Photo by Thomas McDonald
Inside, local artist Jahn Page's mural of a hops farm graces the wall above the taps.
“I got a text message; all the text said was ‘brewville,’ and I replied, ‘sounds like a place I would like to go,’ ” says Thomas McDonald. He’s talking about his new growler spot, Brewville, which he’ll open in Mechanicsville on Friday with partners Justin McDonald — his cousin — and Michael Cohan.
Brewville will be the first designated draft-to-go store in Hanover County. The name is fairly self-explanatory; the spot will have 56 taps to fill growlers,16 large format beers by the bottle and 18 to 20 six-pack selections. Inside, a large 18-by-10-foot mural of a rustic field filled with hops is visible from the street.
“It’s our own little small town,” Thomas says, “where you can come find beer you can’t find anywhere else.”
Brewville has 22 local beers on tap, with a few expected multiples on occasion. “We want to be local-centric out here because a lot of our consumer base isn’t privy to all the awesome breweries," shares Thomas. "Our interest in having local beers is because we are fans. The crowd we have been building at [Marty’s Grill, owned by Cohan] can’t get to every brewery, every weekend. So they can come get their local beer here.”
Brewville will also sell meat, cheese and funky snacks to pair with its beer selections. Olli Salumeria, Portland's Beer Provisions, and Pickled Silly are some of the offerings. You'll also find roughly 20 different cigars for purchase from a custom-made humidor.
“We have essentially created the 'man cave' store," says Thomas, "but really, anyone will be able to find something great here."
Brewville opens this Friday, Oct. 9, at 9357 Atlee Road, and is open Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
