RICHMOND, Va. — Thomas Jefferson is renowned for his many interests, including architecture, horticulture and inventing gadgets.
Among the third president’s lesser-known pursuits was making beer, and modern-day visitors to his mountaintop estate at Monticello can soon get a taste of the past.
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation says it’s working with Starr Hill Brewery in nearby Crozet to offer Monticello Reserve Ale, inspired by what was produced and consumed regularly at Monticello. Starr Hill’s master brewer, Mark Thompson, will use a combination of lightly hopped wheat and corn, as Jefferson did in his day. Local ingredients will be used, including some hops grown at Monticello.
Thompson calls the unfiltered wheat-style beer “very light on the palate with a clean finish,” with citrus and earthy aromas.
