Abolitionist keeps its lineup funky and fun

It took West Virginia Beer Roads a few years to finally make an on-site visit to Abolitionist Ale Works, and we’re so glad we did. This Charles Town (not Charleston) based brewery is unique among its peers within the state of West Virginia.

It’s a long trip over to the Eastern Panhandle from our environs on the western side of state. We find it’s an area greatly influenced by being situated between the more developed Northern Virginia and Maryland beer markets. However, Abolitionist’s head brewer Mike Vance is certainly doing his part to keep his town on the craft beer map.

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Catch the Podcast

Listen in as show hosts Charles and Erin interview Mike Vance, head brewer and co-owner of Abolitionist Ale Works on this episode of West Virginia Beer Roads.

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Beer to beat of a different drum

You might say that Abolitionist’s head brewer, Mike Vance, sort of travels to a different drummer. Don’t come here expecting to find only a bunch of hazy IPAs and fruited quick-sours (not that there is anything wrong with those popular styles).

At Abolitionist, when you find a sour-style brew, it most likely has been produced in the traditional, time-tested manner of beers of yore. At Abolitionist Ale Works, it’s not uncommon to find funk emanating.

When you see Mike Vance pouring his fresh wort into wooden barrels to ferment, you know you’ve found something definitely out of the ordinary. Mike loves his fermentation critters, like brettanomyces and other wild yeasts. And he loves his solara system to keep his critters happy. Some of Vance’s brewing style harkens back to the olden days, before everything was fermented quickly in stainless steel tanks with carefully regulated modern brewing yeasts.

Vance’s unique West Virginia wild yeasts flavor most of his funky ale styles, giving them something very special. And he makes plenty of them, even though they may not always be what the mass market demands. He likes to funk it up a bit, no matter what the popular taste says. One thing really nice is his method of lightly souring beers — so they have a little zesty zip, but not a puckering sourness. Sometimes they’re just funky and not sour at all.

Start with his Shenandoah Saison, then roll over to his Brett fermented Pale the Funky Hoposapian. Then move on up to the West Funkin’ Virginia ale and all its flavored variants. You’ll quickly get the picture.

And to make his fruited beers, rather than pouring buckets of fruit purees into big steel fermentation tanks like most all other brewers do, you’ll sometimes see Vance injecting his fruit directly into small half-barrel kegs of beer (roughly 5-gallons). This allows Vance to make lots of small batch, uniquely-flavored beers for his taproom, each with different fruit blends.

Look for staples such as Blue & Gold’N Delicious, a beer brewed with local blueberries and apples, or Harpers Berry, a sour ale with mixed berries added. Something you won’t find many other places is a dry-hopped sour ale like his Tootsie Hop series. Each one appears with a different set of flavoring components, including combos like blueberry–raspberry–chocolate–sea salt or orange zest–chocolate–sea salt — flavors, we hear, that were designed as an homage the candy Tootsie Pops. Only in Mike Vance’s mind could flavor concepts like this hatch and flourish. We love it.

IPAs and Lagers too

This article is not to suggest that Vance does everything differently. His standard IPAs, Kolsch, Stouts, and Lagers — his clean beers — are produced using methods, ingredients and yeasts similar to his contemporary brewing peers. Those are beers you pretty much have to make today in order to stay in business when you’re the only brewery in a small West Virginia city. Vance handles these well.

If your style preferences run to the popular styles of today, don’t overlook Vance’s flagship Alpha Mayle IPA. It’s a modern-style IPA, which at 6.5% ABV is easy-drinking and pleasantly hopped with Citra and Simcoe. Vance even dabbles in the hot contemporary hop market to make IPAs like his current Nectaron 3030, a dry-hopped, double IPA beauty flavored with New Zealand’s Nectaron hops.

If you are into lagers, his Pils is legit, as are his other lagers and popular ale styles. Don’t overlook the Dirty Beard Imperial Stout series. It’s got big roasted malt flavors often paired with other tasty adjuncts and flavorings — and sometimes aged in a spirits barrels (think rum, cognac, etc.). And lots of folks also love his West By Quad Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale, which may also appear in various treatments through the evolving series.

Expand you beer mind

When you dare to expand your beer horizons, though, Abolitionist Ale Works is one good place to drop in. It’s good for the soul to try something different. And if you only want a solid IPA or Lager, Abolitionist has those covered also. Whether it’s one of Vance’s wild and flavorful ales or his take on popular contemporary ale and lager styles, you’ll find something to get your taste buds excited.

Untappd.com lists 374 different beers released by Abolitionist so far. That’s the most for any West Virginia brewery and shows Vance’s love for experimentation and variety. He’s a busy man, indeed.

Many of Vance’s favorite beers are packaged up in 16 oz. cans for carryout. And, if it’s not already in a can, they’ll fill a quart growler for you at the bar. Don’t overlook that option. Alternatively, Vance takes a selection of his draft products out to other parts of the state four or five times a year. Check with your local craft beer specialty bar to see when they expect to receive the next shipment. If you live in the Charleston area, you can normally find a selection of Abolitionist drafts on tap at the Loopy Leaf vegetarian restaurant in downtown.

Vance says he also hopes to hit a few West Virginia beer festivals in 2023. In the past, we know he’s been pretty regular at the Rails & Ales Craft Beer Festival in Huntington. Be on the lookout.

Bed & Dinner too

If it’s food you’re thinking about, a nice list of house-made artisan pizzas are available at Abolitionist Ale Works. When we visited, our group tried three different ones and were impressed and satisfied. There’s also sandwiches and appetizers on the menu.

A great option for out-of-town visitors at Abolitionist is the ability to rent an AirBnB room directly upstairs over the brewery. As long as you can negotiate a flight of stairs after your evening at the bar, you’re good to go.

Airbnb Link

Come join us in our mission to abolish the predictable and the mundane. Come be an abolitionist.

Abolitionist Ale Works

Abolitionist Ale Works was founded in 2017 by Josh Vance and his brother Mike. Since then, it has gained reputation for creativity in brewing. It operates out of an historic building in Charles Town and offers meals and lodging in addition to tasty craft brews.

Abolitionist Ale Works
129 West Washington St.
Charles Town, WV

Brewery Website Link