Steel Driving Stout honors Black History Month

Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company (GVBC) has rebrewed a classic ale style from a few years back, Steel Driving Stout, and released it to coincide with Black History Month. This American Stout commemorates John Henry, the steel-driving man of popular legend and song.

Brewery owner Bill Heckel says they brewed this beer to ring in Black History Month and bring back one of the brewery’s legendary beers. He explained that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Steel Driving Stout will go to a scholarship fund for outstanding black students in Greenbrier County.

The 2022 Steel Driving Stout

GVBC brewery director Alex Durand said they actually had to recreate the recipe for this beer, which was originally brewed back in 2017 by the previous owners. The exact recipe existed only in memory, so the brewing crew sat down and put a 2022 recipe to paper.

Meschaud White, who is normally the brewery’s packaging manager, took the lead in producing the beer on the brewery’s 4-barrel small-batch system. Making Steel Driving Stout was White’s first time leading a brewing session. Durand explained that GVBC often uses its small batch system to allow employees who are not normally brewers to gain experience and learn the brewers art. He said they like to use these small-batch brewing sessions to celebrate diversity at Greenbrier Valley Brewing, which will also include making a Pink Boots beer brewed by the women of the brewery later this month.

White, who has been with the brewery since June 2021, also led making the the connection to the scholarship program with the local school system. He said he’s excited to be a part of awarding a scholarship to a hard-working, deserving student. “It’s vital. It’s a great thing to be able to help somebody.” The scholarship winner will be announced in late February.

An American-style Stout

Steel Driving Stout is a full-bodied American Stout featuring a blend of special German and English malts added for flavor. The specialty malts give it a mellow roasty flavor with nice hints of chocolate. The ale pours a very dark brown color with a generous light tan head. A good dose of Chinook hops added in the whirlpool provides an extra hop aroma and flavor which complements the 40 IBUs from the CTZ bittering hops. Even though it contains a small addition of oats, it’s not a sweet stout. It drinks pretty dry and has plenty of balancing bitterness without being over the top. It’s served up at a very drinkable 5.9% ABV.

It’s great to see GVBC rebrewing this classic American beer style. It’s a wonderful style that has largely been pushed out of breweries today by the proliferation of IPAs and kettle sours.

You’ll find Steel Driving Stout on tap this month at the brewery’s taproom in Maxwelton.

A fitting tribute

You probably recall that John Henry was the black railroad construction worker who beat the steam drill in a competition at Big Bend Tunnel, Talcott, West Virginia. The legend states that John Henry took pride in his work and hated to see the new steam drill take jobs from his fellow workers.

This bold and dark Steel Driving Stout seems like a fitting tribute to the legendary man and a very nice homage to bring attention to Black History Month this February.

Learn more about Black History Month at the official website.

Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company website link