Celebrating Summit’s 10th Year

In southern West Virginia, when you think of a true craft beer bar, chances are, you think of Summit Beer Station. After opening in Huntington in 2013, the bar made tremendous strides in its first 10 years.

Maybe its biggest stride was its influence on the entire region’s beer market.

A decade ago, when Summit opened for business, West Virginia’s craft beer market was still in its infancy. The state had only a handful of top-quality premium beer labels—whether U.S. or imported—available to its bars and restaurants. Only nine local small breweries operated in the state. Few bars and restaurants had more than one or two craft beers on their taps.

Enter Summit Beer Station

Jeff McKay was a guy who wasn’t satisfied with the beer variety(or lack thereof) he found in the local beer market. So he did something about it: He opened Summit Beer Station.

As his passion for better beer developed, so did Summit’s tap list. It wasn’t easy and took a tremendous effort pushing/working with beer distributors to improve both the quality and quantity of their craft offerings. But he got it done.

To celebrate his 10 years of progress, McKay is holding a big celebration at Summit Beer Station on Saturday, May 11. Twenty taps will be filled with new and special craft beers from Europe and America.

Quite an accomplishment

It’s not often you can say that one beer bar, led by one individual, truly made a big difference in an entire market—but Summit Beer Station did. It trained a whole community about better beer. Its influence has been felt across its Tri-State area and also into Charleston. Through Summit’s efforts, beer drinkers became better educated on the world of beer styles and the intriguing flavors they bring.

So we thank you, Jeff McKay, for building and nurturing Summit Beer Station and for helping lead our market to a better place in beer. We are indebted to you.

Listen to the Podcast

On this episode of West Virginia Beer Roads, Jeff McKay tells the story of Summit Beer Station. Find out what sparked him to start it, how it was in the early days, and how its beer offerings have developed. It’s an interesting story all about the intersection of business and beer passion.

So tune in and listen as McKay takes Erin and Charles for a ride down the WV Beer Roads.

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Bringing us good beers for over 10 years

Summit Beer Station
259 9th Avenue
Huntington, WV
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