Sunday, February 08, 2009
Making a hometown brew
Roanoke Railhouse Brewing Co. has opened and is serving its signature brew in select restaurants and bars in the valley.
Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times
Steve Davidson, president of Roanoke Railhouse Brewing Co., is surrounded by kegs that will be filled and sent out to local restaurants. The Roanoke native has been at the heart of efforts to find an avenue for crafting a microbrew taste that the Star City can call its own.
The microbrewery's 4,300-square-foot space is outfitted with used and reconditioned stainless steel tanks (left), a refrigerator and other equipment.
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The next time you frequent a local watering hole, check the tap handle for an image of a train, roaring down the tracks, with a view of the Mill Mountain Star in the background.
A locally brewed taste is migrating into select Roanoke-area bars and restaurants.
After several years in the works, Roanoke Railhouse Brewing Co.'s signature brew is available for sale.
The microbrewery housed inside the former Dr Pepper bottling plant in South Roanoke has signed on seven Roanoke Valley bars and restaurants to sell the amber brew. It's stopping at that number for a while, to build up inventory.
By August, though, president Steve Davidson said he'd like to have at least 18 restaurant accounts.
"That is our written and established goal," said Davidson, also a local Realtor, who handles sales for Roanoke Railhouse.
A native Roanoker, he has been at the heart of efforts to find an avenue for crafting a microbrew taste that the Star City can call its own.
Brewing a dream
Davidson's ideas began bubbling up about 15 years ago, when he started helping a friend find a building appropriate for a microbrewery. His friend ended up leaving the Roanoke area for a job relocation before the project was complete.
The microbrew project became an inspiration for Davidson, who said he was tired of seeing his own children and other young adults who were raised in the Roanoke Valley eventually settle in other cities and states.
This young professional group, aged 25 to 35 years old, he said, likely are the ones who would find craft brewing exciting and hip.
Later, Davidson's childhood friend, Mark Hall, moved his local tire business, Wimmer Tire & Services Center, into a former Dr Pepper bottling facility on McClanahan Street in Roanoke.
Hall asked Davidson to help him find a tenant to fill the back half of the building. With the structure's high ceilings, floor drains and an accessible loading dock, the wheels in Davidson's head began turning.
"I saw it as a good place to put a brewery," he said.
He started contacting breweries throughout Virginia and in other states, asking if they were interested in relocating to the Roanoke facility. Through the process, he met John Bryce, the founder of Blackburg Brewing Co. in -Christiansburg, which closed in 2004.
Bryce joined in.
He spent six months in Germany last year learning the beer-making craft. He returned as a certified brew master for Roanoke Railhouse Brewing Co.
The microbrewery's 4,300-square-foot space is outfitted with used and reconditioned stainless steel tanks, a refrigerator and other equipment. The beer is made from a concoction of barley malt and hops imported from Germany, water and yeast.
Roanoke Railhouse's brew is called Track 1, and it's sold in 13.2-gallon and 5-gallon kegs, through a distributor.
The new microbrewery also has resurrected Bryce's former company, Blacksburg Brewing Co., as a contract brewery. The beer is crafted in Roanoke and sold to three New River Valley restaurants currently, through a distributor.
Bryce, a Virginia Tech alum, handles sales for the brewing company, which manufacturers Blacksburger Pils, an all-malt European style pilsner.
Davidson has spent at least $400,000, with additional funds through loans, to get the new microbrewery up and running. He would not disclose the amount of the loans.
Ten people have stock in the company, including Hall.
This isn't the first time that aspiring brewers have tried commercial craft brewing in the Roanoke Valley. Two short-lived attempts in the 1990s were the Blue Muse in downtown Roanoke and Lone Star Cantina & Brewery.
A more recent success has been at Awful Arthur's Seafood Co., where owner Todd Lancaster opened a brewery last year beside his bar and restaurant at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke. The beer is served at his restaurant.
And in the New River Valley, a new microbrewery, Bull & Bones Brewhaus and Grill opened last month, at the First & Main shopping center in Blacksburg. Also, the Shooting Creek Farm Brewery in Floyd County recently started its commercial operation to brew ales, after opposition from some neighbors to its state licensing.
As for the Roanoke brewery's future, Davidson said he'd like to produce a seasonal beer this spring to be sold under both the Roanoke Railhouse and the Blacksburg Brewing Co. brands. And eventually, he wants to sell the brew on a retail basis, but that could be a long time from now.
Now, "the beer is selling very nicely, and I am concentrating on increasing my production," Davidson said.
Early success
After the first four days of Roanoke Railhouse's debut, Jason Martin called Davidson. Already, four of his five-gallon kegs of Roanoke Railhouse beer were empty at Martin's Downtown Bar and Grill in Roanoke, one of the seven establishments where the brew is being sold. Others include Montano's International Gourmet, Jimmy V's, the Brambleton Deli and Annie Moore's Irish Pub.
Last weekend, Martin, the owner, ordered two more kegs "to get me through the weekend," he said.
At his downtown bar and eatery on First Street, the Railhouse brew has become a fast favorite.
"That's right up there with my better-selling beers," Martin said, explaining that Miller Light sells best.
Martin already can tell that patrons like the new taste, which he called "drinkable."
"It has no aftertaste," he said. "It doesn't linger. It's got enough character to be good, but it doesn't beat up your palette."
Some shot-size samples of the Roanoke Railhouse blend have been handed out to some barflies at Annie Moore's Irish Pub and at the Brambleton Deli, both in Roanoke County, where the brew debuted recently. Already, the Railhouse beer has replaced certain brews on tap, such as Stella Artois, a Belgium beer, at Annie Moore's and Newcastle ale at the Brambleton Deli.
Chip Moore, owner of both establishments, said the Roanoke Railhouse blend already is a hit, largely because "it's a heavy beer, but it doesn't have a really strong aftertaste."
And because Roanoke Railhouse Brewery is a local operation, these Roanoke Valley restaurant owners said they're more than happy to serve the microbrew, as long as their patrons are drinking it.
A hometown brewing operation, "those are the people we want to support," Martin said.
