The Roanoker May/June 2024 - 117

distilleries & breweries
brewery that just happened to sell food and
we become much more of a restaurant that just
happens to make our own beer. "
Though it wasn't the plan, they've embraced
it.
The brewpub license allows him to sell other
alcoholic beverages like wine, cider, kombucha
or even other beers if he so chooses. Though he
hasn't served beers outside of his own, Landry
loves being part of the craft beer ecosystem and
says the other breweries in the area have been
extremely welcoming.
" There's a lot of good people and we've all
done our part to grow the craft beer industry
in Roanoke. "
One unique thing about Roanoke's craft
beer scene is that nearly every brewer started
in the local craft beer home brewer's club.
When he was a teacher in Roanoke schools,
Bryan Summerson of Big Lick Brewing joined
another friend at a home brewing club meeting.
" I got infatuated and started home brewing. "
The habit grew. As Summerson won competitions
and shared his creations with friends,
they encouraged him to sell them. Additional
encouragement came from his wife, who got
tired of him spending money on his hobby and
told him to " start making money or else. "
Though they started with the ethos " we
never brew the same beer twice, " as distributors
started selling their products, they had
to keep a few favorites consistently available:
two lagers, a couple of IPAs and a sour. Their
number one seller is Smith Mountain Lager
(SML).
That hasn't slowed their experimentation,
though, as evidenced in their collaboration with
Hotel Roanoke and Blue Ridge PBS, Heritage
Pre-Prohibition Lager. It's both sweeter and
more bitter than SML or the modern lagers
you're probably used to.
Big Lick also partners with Brady's (they're
currently brewing a barley wine in one of their
bourbon barrels - yes, they're a winery too) as
well as local restaurants. They allow customers
to order from Beamer's and Tuco's Taqueria
from their tables, where they can also consume
the food.
Sean Turk of Olde Salem Brewing Co.
agrees that that's a good strategy, and his customers
can scan QR codes to make orders
from local restaurants who deliver the food
right to their tables at both of his locations,
the original on Main Street in Salem and the
downtown Roanoke branch on Market Street,
where Deschutes briefly had their tasting room.
TheRoanoker.com
A small piece of the brewing puzzle.
Turk was able to buy all Deschute's old
equipment. " It was a good opportunity... and
we were excited to have Salem represented in
a named way in Downtown Roanoke, which I
don't think has ever been done before. "
That Salem address means a lot to Turk. His
father spent his whole life working as finance
director for the City of Salem. " He retired at
City Hall, which is one block behind our building
which made it super special for me to try
to make my career a block from where my dad
did. Every day I leave the parking lot, I look
up and see his window. "
Turk can't pick a favorite beer because every
one of them has " a little piece of somebody in
them...I have personal, emotional and all kind
of connections to all the beers, " like Queen of
California which was named after his wife's
grandmother who lived out there. It's also, like
all his beers, named after a song, this particular
one by John Mayer.
People love the touch of the personal, the
different flavors and the personalities of local
beers and spirits and local businesses in general.
Whether you want a light beer, a heritage
lager, strong liquor, something experimental, or
a cocktail, Roanoke is full of local and original
choices.
With so many, you can surely find the one
that's perfect for your taste and atmosphere
palette.
Cheers! I
MAY/JUNE 2024 117
A family affair: Brian
Summerson stands beside
his daughter , Erin, at Big
Lick Brewing.
Williams Landry stands behind the bar
at Twisted Track, waiting to please
patrons' beer requests.
COURTESY OF TWISTED TRACK BREWPUB / ANTHONY GIORGETTI
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker May/June 2024

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