If it’s Tasting Tuesday, you know the Winchester Brewery Tour (a.k.a. Winchester Food Tour… Taste Winchester History... “The Tour People“) are going to be dropping in on a usually unsuspecting establishment to a live segment on Facebook (we’re @tastewinchesterva on Facebook), and today we were at Alesatian Brewing Company on the Old Town Walking Mall to sample some craft brews, talk about the Beer and Cider Tours and whatever else comes to mind, as always! And one of the things failed to mention during the live segment, the weather this coming weekend for both Saturday and Sunday is supposed to be absolutely outstanding! If you’ve been waiting for “perfect” weather to join us on either tour, now is the time to make the move and book! Still have openings on both days!
In today’s segment we talk about our History & Hops Beer and Cider Tours. We also discuss and you can read more in depth about our Taste Winchester History Private Tours, simply click on that link.
As for the beer tasting today, we had a selection of three brews to wash down our orders of mozzarella cheese sticks which were ordered from downstairs at Roma Old Town. They were:
- Pizza Bier – A tried and true American Amber Ale that seems to pair well with everything on the menu and is one of their most popular selections. Described from the menu as “A perfect marriage of handcrafted food and brew, clean and well balanced with notes of bread and caramel sweetness, resulting in a smooth finish.”
- Byrne Irish Red Ale – “A tribute to St. Paddy’s Day, an interpretation of Ireland’s most popular beers.” It’s really a classic red Irish Ale.
- Moose Dunkel – (Dunkelweizen) “A German style dark wheat beer with light banana and clove esters, with a malty sweetness that hits the palate like a knuckle sandwich.” Don’t be misled by the description, it’s not as heavy as it sounds. It’s a very drinkable German-style beer that will have you coming back for more!
There is a history of sorts associated with Alesatian and its proprietor, Caleb Ritenour. The Ritenour lineage goes back at least the 1500s in France, and the legacy of Alesatian flows from the mountains and farms of the Alsace-Lorraine region along the border with Germany, where tastes emerge from a bold mix of cultures and traditions. It is the ancestral homeland of the Ritenour family of Stephens City Virginia, brewers of Alesatian. And if you visit their website linked just below the video, you can learn more about their story.
Alesatian Brewing Co. hosts plenty of events including, but not limited to Saturday Beer Brunch in cooperation with Roma Old Town. They have Trivia Nights. They have Vinyl Nights where they spin the discs old style. And other events, too! They also host private parties, special occasions, and more.
So as a review, you should know that our guests enjoy the opportunity to hear about the significance of the walking mall historic buildings you’ve walked by before; hear about the people that made Winchester grow and prosper; learn some unique information about the history of beer in Virginia and essentially the birth of the beer industry in the “New World”; and learn about some of the radical changes in architecture along the Old Town Walking Mall.
All along the way guests get to sample beer and cider from the newest breweries and perhaps some other beer and cider peddlers along the way. We also share with you the stories behind the brewers and the beer/cider along with the owners and staff during our stroll through and around Old Town Winchester. All of the food and beer/cider is included in the tour price!
We cover more about our Private Tours and dispel the notion that while we may be listed as “closed” during the week, we’re open if your private group would like us to be! All you have to do is call, write, email, instant message with as much advanced notice as you can give us. We are simply listed as “open” on Saturday and Sunday because that’s when we operate our standard recurring tours, every Saturday and Sunday. If you book, we’re there, it’s really that simple! But if we can get the logistics set with our tour partners (either food or beer/cider), we can tour any day of the week!
Our first private tour occurred last week on a Wednesday afternoon and was tons of fun and a great success, as all of our tours have been. No crash-and-burns yet! We talk about it at length in the video, but we had months’ worth of advance notice just by a stroke of good fortune. (We’ll try to put something together no matter how much or how little notice we get, we will always try our best). We had 21 tour guests, visited four stops, rolled out our “beer history quiz” for the group and gave the very lovely Taste Winchester History oversized beer mugs inscribed with our logo to the top 3! As always, tons of laughter while learning about the history of beer in Virginia and Colonial Times and more. And if you want to hear about all of this, here is your video:
Alesatian Brewing Company
21 North Loudoun Street
Winchester,VA22601
540-667-2743
@AlesatianBrewing on Facebook
Also, please check us out, follow our website; like us, share us, follow us via social media at Taste Winchester History on Facebook;  And of course, check us out on Instagram as well at Taste Winchester History on Instagram.