Charlottesville Ale Trail

Founding Virginia’s premier urban and pedestrian beer trail.

Project Synopsis

The Charlottesville Ale Trail is the premier urban and pedestrian beer trail in Virginia. The objectives of the Ale Trail are to promote the beer brewing industry within walking distance of Charlottesville’s downtown area and to raise funds from Ale Trail events and memberships to give back to nonprofits in the community.

It all started with a Storyware side project, charlottesville.beer. During the winter holiday season of 2017, Storyware partners Todd Wickersty and Page Wood decided to put together an events website for the craft breweries and cideries in Charlottesville and surrounding counties. With craft breweries being family-friendly and offering different styles of beer every week, they are an attractive destination for both Gen X dads like Todd and millennials like Page. Thanks to this broad appeal, our side project caught the attention of the Economic Development Office of Charlottesville and a few of the breweries who had tried to form a beer trail in downtown Charlottesville previously.

Our Role

  • E-Commerce
  • Brand Strategy
  • Visual Identity
  • Logo Design
  • Print Collateral
  • Merchandise Design
  • Content Creation
  • Community Engagement

Partners

Years

2018 - Present

The effort to form a beer trail in Charlottesville stalled in the past because there wasn’t an independent third-party to operate it.

Storyware’s partners decided to fill that role by volunteering as Co-directors and transforming our side project into the Charlottesville Ale Trail as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit.

Throughout the entire process, we have placed a high value on our brand and UX.

Wyndsor Design, a long-time partner of Storyware, created the brand strategy, designed the visual identity, and continues to help the Ale Trail with all things related to branding.

We enhanced our website for the Ale Trail by adding eCommerce, membership forms, improving the events calendar views, and integrating Instagram feeds.

The Charlottesville Ale Trail is a perfect example of combining the passion for our craft with our commitment to make a positive impact on the community of Charlottesville.

 

Cheers!
Everactive
The High Line