Dogfish Head Brewery enters West Virginia market

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery officially entered the West Virginia market this week. Their wide variety of beer styles and flavors is sure to give everyone something to enjoy. 

Brilliant Stream caught up with Matt Funk, Mid-Atlantic Division Manager for Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, at a Charleston introductory event and he gave us some good info on what to expect. He thinks West Virginia is a good addition to their marketing footprint.

“We have not entered a new state in about four years until this year,” Funk says.  But with Dogfish Head distributing to all the states around WV, the brewery just felt it was the right time to enter the state.

Dogfish Head had stopped expanding distribution for several years while they waited on production capacity to catch up with demand. Last year, with the completion of the latest expansion at its Milton, Delaware brewery, Dogfish Head announced plans to add markets in Alabama, Minnesota, Missouri, and West Virginia in 2017.

Funk said that WV’s 12% ABV cap is likely a large part of why Dogfish Head did not enter the state sooner. He said the high AVB beers are of huge importance to the brewery’s line-up and image.

“We like to roll out with the entire breadth of the portfolio because that what makes us unique and off-centered,” he said.

Dogfish Head’s extensive  line up 

While we won’t be seeing 120 Minute IPA (15-20% ABV),  World Wide Stout (15-20% ABV) or Olde School Barleywine (15% ABV), West Virginia will get the entire balance of this off-centered line. That amounts to about 17 different labels.

Funk thinks things will be fine “as long as we can get the beers like 60 Minute IPA, 90 Minute IPA, Flesh & Blood IPA, and Sea Quench Ale into the hands of consumers and show that we always make quality, consistent beer that is well-differentiated.”

He thinks the state will love the new Dogfish Head products coming out this year. He’s looking forward to West Virginians getting to try the new year-round entry, Sea Quench Ale (4.9% ABV).

“It’s one of those really experimental Dogfish Head beers combining a Kölsch, a Berliner Weisse and a Gose.”

Brewery marketing material calls it a citrusy-tart session ale brewed with lime peel, black lime, and sea salt. We should see it in the market this summer.

Another of the upcoming beers he’s very excited about is Lupu Luau IPA. The brewery says to expect it here in July-August. It’s a 7.3% IPA brewed with toasted coconut, coconut water, and an experimental hop variety that provides a coconut aroma.

“It’s a cutting edge beer,” Funk says. “We’ve always focused on things that are outside Reinheitsgebot.”

Another beer of note currently in the state is Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Morron, which tests out at right at the West Virginia ABV cap of 12%. It’s an unfiltered, wood-aged roasty brown ale with lots of caramel and vanilla from the malt and wood-aging tank.

Uncommon, off-centered ales

Since its founding, Dogfish Head Brewery has been known for producing uncommon, often unique, beer styles. Matt Fetherston, Dogfish Head’s tour and tasting room manager, who was also in town for the kick-off, said the brewery is always experimental, owing its off-centered DNA to founder Sam Calgione.

Calgione has long been a leader in the national craft beer scene and has been very active in the Brewers Association, the trade association for small, independent breweries.

Fetherston said a favorite beer for him is Festina Pêche, a 4.5% ABV neo-Berliner Weisse fermented with loads of peaches. We know it as a craft beer fan favorite for summer, and we should see it here in West Virginia very soon.

All Dogfish Head products will be available in draft and in bottles or cans or both. On-and off-premise accounts across the state are beginning to sell Dogfish Head beer this week.

Mountain State chosen as distributor

Mountain State Beverage is distributing the Dogfish Head line statewide. Funk says he is “super excited” to have selected Mountain State as their West Virginia distributor.

“There were a lot of family values there that were important to us,” he said.

Is WV’s 12%  cap in danger?

Funk also talked about how Dogfish Head worked in Ohio with their distributor and the ABC commission to champion the ability to sell higher ABV beers. Last year, Ohio changed its law to now allow beers over 12% to be sold there. He implied that Dogfish Head might take an interest in similar legislation in West Virginia.

It’s very likely that West Virginia’s own breweries would welcome help from Dogfish Head in supporting a measure to raise the cap.

More information at brewery website