Thanks for checking out the humble beginnings of our brewery’s website! In the coming weeks, months, and years we will be adding a plethora of content about who we are, what kind of business we’re building, and most importantly, what kind of beers we’ll be brewing. We’re excited to share the details of The Virginia Beer Company’s background with you!
The Virginia Beer Company technically started in August 2012 when co-founders Chris Smith & Robby Willey finally settled on a name for their dream company. Though truth be told we think it was Chris’s wife, Erin, who pushed things along that fateful day. We quickly submitted the paperwork to establish The Virginia Beer Company, LLC with the powers that be who take care of those kinds of things. That said, it’s safe to say the idea of starting a brewery started long before 2012, going all the way back to when we met at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. That meeting led to numerous beer samplings during our twilight years at W&M, and started a passion for surveying the country for the best craft beer out there. The two of us spent our years after graduation living in different cities, but when there was an excuse we picked a city, found a brewery (or three), chose a craft beer bar (or twelve), and made the most of our time together sampling and discussing (see: arguing about) our favorite beers. Homebrewing eventually became an additional pastime, and then one summer the revelation hit: we love good beer, why can’t we do that for a living?! Again we think it was Erin who pushed this point across that other fateful day!
Long discussions and a lot of research ensued but the end result was that we wanted to start a brewery and were willing to do whatever we could to make that dream a reality. The first big decision was made: we wanted to open in Williamsburg, VA where we first met and where the love affair for this amazing libation called beer started. Forward to 2012 with the registration of our brewery name, and later that year Chris & Erin relocated to Williamsburg; Robby followed in early 2014 and here we are, working full time to build our very own craft brewery!
There’s a lot more to the story than that but needless to say we have plenty of blog space to fill! We look forward to sharing all the great beer adventures that led us to our decision to open Virginia Beer Co.; all the research we’ve done to learn the ins and outs of the craft beer world; and most importantly where we stand with brewery build out and what you can expect going forward. We’re stoked to bring you details on our brewery and taproom, our team, how we’re coming along and of course, when we’ll be sharing our brews with the rest of the world! So cheers for taking the time to check out our first update, and cheers to talking about (and trying) some good beers in the not-too-distant future!