Deschutes Brewery looking at Virginia's Albemarle County

I've been saying that since it was narrowed down to Asheville and Roanoke for them. Deschutes will not go wrong with either location. Asheville definitely is more of a craft beer destination location but I think the state of Virginia as a whole has started to get noticed by a lot of the bigger breweries. Not just for distribution routes but with Stone recently opening, Green Flash in a couple months and the rumor about BP possibly landing here there's a lot that has been happening over the past fews years that many do not realize.

 

I'd hardly say Burlington is a world class tourist destination, but Montreal is a damn fine city to visit (much moreso than Charlotte, or Burlington) and it's little more than two hours away from those VT breweries.

 

He didn't say Burlington was a world class tourist destination.

 

I always thought Roanoke was on the coast. It is not.

 

I meant that in jest :-)

 

We may know an answer tomorrow. http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/r...5e3-2135-5828-a730-e43748ace1ab.html?mode=jqm

 

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/03/22/reports-deschutes-going-roanoke/82108596/

Reports: Deschutes brewery going to Roanoke
The battle to bring the big Deschutes brewery to Asheville appears to have been lost to Roanoke, Virginia.

Media in Roanoke are reporting that Deschutes, based in Bend, Oregon, has apparently chosen to build its eastern expansion in Virginia, ending a long and competitive scramble to recruit the company and the 100 jobs it will bring. Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe is in Roanoke on Tuesday to make what is described as a major economic announcement at 2 p.m. Another economic announcement is planned for Tuesday in Portland, Oregon. Details on McAuliffe's statement have not been released and officials there are mum for the moment, but it is assumed that it will involve Deschutes. The scramble to land the brewery involved both North and South Carolina and Virginia.

The effort to bring Deschutes to Roanoke was particularly intense since the city lost out on the Sierra Nevada brewery, which instead built just outside Asheville in Mills River. Asheville also successfully recruited the New Belgium brewery, which is soon to open on the banks of the French Broad River near downtown and the Oskar Blues brewery built in Brevard, giving Western North Carolina three major craft brands along with nearly 50 regional and local breweries.

The effort to land Deschutes began last year when it was learned that county officials were negotiating for the sale of property in Bent Creek to an unnamed businesses. Deschutes president Michael Lalonde confirmed that his company had scouted Asheville as well as Greenville and Charleston, South Carolina for the expansion. The highly-regarded Deschutes is mostly a western brewery and does not currently sell its beers in most East Coast markets including Asheville.

Lalonde made a second visit to Asheville last fall, leading many to believe that the city had an edge in getting a fourth craft brewery. But in Roanoke, the public got behind the campaign and a Deschutes 2 Roanoke Facebook page helped rally the cry.

"We appreciate that they will make way more of an impact in Roanoke than they would have here," said Mike Rangel, past president of the Asheville Brewers Alliance, which represents the local breweries. "Losing a big brewery doesn't diminish us as a beer city." If Deschutes does choose Roanoke, it will be "a loss from the standpoint that we would have had another world-class brewery to learn from and to share ideas with."

Watch CITIZEN-TIMES.com for more details on this story.

 

I heard from someone late last night that Ballast Point is very likely headed to Troutville, which is about 15min north of Roanoke. There is also a mystery 3rd brewery in negotiations with Botetourt County that will supposedly create more jobs than both Deschutes and Ballast point. No idea if that is combined jobs or what. There were not hints as to who it may be though.

 

I've been hearing and seeing people mention the BP to Troutville (Daleville) for a few months now but still have not found a published article or story that backs this up. Just last Spring when some BP folks were scoping out the area. And definitely the first time I have heard about a mystery brewery in the mix. Hard to think of another large brewery coming to VA much less be larger than Deschutes since they are in the Top 5 largest. New Belgium and Sierra Nevada are larger but SV has already opened in NC and New Belgium will soon open in NC as I read from the article noted above. Stone is already partially open in RVA and Green Flash will be opening over Memorial Day weekend. Maybe Lagunitas or Firestone Walker if I took a wild guess and there is in fact a mystery brewery out there??

 

With Roanoke's growing beer scene, breweries expanding, best beer bar (Thanks Blue 5) and Deschutes coming plus possibly others down the road in the near future, we are looking alright, alright, alright. Right @trevord13, @brother_kenneth, @Claytonbrewsby, @dphalpin @l1fted and @NealBuck??

 

We should retitle this thread.

