Microfestivus Tops Off Quite a Craft Beer Week In Roanoke..A Look Back..
What a week for craft beer in Roanoke. Two very notable events bookended last week – an official “Launch Party” for New Belgium Brewing coming to Virginia which was held downtown on Monday, followed up by the 14th annual Microfestivus craft beer festival just a few blocks away on Saturday. In case you weren’t listening carefully enough, the pulse of craft beer interest in the area is quickening. Shall we count the number of restaurants predominantly featuring craft beer on tap? Just visit the Grandin Road area, I can think of four within about a two block radius. And in downtown? I can think of at least three.
What’s up next? On a regional level, both Devil’s Backbone and Blue Mountain Breweries in nearby Nelson County are undergoing expansion plans – the former building a brewery and restaurant just up the road in Lexington. August 22nd is the official day you should be able to find New Belgium beer in stores. I would think that even more restaurants are taking notice, and will be featuring well made, craft beer on tap in the coming months.
For the moment, let’s catch our breaths. It’s Monday, and since many of us are heading back to the regular routine of the work week, I thought we’d look back at the fun had on Saturday at Microfestivus. Hopefully, to those of you out there, you did find something to further your own curiosity in craft beer. Personally, I found a couple new favorites (Victory’s Summer Love, Breckenridge’s 471, Heavy Seas’ Red Sky at Night just to name a few) and revisited a couple old ones (Devil’s Backbone IPA, Legend’s Oktoberfest). Hopefully you were there, and had a blast!
The Beer Road 