E-Malt.com News article: USA, VI: Blue Mountain Barrel House and Organic Brewery opens in Nelson County

Blue Mountain Barrel House and Organic Brewery, a 10,000-square-foot production-only facility, started brewing its first line of beers April 3, just a few days after construction was completed, owner Taylor Smack was quoted as saying by The Daily Progress on April, 15.

The facility will package beer in cans, draft and 750-milliliter bottles, which are the same size as a champagne or wine bottle.

“My goal is to make the most unique and best beer in Virginia,” Smack said. “This is really my dream. Afton was the first part of my dream and it worked.”

The new facility is a branch of the Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, owned by Smack, his wife, Mandi Smack, and Matt Nucci. Blue Mountain Brewery, established in 2007, was the first brewery in Nelson County, helping to start a growing industry.

The new facility is run by Smack, his wife and his parents. It pays royalties to Blue Mountain Brewery, which allows the use of the company’s name and cross brewing some of the varieties such as Dark Hollow Artisan Ale, creating more than 30 varieties between the two companies, Smack said.

Not all of the varieties can be purchased year-round. Some are seasonal and some are only sold at the Afton brewery.

“It’s a neat cross-over,” Smack said.

Blue Mountain Barrel House will make 13 lines of beers — some are popular varieties from Afton and others are new. It takes between two and three weeks to brew ales and between four to six weeks to brew lagers. Six of the brewery’s ales are barrel aged, meaning they spend about six months in a barrel to enhance the flavors. All of the beers are ones Smack tried before but some still were in the experimental stages, he said.

One of the reasons for the new facility was to help meet the demand for the product.

“Some of our brands were filling less than 20 percent of the orders,” he said. “We’re trying to meet that.”

The Afton brewery makes about 2,500 barrels a year. The new facility will start production at about 3,500 barrels annually, but will increase to about 10,000 barrels within three to four years. A regular keg is considered a half-barrel, Smack said.

The increased production allows the brewery to sell outside of Virginia for the first time. The beer will be sold in Maryland, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

“People will be drinking Nelson County beer far from home finally,” he said.

Smack has until June 2015 before he has to develop or sell the land back to the county.

Smack said he fell in love with the Colleen site in 2004 when he and his partners were trying to find a location for the first brewery.

“We love Nelson County,” Smack said. “It’s been very good to us. I don’t think it would be the same if it was not in Nelson County.”

Until recently, breweries were unable to have a tasting room and sell their beer on site. The beer had to be sold in a restaurant, which is why the Afton location is able to sell it. On April 4, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a bill into law that allows breweries to have tasting rooms.

Smack plans to build a tasting room at the Colleen location so people can enjoy a beer while looking at the mountains, just like they can in Afton.

He hopes to have the brewery certified organic within the year. To become certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Smack must ensure the ingredients he uses meet the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, which lists the synthetic and non-synthetic substances allowed in the production and handling operations.

Maureen Kelley, director of economic development and tourism for Nelson County, said she is excited the facility was built in Colleen.

“In addition to creating approximately 50 new jobs for the county, Blue Mountain Brewery will further enhance the already strong beverage business cluster with the addition of these operations,” she said.


18 April, 2012