The Story of the (Very) Long Way

In the summer of 1755, Mary Draper Ingles was captured by the Shawnee and taken through the wilderness up to Ohio. After several weeks in captivity, she escaped and made the arduous 600 mile trek back along the New River to her family home.

It was shortly after her return that a group of friends gathered in a Radford backyard and first began discussing a neighborhood brewery.

Well, maybe it wasn’t the late 1700s, but it sure seems like it.

Long Way Brewing began as an idea to bring a local craft brewery to Radford, and the focus was to help revitalize the West End. After researching many properties and numerous stops and starts, the vacant Seventh Day Adventist church was chosen as the location. Several names and logo ideas were hatched and discarded before Long Way was selected for its regional ties. But as the process went on (and on, and on), Long Way soon started to symbolize the difficult journey that a small craft brewery takes from proposition to pint glass.

With a location secured, we soon forged a partnership with the Radford Fairlawn Daily Bread, to be co-tenants at the church location. RFDB is a non-profit organization that provides free meals to those in need, and it is our sincere hope to help support their mission as we bring local craft beer to Radford. Construction began on an addition to the church that would house a new kitchen for our neighbors and a brewhouse for us.

Long Way Brewing joins a select group of US breweries that have preserved and repurposed former churches. The oak floors and wood trim provide great acoustics for our local musical talent, and the building is still available for weddings and special events.