Virginina's original post-Prohibition microbrewery

In Virginia, before Dominion, before Starr Hill, before Legend, before New River, before ... there was

The Chesapeake Brewing Company —aka Chesbay— closed years ago, but a long-time brewer there, Alan Young, now brews for Gordon-Biersch in Virginia Beach, where he has recreated a Chesbay recipe.

The circle of beer. More here.

The entry on Chesbay is taken from an unpublished pamphlet "American Beers and Brewers (1982): A Handbook", recently placed on-line by the Alcohol and Drugs History Society. The authors are (husband and wife?) Susan and Lowell Edmunds. Historian Maureen Ogle, at her blog, identifies the latter as the author of the published book Martini, Straight Up.

Compared to the number of breweries operating in the US in 2007 — 1,463 (from Brewers Association)— the list of American brewing companies in 1982 was startlingly short.