WV Craft Beverage News from Foam

Spring always seems to be a time of optimism in the West Virginia beer market, and that was evident at the recent Foam at the Dome festival in Charleston. Here are some newsy tidbits we picked up.

Parkersburg Brewing growth speeds up

Sam Matheny director of sales and marketing for Parkersburg Brewing says the brewery is in the midst of making big strides in the market. Parkersburg beers will be entering more Kroger, Par Mar, BFS, and Walgreen stores, as the chains have recently given the brewery authorizations in all stores across the state. Formerly, PBC beers were available only in select stores.

Sam says the brewery is also greatly expanding its distribution in Ohio, which was formerly limited to a couple of counties, to now include the entire state with a distribution deal through Heidelberg Distributing.

The brewery owners recently opened up a gastropub in Morgantown called the Phoenix Public House. The pub is located at the Pines Country Club. Along with all the regular PBC beers, Sam says you’ll find some cask conditioned beers there, which is a rarity in our state.

Bad Shepherd Pils returns

Ross Williams, head brewer at Bad Shepherd Beer Company excited the market by announcing the upcoming return of his Bo Pils, which was a big hit last year. This Bohemian-style pilsner helped fuel the growing demand for crispy, flavorful, drinkable craft lager with character, and it’s great to see it returning. He says to look for some other brand new lagers too. Also coming up is the return of the mega-popular Sour Holler series, which are fruited-up sour beers. Expect upcoming flavors to include various mixtures of blackberry, peach, strawberry, kiwi, raspberry, and sour sop.

Travelers through West Virginia International Yeager Airport will now be greeted with Bad Shepherd brews, Ross says. The airport bar is now selling his Shot Caller Belgian Pale Ale, The Loud IPA, and Chucktown Kolsch.

More sours canning at Weathered Ground

Sam Fonda, co-owner and operator of Weathered Ground Brewery plans for a big spring event at the brewery. On May 21, the PubFest music festival raises money for public broadcasting. Expect 20+ bands/performers and some very special beers to entertain the crowd. Lots of food options too.

Sam suggests some upcoming beers to look for include a Cucumber Apricot Gose and a Kiwi Strawberry Gose. Also look for re-releases in the Bearer of Fruit series, which has proven to be Weathered Ground’s hottest selling beers. “We’re focused on canning those beers,” Sam says. “We find those fruited beers are our best sellers in cans. We’re going to keep making those.” Look for 4-packs of sours in all markets Weathered Ground currently distributes in. New IPAs will also be coming out this summer, Sam says.

Freefolk moves ahead with expansion plans

Jim Way, head brewer at The Freefolk Brewery in Fayetteville let loose some big news for the brewery. It’s official, Freefolk will be developing a new production brewery in Hico, WV. They have closed on the building that formerly housed the Harley Davidson motorcycle business there. It sits right on US Route 60 not far from the intersection with the US 19 expressway.

Jim says the Green Salamander Brut IPA flavored with lavender, juniper berries and rosemary is back on tap, and he also has new batches of Trucker Speed IPA and Sweet P’s Oatmeal Stout for the late spring.

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Fifty West enters WV market

Ohio brewer Fifty West Brewing Company chose the Foam fest to introduce its line to West Virginia. Max Fram, Fifty West’s vice president, says the 10-year old brewery has taken a slow but steady path to growth and success in the market.

“The brand has always been about Route 50—this journey across America,” Max explains. Outside Ohio, the brewery focuses its distribution strategy on states along US Route 50, which includes West Virginia.

Max tells that when trying to get authorizations in Par Mar stores in southeastern Ohio, Par Mar’s buyer began telling them about their stores in West Virginia and encouraged them to begin distribution here. They took his advice and selected North Central Distributors as their WV distributor. They are the first Cincinnati brewer to distribute in WV in many years. Fifty West has its home brewery in Cincinnati and also operates a brewpub in Chillicothe, Ohio. Fifty West is the third largest brewer in Cincinnati behind Rhinegeist and Mad Tree.

