Greene beer stops traffic!
By Alex Carrier

And will for another few weeks. The beer isn’t green but traveling through Greene County, Virginia. Well, not actually beer but 40 fermenting vats.

The Coors plant across the Blue Ridge Mountains from Greene is adding a brewing operation to their bottling and distribution facility. So, 40 vats are taking the trip over the mountains and through Greene.

The trip is slow and quite the show for local residents who take time to watch and photograph the procession. Who says nothing big ever happens in the country?

Of course, the coolest part is when a specially equipped truck lifts poles and other hazards too low for the vats to travel underneath.

All traffic has to be halted both ways at the mountain pass allowing the trucks to travel in oncoming lanes in order to get under a bridge.

Luckily the vats are not carrying beer. Otherwise, some industrious souls might sit on top of the bridge with 12 foot long straws taking a good long sip as the trucks go underneath.

That is assuming the full vat would ever make it out of the county. I’m thinking it would disappear for a few hours while the rest of us had a really big block party.

So anyway you look at it, the beer was in Greene for St. Patrick’s Day. As for me, I’ll wait until the tanks have served their purpose and get a personal taste of the soon-to-be-homegrown brew.

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© 2006 Virginia Greene