Down Waynesboro Way

In the late 19th Century, Waynesboro saw a full-blown speculation, real estate boom.

The Norfolk & Western and the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) railroad lines crossed there, and someone had the idea to start a manufacturing center. Named after James Reese’s “basic” process for making steel, Basic City was incorporated inside Waynesboro in 1890. With manufacturing companies exempted from paying taxes for ten years, investment money came, spurring construction and land speculation. However, Reese’s patent came under legal fire, stalling the core of Basic City’s Manufacturing plans. Other set backs and the Panic of 1893 caused investors to withdraw, and the city died on the vine. Eventually, it was folded into Waynesboro, a footnote to the city’s history.

Over a century later, in 2016, brothers Bart, Chris and Joe Lanman founded Basic City Beer Company in an industrial complex that once held Virginia Metalcrafters. Their father had died before being able to retire. After that event, Chris contacted Bart and said time was short, too short for them to remain in their corporate jobs. The idea for Basic City Beer Company was born.

This Thursday, we taste some beers from Basic City Beer Company. Please feel free to join us for this free, walk-up tasting.