Abolitionist Ale Works opening event details

Beginning this Thursday, their full food menu is available. Featured is a variety of Artisan Personal Pizzas served on naan flatbread. Kids pizza, soft drinks, and wine are available in addition to the house-brewed beer. You should definitely take a look at the opening beer tap list.

“The  public  has  been  waiting  so  patiently  for  us  to  renovate  this  historic  building  that  we  wanted  to  start off  with  a  huge  event  so  that  as  many  people  as  possible  could  participate  and  try  one  of  our  many  on-site  crafted  beers”  said  Josh  Vance,  owner of  Abolitionist  Ale  Works.

Premier Party brings out crowd

The first place  Abolitionist beer was for sale last Saturday was at a public street party and beer garden hosted by the brewery as part of their city’s West Virginia Day Celebration. From 10:00 A.M. until 7:30 P.M. on the 100 block of S. Charles St., the block party  offered beer and live music by four bands. Higher Hands, The Primate Fiasco, This Way to the Egress, The Dirty Grass Player and DJ Myke Nyce performed.

Following the block party, Abolitionist Ale Works opened its brewpub to the public at 8:00 P.M. with a premier party featuring live music from The Primate Fiasco and food from C&G Jerk Chicken. Admission to the premier party was free.

The brewpub looks great

Abolitionist owner Joshua Vance and brewer Mike Vance have done a great job preparing for the opening. The interior is tastefully done with a very attractive wooden bar built in the main taproom. Table and chair seating complete the barroom. A second adjacent room contains more tables and chairs. Out back, you’ll find a spacious beer garden area.

Beer flights served on West Virginia

One super feature at Abolitionist is their beer flight trays. The trays are the shape of the West Virginia state outline.

Something beer fans will really appreciate is the glassware itself. Instead of using the common tiny tasting glasses for their beer flights, they will instead use their regular tulip-shaped pint glassware.

When a flight is ordered, each glass will be filled with 4-oz of beer, leaving plenty of room in the bowl of the glass for  vapors to collect and enhance the beer’s aroma and drinking enjoyment. Customers ordering a full pint will receive their beer in the same type glass. It’s a premium glass for what promises to be a very premium beer experience.

Some highly anticipated beer

Ever since tasting some beer samples made by brewer Mike Vance —  especially those he was branding under the West Funkin’ Virginia name — state wild ale fans have been salivating to try more. While the grand opening will feature a variety of standard pub ales, such as an IPA and Stout, there will be a few funky taste-bud tantalizers offered too. Abolitionist brews its standard ale-styles in stainless steel tanks like everyone else, however. it’s the wild ale program takes a different path.

Back in the brewery section of the building, wild ales are bubbling, wild yeasts are working, Brett is feeding, and funk is emanating. A rare process here is fermenting beer in wooden barrels, typically used wine barrels. It takes lots of experience, talent, and charm to be successful with this technique. Most won’t try it because of the uncertainty and the expense. But Abolitionist is giving it a whirl. While small initially, Abolitionist’s barrel program is highly anticipated, and the brewery taproom will be the best place to experience these creative brews, since few will likely be sold elsewhere.

Link to the opening tap list.

Abolitionist Ale Works is county’s first brewpub

Abolitionist is Jefferson County’s first brewpub licensee, serving both beer and food for on-premise consumption in its taproom. The county’s first brewery, Mash Brewing Company, is located only about a block and a half away and currently offers free samples and growlers to-go. Mash plans to add an on-premise brewpub license later this summer.

Abolitionist Ale Works
129 W. Washington St.
Charles Town, WV

Email: info@abolitionistaleworks.com
Phone: 681‐252‐1548

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