Bavarian Brothers a new draw at resort

Bavarian Brothers Brewing seems like the perfect addition to a popular Eastern Panhandle resort. Operating a resort property these days is a tough and competitive business proposition. You’re always looking for an edge. One West Virginia business that has figured out this challenging market is the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV.

David Asam, the Bavarian Inn’s vice president and sommelier, grew up in the business. His parents, Erwin and Carol, established the inn in 1977. Growing from Erwin’s German roots, the inn has always been a place that appreciated beer culture and proudly offered a selection of Bavarian beer and food that fit with the Asam family heritage. Their long-running Oktoberfest celebration has been the best one in the state for years.

But as good and successful as the inn has been, the Asam family knows you cannot rest on your laurels. That understanding led David to lead the development of an exciting addition to the property, and the Bavarian Brothers Brewing brewpub is the result.

“We’re maintaining the reputation we’ve had the last 45 years and maintaining the German style,” David said. “When we added the brewery on this past January, we’re starting off adding some more flavors that the American palate prefers.”

What he’s talking about is the realization that the American craft beer market is soaring these days. It’s the styles of beer most of his customers are drinking. Local brewery taprooms are all the rage. While the inn is keeping its traditional Bavarian taps, such as Spaten, Franziskaner, and Weihenstephan, they are now diving deeply into the current hot American beer styles.

“We’re doing session-style ale, IPAs, an American pale ale, a stout, a porter,” David explained. Their newest offering this summer is Hazy River IPA, which, as its name suggests, is a hazy, juicy, summertime beer.

Many of the beers have German-themed or local-region-inspired names, with two even named after the inn’s founders. Erwin’s Angry Ale (an IPA) and Carol’s Royal Stout commemorate David’s parents. He calls it an “Appalachia meets Germany” theme.

Last year, the Asams built the brewpub addition on the inn’s main building and used a brewery consultant to help them get up and running. The next step was bringing in brewer Harry Wright to keep things moving.

Harry says he got started in homebrewing in central Pennsylvania back in the early 1980s when microbrewing was first beginning to catch on. He has a background brewing in the greater Harrisburg, PA area and brings that experience to Bavarian Brothers. He not only knows his beer history, but he is also up to date on current beer styles. As an admitted “hophead” some of his best brews have been contemporary American IPAs.

Bavarian Brothers brews on a little one-barrel brewing system with 3-bbl, 2-bbl, and 1 bbl fermentors. Harry says keeping up with the popularity of the beer has kept him very busy brewing. “Our Erwin’s has become so popular that we can’t keep up with it,” he said. If the strong sales continue, they say they will need to add more fermentation and brewing capacity or fill in with some contract brewing.

The brewpub has eight taps, four or five of which will always be their house-made brews, two or three will be German beers, and one normally will be another local beer. They’ve featured beers from Big Timber, Greenbrier Valley, Abolitionist, and others.

As a new brewery, David says their goal is perfecting each beer style and then keeping it consistent. With the small brewhouse, Harry must make multiple runs of each beer. Each run produces about 30 gallons of beer. This gives him plenty of opportunity for quality improvement tweaks. It also ensures that the beer at their pub will be very fresh.

Bavarian Brothers brewpub also offers a full service bar and restaurant menu. Large glass doors allow the dining area to open up to the outdoors during pleasant weather. Because the entire property is licensed, you can take your beer outside an enjoy it around the spacious grounds of the Inn.

The Bavarian Inn is also trying to build awareness of their brewery in other parts of West Virginia by participating in local beer festivals. With no plans for distribution outside the inn, you’ll have to visit Shepherdstown to try them. But, hey, that sounds like a great outing.

Bavarian Brothers Brewing is the second brewery operating in Jefferson County, joining Abolitionist Ale Works in Charles Town.

A history connection

The brewpub name, Bavarian Brothers Brewing, is a nod to two ancestors of the Asam family, brothers Cosmos Damian Asam and Egid Quirin Asam. They were both noted artists and architects in the Late Baroque Period. In the 1700s, those brothers built the Asamkirche in Munich.

Bavarian Brothers Brewing at the Bavarian Inn
164 Shepherd Grade Road
Shepherdstown, WV

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