The Beer Road

Some brotherly love and plenty of hard work among three brothers in Harrisonburg means some standout beers for the rest of us.  Three Brothers Brewing, based in an renovated soda bottling plant right on Main Street in the Shenandoah Valley city, began with three to four core brews late last year and has now grown to ten well developed beers.  For Adam, Jason, and Tyler Shifflett, who grew up near Harrisonburg, the growth seems to have come quickly, with a beautiful tasting room now in operation in the same building and the recent signing of a distribution contract for the greater Roanoke area.  A recent trip to the brewery and tasting room, where those ten brews are on tap routinely every weekend, revealed the beer has certainly not suffered from any growth spurts – every one of them is well developed and flavorful, from the Amber Ale, with its slight bend towards a more malty side, to the Admiral Imperial IPA, an unfiltered, citrusy hop cannon of a beer.

One interesting observation is that many of Three Brothers’ beers hover near sessionable levels of alcohol content.  The Oatmeal Stout (4.9%), Tri Brathair Scottish Ale (4.0%), Amber (5.5%), Great Outdoors Pale Ale (4.8%), and the Coffee Breath Brown Ale with local coffee added (3.8%) are all solid beers that you could keep in the fridge regularly and enjoy with friends without one completely wiping out your evening.  While specific goals based upon abv% levels might not have been the primary motivation behind these beers, being able to offer these types of tasty, go to beers was certainly a goal for the brewery.  After tasting many of them in the tasting room, none of them sacrifices flavor for anything else.

The brewery has already gained some attention from mainstream media, as Southern Living featured them in their “Daily South” column in March.  But no matter how much growth or recognition Adam and his brothers gain, it is doubtful they will forget their roots – they fully embrace where they are from, and give back to the community whenever possible.  The brewery holds a monthly “Cask For A Cause” event, with proceeds going to a different local charity each month.

Tomorrow, on August 1^st – #IPAday no less – the craft beer curious in Roanoke will get a chance to try out a few of the brothers’ beer at a Tap Takeover event at Jack Brown’s downtown.  This will be just the first of two appearances coming up in Roanoke for Three Brothers – they will also make their Microfestivus debut this year when the festival rolls around on August 10.  Come out to both and support this growing local brewery, and taste some of their delicious beer!  Cheers!

Please visit the brewery’s website here.

~ by thebeerroad on July 31, 2013.

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