New beer trail introduced in the Valley

This week is American Craft Brew Week, and beer fans from all over the country now have a new way to taste what the Valley has to offer: the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail.

Monday marked the start of the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail. It's the newest craft beer trail in the state, and it connects 12 breweries between Harrisonburg and Lexington.

The trail was designed not only to draw visitors to the breweries but also to encourage them to visit other local businesses, hotels and sites. Each brewery along the trail is within 20 to 30 minutes of another one, and the trail will likely expand in the future.

Sheryl Wagner, the Director of Tourism for the City of Staunton, say it's about promoting more than just local breweries. "What we wanted to do was promote the region, the Shenandoah Valley and through the craft beer eye," said Wagner.

"It's made right here, I mean there are several of our breweries that are actually using local hops in their beer or some of them are even growing their own hops to use in their beer," continued Wagner. "So it's really about how they make it, that it's made here."

Tours of the trail with transportation will also likely be added in the future.

For a full list of breweries visit www.beerwerkstrail.com