As the craft beer choices continue to grow in Roanoke, especially in terms of what’s available on draft, it became pretty clear the blog would have to undergo some sort of change. I used to keep a running list down the sidebar to the right of craft beer on draft around town, but with more restaurants and bars adding beers, it would’ve gotten to the point that the sidebar would’ve been as long as your arm, and overrun with that and nothing else.
Welcome a new page then, to the blog. Down the right sidebar, I will continue to list some of the newest “craft on draft” additions to the tap handles around town. Underneath, what can be found is a link to a new and separate page where I’ll attempt to keep a more complete listing. I certainly appreciate all the help these restaurants give to the blog. The whole idea of course, is that if you have a curiosity about a particular beer or beer style, you might be able to quench (pun intended) that thirst for knowledge by finding that beer or a representative beer nearby. In the end, what kinds of beer a person cares for, and what styles, is subjective, and requires that wonderful thing I like to call “research”, or tasting and drinking them. Of course, the idea is also to help support these establishments by sending you their way. Your support and interest keeps things growing here in Roanoke.
Now, on to the beer…
New this weekend are some changes for Blue 5′s list, and there is something apparently for everyone. New draft choices include two highly regarded IPAs, Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point Brewing, which from the brewery’s website is described as showcasing “bright flavors and aromas of apricot, peach, mango & lemon.” Slick of body, expect a crisp slap from the hops. The other is Sierra Nevada’s Ruthless Rye IPA. Apparently, with most beers in which rye is used, the grain actually adds more to aroma than taste, but of course, much of what we perceive as flavor is from the smell. Rye is associated with a slightly peppery or “spicy” flavor. Among the other additions are Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s “Boont” Amber Ale, a personal favorite of mine. This amber does not lack for taste, featuring a caramel like sweetness that is just enough, certainly not over the top, and a touch of grain like flavor. It’s delicious and exceptionally easy to drink despite having a decent body to it. Others include the very new to the scene Pale Ale “Dig” from New Belgium, Green Flash Brewing’s Double Stout, and the also immensely easy to drink “Mama’s Little Yella Pils” Pilsner from Oskar Blues Brewing.
If you weren’t really into American craft beer all that much but had been checking into some of the twitter conversations surrounding it this past week, at least in the mid Atlantic states, you might’ve thought you had somehow lost your way. As the twitter hashtag “#sexchoc” began popping up over and over, you might have started to think you had gotten more than a little off topic, or had somehow begun following a fan group for late eighties Eddie Murphy movies, but I assure you, you were still in the right place. All the buzz, of course, was about Foothills Brewing’s annual release of their chocolate stout Sexual Chocolate. If you were lucky enough to get a taste of this limited release beer, I’m sure you agreed it was well worth the wait. (Randy Watson approves as well.)
Now, not all are quite this epic, and of course opinions vary on which ones to include on the red carpet list. There are also many others that seem to come close to earning such excitement. These brews have their own, smaller packs of groupies, are available readily, but still feature some pretty intense, much bigger than average flavors. This weekend, here in Roanoke, we’re lucky to have representatives from both “categories” around town, on tap, and are all well worth checking out. Be wary though, a couple of these are definitely hop forward. So if you’re a self appointed hop head, you’ve skipped to the list below, have your coat on, and are headed for the door. But if you are still skeptical of hops and how much tongue and face twisting they’ll do to you, you might tend to stay away from these particular animal’s cages. Then again, perhaps today’s the day your curiosity gets the best of you, and you earn your very own fedora.
There was no instantaneous moment of inspiration, scribbled hastily down on the nearest available napkin. No, there might not have been any moment of exclamatory revelation, followed by a night spent writing down page after page of plans or rough blueprints. Instead, a subtle but lasting impression was more likely made, somewhere softly in his memory, for future use. Among the warm environment of family and friends, Will Landry was helping celebrate his great aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary in the Roebuck Restaurant and Inn which the couple ran, located in the beautiful and picturesque English countryside. An appreciation of English session ales, such as the Boddington’s he celebrated the evening with, threaded its way through the joyful evening, and as it often happens with good times among family and friends, things seemed to simply fit hand in hand.
It wasn’t Landry’s only fond recollection involving the comfort of a pub and good beer. Another part of the family lived nearby, in a village just large enough for one pub, the Four Alls. In places such as these, low alcohol “session” beers, a term which originated in England, were the norm. These were not ales that run you over in an hour or less. These are true pub ales – ones that allow for meeting up with friends or family, sitting down, and sharing stories over an entire evening, and then, as Landry remembers quite specifically, making your way home safely. Experiences such as this were, and always are, as much about the time spent around those who know you best and the comfort such a presence and time brings, as the beer.
Still in the final planning stages, there is no doubt “Barley and Chops”, keeps Landry’s thoughts busy these days. But it was the love of good beer, and moreover, freshly produced beer and plenty of different styles of it, that was at the forefront of Landry’s thoughts on a recent evening. “First and foremost you can’t beat fresh beer and there is really no better way than to drink a fresh beer at a brewpub.” While some of his first beers may have indeed included those two BrewDo winners, Landry promises plenty of variety at Barley and Chops. Both his training with the American Brewer’s Guild – Landry is well on his way to finishing his Craft Brewer Apprenticeship – and his own wide ranging interest in different beer styles may factor into this, but he knows variety is what ultimately drives craft beer interest among fans. It’s also what he considers his brewpub may add to the area – the ability for a regular visitor to the to ask that classic question “What’s new on tap?” and hear that indeed, something has changed since last visit.
While the exact location of the brewpub is yet to be finalized – a couple of Roanoke area locations are in the running – the intent is clear. It resonates within Landry’s words. “I think the bottom line is we want everyone to leave feeling like they had an experience. A wow moment, if you will, with the beer, or the food or the pairing of both.” As he speaks, I think back to the memories of his great aunt and uncles’ Inn, the Dungeon Ghyll, or the Four Alls. They are locations of warm recollections, for many reasons in Landry’s life, yet are universal as well. We all remember places and times such as the ones Landry recalls – places where fine beer, good food, and a comfortable environment for you and those who know you well instantly create stories of times spent together. After years of remembering these locations and recalling their own stories, Landry is now creating Barley and Chops, a place to showcase his own beer recipes and to pair them with great food. But stopping at that description simply feels a bit too academic, and leaves perhaps the most important feature out. Because as you listen to Landry share those stories, it’s clear that Barley and Chops won’t just be his own brewpub. Without a doubt, it will become his very own setting for new, lifelong memories for him and his patrons, created over a good cold beer and among those who know you best.
Last weekend, the Star City’s beer curious were introduced to Blue 5’s new tap system, allowing the downtown restaurant to begin serving no fewer than 46 draft beers, the great majority of them craft, microbrewed beers. At the same time, another downtown restaurant, Lucky, added a certain seasonally released beer that creates about the same anticipation when it’s released each year as if some legendary rock band has just announced a reunion tour and the tickets are going on sale tomorrow morning.
tap line up as well, so pick your gps destination, downtown or Grandin Village. Either way, do not miss a chance to have this beer if you’re curious about the many different styles of beer out there, and the vast flavors which come from beer’s basic ingredients or the ones brewers sometimes add to a beer to even further the tasting experience, which is exactly what this particular beer is – it is not simply a fine example of American craft brewing, and certainly not just another good coffee infused stout. It is the type of beer that you probably will remember the first time you had it – take it from me, I do.
