The lowdown on High Ground

High Ground Brewing is a small brewery in development in Preston County, WV that we first wrote about last winter. Since that time, owner Dallas “DJ” Wolfe has been busy at work and recently provided Brilliant Stream with updated information on his progress.

In July after securing his small business loan with Huntington National Bank, he quickly put in an order for a 10 barrel brewing system. He also ordered three 10-barrel fermentors, one 20-barrel fermentor, and all the related pieces needed to finish out the system. The system is being built by Alpha Brewing Operations.

Wolfe already owned an existing building in Terra Alta that he is converting to become the brewery and taproom, but the building needed a lot of work. 

“We are currently renovating our brewery, taproom, and cold room,” he said. “We have finished excavation of our parking lot and outdoor venue.” 

He expects his fermentors to arrive in the next week or so, and he is also preparing to receive and install his glycol chilling system. Wolfe estimated his total investment will be in the neighborhood of half a million dollars.

He has already obtained his federal basic permits and has completed application for his state brewery license. Once all the equipment is installed, brewing will begin. This should come together before the end of the year.

High Ground Brewing initial beer list

The first beers to market will be: 
• Mandatory Fun IPA, 
• Caddel Mountain Pale Ale, 
• Coal Train Baltic Porter, 
• Biff German Pilsner, and 
• Socked In: Mosaic Hazy IPA.

He expects to make up to 20 different beers throughout the year. Styles will include Porter, American Wheat Beer, Pale Ale, IPA, Hazy IPA, Saison, Russian Imperial Stout, English Ale, German Dunkel, and Kolsch. With Wolfe having earlier apprenticed with Bill Riddenour at Chestnut Brew Works, we know he received solid grounding in how to brew good beer. 

Beer sales should begin in early 2019

While there is still a good bit of work to be done, things are moving along. Wolfe expects to receive his final state brewery license by early 2019 so he can begin selling beer. He thinks he can get the brewery taproom open by February or March. Beyond serving beer at its taproom, High Ground will put beer into distribution across the northcentral region of West Virginia. Wolfe hopes to begin distributing his first round of beers to licensees in January or February.

“I’m extremely to excited to announce that my father Dallas Wolfe III will be retiring from a long career in law enforcement to head up our distribution and sales team, and that my wife Jana Wolfe will be leading our marketing team. This is truly a family business.”

As he originally reported to us last winter, he still plans to use local food vendors, specifically local BBQ businesses, to provide the food service for the brewery’s taproom customers. When warmer days hit next spring, he will open up a large outdoor area beside the taproom for folks to enjoy.

So, is Wolfe excited to get his place up and running? “I am chomping at the bit to introduce our products to the Great State of West Virginia,” he said. 

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High Ground Brewing
102 Railroad Avenue
Terra Alta, WV

Brewery Facebook Page