BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) – Former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip is expanding his craft brewery company from Arizona to Bristol.
In 2018, three friends – Michael, Bryan, and Glynn – decided to brew their own beer, thus the creation of the Michael Waltrip Brewing Company.
Now, the two-time Daytona 500 winner is ready to bring his name – and his beer – to Bristol.
“When you think about NASCAR, I think of three cities: Daytona Beach; Charlotte, North Carolina; and, Bristol,” he said.
“To be able to come to Bristol and share our beers with the Southeast, you know, with NASCAR fans, it’s just a real honor and a privilege,” Waltrip told News Channel 11. “Our brewery is beautiful, it’s a great part of the Bristol town, and I’m looking forward to when we get open and folks can come by and share a beer with me.”
The brewery, which he says could employ roughly 20 people either seasonally or full time, will be located at the old Studio Brew building on Moore Street in Bristol.
The building already has brewing equipment in it, which Waltrip said his company will be utlizing.
“We’re moving some walls around right now to just let more light in open it up and make it really, you know, more user friendly. And so I think, you know, customers that come we’ll get to see that for sure. The front, front of the facility has a really great outdoor patio and we’re going to accentuate that and just really make it a focal point for the building. But I also guess you’re going to see some of Michael’s stamps, you know, in the interior so we’re going to have some really special things that reflect the DNA of our company, which of course is motor racing, but it’s also fun and so it’s not going to be necessarily a museum to Michael, but they’re definitely you’ll see some imprints of where his influence and his racing career will be represented, along with the kind of the beer culture and having fun and so it’ll be a really relaxed atmosphere,” Bryan Sperber, President and CEO of Michael Waltrip Brewing Company explained.
The pair attended a reception in Bristol Thursday, meeting elected leadership and business leaders from the community. Both men voiced their excitement for the development of their Bristol brand.
“Making improvements we think, putting our own style, our own signature on it, and plus, opening up the outdoor area, we can have beers in the parking lot, and having a beer garden outside is something that’s really important to me, especially the beautiful weather we have here in the spring in the fall, be nice to stand outside and have a cold beer. Plus, we’re going to put some of my trophies, pictures and accomplishments of the things that I was blessed to be able to accomplish as I raced a car for about 100 years, that’ll all be represented there so we think it’d be a fun place for the community to put their arms around and feel like it’s theirs – that’s my goal. I want to spend more time up here. My name ain’t on it. I’m a partner, I’m one of the three guys that founded it, I’m an investor, I’m a partner, and it’s really important to me that it does well. When I walk around the town of Bristol, it’s funny. A lot of people want to say ‘Hey Mike, how you doing,’ and, you know, I walk around to other towns people are like, ‘I might know who that guy is, but I ain’t sure,’ so it’s really cool to have the recommend recommendation that I have here, and, and taking our product and being able to put it in those fans hands,” Waltrip explained.
This will be the fourth brewery in the Twin Cities.
“It’s going to play a large role in the craft beer scene that we have here in Bristol,” Christopher Perrin, Marketing Director for Discover Bristol said. “We have a great outdoor space, we have a wonderful motorsports venue, we’re the Birthplace of Country Music but the craft beer scene is something that we’re very proud of here in Bristol.”
The company currently develops three beers, with hopes of more on the horizon.
“You know one of the things that we get asked, out west we have three beers that are in distribution, our Two-Time Blonde, our Two-Time Vamanos – which is our Mexican lager – and our Two-Time Checkered Past, which is a coconut IPA. Yes, we will definitely be making all three of those styles here, but we’re going to be bringing out a whole nother round of new beers, Michaels already working on some ideas and so, I think, you know, consumers here in this market are going to be able to try the latest and greatest creations, right here in Bristol,” Sperber told News Channel 11.
The beer will not only be made in Bristol, according to Sperber, but also distributed from that facility.
“We’re not only going to be making beer at the Bristol location and with our tap room and so forth, but we’ll be selling that beer into distribution in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. So, consumers will be able to buy Michael Waltrip Brewing products in those three states, with an eye towards expansion into Florida, Alabama and some other southeastern markets and so hopefully we’re coming to a pub or a retail location near you,” he said. “We’re probably going to be shipping beer into Tennessee in June, and then Virginia shortly behind that, and North Carolina behind that. So, this is going to be a really busy summer for Michael Walter brewing and, but it really exciting summer too and we’re looking forward to.”
So, what’s next?
Sperber told News Channel 11 that beer is not the only thing Michael Waltrip Brewing will be making in Bristol. Seltzers will also be produced at the Moore Street facility.
“We’re working on some really innovative flavor profiles for the seltzers, so we’re going to have some fun with the beers, we’re going to have some fun with the seltzers and, you know, at our core, this is a fun company and you know Michael’s official title is ‘Chief Fun Officer,” so you know when Michael Waltrip’s name is on the door, you’re going to have a good time with it and so the beers and the seltzers will reflect that,” he said.
The facility will open anytime between June or July, News Channel 11 confirmed with Waltrip.
Follow News Channel 11’s Bianca Marais on Facebook and Twitter for updates.
March 26, 2021 at 10:31AM
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Michael Waltrip Brewing Co. bringing craft beer, seltzers to Bristol, Va. - WJHL-TV News Channel 11
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