Sunday 28th of July 2013 04:01:45 AM

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The entire city of Fredericksburg is steeped in Civil War nostalgia. Indeed, the names of this brewery, most of its beers, and its associated pub are Civil War themed. Blue and Gray Brewing is located in the Bowman Center industrial park, which has red brick and painted cinder block buildings. Drive back into the complex, cross the railroad tracks, turn left and cross the tracks again. Look for a sign to turn right, and park in the lot in front of Lee's Retreat bar, which is the brewpub for the brewery. Lee's has a small patio area out front with black patio furniture, and plenty of seating inside. They offer about 6 beers on tap and 22oz bottles from the brewery. The design of the building is such that the bar area and brewhouse room are divided by a wall with large windows. To get to the brewery walk around the right side of the building, down the alley to the fourth door on the left. The brewery is a grey cinder block building with high ceilings. Inside is a jumble of raw materials, packaging and equipment. Walk past the cashiers desk to a small one person tasting stand. The brewhouse has just four beers on tap, but the employees were kind enough to give me three additional samples fresh off the bottling line. The bottling line is a small manual operation, where spigots fill 22 ounce bottles. The employee whacks the bottle with a wooden mallet and presses the cap on. This was actually my first time to see a manual bottling, and I was impressed at the technique. In the brewhouse room beyond the bottling area are the midsize 25bbl stainless steel brewing vessels and a row of several midsize stainless steel fermenters. The quality of the beer from this 5 year old brewery was mature and enjoyable. Nice little place.

Thursday 30th of December 2010 03:52:15 PM

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The wife & I went to late lunch at Lee's Retreat.

She sampled several of the outstanding regular brews from Blue & Bray Brewing Company and I experience one of the seasonal offerings - a Belgium ale. The Belgium has a sligt sweet flavor and reminded me of Blew &Gray's mainstay - Falmouth Lager but sweeter.

All were outstanding!

She settled for the American Pale Ale for her choice and I followed the Belgium with that same.

As for out late lunch, we enjoyed the outstanding Calamari offering. In my opinion, the best I have had in many years!
For the main course she had the lamb burger - a nicely ground lamb with garlic infusion. included were waffle cut fries. I choose the corned beef entrée with cabbage cooked in Blue & Grays Stonewall Stout. The corned beef was totally lean but succulent in flavor and moisture. Accompanying was a wedge of tastefully prepared green cabbage. Also was yellow corn that tasted as if it was just cut from from the cob. A dollop of Cole-slaw with raisins added just the right amount of sweetness so that a desert was not needed.


My wife commented that a welcome aspect of Lee's Retreat was although it appears to be an industrial setting - the brewery just outside panes of glass it was quiet and normal conversations were possible without the loud music commonly found and may eateries.

Saturday 4th of December 2010 09:26:31 AM

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Blue & Gray recently opened their brew pub, Lee's Retreat. The pub's atmosphere is nice and a little on the industrial side with large windows for viewing the brewery operations. They offer their own beers but with specialty and seasonal brews there is usually a good variety. The Stonewall Stout and Fred Red are excellent in my opinion. The food at Lee's Retreat is top notch and one would be hard pressed to find finer fare in the Fredericksburg area. This location is well worth a stop.

Saturday 19th of September 2009 11:59:37 AM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

The brewery recently moved down the street from the old location and the word is a brewpub is on the way. I visit Blue and Gray probably 2-3 times a month to get my corny kegs filled or to grab a limited release in a growler. All 4 of the standard offerings have been available recently as reserves, aged in bourbon barrels. The seasonal brews are hit and miss, but you can't go wrong with the Fred Red year round. It seems like there's always something new to try including unfiltered versions of the Red, or 'young' Pale Ale that's more crisp and citrus-y.

The owner Jeff Fitzpatrick has been more than helpful when I've been there. I've received a lot of advice at Blue and Gray with homebrew and equipment questions. Madison is the name of the head brewer I believe and he's answered a ton of my questions as well. In general they are really nice folks with some great beer and have to be one of my favorite Virginia Breweries. They have an Email newsletter, so I see what new offerings will be available and can plan a drive down there.

Friday 27th of February 2009 04:54:21 PM

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I was traveling through Virginia, I also use Beer Mapping to plan my route. I found Blue & Grey easily enough. It was brewing day!! The whole brewery was enveloped in a wonderful malty/hoppy/grainy mist. The staff was polite, and very knowledgeable. The kind of showed me around. I got to sample all 4 of their current offerings. While I usually lean in the Pale Ale/IPA spectrum, I was blown away by their malty Fred Red Ale. I also enjoyed the Stout and the lager.

Saturday 2nd of August 2008 05:00:25 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

We enjoy Blue and Grey. The Fred Red is generally the beer we get the most of with the Heffe coming in a close 2nd.

Seasonal beers are also a treat with Chocolate Raspberry Stout and Temporary Insanity (+11% ABV) available in midwinter, and a Belgian White available in late winter.

Free samples allow you to judge before you buy and they will fill any container you have.

The brewery hosts a St. Pats and Oktoberfest each year, not always at their location.

Friday 7th of March 2008 10:34:49 AM

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I tried Blue & Grey Brewery's Fred Red Ale on tap at Sammy T's downtown and really enjoyed it. I decided to visit the brewery and take some home with me. We got to the brewery on keg refilling day. Folks were bringing their growlers and cornies in for refills. We had a wuickl sampling of the four beers on tap and then I bought two growlers. When it came my turn to get my growler filled, they had to change the keg. I didn't open the growler for a couple of days, but did store the beer in the refirgerator the whole time. When I finally sampled it, I noticed the beer had off flavors. There was an astringency in the beer that gave it a red wine taste. That flavor definitely not there at the restaurant, or during the beer tasting at the brewery. I can't decide if the flavors were a result of the long lag time in the growler, or if the new keg was bad.

The brewery is in an old industrial area and has a cool atmosphere. I defintely will visit the brewery again, and I'll try the growler again. But I may have to sample it in the parking lot before I go home.