WAYNESBORO, VIRGINIA — The pool table is in place and the beer is brewed as staff at Basic City Beer Company prepare for their grand opening this weekend.
The old Virginia Metalcrafters building has been transformed into a brewery while keeping part of its historic personality.
Brothers Bart, Chris and Joe Lanman are co-founders of Basic City Beer Company. Bart has lived in Waynesboro for 14 years, Chris moved from Missouri and Joe lives in North Carolina. The brothers decided on a brewery. After they visited Virginia breweries, they quickly decided to open one in the Valley. Once they saw the Virginia Metalcrafters building, they were sold. “The windows were broken,” Bart described. “There was dirt and dust. It sat empty for 10 years and it was a mess.” The brothers looked beyond the mess and saw a diamond in the rough.
“The first reason was to restore a historical building,” Bart said. “Also it’s on the neglected side of town. Often breweries move to neglected parts of town. Five to eight years later it creates economic development. It brings people and the area around it progresses.” They started conceptualizing the project two years ago and demolition started about one year ago.
Bart described the brewery’s look as “industrial but polished.” They kept many of the original parts of the Virginia Metalcrafters building and integrated it into the design. For example, the chandeliers are made out of the old electrical pipes. The table legs, table tops, tap tower and more are all made of reused materials from the old building. Bart hung photography he took of textures in the building.
“Pipes beams can be creative and put together on a budget,” he said of the design. “But also bring very unique aesthetics that are your own.” Often, everything people want and need is available Bart said; they just have to look at things in front of them.
At any given time, Bart said they can make 53,000 pints of beer. Jacque Landry is their brewer with 20 years of brewery experience.
Bart said their beers stand out due to their solid foundation with a twist of flavor. Beers that will be on tap for their opening include: Foggy Lager, Advanced-DIPA, N&W Porter, B.R.T. Stout, Oopsproch Lager and The 6th Lord-IPA.
Along with the vibe of Basic City Beer Company, the brothers hope the brewery will “reclaim the spirit of an age.”
“Basic City was a boom town in the 1890s; anything could happen and the American dream was intact,” Bart said. “We believe if you work hard and are passionate you can still make it happen.”
Basic City Beer Company is at 1010 E. Main Street in Waynesboro. For more information, visit their Facebook page “Basic City Beer Co.” or website at basiccitybeer.com.
Source: The News Virginian. Read more.
