USA, VA: Octonia Stone Brew Works launches in high-profile spot in Ruckersville

Greene County’s only brewery is up and running, and at a high-profile spot in Ruckersville, WVIR reported on January 1.

Octonia Stone Brew Works opened on Saturday, December 28, making it the only place to get a craft beer in the county. A lot of people say it’s about time they can get quality beers without having to take a drive.

"I've lived in Greene County for several years, going down to Charlottesville you've got places that have some good beers on tap, but something that's local right here in your backyard and you get flights," said taproom manager Ashley Martin.

Brewmaster and owner Jeff Hittinger says he’s wanted to have a brewery since college, but it didn’t happen until he realized how short life really is.

“My grandfather passed away about two years ago and realized that time is kind of fleeing and you stand and evaluate your life and go ‘what can I do?’" Hittinger said.

Octonia Stone Brew Works sits on the corner of Route 29 and Route 33 - a prime location for the community. One thing about the brewery that stands out is its historical name. The stone is a landmark in the county.

"It was in 1722 was part of a king's grant,” Hittinger said. “We weren't even a country at the time, but the western most marker of the land."

The brewery might be new, but hittinger has been at this for 20 years. All those years of experimenting at home have finally paid off.

“I was running some beer lines and so we could open up another tap and it finally hit me that people are paying money for beer I've made," Hittinger said.

Staff at the brewery say it’s been busy every day since opening. They broke over $1,000 in sales just in one day.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .