By following, you confirm you are 21+ and will not share content with people under 21. OUR STORY
One might say the spark for the idea behind the brewery happened in 1992 with a visit to Cortina, Italy. Founders, Steve and Heidi Crandall were on a ski trip and were introduced to a German beer called Weihenstephan. This first real “craft” beer experience started a trend in the Crandall household, p
lanting the seed that slowly grew into an idea, and then bloomed to become Devils Backbone Brewing Company. More travels throughout the Western United States brought more exposure to craft beer, as the common denominator for most great outdoor destinations was a brewpub… and, there were lots of them. Brewpubs, mountains, skiing, biking, hiking, bird watching and running go together, right? In Europe most small towns have their own pubs that are an important part of the social fabric of the community. This added water to the original seed and further solidified the idea that there needed to be a brewpub in the Nelson County community; the Three Ridges Wilderness area seemed like a perfect place to bring great food and beer to the people. With some great friends, the Crandall’s began to further foster the idea of a small, environmentally sensitive, pedestrian-friendly, and community-focused business development. “The Village at Glen Mary” community was born and its flagship business would be the Devils Backbone Brewing Company, opening its doors in 2008. Although the economic downturn prevented the neighborhood from flourishing, the brewpub was a regional success. This inspired Devils Backbone to ask, “What if we started bottling the beer, bringing the experience to people in their homes? ” The decision was made to break ground on the Outpost facility, in Lexington, Virginia, Originally projected to produce 10,000 barrels of beer in its first ten years, the Outpost produced almost 45,000 barrels in its first three, bringing world-class beer to people in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. The name “Devils Backbone” was selected to incorporate this region’s history into modern culture. On September 25, 1746, eight years before the French and Indian War, a party of forty set out from Bear Fence Mountain in the Blue Ridge on one of the most legendary land surveys in American history. They had already spent two-weeks charting various wild rivers to find the true “Headspring of the Rappahannock,” its point-of-beginning as decreed by King George. Among the party were axmen, chainmen, compass-men, note keepers, mathematicians, astronomers, hunters, cooks, and gentleman commissioners whose job it was to make lawyerly decisions as needed and to purchase provisions (somehow) along the way, keeping the party supplied. These hardy Virginians’ descendants are part of our core patrons to this day, according to our latest market analysis. They were hand-picked – the best men and minds in Virginia. Perhaps the most notable member of the party was Thomas Jefferson’s father, a colonel, reputably the strongest man in Rockingham County. Their task was to carve and measure a straight line, eighty-miles long through the wilderness, connecting the sources of the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. This line was known as “The Fairfax Line.”
They did it all with compass and chain—and fortitude untold—in 50 days. �Consider the following entry from the journal of Thomas Lewis, surveyor and mathematician, who left behind one of the two sets of surviving field notes from this survey:
“Friday, October 3rd … Thence 604 poles to the top of Devils Backbone to a Chestnut Oak we marked 31 miles. This day several of the horses had like to been killed, tumbling over rocks and precipices, and we ourselves were often in utmost danger. This terrible place we called Purgatory …”
Without the risks taken by this survey party, what Virginia would look like now is something of wonder. Devils Backbone Brewing Company is similar in that there was a lot of risk involved in this project. Sure, producing craft beer seems like an easy thing to do. But, developing a restaurant and brewery in remote central Virginia in the middle of a recession came with its own set of unique challenges. However, just as these brave Virginian surveyors raised axes, compasses, and chains, we raise malt, hops, and our glasses in hopes of pioneering great experiences for you and for each other. Steve & Heidi Crandall
RULES FOR USING OUR FACEBOOK PAGE
Devils Backbone Brewing Company maintains Facebook fan pages as places where our fans and friends of legal drinking age (21 and up) can share and discuss ideas and information and connect with other customers or employees, fans and friends. Much of the content, visuals, and other types of materials found on our pages are provided and posted by the fans of our products (“User Content”).... While Devils Backbone reviews User Content for compliance with the Beer Institute Advertising and Marketing Code (http://www.beerinstitute.org/BeerInstitute/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/000000001133/BI%20Ad%20Code%20Text%20w-Logo%20-%20FINAL%202011.pdf) and for any readily apparent illegal content, Devils Backbone does not and cannot, warrant, endorse, approve of or even necessarily agree with any or all User Content. By using Devils Backbone Facebook fan pages and posting User Content on such pages, you grant Devils Backbone an unlimited, perpetual, royalty-free, sub-licensable, transferable and irrevocable license to use, copy, modify, or adapt your submissions for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to incorporating your submission into content that may be commercial in nature and/or transferring such User Content, and any modification of it, to websites of Devils Backbone and third parties. In addition, since information on pages is public, you acknowledge that you do not have any expectation of privacy in relation to any User Content that you submit to our Facebook fan pages. You may not post any User Content that:
Is inconsistent with the provisions of the Beer Institute Advertising and Marketing Code; Infringes any person’s legal rights, including any right of privacy and publicity; Is untrue, defamatory, infringing, abusive, obscene, indecent, deceptive, threatening, harassing, misleading or unlawful; Contains any code, application, software or material protected by intellectual property laws or any malicious code including any programs that may damage the operation of another person’s computer or which contains any other form of virus or malware; Is commercial in nature and advertises any product, service, or good other than Devils Backbone, unless you have obtained the prior consent of Devils Backbone and the owner of the applicable product, service, or good. We will identify statements or claims made, or content provided, by Devils Backbone. While our Facebook fan pages are official web properties maintained by Devils Backbone, you should only rely upon comments and content contained in DB Content as official information about Devils Backbone, our beverages or products. All other information, including comments, content, and posts provided by other fans are provided for entertainment only and should not be relied upon or construed as being endorsed, approved, or provided by Devils Backbone. You should especially not rely upon any claim or statement made by other users in User Content. If you are looking for additional official information about Devils Backbone, its products or services, you should visit our website at www.dbbrewingcompany.com. Please remember that any User Content you post may be collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited messages or an increased risk of fraud. We have no control over this and cannot be responsible for any losses incurred as a result of your activity on our Facebook fan pages. We reserve the right to remove any User Content that we think is inconsistent with the Beer Institute Advertising and Marketing Code or is illegal, offensive, threatening, infringing or inappropriate for any reason in our sole discretion. We do not, however, intervene in disagreements or disputes between posters where such disagreements do not involve the Beer Institute Advertising and Marketing Code or any content that is is illegal, offensive, threatening, infringing or inappropriate for any reason in our sole discretion. Finally, if you are an employee, contractor or vendor of Devils Backbone and you post any comments about us our our brands; let people know who you are. Endorsements are encouraged and permitted but you must be honest about your connection with or vested interest in our success. This is also true if you receive anything of value from us in exchange for your nice words; even if it is just a free beverage. Also, under no circumstances are you authorized to make any claim regarding Devils Backbone or any of its products. IF YOU MAKE ANY CLAIM REGARDING US OR ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS IN VIOLATION OF THE FOREGOING, YOU, AND NOT DEVILS BACKBONE BREWING COMPANY, SHALL BE THE SOLE AUTHOR OF SUCH CLAIM AND SHALL BE SOLELY LIABLE THEREFORE.
