COMPANY HISTORY

Inspired by the craft brewing revolution and a thirst for great beer, John Bryce founded Blacksburg Brewing Co. (BBC) with the help of good friend, turned beer distributor, Chris Bernhardt in 2002.  At the age of only 23, the pair relied heavily on the generous support of many others who must be recognized. BBC would never have materialized without help from these friends and early believers.

Originally a small, artisanal microbrewery located in a Christiansburg warehouse, Bryce operated BBC and Bernhardt operated the distribution company, Blacksburg Beer Co. - the other BBC. (VA is a three-tier state, so beer must be channeled through a licensed distributor.)

More than six brands were produced at the original brewery with varying availability. BBC beer was sold draft-only to retail outlets via Blacksburg Beer Co. and brewery-direct to the general public. The majority of Blacksburg's bars and restaurants maintained at least one BBC tap. Here are some of the original logos that Nathan King designed for the brewery:

Under-funded, under-experienced, and never reaching profitability, Bryce closed BBC in May of 2004, and took other jobs at Virginia breweries to pay off his debts and gain additional experience.

“His oatmeal stout was one of the best that I’ve ever had,” says Dan McMichael, the President of the New River Valley Brewers Guild. “People loved his rye pale ale.” Abe Vickers, a manger at Champs Sports Bar in Blacksburg, says, “The brews were popular with the younger crowds.” However, despite its success, Bryce closed the BBC in 2004. “Customers loved it. Everything was fine,” says Hugo Malik, a manager at PK’s Bar and Grille in Blacksburg. “I don’t know what happened - they just went out of business or something.” -New River Valley Magazine Sept/Oct 2008

Bryce was promoted to Head Brewer during his brief stint at Capital City Brewing Co. in Arlington, but soon left to pursue a rewarding opportunity at the much larger Old Dominion Brewing Co. in Ashburn. After serving as Old Dominion's Production Manager and working 3am to 3pm brewhouse shifts, Bryce left ODBC only to find himself filling similar roles at Starr Hill Brewing Co. in Crozet, where he was credited as, "playing a major role in the operation’s success" by Starr Hill's owner and Master Brewer, Mark Thompson. -American Brewer Volume 23/Number 3 Summer 2007

Bryce eventually left Starr Hill for Germany, where he earned the title Brewmaster VLB from the renowned Versuchs- und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei in Berlin. To fund his German education, Bryce sold BBC's former brewing equipment (but not the BBC brand) to a startup brewery in planning. That same startup, Roanoke Railhouse Brewing Company, soon recruited Bryce to manage their brewery upon his return from Berlin.  The natural fit of re-launching the BBC brand from the new Roanoke brewery became obvious to everyone involved, and led to an agreement to brew BBC beer under license at Roanoke Railhouse. This ironic twist of fate put Bryce back to brewing BBC beer on its original equipment at his new employers' brewery - this time with a completely different level of education, experience, and equipment optimization.  This was the beginning the BBC that we know today.