As a Virginia Tech grad, having all these breweries in SW VA along I81 would be great!

 

Local news will be streaming the announcement live at 2pm. http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/mcauliffe-to-announce-major-economic-development-in-roanoke/38630718

 

meh. just give me the beer

 

If you have been to Bend, you will realize Deschutes is a long way from an Interstate for shipping in and out. Roanoke will have better connections.

 

This is definitely an exciting day for Roanoke. I am happy that Deschutes will be here, both for their beers (no more muling them back from other states!) and hopefully for what it will mean to the beer/brewing scene here. I have been jealous of our (somewhat nearby) neighbors in Asheville, Charlotte, Richmond, Charlottesville, etc. Deschutes should anchor our scene.

Also, for those who watched the news conference, there were hints of other announcements to come.

 

More deets...

https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/roanoke/

https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/wp...tes-Brewery-Chooses-Roanoke-Press-Release.pdf

 

VA distro starting this summer, nice.

 

"Deschutes expects to start shipping beer from the Roanoke location in about five years."

Wow...that is quite the timeline for build out. I thought 3 years for New Belgium was long!

 

Yeah that's awesome! I didn't really have a dog in the fight over NC/VA but knowing we get another world class brewery distributed here makes it a win in my eyes.

 

They provided free beer to everyone at the press conference, that was a nice touch!

 

The timeline from breaking ground (2019) to shiping from the facility (2021) isn't the shocking part. It took Stone under 2 years to open up their tasting room after ground broke and they should be brewing next month or May. Green Flash will also open up in less than 2 years after breaking ground. The crazy part is it will be another 3 years until ground is broke on the new facility. According to the timeline , discussions with Roanoke started in 2012 and then in 2014 is when they began searching for possible sites in the Roanoke area. Feb 2015 is when Deschutes decided to focus on the location where the facility is to be built. So basically 4 years to just plan out once they decided on the location. I'm hoping they are being conservative on timing and will surprise us with an earlier than expected completion. Glad to have them even if it takes longer than expected.

 

Wow, Albemarle county, VA is kicking themselves, how badly they botched landing Deschutes last fall with zoning of the land that Deschutes wanted. Oh well, all dat old money is still in Albemarle...

 

And with that...
How about we start a Deschutes Roanoke thread and leave Albemarle County where they chose to lie.

 

Congrats VA! Still think Black Butte is one of the best porters I have ever tasted. Can't wait for it to become a stable in my fridge, all though 5 years seems like a long time.

 

I will get their beer by the time I'm 30. yay

 

Good for Roanoke. I echo the sentiment of others of what this will hopefully do for the beer/brewery scene there.

 

Isn't that better than not getting it at all?

 

Not surprised considering the market these days...

http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/r...cle_05e69861-5604-5673-bad7-9687851943bb.html

 

I'll wager that "delay" means "Cancelled"

 

Kind of stinks for Roanoke but I was skeptical when the original timeline did not have them breaking ground for something like 3-4 years anyway but considering how things have gone lately with so many breweries closing, downsizing, etc it's probably a smart business decision from the private ownership. I understand they are conservative but that is a bit extreme. Some locals, as well as Deschutes, have defended the recent decision by saying the purchase of the land reflects their commitment to building in Roanoke. I am more of the side of their used of the term "flexibility" in that Deschutes going ahead purchasing land that they were promised any how and that very well could open them up to turning around to sell it themselves at some point in the not to distant future if the price is right or another buyer comes or if Deschutes ends up relocating to another part of the East Coast or pulling back all together. There was such a GASP moment when the initial headlines read that Deschutes was pulling back or delaying that many of those were updated or new stories came out very soon after (within 1-2 hours) with a more confident headline that they were closing on the land. I'm not sure what they are paying for that but I would assume it's a small concession considering the full investment that was going to be given. The fact that they opened a small tap room also should be instill long term confidence as it's a very small operation with very little beer served brewed in house. They could easily pull back from that once their lease is up whenever that is and it would simply hurt some feelings and burn some bridges locally.

 

After more than 2 years, this news would have been worthy of it's own thread. (Oh look! That's been done!)
Or at least resurrect the Deschutes Roanoke thread that was from the same time frame? This still has nothing to do with Albemarle County.

 

Sorry, bud. Didn't mean to inconvenience you.

 

I was thinking that anyone who claimed Roanoke was too far out of the way for a brewery has never been to Bend.