Related

• ABC licenses Floyd County microbewery (Sept. 13)
• Opposition voiced over Floyd Co. brewery (Aug. 14)
• Protest may cork plans for brewery (Aug. 13)

Neighbors opposed to the opening of Floyd County's first microbrewery have appealed the operation's license and plan to make their case next week before the full board of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The ABC granted a license to the Shooting Creek Farm Brewery in September, despite opposition from a group of neighbors and a Baptist minister from Check.

That group -- composed of David Elliott, Jean and Paul Lacoste, Gloria Underwood and the Rev. Warren Brown of Faith Baptist Church -- has filed an appeal and is scheduled to present its case before the ABC board at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The three-member board will convene in Richmond but will teleconference into the Roanoke ABC office for the hearing, ABC spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw said.

The meeting is open to the public, but only the appellants and brewery representatives may address the board. No cameras or recording devices will be allowed, Shaw said.

Brett Nichols, his wife, Johanna, and neighbors Ray Jones and Christine Blackburn applied in March for an ABC license to brew and sell up to 10,000 barrels a year of original recipe stouts and ales for off-premises consumption. Under such a license, patrons could each sample up to 4 ounces of beer at a tasting room on the property.

A hearing was held in August in Roanoke on the brewery license. The opposition argued that noise and traffic from the brewery would disrupt the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood and exacerbate blind spots and other hazards on Thomas Farm Road, the narrow gravel thoroughfare that winds through the area.

They also raised concerns about the possibility of an increase in drunken drivers who might patronize the tasting room.

State law bans licensing an establishment that makes or sells alcohol if it can be demonstrated that the business would substantially interfere with the peace and tranquility of an area.

But Robert O'Neal, ABC's chief administrative hearing officer, ruled in September that the objectors had not proven that Shooting Creek would create a substantial enough disturbance.

The brewery is on a commercial organic farm owned and operated by the Nicholses. Commercial traffic already goes through that neighborhood, and a Virginia Department of Transportation study showed that some increased traffic would not overburden the road, the ruling stated.

O'Neal further ruled that as part of the license, Shooting Creek owners must construct a commercial vehicle entrance to the brewery that conforms to state standards and must put up signs directing brewery traffic to that entrance.

Nichols said at the time that he was willing to comply with those conditions but would delay any construction in case of an appeal.

Paul Lacoste declined Thursday to say if the opposition will bring forward any new complaints or evidence at next week's hearing.

"We're not in a position to talk about it. We're dealing with the ABC board directly," Lacoste said.

Representatives of Shooting Creek could not immediately be reached for comment.

After the hearing, the board could take up to a month to render its decision. No matter what the board rules, the case could go on, however.

If either party is unhappy with the board's ruling, Shaw said it can be appealed to the Floyd County Circuit Court.