Three men standing in a room with a screen displaying text and images, with bottles and chairs in the foreground.

About Us

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 and cideries 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.

Charlottesville Ale Trail brewers

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. 

Charitable Donations

Starting in 2023, the Ale Trail has given a total of $2,000 towards the following charities.

Charlottesville Ale Trail team

Membership

Craft Beverage Members pay a nominal annual fee to be a part of the Charlottesville Ale Trail, which is used to support our mission. Craft Beverage Members must have a physical location (e.g. taproom, tasting room, production facility) AND produce either beer, cider, sake, spirits, or mead within the city of Charlottesville, Virginia or Albemarle County, Virginia.

Current Members

92 Acres
Decipher Brewing
Eastwood Farm + Winery
Glass House Winery + Brewery
Högwaller Brewing
North American Sake Brewery
Potter's Craft Cider
Random Row Brewing Co.
Rockfish Brewery
Selvedge Brewing
Starr Hill Brewery
SuperFly Brewing Co.
Tasting Room + Tap House at Mount Ida Reserve
Three Notch'd Craft Kitchen + Brewery
Virginia Wine Collective

Executive Director

Todd Wickersty
todd@charlottesvillealetrail.org

Board of Directors

Catie Ardito, Tasting Room + Taphouse at Mount Ida Reserve
Megan Burton, Decipher Brewing
Cori Campbell, Random Row Brewing Co.
Lauren Guerra, Potter's Craft Cider
Ashley Hernandorena, Albemarle County Economic Development Office
Matt Johnson, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Development
Ed Lynch, Three Notch'd Brewing
Peter McMindes, Rockfish Brewing Company
Chris Ridder, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Vistors Bureau
Allison Rowell, Community Member
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