The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 14

THE GIST

Tasty New Taps
BEER DRINKERS WILL HAVE another
place to celebrate their love of craft brews
this summer. Oregon-based Deschutes
Brewery recently announced their plans for
a tasting room in downtown Roanoke. Their
new space, located at 315 Market Street SE,
is tentatively scheduled to open in August.
"It's our first brick and mortar location
in Roanoke and gives us and the community a sense of tangible progress ahead of
the production facility," says Nate Brocious,
tours and tasting room manager. "Being in
the heart of downtown allows us to expose
our culture and brands to locals and visitors
alike. Back in 1988 we opened our first location in the heart of downtown in Bend so
it only seems fitting that we would open our
location in the heart of downtown Roanoke."
This new addition to downtown will encourage local craft beer fans to get to know
Deschutes as they prepare to break ground
in our region for their new facility in 2019.
They plan to have more than 15 taps, and
drinkers will be able to enjoy in-house as
well as fill growlers to take home. Brewerybranded merchandise will also be available.

"The role of the tasting room will be to
expose our guests to our culture, give them
the opportunity to try our brands and for
another space for the community to come
together over a pint," says Brocious.
At time of print, details are still being
finalized, but the hope is for the room to
have both indoor and outdoor seating.
Plans include having food available from
surrounding local restaurants. The brewery
will also hire staff in early summer.
After the surprise announcement, social
media was flooded with Roanokers' posts
about the news and photos of the space and
merchandise.
"We are so grateful to be opening a
tasting room in such a supportive community," says Brocious. "The enthusiasm
of Roanokers is only matched by the level
of enthusiasm by all of us at Deschutes
Brewery."
In addition to their tasting room, the
popular Street Pub will take place on July
15 to support local nonprofits such as Roanoke Outside, Blue Ridge Land Conservancy and others. The 2016 event hosted

COURTESY OF DESCHUTES BREWERY

Deschutes Brewery highly anticipated tasting room prepares to open in downtown Roanoke.

A Taste of Deschutes.
The tasting room will open in August.

22,000 people and raised $81,000 for the
organizations. "The World's Largest Pop-Up
Pub" fundraising event showcases several of
the vast array of beers Deschutes Brewery
offers.
-LIZ LONG

Sweet Summer Flavors
Whether you prefer the classics like chocolate or want a more adventurous
flavor like goat cheese, Blue Cow Ice Cream Co. can't wait for you to visit.
ICE CREAM LOVERS have a new spot
to please their sweet tooth at Blue Cow
Ice Cream Co., located at 1115 Piedmont
Street, near Walnut Bridge alongside the
Roanoke River greenway street.
Blue Cow Ice Cream Co. opened in
late May. Owners Jason and Carolyn Kiser
spent six months renovating the space and
perfecting recipes and popular flavors. They
make all their ice cream by hand in small

14 | JULY/AUGUST 2017

batches, using the best ingredients and buying local as much as possible to support
the economy. While neither owner grew up
thinking or dreaming about an ice cream
shop, when the opportunity presented itself, they couldn't let the idea go.
"Ice cream is something everyone can
enjoy," Carolyn Kiser says. "It's considered
a treat and often smiles and fun go along
with it, making it a joyful thing to sell! It

was so exciting to create the flavors, the
brand and the experience, and we will continously evolve it to serve our customers
and the community."
They plan to introduce new flavors
each month, as well as use local ingredients depending on season. Kiser adds that
they plan to expand their menu to include
options without dairy, and are open to
suggestions.

THEROANOKER.COM

http://www.THEROANOKER.COM

The Roanoker - July/August 2017

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