Strangeways Brewing will invest more than $2.5 million over the next three years to expand its operations to the City of Fredericksburg.
Founded in Henrico County in 2013, Strangeways Brewing is the largest producer of sour and wild beers in the Commonwealth, according to Governor Terry McAuliffe. More than 100,000 Virginians and tourists from around the world visit the brewery each year, he said.
Strangeways will open a new brewery at 350 Lansdowne Rd. in Fredericksburg, to complement its current facility in Henrico County. It will include a tasting room, event space, arcade, outdoor beer garden, and equipment to increase production capacity for its award-winning craft beer.
McAuliffe was joined by Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Senator Bryce Reeves, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Basil Gooden, and Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority Chairperson Amy LaMarca for the announcement Thursday afternoon, Sept. 29. Virginia successfully competed against North Carolina for the project, which will create 27 new jobs in Fredericksburg.
Strangeways Brewing owner Neil Burton was born in Virginia and raised in Fredericksburg. “It was early on in our plans to expand into my hometown,” he said. Burton is a 1987 graduate of the city’s James Monroe High School.
Strangeways was twice rated Virginia’s Best Brewery Taproom by RateBeer.com users, listed by Bon Appétit magazine as one of “10 New U.S. Breweries to Watch, from D.C. to California”, and noted in Southern Living magazine as one of the “South’s Best Breweries.”
Strangeways currently distributes throughout central Virginia. Its new production facility will allow the company to continue to meet the growing demand from its existing markets, as well as enter new ones, Burton said. Strangeways will continue to operate and invest in its Henrico facility.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) worked with City of Fredericksburg and the company to secure the expansion for Virginia. Governor McAuliffe approved a $150,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund, which Fredericksburg will match with local funds.
