Sneak Peek: Lake Anne Brew House

After a year of hammering, scraping, painting, refinishing, and finally, brewing beer, Lake Anne Brew House owners Jason and Melissa Romano are finally nearly ready to pour.

Lake Anne’s first nanobrewery will open Saturday at 10 a.m. There will be a ribbon cutting at noon, as well as a party on the plaza in front of the business with live music and food from Clyde’s, Kalypso’s and The Bratwurst King.

But the star attraction will be the beer. Jason Romano, a cybersecurity professional, has been home brewing for 20 years. His first batches of beer for the brew house — made on site in six tanks squeezed into the 1,000-square-foot space — will feature a little of something for everyone.

“We will have an IPA, a stout, a brown ale and a red ale,” he said. “We won’t have a lager, because that takes more time to ferment. We’re hoping to have five beers for opening weekend.”

Jason Romano said he is ready to show what he has been working towards — both from a beer standpoint and a community standpoint.

“I think brewing is a great creative outlet,” he said. “We have always wanted to do something kind of like this. We were looking for a spot to invest in in Lake Anne. When we discovered this place, we thought ‘could we actually turn this into a brewery?’ ”

Says Melissa: “Anyone else would have said no.”

Melissa, whose professional background is in architecture, did much of the renovation work herself. She scraped back layers of tile flooring and found the original concrete floors that were poured at the same time as the plaza. She had them polished for an industrial feel.

The decor of the 47-seat brew house also incorporates Lake Anne’s mid-Century modern feel — using bright orange and walnut wood and clean lines to make the cozy space one where patrons will enjoy tasting a flight or a pint of beer.

“We tried to take [the space] back to its vintage, original state and kick it up a notch,” said Melissa Romano. “We are paying tribute to Lake Anne’s Brutalist architecture.”

The Romanos will be assisted by a staff of six — and assistant brewer and five people who will help run the taps and serve. The front of house staffers have been through the initial stages of Cicerone beer certification to ensure they are really knowledgable about what they are pouring Melissa Romano said.

Lake Anne Brew House is also teaming with other businesses for partnerships. They will serve several flavors of MTO Kombucha (an organic, fermented drink) on tap. Patrons can also order from a special Kalypso’s bar menu, and food will be delivered to them at the Brew House.

Lake Anne Brew House opens April 16 at 11424 Washington Plaza W (Lake Anne Plaza). Hours will be Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: (571) 758-2739.