Bōc Hord Brewery has big plans

On a recent trip to downtown Princeton, WV, I got updated on the new Bōc Hord Brewery and Bakehouse. While they are just getting underway since opening a little over a month ago, their plans for the place are impressive and exciting.

Ginger Conley and J.W. Groseclose purchased the former Sophisticated Hound Brewing location late this summer. As the business name suggests, their place will be both a brewery and a bakery.

More than a business partnership, Ginger and J.W. met around a decade ago and now have been married for a couple of years.

When the opportunity came to purchase the former Sophisticated Hound, they decided it was time to own their own business, so they bought it.

Brewing and baking, a good combination

Previously, J.W. had brewed at a few other places, including Greenbrier Valley Brewing and Big Draft Brewing in West Virginia. While Ginger works as a professional counsellor, she has always had a passion for baking.

“I’ve always been in the background in J.W.’s brewing endeavors,” Ginger says, explaining that she actually helped him get started in it years ago. “I bought him his first homebrew kit,” she tells us.

J.W. says that while the two of them have together for years, this is the first time they have partnered in a business. Ginger had been delving into sourdough baking at home and found she had a knack for it. The idea came to her that she would love to figure out a way to do baking full-time.

“So when we started to think of this business model that we wanted to do,” Ginger explains, “we thought it would be a great idea to marry our crafts together. I know if I knew of a place that had both beer and bread, I’d want to go there.”

First up was getting the brewery and restaurant up and running. The bakery will come a bit later. J.W. started out using the brewing equipment that came with the place, but he has much bigger plans.

“We ultimately know to achieve the goals we have, for distribution and taproom sales, we’ll have to expand.” He is currently in the process of drawing up plans for expanded equipment and will be on the lookout for all the items he needs.

“I hold myself to a very high standard when it comes to beers” he says. “And not only beers, but also for food and service.”

The Bakehouse coming

To get baked goods into production, they first have to add bakery equipment to the business. Once that’s done, they’ll begin making many of the items they need for their soup and sandwich food menu. These items will initially include pretzel buns, sourdough sandwich breads, and bread bowls.

“We’ll eventually expand from there, but those will be our starters,” Ginger says. She also plans to have a bakery case set up so people can purchase fresh baked good to take home.

On their food menu contains around 25 main items: Apps, soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches and bratwursts, plus sides, desserts, and beverages are all there. They also offer several Kids Menu items.

Ginger also suggests checking out their beer garden. “Our patio adjacent to our taproom is really lovely. We’re dog-friendly too. We get lots of pooch pals out on the patio.”

Brewing philosophy for inspired beers

J.W. says he wants to brew inspired beers.

“When an inspired beer comes forth there’s just cohesion,” he says. “There’s cohesion with the name of the beer; there’s cohesion with the recipe, the flavor, and even the label design.”

In J.W.’s former brewing work, before Bōc Hord, he was an accomplished brewer of basic, easy-drinking beer styles. “I still stand by the idea that drinkability comes first. My idea is that I want to brew a beer that is enjoyable to consume and that you can drink more than one.”

Even if brewing an imperial or double strength beer, J.W. likes to keep the alcohol content near the minimum for the style. For example, he explains that if a Double IPA style has a minimum ABV guideline of 7.0 percent, he’ll shoot to brew it at 7.0 percent, and not higher.

Since in the past J.W. worked around West Virginia breweries for several years, his beers have developed a following. He plans to bring back and brew several of his more popular recipes and favorite styes at Bōc Hord, though you can expect them to have new names.

He has 12 taps available, and his first three beers were all made using the grains and hops he inherited from the former owner. While I sampled all three and they were solid, J.W. will likely tweak those recipes as he gets to order his own specific malts and hops.

“Our recipes and products will evolve — hopefully consistently and indefinitely.”

Filling out a few more taps at the bar, initially, are guest taps. “Aryn and Sam Fonda at Weathered Ground Brewery have been huge allies helping us get on our feet here,” J.W. says. He offers a of couple Weathered Ground brews along with several others from popular craft brewers.

Bōc Hord’s initial house brews

Golden Gose Golden Ale is their American golden ale. Balanced with a touch of sweetness, it’s a light blonde beer that at 4.7% ABV. It’s a craft beer that also appeals to light beer drinkers, of which there are many in southern West Virginia. While light in body and alcohol, it definitely has a nice flavor and high carbonation that makes it so pleasant on a warm afternoon or paired with a brisket sandwich, chicken wings, or beef stew from their kitchen.

Ginger says this Golden Goose Ale, being such a popular style, is their moneymaker. She says it is by far their number one selling beer.

The Bitter Queen ESB. It’s an old recipe that includes some English style malts (Marris Otter and English Crystal) and yeast, but with American hops that have an English pedigree.

The ESB happens to be one of Ginger’s favorite styles.

“J.W. has brewed variations of this style for me in the past,” she says. “I really like the hop-malt balance. I like the bitterness. I’m an IPA fan, but it’s nice to have a beer that is a little more relaxed and drinkable than a big IPA.”

Their third initial beer is a Stout. Coming soon are more beers, such as popular sours, IPAs, saison, and some specialty beers. “The market is hungry for it,” J.W. says.

Another style that will appear down the road are lagers. Because lagers take up lots of tank space while they age, the brewery doesn’t have the space for them yet. But they are coming.

One style you won’t likely find at the brewery, though, is a Hazy IPA. J.W. explains why.

“I take pride in clarity along with flavor, and juiciness, and all the things that a hazy brings — without the mask of haziness.”

A positive outlook

“The sky’s the limit,” he recounts. “With the population density here and the tourism traffic off the Interstate, we have to be world class on every level.”

Once he adds some new cooperage and gets beer production moving up, J.W. will begin distributing his beers. “By spring our goal is to have 50 accounts around the state,” he says. “Be on the lookout for Bōc Hord beers.”

He plans to self-distribute instead of using a beer distributor.

Because his brewery capacity is small, at least until he enlarges the brewery and gets more tanks, he is looking into contracting for some of his beer production from other West Virginia brewers. He thinks this would be a win-win strategy for both him and the larger brewery that has extra capacity.

To keep up with new beer releases and new food menu items, follow the Bōc Hord Facebook page.

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Bōc Hord Brewery & Bakehouse
833 Mercer Street
Princeton, WV

Brewery Facebook Page