| Brothers Craft Brewing 800 North Main Street | Harrisonburg, VA 22802 (540) 421-6599 brotherscraftbrewing.com |
Brothers Craft Brewing (originally Three Brothers Brewing) was founded by three siblings in their hometown of Harrisonburg, Virginia. The taproom and brewery are located in a renovated soda bottling plant on North Main Street. Production began in December 2012, and they are currently brewing in a 15-barrel brew house.
As of April 2015, the brothers decided to rename and rebrand the business as Brothers Craft Brewing. The decision was motivated by a minor legal issue concerning another craft brewery located outside of Virginia.
If the Three Brothers name would have remained, future distribution would have been limited to the Virginia state lines. While Brothers Craft Brewing currently only distributes along Interstate 81 and Richmond, this would have inhibited future growth.
The brewery has taken a positive approach to this rebranding by saying, “Why limit the brotherhood to three?” The new name represents the brewery’s growth and direction.
If you visit, the taproom features 10 rotating drafts including Flagships and more experimental creations. The beers on tap during my visit included…
- Great Outdoors – a 4.8% ABV Virginia Ale that is crisp, clean and refreshing.
- Drift – a 5.0% ABV Session IPA.
- Belgian Blonde – a 7.5% ABV Belgian-style Ale.
- Slide – a 5.0% ABV Scotch Ale.
- Pilsnerd – a 4.6% ABV Southern German Pilsner.
- Hoptimization – a 7.1% ABV big American IPA with citrusy aroma and serious bite.
- Admiral – an 8.3% ABV big, bold Double IPA that’s sure to command attention.
- Elementary – a 5.8% ABV Robust Porter.
- Rum Barrel Dubbel – a 10% ABV Belgian Dubbel Aged in Rum Barrels.
- AL(E)S SUCK(S) – a 6.5% ABV IPL.
- Pilot Batch: Falconer’s Flight – 6.5% ABV Small Batch IPA.
Beers are available in a 5-ounce sample pour, a full pour (10, 16, or 20-ounce depending on style), and growler fills to go. Flights of 5 beers can be purchased for $8. Soda and bottled water are also available for $1.
Some other interesting beers to watch out for from Brothers Craft Brewing include Daylight Cravings, a Maple Coffee Breakfast Stout; Eight Bells, a Blueberry French Toast Ale; Five Pound Fall Ale, a Community-Sourced Pumpkin Ale; and Smooth Sailor, a Barrel-Aged Vanilla Porter.
Many beers are also available in cans and bottles to go. During my visit, Great Outdoors, Hoptimization, Pilsnerd, and Good Adweiss were available in 6-packs. Space Heater and Polar Bier were available in 22-ounce bottles. Drift and Admiral were available in 4-packs and the BBA Barleywine was in 12-ounce bottles to go.
If you visit, Brothers Craft Brewing often has live music and food trucks. They also have trivia nights. Check out the event page to see other upcoming events including the 1st Annual Shenandoah Valley Summer Solstice Festival on June 20 and a beer dinner with Local Chop and Grill House on July 31.
If you find yourself in Harrisonburg, don’t miss Brothers Craft Brewing. The people are friendly, the vibe is comfortable, and the beers are quite tasty. The taproom is open Monday 6-10 PM, Thursday and Friday 4-11PM, Saturday 12-11pm, and Sunday 12:30-8PM. Tours of the facility take place on Saturdays from 12-2 PM.
