West Virginia brewery news – August

We picked up a bunch of West Virginia brewery news recently in and around the Mountaineer Brewfest in Wheeling.

Wheeling Brewing

Jimmy Schulte, co-owner, chief brewer and marketer for Wheeling Brewing Company is always busy at the brewery.

“We keep 11 beers on tap with our 2-barrel brewhouse,” he says. “One tap is always our small-batch line. We do 5 gallons of experimental fun stuff. We do a couple of batches every month.”

He had a Lavender Wit on tap that was very enjoyable. Schulte said it was the third or fourth time he had brewed a lavender flavored beer. Previous versions had been based on a Belgian Blonde-style ale, but he decided to change it up and make a Wit this time. Wheeling has been playing around with different types of flavored Wits. Schulte says the hibiscus and lime versions have been quite well received.

Like others WV brewers, Schulte has noted the growing trend of IPAs. He says the evolution of IPA keeps changing and he changes with it. “We have four IPAs on tap right now,” he notes. As for upcoming brews, Wheeling will have an Oktoberfest lager out this fall.

The food service at their brewpub remains a big draw. “Everything we try to do is as much farm-to-table as we can,” Schulte says. All of Wheeling’s spent grain goes to local farmers and the some of the animals fed with it come back to the brewery as menu items. Schulte says having a high quality food service really has made a difference to business at the brewery.

Screech Owl Brewing

Screech Owl’s Roger Johnson is going to be one busy man over the next few weeks. The brewery took delivery of its new ABE 10-barrel brewing system this week, and now it has to be installed and tested. Johnson expects the brewery will be out of commission for a week or two during the change over. Johnson tried to stock up on some beers prior to beginning the work. so his Spent Grain Cafe can remain stocked. The cafe will remain open during the brewery work.

Speaking of the cafe, it is expanding, doing more and different foods. Look for their new stuffed pork loin that sounds delicious. Their outdoor beer garden and play areas have expanded to about one acre and are very popular this summer. And welcome Roger’s son Jameson, who now joins Crista and the brewery/cafe team as a full-time employee.

Once the gets things in the brewery get back up and running, Johnson is looking ahead to brewing some new winter beers. Also, with the increased capacity, Screech Owl should be doing more bottling next year and also plans to extend its distribution into neighboring Garrett County, Maryland.

Parkersburg Brewing

Brent Baker, sales rep for Parkersburg Brewing, says they are working on a new milkshake IPA. “It’s going to be a vanilla, orange creamsicle style.”

“The summer beers are doing so well,” he says. Beers like Spa Daze Raspberry Berliner Weisse and Natural Genius 1082 IPA have been so popular that the brewery may continue making them into the fall.

Parkersburg Brewing has been building its weekend crowds by having a lot of live music on Friday nights in the taproom. Their expanded food menu with weekly specials is proving very popular.

Greenbrier Valley Brewing

Greenbrier Valley Brewing’s Bill Heckel says beer sales have been on a tear this summer. GVBC’s summer seasonal Green Bank Gose was very well-received and is already sold out.

GVBC will be releasing its Oktoberfest lager soon. A new bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout recently went into the barrels and will be ready for release this winter.

Heckel says things in Virginia and Maryland have been going well. GVBC beer is now distributed all across Maryland and in Northern Virginia, plus the Roanoke and Tidewater markets. They are working on expanding to the rest of the state.

The Peddler

From a small brewery with a tiny staff, The Peddler head brewer Jay Fox says he’s been extra busy with the beer festival season. but he’s still found time to get into some new stuff.

A first-time release Wet Hop Beer is coming out very soon. Fox sourced his fresh Cascade hops from a friend in Cabell County. He brewed a full 10-barrel batch. Fox says they picked the hops on a Wednesday night and brewed it the next morning.

The brewery will begin a more concerted self-distribution program this fall. They just purchased a bunch more sixtel kegs to support it. They’re looking at regular distribution to an area including Huntington and Charleston, and possibly select craft-beer accounts in other parts of the state.

Stumptown Ales

Stumptown Ales owner Jon Robeson had some interesting tidbits. “We’re starting to do our Belgians,” he said. “We have our Mighty Tidy Belgian Dubbel that’s out now. We have a Tripel that’s coming out also.” He says he is focusing on some new small batch and barrel-aged stuff.

