Charleston hosts Coal Country Brewer’s Cup

CHARLESTON, WV—Homebrewers from across the state competed last Saturday in the 2024 Coal Country Brewer’s Cup. This year the annual homebrew competition drew 46 entries from 31 homebrewers.

Entrants submitted their beers for evaluation by a panel of judges accredited by the National Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The judges selected the best beers in the three competition categories: Stout, Porter, and Specialty.

Additionally, the overall top beer judged received the Best of Show award. A People’s Choice Award was given to the beer winning the popular vote among all the homebrewers in attendance at the Coal Cup event.

The judging

Throughout the afternoon the entered beers were blind-tasted and judged versus their BJCP style category guidelines. By the end of the day, the results were in.

A standout was surely Preston Lane of Appalachian Brew Club in Elkins. He took home the gold in the Specialty Category and also earned Best of Show with his American stout flavored with lactose, cinnamon, cacao nibs, and ancho chiles.

Reid Amos (Fairmont Home Brewers Club) won the Porter Category with an American porter, and Christian Robinson (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club) took gold in the Stout Category with an imperial stout. Christopher Brown (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club) won over the crowd in the People’s Choice competition with his coffee stout.

12 years, going strong

Established in 2012, Coal Country celebrates West Virginia’s thriving craft brew scene by showcasing the talents of West Virginia’s hobbyist community. And with its focus on coal-black styles, also honors the state’s economic heritage.

West Virginia Beer Roads podcast co-host, Erin McCoy, attended the event and said she enjoyed Coal Country because it was a fun way to get to know people in multiple homebrew clubs, while having a friendly competition. “The craft beer community is always welcoming and that was more than evident at Coal Country,” she added.

This year, the Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club, of Charleston WV, organized the competition. Club leaders thanked all who participated including the judges, stewards, and entrants.

They also thanked their generous sponsors—Black Sheep Burritos and Brews in Charleston for hosting the People’s Choice, and Fife Street Brewing for hosting the judged competition. Finally, club leaders thanked Charleston Nano Brewery, Weathered Ground Brewery, The Freefolk Brewery, Koerber Beer Company, and Bridge Brew Works for donating door prizes awarded to entrants.

All the winners listed

Following are the full results of the judging.

Stout Category

First Place: Christian Robinson (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), imperial stout

Second: Christopher Brown (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), Irish stout

Third: Rick Newsom (Appalachian Brew Club), oatmeal stout

Porter

First: Reid Amos (Fairmont Home Brewers Club), American porter

Second: Dustin Coffman (Appalachian Brew Club), English porter

Third: Jack Tribble (Appalachian Brew Club), American porter

Specialty

First: Preston Lane (Appalachian Brew Club), American stout with lactose, cinnamon, cacao nibs, and ancho chiles.

Second: Christopher Brown (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), coffee stout

Third: Cody Humphrey (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), American stout with cacao nibs, dried chiles, and cinnamon sticks.

Best of Show

Preston Lane (Appalachian Brew Club), American stout with lactose, cinnamon, cacao nibs, and ancho chiles.

People’s Choice

First: Christopher Brown (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), coffee stout

Second: Matthew Brummond (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), Mexican hot chocolate stout

Third: A tie – Jamie Bailey (Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club), chocolate coffee cherry vanilla stout, and Preston Lacey, Mexican hot chocolate stout

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PHOTO GALLERY

Thanks to Matt Brummond for providing a large part of the content for this article. Photos by Erin McCoy and Meredith Smith.