Mike Folio of North Central Distributors says they will handle both cans and draft and to look for the label statewide.

Fifty West Coast To Coast IPA, a mid-coast American IPA somewhere between a fruity-juicy IPA and a West Coast style IPA, is well-balanced and drinkable.

Their all-German-sourced ingredient American Lager is brewed in an American style and is designed to be highly drinkable with a crisp taste and clean finish. The Lager contains no corn, rice or other adjuncts to lighten the taste, instead achieving its lightness from a skillful handling of the German pale malts.

Doom Pedal White Ale is the brewery’s most popular beer, especially in the summer months. It’s a Belgian-style wheat beer with distinct orange/citrus notes in an easy-drinking package.

Fifty West will also bring in seasonal beers and a few specialties. The first of those is their Fuel Up Coffee Blonde Ale.

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Short Story enhances fun options

Short Story Brewing co-founder Aaron Rote says the programming at their Rivesville taproom is expanding with an open mic night on Thursdays and live music outside in the patio/beer garden on many weekends during the late spring and summer. Also, watch for announcements on their big 5th anniversary event which will take place in July.

For summer enjoyment, Aaron says the brewery brought back its Beaches of Appalachia Mexican-style Lager in both cans and draft. He says they have an awesome new lactose-added sour beer in the Neon Garden series. It’s a pineapple-orange-coconut flavor and Aaron says, “I believe it’s the best sour we’ve ever made.” This premier IPA brewer also continues to re-release fresh versions of its most popular brands, as witnessed by the current Nonsense Words IPA. This tropical, citrusy, earthy delight is now available in cans at the brewery. For September release, they recently put a stout away in Smooth Ambler bourbon barrels for aging and mellowing.

High Ground highlights charity, music events

Wayne Border, sales and distribution manager for High Ground Brewing of Terra Alta, says the brewery has an extra-active summer planned. First up is High Ground’s third anniversary party on May 14th. Then, a special music program is set for Memorial Day weekend. On June 11, the Paws Pups and Pints event will benefit the Preston County Humane Society. Wayne says the brewery is strongly committed to charitable activity, as an example he noted their current Boof Stroke IPA, for which 10% of the in-house sales proceeds go to the Friends of the Cheat environmental group.

Greenbrier Valley makes hay with collaborations

While they can’t call them collaborations due to state beer rules, Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company in Maxwelton has been getting a big PR boost out of leading a series of joint brewing efforts with other West Virginia brewers this year.

Jeff Frizsell, director of production and lead small-batch brewer says, “We’re trying to reach out and brew beer with our brothers and trying to change the laws that say we can’t brew beer together in the state.” Out now in their joint effort Trailblazer Series is the Back Porch Swinger Witbier release with Freefolk Brewery and the 2 Beers 1 Glass IPA with Old Spruce Brewing. Upcoming is a joint effort with Fife Street Brewing.

Big Draft success continues

The excitement from last summer’s opening of the incredible Big Draft Brewing entertainment complex is still generating oohs and aahs in downtown White Sulphur Springs. J.W. Groseclose, brewer and co-owner, also sees a lot of love for his core beers, which is keeping him very busy just brewing them. So busy in fact, it’s hard to find time to do seasonals right now.

The big news is that Big Draft just purchased a canning line and will soon be packaging beer for take out at the taproom and for limited local distribution. Live music shows in their event areas have been big draws, and more are planned across the summer. Brewery Bingo takes place the first Wednesday of the month.

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Sophisticated Hound does single hop

Matt Barnette, owner/brewer at Sophisticated Hound Brewing in Princeton says business has ben brisk at the taproom. Coming up June 11 is Sophisticated Hound’s 4th anniversary celebration at the brewery which should be a very nice time to visit.

