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Updated 2/22

Here is a news release from Red Rooster Coffee Roaster with dates of tastings:

Starr Hill Brewery of Crozet, VA and Red Rooster Coffee Roaster of Floyd, VA, have teamed up for the March 1^st release of the Little Red Roostarr Coffee Cream Stout. Created by brewer Mark Thompson and the Starr Hill team, the new beer is brewed using organic coffee artisan roasted by Red Rooster. The two companies decided to collaborate after working side-by-side backstage at Floyd Fest since 2009.  While giving away beer and coffee to VIPs and artists, the two companies sampled a lot of each other’s products and came away with a mutual appreciation.

            “When Starr Hill suggested they’d like to make a beer using our coffee, I was really excited,” said Red Rooster owner Haden Polseno-Hensley. “It just makes sense. We’re both in Virginia, we work together at Floyd Fest, and we love their products.”

            The new brew will be notable for its malt sweetness, chocolate & caramel notes, as well as the complexity and flavor of roasted coffee. It will be available beginning March 1^st at retailers carrying other Starr Hill beers. In conjunction, Red Rooster will be releasing a limited amount of Starr Hill Stout Blend Coffee in hand-printed biodegradable bags containing the French roast blend used by Starr Hill to make the Little Red Roostarr.

To celebrate the release of the beer, Starr Hill, Red Rooster, and distributor PA Short are holding events in Roanoke and Floyd.  On Wednesday evening March 6^th at 5pm at the Wasena City Tap House, Mark Thompson & Haden Polseno-Hensley will be on hand to talk about the beer and the coffee. On Thursday, March  7^ththe events move up the mountain to Floyd where Oddfellas Cantina is featuring Tapas & Taps, small plate appetizers & Little Red Roostarr Coffee Stout from 5pm-7pm. Thompson & Polseno-Hensley will once again be on hand to answer questions and talk about the process. Following the Oddfellas event, Dogtown & the Winter Sun are hosting a Starr Hill Tap Invasion featuring discounted pints of the Little Red Roostarr from 7pm to midnight with music from local band the Deer Run Drifters.

End update

A Floyd County coffee roaster and a Virginia brewery are getting together to create a coffee cream stout.

Red Rooster Coffee Roaster and Starr Hill Brewery are planning to release a small batch of Little Red Roostarr Coffee Cream Stout, said Red Rooster proprietor Haden Polseno-Hensley. The beer should be available where Starr Hill is sold beginning in March, he said.

Starr Hill’s website describes the brew as a full-bodied milk stout with chocolate and caramel notes, and, of course, coffee.

The idea came together when the two companies were providing drinks to performers backstage at Floyd Fest, Polseno-Hensley said. Starr Hill’s brewer said he was interested in brewing a coffee stout, and so Polseno-Hensley has been working with him to select the best roast. They’ve narrowed it down to to two roasts, the 4&20 French Roast, a dark roast, and the Funky Chicken, a medium and dark blend.

Polseno-Hensley will roast the coffee beans and send them to Starr Hill’s brewery in Crozet.

Red Rooster plans to release a Starr Hill roast featuring whichever roast Starr Hill chooses for the cream stout.

A tap party featuring the coffee cream stout will be hosted at Dogtown Roadhouse in Floyd. River and Rail restaurant in Roanoke is also hosting a tasting, Polseno-Hensley said. Exact dates haven’t been finalized.