Top 15 WV breweries on Untappd 2020

While 2020 has been a tough year in so many ways, it was actually a very good year for the top West Virginia breweries. We take a look at how the top 15 WV breweries did on Untappd through 2020.¹ Untappd may have its critics and its weaknesses, but it is the best crowd-sourced gauge we have for judging how a brewery and its beers are thought of in the market. Love it or hate it; it is what it is. This article pulls out the significance and makes sense out of these Untappd ratings for 2020. In the end you’ll have a better picture of just how the top WV breweries stack up.

While no West Virginia brewery has yet hit the vaunted 4.0 brewery rating score, several are edging up toward that mark. For instance, Short Story Brewing impressively jumped from 3.85 last year to 3.91 this year. A couple more jumps like that and they could hit 4.0.

U.S. breweries rated 4.0 and above are rare and revered. They represent ones producing the most highly regarded beers of the day and the ones creating the biggest market buzz. In our region, breweries such as Jackie O’s, Dancing Gnome, The Veil, Aslin, and Burial hit this mark. You won’t find a 4.0+ rated brewery that is not considered a great one.

WV Top Tier Category 3.75 to 3.99

The general consensus on Untappd ratings is that breweries rated at 3.75 to 3.99 are considered by the market to be very good overall breweries, maybe shading on excellent. They are breweries producing some exciting beers that have passionate followings. Breweries in this range may still make a few brews that don’t rate so well, but on average they do things right and brew styles that are popular in their markets. Highly respected and well-known national/regional breweries that fall into this category include Stone, Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Dogfish Head, Bell’s, Rhinegeist, Fonta Flora, and Fat Heads. 

Seven of West Virginia’s small breweries ended 2020 in this category. That is 25% of our total operating breweries. You’d have to call that very good performance for our little state.

Stumptown Ales – Still the king

BREWERY NAME	Date of 1st Check-in	Ratings Count	Average Rating
Stumptown Ales	Aug. 2015	18,840	3.93
Short Story Brewing	June 2017	16,033	3.91
Weathered Ground Brewing	Oct. 2016	27,129	3.87
Chestnut Brew Works	Apr. 2013	16,004	3.85
High Ground Brewing	Oct. 2018	9,907	3.83
The Peddler	Sept. 2017	7,586	3.80
Old Spruce Brewing	Sept. 2019	724	3.79

Stumptown Ales remains the highest rated WV brewery on Untappd in 2020, as it has been for several years. Now surpassing 5 years in business, it has shown durability and a penchant for producing high rated ales. Stumptown improved its 3.92 average rating last year to 3.93 this year and gained 4,000 additional ratings. The brewery continues its upward climb toward excellence. Its 2020 releases ring up impressive scores, led by Bourbon Barrel Victor Trace Russian Imperial Stout, which receives a 4.31 rating on 112 ratings. Their latest hazy IPA, Stalaxy, receives a 4.03 with 70 ratings. Their most-often-rated beer, Holy City DIPA, is the only WV brewery flagship to score above 4.0 (4.03 on 1,784 ratings) Oh yes, that is a strong indicator. Stumptown is a WV powerhouse. No ifs, and, or buts.

Short Story Brewing is a brewery on the move up. Short Story was the state’s hottest brewery on Untappd during 2019 and again in 2020. It jumped into second place with Untappd users in 2020, moving up from an average rating of 3.85 to a 3.91 on the strength of 8,000 new ratings. WOW! That’s hard to do. It had quite a few big hits among its 2020 new releases, such as Stay Cozy Imperial IPA which scores a 4.22 on 303 ratings. This brewery has become a true wizard at building very drinkable hoppy brews, but is also demonstrating a mastery of kettle sours, lagers, and imperial stouts, It will be fun to watch over the coming year and see what these guys do next. Definitely the kings of North Central WV, which is probably the state’s most competitive beer market.

Weathered Ground Brewery had a great year. These guys own the southern WV beer market buzz. Never content to rest on their laurels and just remake their popular beers, they also found time to introduce 48 new beers during 2020. My Goodness. That’s taking a big chance, but it paid off for them with an average overall rating increase from 3.84 in 2019 to 3.87 in 2020. They also added an almost unbelievable 10,000 additional ratings in the year. That’s hard to do — and crazy impressive. They were helped along by the state’s highest rated 2020 new beer release, Still Struggling’ Imperial Stout, which scored a stratospheric 4.42. They continue to pump out great IPAs like the recent Thespian Espionage, 4.01 They do saisons like no other WV brewery. They’re not afraid to tackle about any style. With 3.5 years of brewing in Cool Ridge now under their belt, there is nothing but upside for this crew. A real juggernaut.

