What's On Tap, Charlottesville, Va. - Beer Run

by Mike Pomranz, Posted Sep 2nd 2009 @ 3:00PM

Image: BeerRun.com

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Central Virginia may not sound like the place to find a great beer bar. And as home of the University of Virginia, where thrifty college students are more apt to ask for inexpensive macrobrews, Charlottesville, Va., would seem to have two strikes against it for beer connoisseurs. Maybe that explains why Beer Run has stood out, earning national praise during the less than 2 years it's been open.

"The concept was originally just doing a bottle shop," says co-owner John Woodriff. But financial concerns led them to selling draft beer, which "opened a can of worms."

State laws required Beer Run to add food service and things quickly snowballed. "We were up early in the morning to make fresh bread for our sandwiches, so we morphed into an espresso bar and coffee shop," explains Woodriff. "Things got kinda wild."

Take a peek at the 14 beers Beer Run currently has on draft after the jump.

Wild is good. Patrons can get breakfast, lunch or dinner at Beer Run, as well as take out growlers, full kegs and, of course, bottles. Plus, Beer Run regularly sponsors tasting events, live music, pint nights. ... Heck, there really isn't much you can't do at Beer Run!

But beer is still the top priority, especially on draft. "We question the retailers early on and find what they might have that's interesting, different, or in extremely limited qualities, and then go for those."

Put simply, Woodriff says they're just looking for "good beer and also something a little bit different" -- though they still keep PBR on draft for the college kid in all of us.

Bud Light
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Duck-Rabbit Schwartzbier
Bear Republic Double Aught Pilsner
Allagash White Belgian-Style Witbier
Schneider Weisse Hefeweizenbier
Starr Hill Love Hefeweizen
Speakeasy Big Daddy India Pale Ale
Williamsburg AleWerks Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Amber
Brooklyn Brewery's Brewmaster's Reserve Sorachi Ace
Blue Mountain Nitro Imperial Porter
Guinness Stout
Bluegrass Brewing's Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout
Southern Tier Crème Brûlée Imperial Stout

Filed Under: Lists, What's On Tap?, Drink Recipes, Drinks
Tags: beer, beer run, bottle shop, draft beer, university of virginia, virginia

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-02-2009 @10:24PM big mike said... c'ville was home to va's first beer bar, michael's bistro opened in 1994. c;ville has always been on the cutting edge of the craft micro revolution since. Beer run has become the mecca but there are many other players. look up the harris teeter next to UVA on beer advocate or wine ware house. the mellow mushroom has kept it down with thirty eight taps for almost ten years on the UVA corner. 12th street tavern has 15 taps, the horse and the hound 12 taps all high end imports and select craft. YOU NEED TO SPEND MORE TIME IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, the the home to three great breweries a ton of wineries and the best restaurants the state. I have a feeling that the first years at uva might know as much about craft as you do. Hit me back ill give you a tour,
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9-03-2009 @11:44AM Mike Pomranz said... Hey Big Mike! Though I assure you the statement that "the first years at uva might know as much about craft as you do" is not true, I would LOVE to spend more time in Charlottesville! Thanks for the VA info. Let's be in touch!
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9-04-2009 @6:32AM big mike said... The whole piont is that c'ville has a very mature craft market. When beer media comes to va. They never go further than Nova or the capital ale houses in Richmond. It's great that the beer run is staring to bring more attention to the scene hear in Charlottesville that has been long over looked.
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