Hello, I will be flying into Roanoke and working in Blacksburg in a couple of weeks. Then I will have 2 days to make it to DC for work. My questions: Anything worthwhile to hit up in Blacksburg? Anything along the way to DC I should be sure to hit up or should I drive straight there and do the beer scene there (which I've hit up before)? Thanks!
Blacksburg - Vintage Cellar, 622 North, Mellow Mushroom - you could also check out the Cellar and River Mill, somtimes they will have some finds on draft. Between Blacksburg and DC: Parkway Brewing - Salem, just off 81, only open Thurs-Sun Devils Backbone Outpost - Lexington, just off 81 RedbeardBrewing - Staunton, a few minutes off 81 Three Brothers - Harrisonburg, a few minutes off 81 You could also add about 20min to your tip and stop by Adroit Theory in Purcellville. Another option could be either going up or coming back through Charlottesville, adding another 30min, and hitting Champion, Three Notchd, and Beer Run. Another 25min from there would be the 151 Beer Trail with Blue Mountain, Devils Backbone, Wild Wolf, and Blue Mountain Barrel House. I`m sure I missed something, but those should be the high points.
Thanks for all of the information, I don't need to do a direct route to DC so the other options work well too. Would it be worth taking a longer route and stopping in Richmond for a night?
Richmond is always worth the stop, but in my limited experience I-95 is an absolute nightmare to travel in either direction. It might say it takes 90min, but it ends up taking us closer to 2.5-3hrs during the summer.
Very true. But, if you ride down to Richmond and hit Mekong and The Answer (next door to one another) you have over 100 taps, usually including the better brews from every brewery listed above. If you'd rather just have the beer from these breweries I'd say this is the way to go, but if you want to visit those breweries, well....
To reiterate some of this (coming from DC but having roots in Roanoke): From the stuff we get up here, check out Parkway since it shouldn't be hard to do while in Roanoke area. Debil's Backbone wins a lot of awards, "but" they follow style guidelines (IMO), which is could be good or bad, depending on your tastes. I have limited experience in Richmond, but what I know others have said (personally enjoyed Strangeways after they just opened, not sure how they've grown). DC area has lots of options, DC Brau being the first/best; Bluejacket is new but tends towards more "nuanced" versions if styles. Flying Dog isn't necessarily out of the way. Specific suggestions from all can be aided by a more specific itinerary. Can PM (conversation) me (us?) if you have specific questions also.