Chestnut Brew Works is the oldest of the top tier WV breweries, dating back to 2013. While Chestnut held its average rating even from 2019 to 2020 at a solid 3.85, it fell back two notches in comparison to its closest peers. It picked up only a little over 2,000 new ratings in 2020, which is less than what the other Top Tier brewers did. Still, Chestnut strongly maintains its position in the top group of WV breweries. Seven-year-old Halleck Pale Ale (3.96 rating) shows no signs of dropping off. Chestnut is also showing it can brew new recipes that absolutely rock the kettle, such as this year’s New England Nebula NEIPA, which scorched the ratings at 4.06. These guys are brewing as strong as ever. It’s just that the competition is getting stronger and stronger. Chestnut will undoubtedly respond with more winners in the coming year. What a great time to be drinking local beer in WV.

High Ground Brewing teased us last year in its debut season with some very tasty brews and a high initial Untappd score. This year, they showed us they are totally for real. Their average score moved up from 3.76 in 2019 to 3.83 in 2020 on the strength of nearly 6,000 new ratings. Dang! This veteran-owned operation literally blew up the market. Among their 2020 accomplishments was releasing 18 new beers, one of which, Coconut Pete Tartshake IPA, knocked it out of the park with an average rating of 4.22 on 108 ratings. High Ground is on very high ground when it comes to setting the standard for anyone starting up a new brewery in WV. Have they ever hit the accelerator. Vrooom. Pedal to the metal in Preston.

The Peddler was our sleeper in the top grouping of breweries last year. During 2020 this brewery became better known as it began more distribution in the region. But unlike all the breweries above it in the ratings that package and sell a good portion of their beer in 16 oz. cans, The Peddler is draft only. This surely slows them getting known and getting tried. However, even with that disadvantage, The Peddler raised its average rating from 3.75 in 2019 to 3.80 in 2020 with 3,000 new ratings. That speaks so loudly it shouts. You don’t do that without a way above average brewing skill set. New 2020 beers like Brawndo Lemon-Lime Sour, rated at 4.22, provide all the evidence you need to say that this place is among the best breweries in WV. Give these guys some additional space and a canning line and look out. We’ll all be jealous of what they have in Huntington.

Old Spruce Brewing came out of the gate strong during its six months of operation in 2019. Now, its 2020 performance suggests that it belongs in the top echelon of WV breweries. With customers coming from many states due to its location at Snowshoe, it impressively achieved an overall average rating of 3.79 this year. That’s quite an accomplishment. One caveat here is the low number of ratings and check-ins— only 724 total ratings so far. You’d still like to see more total ratings in order to increase your confidence in the numbers it shows. Old Spruce’s most often rated beer with 164 ratings was its Hazy IPA, which received a very solid 3.82 average rating. Building on beers like that, they could no doubt grow to become a real force in WV brewing.

Second Tier Category 3.69 to 3.74

The next eight WV breweries in our ranking scored between 3.69 and 3.74. These breweries are considered by their customers to be reliably good ones that can also make some exceptional beers now and then. Many well-known national and regional craft breweries fall into this range, for example, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, SweetWater, DuClaw, and Great Lakes to name a few. Many successful neighborhood taprooms and locally-distributed breweries and beers are in this category. On average, their customers feel they are solid breweries producing well-made beers in popular styles. The bulk of West Virginia breweries end up here. And this is likely true in any state. It’s pretty much the heart of the industry.

Several WV breweries score at the higher end of the category — 3.70 to 3.73 — including two of the state’s most important breweries: Big Timber and Greenbrier Valley. The difference in market perception between those breweries and the ones in the Very Good category above is quite small. It’s very possible that some of these breweries could move up to the next higher category over time. And, if you were to look only at beer ratings entered in 2020, some of them may currenty be scoring in a higher category.

Here are West Virginia brewery spots 8 through 15

BREWERY NAME	Date of 1st Check-in	Total Ratings	Average Rating
Big Timber Brewery	May 2014	40,798	3.73
Greenbrier Valley Brewing	July 2014	39,668	3.72
Dobra Zupas	Aug. 2015	2,609	3.70
Abolitionist Ale Works	June 2017	13,752	3.69
Bad Shepherd Beer Co.	Dec. 2016	23,578	3.69
Brew Keepers	May 2014	5,004	3.69
Rambling Root	Aug. 2018	1,228	3.69
Rippon Brewing	Sept. 2019	87	3.69

ANALYSIS

Big Timber Brewing increased its average rating from last year’s 3.71 to 3.73 and added nearly 8,000 new ratings. This is a most impressive accomplishment. Many of Big Timber’s recent releases are garnering very strong ratings, boosting its overall score. In fact, its two chocolate cake imperial stouts, Yo Quiero Chocolate Cake and Cake Smash, were tied as the 2nd highest rated West Virginia beer released in 2020 by any WV brewery. Their experimentation with small batches is paying off in higher ratings. Big Timber is doing an excellent job overall. As much as anything, Big Timber’s average rating is held down by their most popular and widely distributed beer — Big Timber IPA — which scores a 3.63 on 8,042 ratings. You’d have to produce a bunch of 4.0-rated small batch beers in order to raise that overall average score significantly. And Big timber did that. in 2020. Big Timber still has the best distribution within the state of any WV brewery. We don’t see that changing anytime soon. Using a sales-winning strategy of good quality at a fair price, Big Timber is a bright star in our local beer world.

