all right you're in days drive series
continues today and this time we take
you to Rosalyn Virginia at the base of
wintergreen Mountain and we're gonna
explore a brewery that has become so
much more than just a place to drink
beer yeah that's right
Devil's Backbone base camp and meadows
provides not only great beer but also a
place where you can enjoy delicious food
experience outdoor fun and adventure and
take in the beautiful setting that's
tucked in a valley on a hundred acres
surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains
it sounds gorgeous and each visit you're
sure to discover there balute brewing up
something new
[Applause]
[Music]
here on nearly 100 acres in Nelson
County you'll find Devil's Backbone
Basecamp root pub and meadows but this
brewery is about more than just beer
this site has become a destination you
literally have to drive to us or in our
very rural environment we sit on 92
acres we have folks that come as far as
Ohio Pennsylvania West Virginia North
Carolina they are getting in their car
in the morning they literally drive here
and spend a few hours and then they
return back home that's that's amazing
to me the dedication of determination to
come here and experience Devil's
Backbone ten years ago Heidi and her
husband set out with a simple strategy
and a dream of creating a brew pub and
restaurant today Devil's Backbone has
become so much more the base camp here
is more like a little village where you
can spend an entire day there's the
summit where you can come for breakfast
and coffee the brew pub is open daily
for lunch and dinner where you can
experience full service dining and
there's even an outdoor bar where you
can spend the afternoon listening to
live music and that's just the beginning
Devil's Backbone is expanding into
distilling currently they are producing
several spirits here in their brand-new
3500 square foot facility right now they
are making the mountain cane silver rum
along with their Nellie's apple brandy
you can only get them here on-site with
plants to eventually sell them statewide
we really see this as an expansion and
extension of what we do as a brewery
it's just kind of a natural progression
we really like to blur the line between
what is beer and what is spirits and
this distilling is going to allow us to
do that Matt Casto is the manager of
distilling operations here at Devil's
Backbone he's creating one-of-a-kind
spirits from some of their more popular
beers like the award-winning danzig
Porter
I really love that beer it's my favorite
beer we make so it was the first thing
to actually run through the stills
we're making a distilled beverage from
malted barley and hops and it's called
Danzig shots it really shows the
innovation and the things that we can do
to blur the line between what is beer
how malt affects different spirits and
the different flavors that we can get
with a new process he's getting
inspiration for new types of spirits
here at the hoop houses these garden
sites have been created by Jessica
Carter in just over a year already she's
seeing the fruits of her labor producing
herbs flowers vegetables and fruits for
both the restaurant and the brewery
right now we're harvesting over 30
different varieties of herbs and
vegetables just this morning we were
harvesting elderflower that our lead
distiller Matt costo is going to be
experimenting with to develop a recipe
for elderflower liqueur with Jessica
harvest also determines the specials
being served at the restaurant the
beginning of the week I'll send out an
email to everybody and say this is
what's coming up this week this will
we'll have and
on the weekends usually you'll see some
specials that are featuring hoof house
produce the produce can be found in menu
items like the DB hoop house salad the
smoked deviled eggs with borage flowers
and the pan-seared salmon with mixed
sauteed vegetables fresh ingredients
grown right here on site Jessica gave me
a tour of one of the hoop houses to
share just a little what she's growing
and to taste that fresh from the garden
difference it's one of the really cool
things that were able to do is grow
things that our chef wouldn't be able to
purchase in the store yeah you know so
that's really exciting mm-hmm
this is hot soy this is it this is a
cousin of a bok choy so it's an Asian
green it's a little bit more like that
strong flavor
yeah but I really like it for another
rare experience you can't find anywhere
else but here at base camp is the shanty
is many ways it's almost like a hunter's
a trapper's cabin or something like that
has good fired stove wood paneling it's
just a really nice cozy place here as
you relax with friends old and new
you'll find rare beers on tap
Jason specializes in creating and
serving those beers beers that he says
are designed to be enjoyed slowly with a
good cigar and casual conversation
though the Spear utilizes a orange peel
in both the kettle the boiling kettle
and the fermentation it's hopped with
citrusy hops it's dry hop to Ciccia hops
as an H on French oak and so all those
things kind of come together and gives a
very core to like the fact you know this
this is just about just being here and
enjoy your
and you know there's not many
distractions it's just it is what it is
and it's wonderful it's like simplistic
and classic timeless that's right yeah
absolutely I can just spend the
afternoon here for sure Jason thank you
so much and cheers Cheers uh-huh so
whether it's the beer the spirits the
food or the atmosphere what you
experience here at Devil's Backbone is
all up to you you have options when you
come to Devil's Backbone type of
experience you want to have we are
including Devil's Backbone camp now the
fill feature RV campsites along with
primitive camp sites too so you can also
reserve your lodging and walk over to
the brewery and enjoy a pint of beer at
the same time I enjoy friends and family
[Music]
and previously Devil's Backbone has only
allowed camping for special events and
80 hikers however that's changed they've
expanded to offer a campground
year-round to everyone to enjoy yeah and
look for their 25 room Lodge and ten
cabins to open in the near future find
more at DB Brewing Company dot-com and
for more on this and other in today's
drives visit our website at in a day's
drive com