One of our favorite things about working with breweries is watching the buildout process happen in real time. All across the country, we’ve seen bombed out garages, dilapidated restaurants, uninspiring industrial spaces and new builds alike become home to amazing brewery operations. And Ballad Brewing, out of Danville, Virginia, may be the most remarkable transformation we’ve seen yet. The first time we visited Danville, we toured an enormous brick warehouse with dirt floors, old fire doors, and layers of history everywhere you looked. Built in 1891 to house tobacco, it has since gone through a long period of vacancy. Until the folks from Ballad saw it.

The warehouse itself, along with Danville’s agricultural history, architecture, and folklore—including the Wreck of the Old ’97,a famous country ballad— inspired a rugged-yet-refined brand identity to speak to the area’s tobacco heritage.