About

The Charlottesville Ale Trail is a volunteer-led 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization.

Mission

The primary objective of the Charlottesville Ale Trail is to promote our member breweries, cideries, distilleries, and meaderies in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. 

History

Even though there has always been great interest from our local breweries to create a beer trail in Charlottesville, the effort to form one had stalled in the past because there wasn’t an independent third-party to operate it. In the spring of 2018, a website promoting all of the events at breweries in Charlottesville and surrounding counties caught the attention of the Economic Development Office of Charlottesville. The website, named appropriately charlottesville.beer, was created by a local digital agency, Storyware.

During the summer of 2018, the Economic Development Office of Charlottesville brought all of the parties together to finally form the Charlottesville Ale Trail. The founding breweries consisted of Brasserie Saison, Champion Brewing Company, Hardywood Pilot Brewery & Taproom, Random Row Brewing Co., South Street Brewery and Three Notch'd Craft Brewery and Kitchen. Storyware’s partners, Todd Wickersty and Page Wood, volunteered as the co-directors and a representative from the Economic Development Office of Charlottesville filled out the initial board of directors.

In September of 2018, the Charlottesville Ale Trail held it's first official event to celebrate the launch of the trail and in the winter of 2019, the Charlottesville Ale Trail officially became a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization.

During the summer of 2022, the Charlottesville Ale Trail expanded beyond beer and the city limits of Charlottesville with its newest members: Mount Ida Reserve, Potter's Craft Cider, Reason Beer, Ragged Branch Distillery, Selvedge Brewing, Starr Hill Crozet, and Vitae Spirits. 

Last, but not least, the Ale Trail's goal is to donate a portion of our revenue each year to charitable organizations from our community. As of 2024, we have donated to the following non-profits:

• PACEM
• International Rescue Committee
• C-will

Members

Members pay a nominal annual fee to be a part of the Charlottesville Ale Trail, which is used to support our mission.

Current Members
Decipher Brewing, Devils Backbone Backyard, Eastwood Farm + Winery, Högwaller Brewing, North American Sake Brewery, Potter's Craft Cider, Random Row Brewing Co., Rockfish Brewery, Selvedge Brewing, South Street Brewery, Starr Hill Brewery, SuperFly Brewing Co., Tasting Room + Tap House at Mount Ida Reserve, Thistlerock Mead Company, Three Notch'd Craft Kitchen + Brewery, Vitae Sprits Downtown 

Executive Director
Todd Wickersty

Board of Directors
Catie Ardito, Tasting Room + Taphouse at Mount Ida Reserve
Megan Burton, Decipher Brewing
Justin Butler, Three Notch'd Craft Kitchen & Brewery
Cori Campbell, Random Row Brewing Co.
Chris Gregoria, Devils Backbone Brewery
Lauren Guerra, Potter's Craft Cider
Ashley Hernandorena, Albemarle County Economic Development Office
Matt Johnson, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Development
Peter McMindes, Rockfish Brewing Company
Chris Ridder, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Vistors Bureau
Allison Rowell, South Street Brewery
Leo Shultz, Vitae Spirits
Nate Winston, Community Member

Board Officers
President – Peter McMindes
Vice President – Cori Campbell
Treasurer – Megan Burton
Secretary – Allison Rowell

Founders
Jason Ness
Todd Wickersty
Page Wood