ROANOKE (WSLS)-- The fifth largest craft brewer in the country is coming to Roanoke. Deschutes brewery chose Virginia over North and South Carolina for its east coast home.
The announcement comes after a six month social media campaign called Deschutes2Rke and for many people, this weekend marks their first chance to taste Deschutes beer at the For the Love of the Brew festival on Saturday. The event will mark the first festival in our area that Deschutes has ever taken part in.
Big Lick Entertainment's For the Love of the Brew will feature beer from all of the major local breweries, like Sunken City, Chaos Mountain and Soaring Ridge. It will also feature tastings from some breweries that have never been featured at festivals in our area, including Sweetwater brewing out of Atlanta and Deschutes.
"This gives the Roanoke Valley the opportunity to experience the company that the community has so greatly supported and helped attract in the last six months through the campaign," says Michael Galliher with Deschutes2Rke.
After Tuesday's announcement that Deschutes will be coming to Roanoke, many people are getting excited to taste the beer they've worked so hard to get to our area.
"This is huge," says JD Sutphin, president of Big Lick Entertainment. "It's the first time that it's ever actually been poured in Roanoke. If you've had Deschutes before, you know that this is one of the best beers in the world, honestly. So for them to be here for this event for us and to benefit Mountain View Humane is huge."
According to the Deschutes brewery website, there are no restaurants, stores or bars in Southwest Virginia that currently sell the beer. There are some locations in Washington, DC where it is available, but that's several hours from Roanoke.
With such a unique blend of breweries already in the Roanoke Valley, many people think Deschutes will add a little extra flavor to the Star City.
"The breweries that we have here are so cool and representative of the creativity in our area," says Sutphin. "It's always cool to meet the folks that own these breweries. They had to take a huge risk to start their own jobs and employ their own people. To see that American dream happen in a glass is really cool."
Breweries on tap for this weekend include: Devils Backbone, Starr Hill, Sunken City, Victory, Heavy Seas, Natty Greene's, Apocalypse, Soaring Ridge, Chaos Mountain, Flying Mouse, Hardywood, Legend, Duclaw, Bold Rock, South Street, Sweetwater, O'Conner, Country Boy, Aviator, Beer Hound, Goose Island, River Company, Brothers, Deschutes, Big Lick Brewing.
Last year the event took place at the Market Building in Downtown Roanoke. This year it's moved to the Berglund Center so there is more space for more breweries and people to attend.
The festival begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. Tickets for tastings are available here, they start at $30 and $5 for designated drivers.