2023 – a beer review in photos
December 27, 2023
Reporting for Brilliant Stream and West Virginia Beer Roads took us many places in 2023. Today in photos, we review a few of those places and events from the year.
We (Charles Bockway and Erin McCoy) hope you also had as good a year in beer as we did. We’re looking forward to seeing you and enjoying some wonderful new suds in 2024.
— CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE —
January: We started our year in beer by attending a beer pairing dinner featuring Big Timber Brewing at Stonewall Jackson State Park resort. It was a wonderful evening. The resort did a super good job with the food. Of course, Big Timber brought an excellent set of brews.
January: A visit to Georgia to attend the 17th annual Atlanta Cask Ale Festival is hard to top. Held at Bold Monk Brewing this year, it showed off plenty of casked and barreled beauties.
January: Attended a Stone Brewing beer dinner at Sip Downtown Brasserie in Huntington. They did a great job with the meal and beer service.
January: A podcast with brewer Sam Fonda at Weathered Ground Brewery. Sam always brings us such interesting info.
February: Podcasting with brewer Gil Peterson at Fife Street Brewing. We love hearing Gil’s take on the beer he brews.
February: Checking out the West Virginia winery section at the Wine Shop at Capitol Market. Shop owner Ted Armbrecht always keeps a nice selection of local wines – and local beer too.
March: A beer education trip to Florida in March took us to more brewery visits and beer fests at Tampa Bay Beer Week and in Orlando.
March: A trip to West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle to record podcasts with Amani Brewing and Abolitionist Ale Works was excellent. Also made visits to Bavarian Brothers Brewing and Black Draft Distillery.
March: Covering the introduction of Rhinegeist Brewing beers to WV at Sam’s in Charleston was so much fun.
April: We recorded a podcast about actions related to alcohol sales at the 2023 WV Legislature session and enjoyed some brews at Short Story Brewing’s Charleston taproom.
May: Traveled to Nashville for the national Craft Brewers Conference put on annually by the Brewers Association. We support their efforts to grow the craft beer industry.
May: Checking distribution at local beer retailers. Reading shelves and floor stacks at Drug Emporium in Charleston.
May: Visiting new brewery locations for Freefolk Brewery in Hico and the upcoming Koerber Beer Co. in Barboursville.
June: Recorded a podcast with Jamie Ferrell, manager of Short Story Brewing’s Charleston taproom, and sponsored a brewing competition at the Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club’s summer picnic.
June: On a trip to Athens, Ohio, recorded a podcast with Seth Morton, director of brewing operations at Jackie O’s Brewery, and also visited Little Fish Brewing.
Little Fish Brewing
June: We took a trip to Huntington to record a podcast with Jeff McKay, proprietor of Summit Beer Station. His thoughts on our industry are always refreshing and insightful.
of Summit Beer Station
July: Checked out the West Virginia winery booths at Mountain State Art & Craft Fair in Ripley, WV
July: Attended an Oscar Blues Brewery tap takeover at Bar 101, Charleston; checked out new beers at Fife Street Brewing and at Charleston Nano-Brewery
July: We love all the fun at Foam at the Dome Craft Beer Festival in Charleston — so we spent the day there.
August: A trip to Weathered Ground Brewery was in order to help them celebrate their Sixth Anniversary.
August: Helping our friends at Charleston Nano celebrate their brewery’s first birthday. You won’t find two nicer folks than owners Jennifer and Kenny Graley.
August: We couldn’t wait to do some in-person coverage of the Rails & Ales Craft Beer Festival in Huntington this year. It was well worth the trip.
August: We had a great visit with Parkersburg Brewing and recorded a podcast.
August: We always love covering the Mountaineer Brewfest in Wheeling. It’s a first-class event.
September: Every year, we’re anxious to do our annual Oktoberfest beer tasting podcast, with special guest Chris Brown, president of the Kanawha Valley Homebrewers Assn. Then, Erin McCoy took off for a few days of palate education in Asheville NC. This month we also got to see Jeff McKay’s cool new beer retail establishment in Huntington: Apex Beverage.
October: A visit to the new Huntington WV PODA (Private Outdoor Designated Area) for some sidewalk drinking. Later in the month, we really enjoyed Charleston’s largest annual beer fest, OktoberWest.
October: Craft beer enthusiast Lynette Stewart joined Erin and Charles for a special podcast on pumpkin beers. Next, we previewed the spacious and gorgeous new taproom of Big Timber Brewing in Elkins.
November: Early in the month, to Florida for a lotta fun with friends. Then back to downtown Charleston to explore its brand new Capital City Sip-N-Stroll district. So much fun. Then, after Thanksgiving, Huntington’s Summit Beer Station was busy bringing pink elephants to town for a special Belgian beer party with the Delirium line.
December: Exploring Charleston’s beautiful holiday-themed Holly Jolly Brawley on the same block as Bad Shepherd, Fife Street, and Short Story brewery taprooms. It really brought out the crowds and many of them stopped in to have a beer.
December: Off to Columbus, Ohio, for Jackie O’s Brewery’s beer club party. And a stop in Wolf’s Ridge Brewing while there. And finally, back to Charleston and over to Fife Street Brewing for their tasty Chemical Valley Hazy IPA.
It’s been a busy year for beer. We hope you enjoyed reviewing some of the activities that keep us excited about craft brewing and craft beverages in our state and region. We’re looking forward to 2024 to bring you more reports on delicious craft beverages and fun beer activities.
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One comment on “2023 – a beer review in photos”
Tom Cross ( Greenbrier Valley Brewing local guy )
December 27, 2023 at 1:26 pmEXCELLENT !! Keep it up Charles !!