Bridge Brew hits July with celebration & new bar license

With its move today to a new alcohol license category, Bridge Brew Works taproom in Fayetteville WV explores a promising new operational model. As far as we’ve heard, they are the first brewery in the state to acquire the Private Manufacturer Club license.

Big 4th of July celebration

The 4th of July weekend will be a busy one at Bridge Brew Works. They are releasing two beers this week: 2024 versions of Pillow Rock Pilsner and Iapetus Gose.

Bridge Brew’s Adam Herrold, who leads their brewing program, says these two brews make great summer beers because they are lighter styles, both in alcohol and body.

“People love lagers in the hot summertime,” Adam says of the pilsner and notes that the gose is even lighter.

This year, the Gose will be straight, with no flavor additions. But that doesn’t mean flavorless. This Gose gets a big shot of tart lemony flavor from its lactobacillus fermentation process, making it a super refreshing brew. Hitting the taps at 5.0% ABV or below, both these beers pair well with hot summer days.

On Friday evening, July 5, the brewery lights up its annual giant fireworks display. Three food trucks and an ice cream truck will be on hand to feed the crowd. A DJ will be spinning discs, while fireworks light the sky. Then on Saturday, July 6, they’ll be hosting runners from the Star Spangled 5K race on Wolf Creek Trails. It promises to be a busy weekend.

Bridge Brew makes operational changes

Bridge Brew has always been viewed as one of West Virginia’s more conservative brewery operations, but in some respects that is changing.

Opening in 2010, they began as a brewery-only operation, originally with no taproom or other way to purchase their beer at the brewery. Their beer was sold only through distributors.

Then in 2015, they added a tiny retail space where folks could purchase growlers and bottles to-go. It was only in 2018, when they built their lovely outdoor, open-air taproom and beer garden, that customers could enjoy a glass of beer at their place. However, unlike many other brewery taprooms, they never sought the additional permits required to sell wine, cider, or liquor drinks.

Since the establishment of the New River Gorge National Park, a couple of years back, Bridge Brew Works began seeing an increase in visitors, many of whom wanted to drink a beer in a place where others in their party could get a wine, cider, or a liquor drink. Bridge Brew could not accommodate them.

Private Manufacturer Club

Seeing a business opportunity, owners Ken Linch, Nathan Herrold, and Adam Herrold turned the tables on their past and became the first brewery in the state to operate under the Private Manufacturers Club license.

Adopted by the legislature a couple of years back, the Private Manufacturers Club permit allows beverage alcohol manufacturers (distilleries, wineries, breweries) operating on at least one acre of land to operate an in-house bar that sells and serves beer, wine, and distilled spirits for on-premise consumption. This permit also covers large group events, such as weddings, meetings, conferences, and the like. The brewery must still keep its resident brewer license for the manufacturing side.

“In the past, we weren’t allowed to do ciders or wine in the beer garden,” said Nathan. “The Private Manufacturer Club license will also open opportunities to rent our pavilion for weddings and such.”

While wine, ciders, and seltzers will be added now, Nathan doesn’t expect Bridge Brew Works to jump into full-time liquor bar operation anytime soon. He says liquor drink offerings will gradually be added.

“Maybe when football season starts, we’ll do a Bloody Mary bar from 10:00 to 1:00, or something similar with a brunch,” he says.

He suggests customers could see Margaritas offered when they have the taco food truck on Tuesdays. But even easing into it, this new license gives them lots of flexibility to build business.

National Park, outdoor recreation expands season

Even though the brewery operates with only an outdoor taproom and beer garden, in recent years, it has seen an extended business season develop.

“Beer tourism is a big thing,” Nathan says. “What we’re seeing now with the National Park is that we’re frontloaded a month and we’re backloaded a month.”

Things get busy for them in March and then extend to late in the year. While Bridge Brew still plans to close the beer garden for the cold winter months, Nathan says you can expect them to be open at least through Thanksgiving weekend and likely to weekends in early December, weather permitting.

The guys still brew beer over the winter to supply their distributors. During the winter months, their beer sales are augmented by strong business with outlets at Snowshoe Mountain ski resort. “Snowshoe has been a great account for us,” Nathan adds.

One of our more traditional brewers

Bridge Brew has always focused its production on more traditional beer styles. They have developed a pretty tight book of 25 or so beers, which they rotate through their taps at least every year or two. A regular, smaller group of those are available most all the time.

Their biggest sellers tend to be tried-and-true brews like Long Point Lager (a German-style export lager) and Mountain Mama Pale Ale. While they don’t regularly offer the broad variety of beer styles that you might find at some other craft breweries, what they do offer is tasty, well-made beer.

Although Bridge Brew is not known as a “hazy IPA” destination, Nathan says they even plan to do one of those later this summer. Don’t look for that beer in distribution though. The only place you’ll be able to get it is at the brewery.

“For us, it’s about keeping the yeast happy,” says Nathan. “It’s all about ensuring the quality and freshness. That’s something we really take pride in.”

LINKS

Brewery Website Link
Brewery Facebook Page