SHENANDOAH VALLEY, VA (May 16, 2016) – Visiting breweries in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley just got easier. That’s because the area’s first official beer trail launches today, during American Craft Beer Week.
The trail provides an opportunity for tourists and locals to connect with a great craft beer experience. With twelve breweries all located within an hour’s drive from one another, the Shenandoah Valley region is quickly becoming Virginia’s newest beer frontier.
“Craft beer is really gaining momentum in Virginia with over 140 breweries,” said Courtney Cranor, Waynesboro Assistant Director of Economic Development and Tourism. “It’s a market that continues to see robust growth.”
“I think this is a great regional project with tremendous potential. There’s nothing else like it in the Shenandoah Valley, and we’ve tried very hard to differentiate it from other beer trails in the state,” says Sheryl Wagner, Director of Tourism for the City of Staunton. “It’s a natural pairing – we know that craft beer drinkers love the outdoors, and so after a day of hiking, biking and exploring, now they can tap into our local beer culture.”
The Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail pairs the craft beer experience with a combination of activities and attractions that uniquely reflect the region’s recreational and cultural activities.
The trail provides opportunities for past and future visitors to discover everything this region offers. “We’re focusing on creating both a fun and serious beer experience here,” says Cranor.
On the trail’s newly unveiled website (mobile friendly), visitors can quickly plot out a multi-brewery tour and mix their tastings with the tourism experiences that best match their interests. In addition to a print and online ad campaign that launches in June, organizers say that signage will be installed at the breweries to cross-promote the trail, and promotional information will be distributed to Visitor Welcome Centers across the state.
The trail’s breweries include:
- Brothers Craft Brewing (Harrisonburg)
- Pale Fire Brewing Co. (Harrisonburg)
- Seven Arrows Brewing (Fishersville)
- Devils Backbone Outpost Brewery & Tap Room (Rockbridge Co.)
- Stable Craft Brewing (Augusta Co.)
- Redbeard Brewing Company (Staunton)
- Three Notch’d Brewing Company (Harrisonburg)
- Shenandoah Valley Brewing Co. (Staunton)
- Blue Lab Brewing Company (Lexington)
- Wolfe Street Brewing Co. (Harrisonburg)
- Queen City Brewing (Staunton)
- Basic City Beer Co. (Waynesboro, opening this summer)
Tourism officials in the region have been studying the potential of the trail since 2014. The project was developed to promote the Valley’s growing craft beer industry and showcase the region’s natural tie-in with compatible tourism offerings.
“We couldn’t be happier with this partnership,” says Wagner, speaking of the multiple-locality effort behind the trail. Tourism partners in the cities of Staunton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, and Waynesboro as well as the counties of Augusta and Rockbridge jointly developed the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail.
More details about the trail can be found at beerwerkstrail.com.
Trail updates and news can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Photos and trail map available by request.