Greenbrier Valley Brewing, unlike so many other brewers these days, maintains a more focused core line up of brands, without a lot of new releases. This somewhat contrarian strategy continued to serve them okay during 2020, with their average rating holding steady at 3.72 with about 6,000 new ratings. GVBC continued to gain sales in Virginia and Maryland. They ended 2020 being passed by Big Timber in both Untappd total ratings and average rating. Their strong suit still lies in high-rated best-seller Devil Anse IPA, though its score declined slightly from 3.82 in 2019 to 3.81 this year (with 11,911 all-time ratings). Even with Devil Anse pulling up their average score, the brewery’s continued reliance on a tightly-focused lineup of traditional-style flagships has its ratings drawbacks. And with GVBC having to compete daily with so many very good breweries in the Virginia market, it could be difficult for GVBC to raise its average score. Even so, achieving and maintaining a 3.72 average rating is an extremely solid accomplishment — one that West Virginia should be proud of. They have arguably the best brewing equipment of any brewery in the state and great brewing talent too.

Dobra Zupas in Beckley is a tiny brewpub that has been blazing its own trail and building a nice local following since 2015. This year it went through a brewer change, but its overall score remained about the same, dropping only slightly from 3.71 in 2019 to 3.70 this year. As the new brewer works on his recipes and processes, we need to watch this brewery closely in the next 12 months. Its good individual beer scores in 2020, however, suggest that its solid reputation will be maintained.

Five breweries tied for 11th place in the Untappd ratings for 2020 with an average rating of 3.69. The two with the most ratings, Bad Shepherd Beer Company and Abolitionist Ale Works, are also the two that released the most new beers during the year. They are certainly the two most experimental brewery magicians in the state.

Bad Shepherd showed 41 new entries in 2020, while Abolitionist had 52. This strategy of frequent new releases has been a bit of a double edged sword for them both as far as ratings are concerned, though both improved their average rating from 3.68 in 2019 to 3.69. Looking back through the ratings of all these new releases, you see that many end up with average ratings or no rating because they don’t get enough check-ins to gain a score. Fortunately, some of them get very good to excellent ratings. Bad Shepherd’s top rated 2020 beer was Big Bend Hammer BBA Imperial Stout with a 3.92 average score on 102 ratings. Abolitionist’s top 2020 beer was Dirty Beard Thin Mints Imperial Stout, which came in at 3.98 on 63 ratings. Untappd users feel that both of these brewers can make excellent beer — and also feel both of these brewers can make pretty average beer. It’s interesting to note that both of their most often-rated beers (The Loud and Alpha Mayle) score higher than their overall average beer does, suggesting that both these breweries definitely have a nice upside. Charleston and Charles Town residents certainly benefit from having these two local brewers working their magic in those cities.

Brew Keepers, a little brewery producing solid beers since its inception, saw its average rating dip slightly from 3.70 in 2019 to 3.69, while gaining 1,200 new ratings. This is a brewery that keeps its line up pretty tight with only a handful of new releases during the year. You can always expect to find clean, well-made beers here with great consistency from batch to batch. Mostly traditional styles done very well. Nothing too crazy or way out on a limb. Like their motto says: “Simple. Craft. Beer.” That clearly explains the brewery’s goal, and they definitely achieve it.

Rambling Root introduced 26 new beers in 2020. That’s a bunch of brews for this tiny little brewery. It’s a brewery that focuses on what’s new and only has a couple of what you might call flagships. This strategy kept its average rating steady this year over last. while they added about 500 new ratings. It’s a small batch brewery that makes lots of fun, sometimes experimental stuff and that strategy appears to be working for them. They are holding their own in the tough North Central WV craft beer market.

Rippon Brewing is the state’s newest brewery to enter the ratings and the only brewery that malts its own grain. Entering its first year in the Untappd ratings, the brewery earns a solid 3.69 average rating. However, this score is based on only 87 reviews, so we will need to monitor their check-ins closely over the coming months. If they maintain this strong rating, WV will have yet another very good brewery in its Eastern Panhandle. It is impressive to see this positive reaction to a brewery doing its own malting.

