up and over is a major accomplishment – fun and high fives is what it’s all about.”

The ride will begin with a rolling start at 8:30 a.m. and all riders must depart by 9 a.m. Registration is $65 and cyclists can register online now. The online route cue sheet is also available. Registered cyclists will receive a $10 voucher for food and drinks, which can also be used to purchase beer for those 21 and older. Three Kroger sponsored rest stops will also be available to riders along the course. Exclusive Devils Backbone club cut jerseys, which feature the Devils Backbone logo, as well as detailed topography maps of Lexington and Roseland regions, are available online for purchase in both men’s and women’s sizes.

Riders can make reservations for a post-ride shuttle that will bring cyclists back to the Outpost Brewery to retrieve their vehicles. Bicycles are not allowed on the shuttle, but a secure bike corral will be set up at Basecamp.

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It’s no secret. Great beers start with great ingredients.

It’s harvest season in the Shenandoah Valley and master brewers along the Beerwerks Trail are feeling inspired by local produce. During the month of September, participating breweries are offering casks of full-flavored beers unique to the Valley’s signature terroir.

The Farm-To-Cask special fall release concept was developed by the breweries as a collaborative initiative designed to add interest along the newly launched beer trail, after Virginia Craft Beer month concluded at the end of August.

The participating brewers along the Beerwerks Trail each selected the ingredients and styles of beer that worked best for them. “Locally available farm-fresh ingredients definitely influenced our master brewers’ decisions,” said Sheryl Wagner, a spokesperson for the Beerwerks Trail.

The Farm-to-Cask releases are only available in September, and feature produce from local farmers, including honey, apples, Asian pears, blackberries, peppers, pumpkins, ginger, and more. Each brewery’s selected special ingredient lends a unique flavor and aroma profile to their cask beer.

“The Shenandoah Valley is nationally-renowned for its beer and its produce, so this is a perfect pairing to showcase the creativity of our breweries,” said Wagner. Listed below are a few of the featured ingredients from the participating breweries.

• Devils Backbone is infusing some of their Striped Bass Pale Ale with local peaches macerated with local honey, and finishing it off with some locally grown Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers.
• Three Notch’d will be tapping a cask of special rye IPA featuring local rye and hops.
• Seven Arrows is brewing an apple lager, and then infusing it with locally grown cascade hops.
• Brothers Craft Brewing is infusing their Fairgrounds Fall pumpkin ale with local hickory syrup and vanilla beans.
• Redbeard Brewing is brewing up some Milk Coffee Stout with locally-grown Carolina Reaper Peppers.
• Blue Lab is offering a Saison cask with brewer-grown hops, Virginia Gold Asian pears, ginger, and blueberries.
• Queen City Brewing is brewing up a Blackberry IPA with local blackberries.
• Stable Craft Brewing is adding peaches and cascade hops to their Harvest Ale, sourced with ingredients entirely from their own farm.
• Pale Fire is offering their Salad Days American Saison, which has been infused with local pineapple sage.

Don’t wait too long to sample these small batches, as the “Farm To Cask” collection of seasonal brews has only a limited availability.  Please see participating brewery websites for more information.

The first releases will debut at Harrisonburg breweries on September 10^th. Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro breweries will start tapping their casks the following weekend on September 17, and on September 24th the breweries in Lexington/Rockbridge will join in the fun.

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