WV New Brewery of the Year 2019

Each year, it seems like there is one new West Virginia brewery that jumps ahead of the other new breweries that have opened during that same year. This year was no exception.

The West Virginia New Brewery of the Year honor goes to:

High Ground Brewing, Terra Alta

First Impressions weren’t wrong

I first met High Ground’s founders, DJ and Jana Ware Wolfe, a couple of years back at a Cabin Fever Beer Festival in Morgantown. I was immediately impressed with their business style and knowledge. They were personable, professional, and I liked them.

At the time we met, they were still a year out from opening their brewery, but they seemed to have a very clear and comprehensive plan. When they did begin selling their beer in early 2019, I was hopeful that they would do okay in their first year, but I had my concerns. You see, they put their brewery way off in a little town, not near an Interstate, and were located in the getting-very-crowded local beer market of North Central West Virginia. They would have some challenges, I thought.

Because of Terra Alta’s tiny size (population 1,500), High Ground would need to distribute much of the beer it made to other accounts in order to make things work financially. Effective self-distribution is not an easy task. It is a lot of hard work and generally takes some time to master. And, they were going up against some very strong WV distribution breweries in their region, guys like Chestnut Brew Works, Stumptown, Big Timber, and Short Story, who are all fighting for the same taps. I hoped the Wolfes were up to the task and had the right people in place to get the job done well.

The other concern with any start-up brewery is how good will their beer be a t first. It’s not an easy thing for homebrewers, who only have a little bit of commercial brewery apprenticing under their belts, to begin brewing on their own large, commercial brewing system—one that is all new to them. Even the really good beginning pro-brewers have a steep learning curve and typically make a few mistakes right out of the gate as they learn the ins and outs of their equipment. It’s not easy.

I wanted them to succeed, but I knew they would have some pretty high hurdles to cross. Well, I am happy to report that DJ, Jana, and their High Ground Brewing crew overcame my concerns and exceeded my expectations.

The Beer

Their beer was solid from the very start. Sure, they are still tweaking a few things Good brewers always learn to improve a beer from batch one to batch two and three. But overall, High Ground beer is tasty and well-made. Their Coal Train Baltic Porter immediately caught my attention, as did their Mandatory Fun IPA. Both are very, very good. Showing their versatility, they scored another hit with Weird Handshakes, a Milkshake IPA. Their Company Kölsch is another winner.

I’m not the only one impressed with their products. Untappd reviewers gave them an impressive 4,280+ reviews during their first year, with a 3.76 point (out of 5 possible) rating. This places them in the top 5 of all WV breweries. A most impressive feat for a first-year business.

With DJ heading the brewing and brewer Adam Moats assisting, the two men are putting out consistently good product. These guys have a bright future.

Distribution

All I can say is I never expected to see their beer in southern West Virginia in their first year. I was wrong. Not only did they hold their own at gaining tap space in Morgantown bars and other craft accounts in North Central WV, but they also made significant inroads in the Charleston-Huntington market and points south. The bar owners and growler shop managers I talk to say High Ground does a very good job explaining and selling their beers. And customers like the product. It sells well. This creates positive momentum that makes the next sale easier. Those challenging distribution tasks are being ably completed by Sales and Distribution Manager Wayne Border and his assistants. Doing a very good job here.

Taproom

High Ground opened its Terra Alta taproom in May. They invested in a crew of experienced bar staff, which has paid off in customer satisfaction. The place is garnering mostly 5-star reviews on Trip Advisor, Yelp, and Google. Led by Taproom Manager Kyleen Reckart, the taproom quickly gained a reputation as the place to go in their area. The taproom features live musical entertainment, trivia nights, regular food trucks and caterers, and game activities. In good weather, a large outdoor beer garden area is very popular. At the taproom store you can get your growler filled and pick up some attractive brewery-logo merchandise. The taproom beer list is always up on their website. These guys have the bases covered.

Social Media

These days, effective social media is key to customer communication that builds business. Unfortunately not every WV brewery does a great job at this. High Ground Brewing, however, handles this task superbly. With Jana Wolfe at the helm, High Ground’s social media is frequent, detailed, and informative. I love their Facebook and Instagram posts. Check them, and you are never out of the loop. Jana keeps their website up to date too. A really strong performance.

Community commitment

One great thing about a well-run craft brewery is its ability to pull its whole neighborhood up as the brewery business grows. Breweries attract lots of people (customers), and people attract other small businesses. Brilliant Stream loves the Wolfe’s commitment to helping revive their local community. Terra Alta has been through some tough years and needs this economic shot in the arm that the brewery provides. DJ and Jana understand this dynamic well and are all-in in Terra Alta. Theirs and the town’s future are now tightly linked.

Veteran-owned brewery

One more important thing. High Ground is a veteran-owned business. DJ Wolfe is a U.S. Army veteran who also worked for the West Virginia National Guard. Brilliant Stream thanks him for his service to our country and for his decision to start a small brewery as his next career step.

Join Brilliant Stream in congratulating DJ, Jana, and the entire High Ground family for doing the quality hard work necessary to get an excellent start-up brewery into business. That’s why they are West Virginia’s New Brewery of the Year, 2019.

CONGRATULATIONS

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High Ground Brewing
102 Railroad Avenue
Terra Alta, WV 26764

Brilliant Stream also wrote about High Ground Brewing in this May 2019 article.

High Ground Brewing website