Reason to Celebrate

July 1st 2012 is a date that may prove to be decisive in the history of brewing in Virginia. That was the date when a law came into effect which allowed breweries to sell pints of their products in their tasting rooms. The main reason it may prove to be decisive is that I am fairly sure we will now see a flourishing in the numbers of small breweries opening up and taking advantage of the law to build a following without having the hassle of distribution to deal with straight off the bat.

One such brewery is opening its doors to the public on Saturday, the first of several that I am aware of in the Charlottesville area. Beer Hound Brewery is the brainchild of one of the members of the homebrew club I go to, and owner of a local homebrew shop - Fermentation Trap. Beer Hound is located in Barboursville, about 15 miles north(ish) of Charlottesville, just off the main highway that runs through the area, Route 29, which runs from Baltimore in Maryland to Pensacola, Florida.

The brewery is based in the same location as the homebrew shop, and they have a nice bar where you can try the 8 beers they will have available, which on Saturday will be:

• Archie- American Brown Ale
• Scottie- Scottish 60/-
• Teufelhunde- Belgian Abbey Blonde
• Fang- Oatmeal Stout
• Kujo- Rabid Pale Ale
• Olde Yella- American Pale Wheat
• Scrappy Doo- Marzen Oktoberfest
• Winston- Root Beer

As you can see from the names there is something of a canine going on here, that's because Kenny, the brewer, and his wife love dogs and it is pretty normal to see their dog at the shop. One thing that is interesting to note in that list is a 60/- Scottish ale, a new brewery doing a session beer? I like the sound of that and will hopefully be able to get over there on Saturday to try the beers. Given that Beer Hound is on the opposite side of town from most of the breweries, it is effectively Mrs V and I's local brewery now.

Hopefully in the near future I can impose on Kenny to do the Brewer of the Week interview, in the meantime I am looking forward to trying the beers and welcoming another brewery to the area! You can follow Beer Hound on Twitter at @BeerHoundBrewer or on their Facebook page which I linked to above.

Picture credit: not mine, taken from Beer Hound's Facebook page.