Williamsburg surrounding areas

W'Burg is right at an hour from both Richmond and Va Beach. Both have a solid brewery scene. I am closer to Richmond so that would be my biased but coming from PA, you may enjoy being near the beach. Whatever you decide let us know and we will point you in the right direction

You have probably made note of the Williamsburg spots but you have Williamsburg AleWerks and Brass Cannon Brewery. Both are a few miles from one another. And then Hair of the DoG bottle shop is right next to Dog Street Pub. Same owners and both great!

 

Yep he covered it, there are several good spots in Williamsburg but its pretty limited.

 

Another good bottle shop is the Wine Seller .

 

Hampton roads will be about 45 minutes to an hour away from Williamsburg. A straight shot down I-64. There is quite a budding scene down here. Virginia Beach and Norfolk will be your best options.

Breweries I'd suggest: O'Connor, Smartmouth, Reaver Beach, Big Ugly (Chesapeake, VA), and Back Bay.

Grape and Gourmet is in Virginia Beach and is the best bottle shop in Hampton Roads. There are also three Total Wine locations in the area.

Everything in Norfolk is closer together while VA Beach is a bit more spread out. The beach is awesome this time of year as well.

 

Pretty awesome that the 'Burg has multiple legit breweries and an actual bottle shop now. When I was there for school the only real "craft" around was whatever was on offer at the Leafe like St. George IPA or stuff like that. I remember we used to keep Legend's Brown or Lager on the kegerator all the time too. Good times.

 

Also Green Leaf Cafe.

Plus, if you're up for a trip to Chesapeake, there's a bottle share today at 1 at Big Ugly Brewery. Supposed to be pretty good brews. Lots of great BAs attend. Amazing selections that people bring. Heady, PtE, Bruery days of week, FFF, Hill Farmstead, Cigar City, Jack's Abbey, New Glarus, we've had it all and much more.

 

The bottle share at Big Ugly actually starts at 4:30 today . They are open to the public from 12 - 4 .

 

Doing the family thing. Will have to miss.

 

if you're driving, you will be going through Richmond, so it would be silly not to make a stop or two on the way (Once Upon a Vine, Hardywood, Ardent, Strangeways, Legend, and Triple Crossing are all not far off the interstate). if you're driving from Williamsburg, i'd still say Richmond, both because it's more of a target-rich environment and you will not be taking a chance with bridge-tunnel traffic. also, as previously stated, the VB stuff is really spread out, so some places are nearly an hour away from each other.

 

Depends on when you're making that trip - anytime near rush hour, especially on a Friday or depending on what time during the weekend that trip could easily be 2 hours.

I agree on everything else here. G&G is a top 5 bottle shop in the US on RateBeer. O'Connor has an awesome facility for a hangout and lots of good people. I dig SmartMouth's beers second only to Alewerks in the Hampton Roads area (and they're minutes from O'Connor). The beach is fun, but I've been underwhelmed with most of the brews from that part of town (not to call anyone out).

I'd definitely suggest Richmond stops before Hampton Roads if you're driving through RVA on the way to Williamsburg.

The last time I went to Green Leafe it was so bad I'd discourage anyone from going there. It is a shell of its former self. If you're walking by, pop in and see what's on tap, but it is nothing like it was even 5 years ago (this makes me very sad). Dog St. Pub beats it hands down in basically every way.

And thank you for the info of that bottle share. I'm almost never down that way these days but that's awesome to know for such a young place.

 

I third the RVA stops, and if you have an opportunity to time out your drive through here, you can start with Center of the Universe in Ashland right off exit 89, then swing down to Hardywood for next stop. You'll be in the neighborhood of Growlers to Go, which will likely have plenty of local stuff on tap that you may not have a chance to get to, or at least get a taste of a few breweries you'd plan on missing in lieu of visiting others.