The hullabaloo over whether to license Floyd County's first microbrewery apparently comes down to a question of "quietude."

That was the outcome of 3¹₂ hours of wrangling Wednesday at a packed hearing on a license application for Shooting Creek Farm Brewery. It will be at least a month until a Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control officer issues a decision on letting the brewery produce up to 10,000 gallons of beer per year.

Held in a small room filled to nearly overflowing by the 40 or so people who attended, Wednesday's session explored what effect a new business might have on rural Thomas Farm Road. The several-mile stretch of gravel and dirt runs through pastures and wooded slopes near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Speakers put the number of occupied residences along it at between eight and 15. A recent state study found an average of 15 vehicles use it each day.

This was important, speakers said, because Virginia law bars granting an alcohol license in cases where it would "substantially interfere with the usual quietude and tranquility" of a place.

Neighbors who opposed the brewery plan stressed the "interfere" portion of the law, arguing that traffic and noise would inevitably rise.

The lawyer representing brewery partners Brett and Joanna Nichols, Ray Jones and Christine Blackburn emphasized the "substantially" wording in the law, saying the brewery's impact would be slight.

Questioned by Roanoke lawyer Travis Graham, who was presenting objections to the license, Brett Nichols said he could not say if his plan would necessarily disturb anyone. "I think the word 'tranquility' is subjective," Nichols said.

Paul and Jean Lacoste, who live across Thomas Farm Road from the brewery site, said they were already upset by traffic and noise during a beer tasting Nichols and Jones hosted Aug. 2.

Jean Lacoste sobbed as she said, "My neighborhood has been the epitome of peace and quiet."

The Lacostes questioned whether the process Floyd County used in permitting a building on the Nicholses' property was appropriate for a brewery, or if the Nicholses' state-approved septic field was big enough.

The brewery partners' lawyer, Terri Beirne of Richmond, called the Lacostes' suggestions "insulting and inaccurate."

David Elliott and Gloria Underwood, who live a couple of miles from the Nicholses, also said a brewery would bother them. The Rev. Warren Brown of Faith Baptist Church, who said he got involved because the Lacostes and Underwoods are in his congregation, said others oppose the plan, too.

But Nichols, who lives at the brewery site and already runs an organic vegetable farm there, said he had support from many around the county. Beirne submitted a letter from the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce backing the brewery and offered 50 additional letters of support. ABC Chief Hearing Officer Robert O'Neal said they were not necessary, because the purpose of the hearing was to explore the opposition.

Nichols said he expects to brew about 1,800 gallons of beer to start with, and to draw about 10 vehicles per day to the brewery, including visitors to a tasting room next to the production area. He said he hoped to cater to a "moderate, mature" clientele of Blue Ridge Parkway travelers and sell most of his product off site via wholesalers.