Colonial Williamsburg Tavern???

Feb 09, 2005 5 Replies

Just caught a travel show about Colonial Williamsburg. They mentioned that everything recreated there is true to the period including the tavern. Does this mean they are serving the types of ale available in the colonies at the time of Revolution and dispensed correctly for the time? Does anyone know? Might be an interesting beer trip if the ale and method of dispensing are recreated.



Bruce


I can't vouch for that, but I can tell you that many millions of J.D. Rockefeller's dollars were spent, and extreme care was taken, by archaeologists, historians, etc., to make the restoration as accurate as humanly possible.

Don't know about that, either. I flew my little puddle jumper in and planned to fly out later, so it was tea for me. IIRC, Tom Jefferson, Pat Henry and that crowd drank tankards of rum, not ale. Men were men in those days.

It is a hell of an interesting trip even if you have to drink (Retch!) bud or millers. It's a fantastic place. I've been there half a dozen times, and am ready to return.

vince norris

No, they don't go quite that far. I think the closest you'll come to something like that are the Yards ales brewed for a colonial-style restaurant in downtown Philadelphia, but that's obviously not anywhere near Williamsburg.

They aren't. The best you can do for beer in Williamsburg is to walk to a more commercial part of town and park your arse at the Green Leaf, where a pretty good selection of microbrews are on offer, but they're all keg - none of them are cask-conditioned.

If you do want to do the Colonial Williamsburg thing and drink good beer, you can get in at Chowning's Tavern ("Choo-nings") where they have Williamsburg Brewing's ColoniAle, which is, surprisingly, a saison-style beer, pretty good stuff. Keep an eye out for Williamsburg Brewing and Old Dominion taps; I've had them at the King's Arms, also.

It certainly sounds like they have a wonderful niche that needs filling. Maybe it's time to semi-retire to Williamsburg...

I think Chownings also serves Liebotschaner Cream Ale on draught, specially brewed by the Lion in Wilkes Barre,PA...

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