Robeson says they are still looking to establish other Stumptown outlets in other regions of the state. These would not be breweries but would be Stumptown taverns featuring their beers, other favorite WV breweries, and possibly other craft and imports. They have been exploring the Martinsburg and Charleston markets.

Cindy Robeson adds that they are still releasing 4-paks of 16-oz. cans every Thursday at the taproom in Davis. These are small batches of 50 to 60 4-packs, and they sell out quickly.

Short Story Brewing

Aaron Rote and Short Story Brewing’s head brewer Mike Kopischke know they have to work hard to stay relevant in the fast changing world of craft beer.

“We’re expanding our portfolio a bit and stepping out of our comfort zone,” says Rote.

They recently released Fun With Prisms, their first fruited sour, and kegged their first bourbon barrel-aged stout. For their two year anniversary they are releasing a set of new and experimental beers.

In September, the brewery’s first-ever Oktoberfest Bier will be released at the annual Rivesville 5K event. The brewery will hold its Oktoberfest party on Sept. 21at the brewery.

This summer, their Beaches of Appalachia Mexican-style lager collaboration with Weathered Ground was probably one of their fastest selling beers of the season.

The opening of their brewery kitchen last year has turned out to be a great asset for the brewery. Their ever-changing menu items are tasty, fun and often a bit out of the ordinary.

Brewstel

Tim Powell of Brewstel in Elkins says he is into maple syrup right now. He has a new batch of Downtown Maple Brown on tap. He also has plans to do a Maple IPA soon.

He says his Ashcat Amber Ale is still a strong seller in the taproom, and he is excited about making a new Sour Brown Ale. He is keeping about half of his 21 taps filled with his own brews and the rest feature the best available from other craft brewers.

His Foodie Fridays continue to be popular. Weekly specials include steak, chicken, pork BBQ, and brisket.

Freefolk Brewery

Just going through their first summer, Freefolk Brewery co-owner Jaime Lester says it’s a been crazy time for them. They have been brewing like fiends and are already expanding their brewing equipment.

Lester says Moondog Blonde Ale has quickly established itself a staple at their Fayetteville taproom, becoming quite popular with the locals. He’s been happy as well with the response to their IPAs, especially Trucker Speed and Gorgeous.

For seasonals, brewer Jeff Edwards has been making a lot of Gose this summer but is turning toward maltier brews for the fall and winter. Look for things like porters, stouts, and brown ales.

Big Timber Brewing

Sam Mauzy says summers for Big Timber are just busy, busy, busy. Beer sales go up and festivals every weekend keep them hopping.

“Everything is running super nice at the new brewery,” Mauzy says. “Production is up.” The new brewery has allowed Big Timber to get into new beer styles in a big way. The Flavored Gose series has been a big hit, with Key Lime Pie and and River Cruiser (cucumber-dragonfruit) already released and more on the way. Mauzy says they’d like to do about eight different flavors that they can rotate through around the year.

Overcast Hazy IPA has done great, so Big Timber will keep releasing additional juicy-hazy IPAs, always keeping one in the lineup.

Their annual Wet Hopped Beer is being kegged this week. They got enough Marion County hops to brew two 10-barrel batches this year. Forest Fest Oktoberfest Lager was released in cans this year and really hit the ground running. Already, the brewery and most distributors are out of the beer. The can label design is very impressive and the beer is very rich and tasty.

Berkeley Springs Brewing

Dennis Teegardin says the summer has been awesome for Berkeley Springs Brewing. “We’re debuting a bunch of new beers at these beer festivals. ”

Two new, very interesting brews for BSBC were at the Wheeling festival. One a gluten-free Black Kenya Tea Beer, which is 3.9% ABV and low calorie. “It’s sort of our answer to the alcoholic seltzers that are on the market right now,” Teegardin says. The other was their No Lies Sour Cherry Gose, which they did in collaboration with Stable 12 Brewing Company out of eastern Pennsylvania. It is brewed with pink Himalayan sea salt and sour cherries. And there is a hint of smokiness in the flavor. This delicious brew took third place in the Mountaineer Brewfest beer competition.

Dennis says look for the return of their signature Apple Butter Ale this fall. The beer’s ingredients include 20 gallons of fresh-pressed apples juice and spices that make for a tasty fall treat reminiscent of grandma’s apple butter. October 12 is the date for the annual Berkeley Springs Apple Butter Festival.

The food service at their Bath Water Brewpub restaurant continue to evolve. They are now doing things like Mexican weekends to augment their regular house-smoked meats and pub menu.

