Brew Hike the second was accomplished on a Sunny November Saturday, and provided the perfect opportunity to walk off our Thanksgiving feasts, and recharge with some final local brews. Two new Manassas area breweries make this hike possible, with 2 Silos brewery which opened in October 2017, and Sinistral having opened just last week. These newcomers join two Manassas craft brew pioneers, Heritage and Bad Wolf which each opened in 2013.
By our originally planned route, our route would cover 6.9 miles. And while having a planned route is an essential part of any successful brew hike, so is the ability to improvise and recognize a shortcut. We were quick to realize that by blazing our own short trail to Route 28 from 2Silos, we would have a straighter shot to our second destination, and this is exactly what we did, cutting our total distance by just over a mile and a half. Brew Hikers must always proceed with caution, and operate within your own levels of comfort when considering options that range from pedestrian friendly sidewalks, to highway shoulders that don’t cater much to foot traffic. Safety first, the beer will be there when you arrive.
Most of this hike is very pedestrian friendly, along sidewalks through the historic city of Manassas, with scenery that ranges from downtown shopping areas, beautiful neighborhoods, and the scenic industrial parks in which we often discover local breweries. And there are plenty of food options along the way as well, so you won’t want for sustenance on this hike.
We began our hike at 2 Silos because of their early 11 am opening time. But the route is pretty flat and could easily be covered in either direction, daylight and pace permitting. After a strong start at 2 Silos Brewing, listing to live music by a warm outdoor fireplace, our walk along the Route 28 shoulder soon reached sidewalk and a very pedestrian friendly overpass that descended towards our second stop at Heritage Brewing, where more fine beers (in moderation, of course) were imbibed. From there, the walk up Center Street takes you through, well, the center of Manassas, and near the train station downtown, you’ll find the city’s newest brewery with a warm welcome at Sinistral brewing. A full flight was called for there, being our first visit and all. We look forward to returning for full pours of the fine beers we only sampled this time. But the brew trail beckoned, and with the early darkness of this time of year, we had to set out to reach our final destination before dark. And that we did, walking through historic neighborhoods and out to Bad Wolf brewing, where we toasted the finish of our hike with their always wonderful beers, and were later picked up for a ride home by one of our always wonderful wives.
This was a really good hike. A very reasonable distance, along a largely pedestrian friendly route, with four excellent breweries along the way.
- 4.2 miles (or 2.47 using Route 28) to…
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