Devils Backbone launching in West Virginia
October 30, 2015
The countdown is over. Devils Backbone Brewing Company (DBBC) is launching its line of award-winning beer in West Virginia starting now, and continuing over the next few weeks. The date products hit the shelves may vary in each local market. West Virginia will be the fifth state market to receive beer from the Roseland, Virginia-based craft brewery.
Watch your local craft beer bars’ Facebook pages for announcements of launch parties and other DBBC events.
Hitting WV restaurants and retailers are DBBC core brands of Vienna Lager, Eight Point IPA, Schwartz Bier, and Gold Leaf Lager. All will come in six-packs of 12-oz bottles except for the Gold Leaf Lager, which will be packaged in 12-oz cans. All the brands will also be available in draft.
Inspired by at trip to Europe
Brewery folks tell the story that DBBC founders Steve and Heidi Crandall were inspired by their first taste of German beer, which they tried during a skiing trip to Italy back in the mid-2000s. This provides some insight on why Devils Backbone features several German styles among its core brands.
“We are thrilled to begin crafting our new adventure with our expansion into West Virginia,” says Steve Crandall. “In the mid-seventies, I and friends rafted the New River. Over the years since, I’ve taken my family hiking in the Cranberry National Forest and Dolly Sods and skiing the mountains in Canaan Valley. We now have the wonderful privilege of joining that mix and proudly bringing our world-class beer to the region.”
The Crandall’s opened the DBBC Basecamp Brewpub in 2008, and it was an immediate success. In 2011, they broke ground on the Outpost production brewery in Lexington, VA. Anticipated to produce 10,000 barrels of beer in the first ten years of operation, the brewery reports that Outpost reached 45,000 barrels in the first three years and recently completed an additional expansion to reach a production capacity of 250,000 barrels.
Among the most-honored breweries in nation
In only seven years since its start-up, DBBC has won three coveted national titles at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) including 2014 Mid-Sized Brewing Company and Brew Team of the Year, 2013 Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year and 2012 Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year.
Three of the four beers being launched in WV are gold-medal winners at GABF. When you stop to think about it, that is nothing short of incredible and a true testimony to the skill of DBBC head brewer Jason Oliver and his brewing team. (See our feature on Oliver here.) DBBC is the largest craft brewery in Virginia and is climbing the national rankings.
Here’s the DBBC line up
Following are a few details on the first four DBBC brands launching in WV:
Eight Point IPA is an American-style IPA featuring citrus and pine from ample hopping. It checks in at 65 IBUs and 6.2% ABV.
Gold Leaf Lager is an all-malt golden lager that is crisp, clean and bready. 4.5% ABV and 17 IBUs. It’s two-time gold medal winner at GABF.
Schwartz Bier is a German-style black lager that is subtle and smooth with roasted coffee notes. The beer took a gold medal at the 2014 GABF.
Vienna Lager is a traditional-style Vienna lager that is mild and toasty with good caramel malty flavors. It has 18 IBUs and 5.2% ABV. Vienna Lager has taken home two GABF gold medals (2102 & 2015) and another gold from the World Beer Cup (2012).
Of course, DBBC makes many of other beers, and we will expect to see more of them the first of next year. Some of the other production beers that could make it to WV include Azreal, a Belgian-inspired Golden Ale; Cattywompus, a Belgian-style IPA; Dark Abby, a Belgian-style Dubbel; Turbo Cougar, a Blond Bock; Kilt Flasher, a Wee Heavy; Stripped Bass Pale Ale; and Bravo Four Point, a session IPA. There is no timetable for these, so we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed they make it here sooner rather than later.
In West Virginia, DBBC is using the primary Anheuser-Busch beer wholesalers network to distribute its product. WV distributors include:
American Beer Company
Mona Supply Company
Eagle Distributing
Mountain Eagle
Jefferson Distributing
Northern Eagle
Mingo Distributing
Proud Eagle Inc.
DBCC also sells its beer in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and the District of Columbia.
Appalachian region producing incredible beer
Along with the beer from Devils Backbone’s Outpost brewery in Lexington, VA, we’ve seen several other superb beers start flowing into West Virginia from larger Appalachian-region craft breweries. Oskar Blues hit the state this September with beer brewed in Brevard, NC, and less than a year before that we started getting all our Sierra Nevada beer from its Asheville, NC, brewery. By early 2016, WV will be getting New Belgium Brewing Company beer from its brand new Asheville brewery. Local beer just keeps getting better.
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