Wheeling Area Road Trip

Guest Post by Andrea Fleming, Northern WV Correspondent for Brilliant Stream

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to explore the Wheeling area’s brewery scene, you’re missing out. It offers a cool historic vibe and a little something for everyone who might be road-tripping. My trusty group of brew-goers decided to take the drive north on I-79 and then west on I-70 to see what the West Virginia panhandle had to offer. 

First stop, Brew Keepers Brewery & Taproom

Brew Keepers is well-positioned in the heart of Wheeling’s Centre Market Square Historic District, which sits on the National Register of Historic Places. The district includes 181 contributing buildings in a variety of popular architectural styles dating from as early as about 1850. The brewery compliments the many shops and restaurants in the district. 

Brew Keepers opened in July 2016 as a production brewery with Crowler and growler takeout service for off-premises consumption only. In late summer of 2019, they opened their taproom offering anywhere from 12 to 16 taps of their Simple. Craft. Beer.

They had an awesome variety of brews to choose from. Three taps are typically reserved for seasonal brews. I was lucky to try the summer seasonal Honey Crème Hefe Blonde, which is brewed with local honey from the Bedillion Honey farm in Hickory, PA. Definitely a porch-sipping kind of beer. The honey flavor is subtle but makes the taste sweet and light. I was also able to try the Hiss of the Cobra Chicken, which is a seasonal American IPA. It was light and airy with no bitterness. Perfect summer IPA.

My favorite of those I sampled was Tmavy, a dark Czech lager. The beer pours a dark brown/black color with a tan head. The aroma is pleasant, with notes of charred malt, nuts, and a hint of java. The flavor resembles the fragrance, with hints of bittersweet chocolate and earthy hops. Tmavy reminds me of an Irish Dry Stout, and it isn’t too strong coming in at 5.25% ABV.

My crew also recommended the Sin Nombre, a Mexican-style lager sure to please while mowing grass or relaxing poolside’

Brew Keepers, which is a Bring Your Own Food (BYOF) establishment, has a warm and inviting interior with a cool deck looking out across the Centre Market. It’s a great place to enjoy a cold one and people watch.

I chatted with Co-Owner Josh Felton about the various beers on tap and how the taproom came to be. He even took me downstairs to showcase the brewery system. The two-barrel system is used to brew five days a week. The cooler was designed specifically for the basement space, which was adorned with rustic brick, showing the age of the building.

Josh let me know it was an old fire station and that they changed the layout of the brewing space multiple times before they settled on a final design. His partner, brewery founder Kevin Ayers, was out that day representing Brew Keepers at the Backyard Barbeque Festival at Oglebay Park.

After grabbing some merch, we headed further north. 

Next stop, Hightower Brewing

Our next stop was Hightower Brewing in Rayland, Ohio. About 10 miles out of Wheeling, the road to get there is a little windy, but us West Virginian’s can relate. The brewery recently celebrated its fifth anniversary on May 21. I got a chance to chat with owner Megan Whiting about their journey over the last five years. She said her husband Greg, co-owner and head brewer, was a Pilsner guy in the beginning, and he’s since come full circle. He had his time brewing IPAs, and now the brewery has a variety of sours and even seltzers to accommodate the gluten-free crowd.

My flight of sours did not disappoint. TangPineNilla Sour IPA was a treat to the tastebuds. If you don’t enjoy traditional sours, which are catching on by the way, this sour IPA finishes with fruity hints and isn’t overly hoppy. The pineapple flavor is smooth, not acidic. At 8% ABV, it has a little more kick than a traditional sour. 

Other sour contenders in my flight were all from the Through My Lens series, including the TML Strawberry Shortcake; TML Grape PB&J, which tasted exactly like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; and the TML Cherry Juice Box, which was my absolute favorite sour of all time. Bright red in color and bursting with flavor, the cherry notes hit up front with a kick of sweet, tart, and tangy all at once. The finish is smooth and slightly carbonated. This was a crew fave as well. 

Megan says experimenting with seltzers has been fun. She’s released cherry, Tang, lemonade, and blue-raspberry flavors. The blue raspberry was excellent. I had it in slush form, and it hit the spot while enjoying the outdoor seating space. 

Megan spoke to how inflation and supply chain issues have impacted the brewing community, stating that some ingredients are a challenge to get and supply prices have doubled in some instances. This kept the brewery from being able to brew a few specialty beers that would have featured raspberry and blackberry inspired sour brews for their anniversary celebration. 

We grabbed a few donuts from the So Nuts 4 Donuts food truck, which was parked by the brewery, and headed back south. 

It was a beautiful day full of tasty brews, famous fish sandwiches, cool t-shirts, friendly faces, yummy donuts, and stories we won’t soon forget. 

Wheeling Area Brewery Links

Brew Keepers Facebook page
Hightower Brewing Facebook page

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