The brewery has the ability to produce 40 gallons of beer with each batch, which takes five or six hours to brew, “so on a daily basis we could put out quite a bit,” said Crummette. They ferment their beer in the bottle for two weeks for a “natural, better flavor.”
The company will sell its beer at various stores rather than on–site and won’t be open to the public. In the next three to five years, however, the brewery hopes to find 10 acres of land on which to open a brew pub “like they have in Nelson County,” said Crummette.
Antioch Brewing Company uses well water to make their beer. “We really like the quality of Fluvanna well water,” said Crummette. “We believe that contributes a lot to the quality of our beer.”
One resident spoke at the brewery’s public hearing. Joe Taylor pointed out that Chrystan Bunch operates a home day care and wanted to know what steps would be taken to keep the children separate from the industry taking place on the same property.
Chrystan Bunch replied that her day care children stay inside much of the day and enjoy a fenced–in play area in front of the house. By contrast, the brewery operates in a separate fenced–in area in the back portion of the property. Supervisors seemed satisfied with her reply.
As supervisors approved the brewery’s special use permit 4–0 (Chairman Mike Sheridan absent), they joked about adding conditions to the permit that would require freebies for county officials.