Brew Keepers

Brew Keepers gets ready to open a taproom for the first time on August 29th. It is an anxiously-awaited event and should be a super good addition to the Wheeling beer scene. The taproom is located next door to Wheeling Brewing Company in the Centre Market area at 2245 Main St.

While the owners have been very busy completing the new taproom, they have also found time to continue making their excellent brews. Take this as evidence: Brew Keepers Honey Creme Hefe Blonde Ale won 1st place in the Mountaineer Brewfest beer competition last week. The brewery also won the festival’s People’s Choice award for the 4th time. Congratulations.

Mountain State Brewing

Mountain State’s cellar manager Heather Carr says their Dolly Suds Cranberry Wheat generated strong sales all summer. It’s a wheat beer flavored with cranberry, orange, and a hint of coriander.

Coming up this fall she says they’re bringing back the John Brown Chestnut Ale. It is brewed with chestnuts that they roast themselves. Also returning is their Closs’ Harvest Pumpkin Ale. It is made with local pumpkins that they take to their Morgantown pub and roast in the wood-fired pizza oven. Throw them into the mash with the grain, add a little spice, and you’ve got a pretty unique and tasty brew.

Heather also said that business at the new Mountain State Brewing pub in Bridgeport has been very strong.

Chestnut Brew Works

Bill Riddenour keeps running his Morgantown brewery at full capacity and always finds time to do some fun variations and new brews balanced between brewing batches of the popular Halleck Pale Ale.

“It’s really hard to keep flagships, because no one wants flagships anymore,” he says. “We have to keep Halleck, because everyone likes Halleck, but other than that everyone just wants something that’s new.”

And he’s been bringing out a bunch of new things this summer. His latest lager—Chico’s Lager— starts with a traditional grain bill and yeast but is lightly hopped with non-traditional Mosaic and Citra hops. It turned out to be an easy-drinking, crystal clear, barely bitter, Helles lager with a modern twist.

In this summer’s Misty Mountain IPA he was going for a less malty, much drier taste than he puts in his signature Halleck Pale Ale. The grain bill includes flaked wheat and flaked oats, then he dry-hopped the heck out of it with Citra and Mosaic. “We’re really happy with it,” he said. “It’s a very drinkable IPA that’s got a lot of hop character — and some good malt character from the Golden Promise malt.” Everyone liked the beer so well that he is brewing another batch soon. And here’s a vote of confidence: the beer took 2nd place overall at the Mountaineer Brewfest beer competition last week.

Riddenour says that he and his assistant brewers look at the future and see more dry-style beers. “We like dry. We like to dry things out. For quaffable beers, the drier the better.”

This summer’s Berry Me In West Virginia has already developed a big following. It is an assertively fruity ale but also very dry. It has a clear, raspberry fruit flavor but no perceptible sweetness. This beer is likely the precursor for future fruited beers from Chestnut.

In making this beer, the Chestnut brewers added the fruit puree in with the wort for the primary fermentation. Much more common at breweries is adding the fruit to the beer after the primary fermentation is finished. “We wanted it all to ferment together, all kind of coagulating into one kind of flavor,” easy Riddenour. He feels that when everything ferments together, it blends in with the beer better.

The next batch of Berry Me In West Virginia will be made with blackberries, not raspberries. Watch for it later this fall.

Riddenour also informed us that he recently brewed his first Milkshake IPA, which will be released soon. Be on the lookout for that one.

Weathered Ground Brewery

Weathered Ground’s sales manager Bobby Bowling tells us has many events planned for the upcoming weeks. First, their Lay of the Land bottle release comes up this Wednesday, Aug 28. That’s the collaboration farmhouse ale produced with Fonta Flora Brewery of Morganton, North Carolina. Some of this release should see distribution to regular Weathered Ground accounts.

This year’s version of Fresh Hopped Pale Ale is hitting taps. Brewed with fresh, whole cone Cascade, Crystal, and Chinook hops from local Lost Ridge Farms, it’s one to put on your Look For list.

Big news from their cellar is that their canning equipment will soon get a workout, and the brewery will begin selling 16-oz. cans of Cool Ridge Lager and Haggard IPA at the taproom. Watch for announcements on social media.

The brewery announced hiring a new taproom manager, Travis Richards, replacing Adam Tyree, who recently took off for new opportunities. Adam did a great job while at the brewery. Stop in and welcome Travis when you get the chance.