Water, grain, hops, yeast—look at the basic ingredients for beer and you’d think it’s a relatively green industry. But the truth is, brewing is an energy and water intensive process. Growing grain and hops usually entails the use of pesticides. Bottling the beer in cans and 12-ounce bottles demands resources. Shipping the beer from the [...]

The Blue Ridge foothills of Central Virginia have long  boasted an abundance of wineries with thousands of acres of vineyards. But recently booze cultivators in the region are bucking the sour grapes in favor of barley and hops. A network of breweries in close proximity are part of the new Brew Ridge Trail near Charlottesville, [...]

If you’ve enjoyed a quality microbrew in the last 30 years, you need to thank former president Jimmy Carter. In 1978, Carter repealed an outdated federal law that made home brewing illegal, lifting the prohibition and clearing the way for thousands of Americans to brew their own beer, a step that fostered a craft brew [...]