A seasonal release out now is the first in the single-hopped Rotater Series Pale Ale series, with this first one featuring the Simcoe hop. Four more will be released later with different hops. With the arrival of warm weather, the Hound’s fantastic outdoor patio is hopping. The brewery regularly features live entertainment at the taproom this summer.

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Big Timber Brewing lowers calories, gluten

Big Timber Brewing truly hit a home run with its new Timber Cutter IPA. The beer has only 98 calories per 12-oz, serving. It’s a super good lighter-styled IPA (4.1% ABV) that does not sacrifice taste. Timber Cutter is also a gluten-reduced beer. It shows that our state’s largest brewery is also one of its most innovative.

Other seasonal beers out now include the popular Key Lime Pie Gose, a kettle sour brewed with fresh lime, coriander, lactose and vanilla at 5.2% ABV, and Mexican Lager, which includes a squeeze of fresh lime and is aged on Serrano peppers.

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Country Boy spring and summer releases

Josh Holland, West Virginia’s rep for Country Boy Brewing of Lexington KY, says check out their summer releases including Lemonade Lager and Key Lime Cougar Bait, which also are two of their most popular beers. The spring-released Kaleidoscope IPA, which is an offshoot of the Witness The Citrus series, is being followed this month by King Me IPA, which features Mosaic, Idaho 7 and Citra hops.

Stone sees strong Lager and IPA sales

Dakota Farmer of Stone Brewing reminds that Stone does a special-release beer every two months and on top of that is their three-times-a-year Enjoy By releases. He says his focus is on keeping inventories fresh which is very important for a big IPA brewer like Stone.

Stone’s Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager has been setting sales records in West Virginia and has become very popular for both on- and off-premise sales. “I think it really resonates with the people of West Virginia,” Dakota says. “It’s supper easy to drink at 4.7%, super refreshing.” He also suggests for people looking for something other than a Stone IPA to check out the Dayfall Belgian White Ale, which is flavored with Bergamot orange peel and coriander. This is a beer normally available only in Southern California, but is now in WV.

Stone IPA releases for May include RuinTen Triple IPA (“It’s a big boy,” Dakota says.) and Enjoy By 7/4/22.

Shiner hits WV in a big way

Just about the entire Shiner beer line returns to West Virginia for the first time in years. In recent times, this Texas staple received a big investment from parent company Gambrinus, helping it become a bigger player in the national craft beer competition. In part due to a national push by the brewery and in part due to local distributor interest, you will continue to see more beers with the Shiner label on retail shelves and taps in West Virginia.

We’re getting a series of seasonal IPAs along with an upgraded set of year-round brews. A hazy IPA will be out for summer — this follows the tasty Bruja’s TexHex IPA brewed with cactus water that was featured this winter and early spring. We’re seeing more Shiner Bock and Ruby Redbird (ginger and grapefruit flavored ale) in the market and lots of the seasonal Strawberry Blonde. All are reportedly selling well.

Some of the beers, such as Ruby Redbird and Weisse & Easy Wheat Beer, come in at only 95 calories.

Fife Street enters home stretch to opening

The folks at Fife Street Brewing in downtown Charleston say they are completing final preparations for opening, which should occur very soon—hopefully by the Memorial Day weekend. Whenever the actual taproom opening, Charleston beer fans flocked to their brewery tent for a preview at Foam at the Dome. Lines at the tent were jam-packed all day, making it clearly the most popular brewery of the day. Beer reviews were very positive.

If you haven’t heard a lot about their head brewer Gil Peterson, check out this West Virginia Beer Roads podcast interview. Podcast Link Here

Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club rocks

The Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club is offering more and more features and activities as it matures into an excellent group supporting both novice and experienced brewers. For more info LINK

Our kudos to Adam Stollings of Charleston Main Streets who organized the Foam at the Dome festival. Also kudos to all the sponsors, volunteers, brewers and beer distributors who make it possible. After some COVID time off, this festival is back to its previous status as one of the best of West Virginia.

BRILLIANT STREAM

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Photo Gallery from Foam

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