Blue Ridge Brewing Company

This brewpub was just a few block from the University of Virginia, and so we just had to stop in to sample their wares before returning to our B&B. We had a great time visiting with the staff, talking about brewing and local history. Below is a list of their selections when we were there, along with our impressions of each one.

Hawksbill Lager

A crisp, golden Pilsner-style lager. A little light for both our tastes, but it might be a reasonable lawnmower beer.

Piney River Lager

An amber, malty lager with exceptionally good body for the style. This one was Tami's favorite.

Afton Ale

An amber, hoppy ale - the sharp taste put it a little over the top for us. It was a bit overhopped, and since it lacked the proper malt flavor, the balance of the brew just wasn't there. Still, not a terribly bad beer.

Humpback Stout

A rich, dark stout with a mild sweet taste. More like an English stout than an Irish. As with the Afton Ale, this one lacked a little balance. Since we're not hopheads, it was hard to actually verbalize this assessment: this beer might have benefited with a slightly higher hop presense.

Brewmaster's Special: India Pale Ale

This was a perfect IPA - nice malt flavor, with just the right hop presence to balance it out. Mitchel's hands-down favorite, and he generally does not like IPAs.

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