USA, VA: Hammer & Forge Brewing Co. coming to Boones Mill this fall
This fall, the town of Boones Mill will join the growing list of localities in the Roanoke Valley that are home to breweries, Roanoke Times reported on June 2.
Caleb Williamson plans to open Hammer & Forge Brewing Co. in the former Medicine Shoppe space on Main Street. Williamson is leasing the 2,015-square-foot property.
Williamson started out as a home brewer three years ago. When he was laid off from his job in the struggling petroleum industry, he got the nudge he needed to turn his hobby into a career.
“I started home brewing a few years back and I think every home brewer has a dream of opening a brewery someday,” he said.
Though the jump from a small home-brewing operation to a business is a big one, Williamson won’t be going in blind. He’s been learning the ropes at Big Lick Brewing Co. in Roanoke. He reached out to the owners, asking if he could help out with their operation and get some experience producing beer on a larger scale.
Bryan Summerson, one of Big Lick’s owners, said the brewery is happy to let others get a peek at their brewing process. They’ve also worked with the owners of Twin Creeks Brewing, which is set to open in Vinton this fall.
“We pretty much do it for anybody that asks,” Summerson said. “We kind of have an open-door policy.”
Summerson said he’s a big fan of Asheville, a hub for breweries in North Carolina, and the way the industry has made the city a destination. He likes the idea of something similar happening in Roanoke. And with each new brewery that opens in the Roanoke Valley, it gets a step closer to attaining that same status.
Williamson said the owners welcomed him, a stranger, with open arms. He feels it’s a testament to the sense of community among craft brewers in the region. Aside from his love of beer, it’s one of the things that drew Williamson to the industry.
“I’ve improved my home brewing just from being with those guys, and that’s part of what has allowed me to take the leap of faith and decide that I’m going to do this,” Williamson said.
The success Williamson sees in the Roanoke Valley — from the turnout at the recent anniversary celebration at Chaos Mountain Brewing in Callaway to the fact that Deschutes and Ballast Point have chosen the area for new East Coast operations — gives him confidence going forward, he said.
Williamson said he chose Boones Mill because of its location off U.S. 220 and because many people who are traveling to Chaos Mountain go through the town.
Thousands of cars pass through the small town and Williamson hopes to capitalize on that traffic.
“There’s a lot of people who come to Roanoke from Franklin County every day,” he said. “And you can stop on your way home and get a growler filled.”
The town had identified a brewery as a business that would align with the goals in its comprehensive plan, adopted by the town council in December, said Boones Mill Town Manager Matt Lawless.
“Making that kind of match feels great,” he said.
Williamson heard the town was interested in a brewery, which prompted him to reach out to Lawless.
Lawless said this is a prime example of the town making its plans public and having businesses respond by seeking them out.
The brewery will create jobs and bring money in from outside of the town, Lawless said. It could also give Boones Mill some night life, he said, which it’s short on, given that most businesses in town are closed after 5 p.m.
“It serves locals as a community meeting place but it will also get some tourist business,” Lawless said. “Some of the best kinds of economic development is when money comes in from further away.”
To start, Williamson anticipates producing about two barrels of beer per week and hiring two to three employees. He hopes the business will grow and at some point allow for a production facility and small-scale distribution.
Williamson expects to primarily brew ales, since they’re easier to produce than lagers, which have to be fermented at colder temperatures. But he plans for variety and said there will be something for every kind of beer drinker.
“I don’t want people to come down there and be like, OK the only thing I can get here is crazy, uber geek craft beer. There’s going to be offerings on both sides of the table,” he said. “There’s going to be very hoppy IPAs, but a light blond, and a dark stout, Russian imperials, Irish red ales, American amber — anything and everything that I can try, I will.”
But right now, Williamson is in what he called the boring stage of inspections and quotes from contractors. He hopes that will change soon, with Hammer & Forge opening sometime this fall.
The name pays tribute to the Greek god Hephaestus, god of fire and metalworking.
“Originally I wanted to name it after Hephaestus, the god, but then I figured that it would be difficult to pronounce if you’d had a few beers,” Williamson said.
So he decided to go with something a bit simpler, incorporating some of the tools associated with Hephaestus.
It’s representative of Williamson’s belief that, if you want something, you have to work hard for it. He envisions the brewery as a place that celebrates hard workers from all industries.
05 June, 2016
