TOURS

Alexandria Historic Breweries Walking Tour and Pub Guide

Four glasses of craft beer, each a different style and color, are lined up on a bar counter. People are blurred in the background, creating a casual, social atmosphere. The glasses are branded with “Port City.”.
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With the new self-guided walking tour, visitors can explore Alexandria’s rich beer history while sampling brews at a choice of 15 pubs and restaurants along the way. Pick up  Alexandria’s Historic Breweries: A Walking Tour & Pub Guide at the  Alexandria Visitors Center at 221 King Street and at participating pubs and restaurants (listed below). The map will guide you through a comprehensive history of brewing in Alexandria, while designated “Hops Stops” highlight top places to pause for a brew or snack. Hops Stops are denoted by  Hop Stops Icon. Physical sites are denoted by  Brewery markers Icon markers.

Use the hashtag  #ALXBrewTour as you share photos of your tour experience on  Instagram, Twitter and  Facebook.

 

Free King Street Trolley

As always, please drink responsibly. Hop on and off the  free King Street Trolley, which runs from the  King St-Old Town Metrorail station to the waterfront seven days a week. See  DashBus.com/Trolley for schedule.

 

Brief History of Beer in Alexandria

Established in 1749, this bustling port town brimmed with Scottish merchants and Irish immigrants. Because public drinking water didn’t yet exist, people quenched their thirst with beer, a staple of 18th-century life and the preferred beverage of dockworkers, shipwrights, sailors and families alike.

Alexandria was home to the largest pre-Prohibition brewery in the south, and one of the most historically relevant breweries in U.S. history, the Robert Portner Brewing Company.

Also known as the Tivoli Brewery, which brewed from 1862-1916, the Robert Portner Brewing Company closed when Virginia passed the 18th Amendment and Prohibition ensued. Only in 2011 would production brewing return to Alexandria, with the arrival of  Port City Brewing Company.

A glass of beer sits on a counter in front of multiple taps, with a blue neon sign shaped like a cloud glowing on a white tiled wall in the background.

Aslin Beer Company

Aslin Beer Co. is a spacious brewery and taproom, located in Alexandria’s West End, replete with a modern-Scandinavian design. Aslin...
847 S. Pickett Street Alexandria, Virginia
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Four stemmed glasses filled with different colored beverages—yellow, red, pale yellow, and orange—are lined up on a shiny wooden table with a blurred background.

Lost Boy Cider

Lost Boy Cider is Northern Virginia’s first urban cidery. We create hand-crafted ciders using real apples and all-natural ingredients like...
317 Hooffs Run Drive Alexandria, Virginia
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A modern bar with a dark marble countertop, metal bar stools, wooden wine racks filled with bottles, and a set of beer taps beneath a vintage-style mirror. Warm lighting creates a cozy atmosphere.

Mieza Blendery

Mieza Blendery is a different approach to making beer. With a blendery, the objective is to make a lot of...
109 Clermont Avenue Alexandria, Virginia
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A plate of Caesar salad with croutons sits on a wooden table next to two large slices of pizza on a tray and two glasses of beer.

Atlas Brew Works & Andy’s Pizza

Atlas Brew Works Alexandria Brewery & Tap Room is located in the Carlyle Crossing mixed-use development. The 6,000 square-foot space...
2429 Mandeville Lane Alexandria, VA 22332
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Bottles and carafes of honey wine are displayed on wooden barrels next to a Negus Winery banner featuring a lion logo and Amharic text. A photo on the banner shows honey wine being poured into glasses.

Negus Winery and Meadery Tasting Room

Created by master winemaker, Gize Negussie, Negus Winery and Meadery Tasting Room opened in Alexandria, Virginia, in late fall 2023.
5509 Vine Street Suite A Alexandria, Virginia
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People stand at a bar counter near a large orange sign for Port City Brewing Company’s Monumental IPA. Behind the bar, a chalkboard lists beer options and several taps are visible on the wall.

Port City Brewing Company

Port City Brewing Company is an award-winning craft brewery and proud producer of an exciting line of hand-made, great quality,...
3950 Wheeler Avenue Alexandria, Virginia
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Wooden barrels stacked at Motherwell Distilling Co

Motherwell Distilling Co.

Motherwell Distilling Co. is Alexandria’s only locally operating distillery within the beltway — a community-owned craft spirits destination built by...
877 S. Pickett Street Alexandria, Virginia
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Alexandria Tours

A group of five people walk through a brick gate with a tour guide in a white shirt at the entrance of Carlyle House, surrounded by trees and historical signage.

Self-Guided Tours

A smiling couple walks hand-in-hand past a sign for Carlyle House Historic Park, with brick walls, greenery, and sunlight in the background.

Things To Do

Couple Biking Down King Street In Alexandria, VA