One outlier to consider: Morgantown Brewing

If you purchase an old brewery and keep the same name, Untappd will just add the new beers you make to the former brewery’s ratings. This may work in your favor if the former owners were brewing highly rated beers. However, if they had a mediocre rating, you can be stuck for years trying to dig your way out of that hole. Even if you start making many stellar brews, your overall average rating can appear pretty pedestrian and may cause you to get overlooked by people seeking out the best breweries. The latter situation is exactly the one the new owners at Morgantown Brewing Company find themselves in today.

Within a year of purchasing Morgantown Brewing Company in 2018, new owners Cody Cheesebrough and Chris DeFazio completely revamped the beer lineup. Over time, they began mixing in many one-off beers in new, cutting-edge styles. It took a while, but by this year, the guys had perfected a brewing program that included a bunch of crazy and exotic beers along with a bevy of hazy IPAs and a handful of traditional, easy-drinking styles. The brewery has developed a new, enthusiastic customer base of younger, more daring and experimental craft beer drinkers. And their individual beer ratings have soared. Unfortunately for Morgantown Brewing, their Untappd rating is mired back in the pack at 3.58 simply because it includes years of old Morgantown Brewing ratings.

Just look at their current numbers. Of the 29 new beers introduced at Morgantown Brewing this year, 18 rate 3.8 or better. Seven of them (24%) rated 4.0 or better. This is as good as the best breweries in the state. Yet if you just look at their overall Untappd average rating, you’d think they were in the bottom end of WV breweries.

Morgantown’s Listen To sour series has been their biggest hit of the year. For example, Listen To: Missy Elliot scored a 4.22 on 118 ratings. This is no fluke. Even the brewery’s venerable Alpha Blonde — which was about the only beer from the old line up that the new owners kept — seems to be improving its ratings slightly. It could be evidence that the recipe and process tweaks Chris and Cody injected are making the beer more palatable and consistent even to the palates of the traditional-stye beer drinker. This is a definitely brewery to watch.

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Brilliant Stream’s methodology explained

For our analysis of WV brewery ratings, we first limit the universe to breweries that were licensed for the entire year of 2020. Our report is based on Untappd numbers as of December 2nd. We looked at each brewery’s total number of Untapped ratings in addition to the overall average rating received. Both numbers are significant. The significance of the Average Rating for a brewery is obvious, but breaking out the total count of ratings may also be very meaningful. Breweries that get lots of beer ratings quickly tend to have greater positive market momentum than those who get fewer. Take a look at the average number of ratings per year. That can be an indicator of whether or not a brewery is creating a lot of buzz in the market. It also tells you generally how popular their beer is. Of course a bigger distribution brewery will collect ratings more quickly than a small neighborhood taproom. And a brewery that simply releases more different beers will also tend to receive more total ratings. So you have to be careful to compare apples to apples. 

For individual beers mentioned in the review, each one needed to have a minimum of 50 ratings. Having this many ratings helps make the average rating more meaningful and statistically more valid.

While there are well-known weaknesses in any one Untappd rating that may be misleading, when a brewery’s ratings are looked at in its entirety and compared to the others, a pretty fair comparison can be made. While beer fans can argue over who is really Number 1 or Number 2, we doubt very many would disagree that the best brewery in West Virginia is included in the Top Tier ratings group above. Untappd has its uses. Beer fans, please continue to conscientiously rate your West Virginia beers. Savvy brewers/brewery owners and bloggers can put this data to productive uses.

The Untappd 2020 ratings system

Untappd lets you rate a beer on a 1 to 5 point scale in increments of 0.25. Five is the highest; one is the lowest. Untappd does not tell its raters how to use the 5-point scale. Raters have determine their own system that works for them. Most would agree that the perfect beer deserves a 5. As it happens, most people give out very few 5.0 ratings and tend to rate beers that they think are excellent somewhere in the 4s, with only the very, very best of the excellent getting 5s. Beers that are quite good, but not totally exceptional tend to get rated 3.75 or 3.5. A more pedestrian craft beer gets a 3.0 or 3.25 rating. Few people rate legitimate craft beers below 3.0. Beers scoring below 3.0 are typically stale, mislabeled, infected, or are macro-brews such as Bud Light. 

Using a weighted average formula that combines its individual beers’ scores, Untappd determines an average rating for each brewery. While every individual rater has their own way of doing it, over time, over thousands of ratings and thousands of raters, the average scores begin to tell a story about a brewery. (Untappd explains its rating system)

While a spread of 5 points is possible, few breweries have an average brewery rating below a 3 or above a 4. This scrunches up the vast majority of breweries into the 3s. And for these breweries rated in the 3s, a shade of difference in the decimal points becomes quite significant in comparing what the breweries’ customers are saying about them.

¹ Data pulled from Untappd on December 2, 2020

Top 15 WV Breweries on Untappd 2019

Page of Untappd data on all 28 WV breweries for 2020. PDF file

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