Beer styles growing in WV

West Virginia brewers make beer style predictions for 2026

Looking ahead to 2026, we asked a representative sample of West Virgina brewers to predict shifts in their customers’ beer style preferences. If you are a regular at a local brewery taproom, what we found is maybe not too different from what you might expect — but then again, maybe it is.

STYLES GROWING

The first thing we asked brewers was, which beer styles will continue very popular into 2026—ones most likely to see continued growth through the year?

The most frequently mentioned growing style was Hazy IPA, followed by craft lagers, pale ale, and standard (West Coast) IPA. It sure appears that WV brewers believe their audience is bullish on hops. 

Increasing interest in highly hopped brews should be good news for brewers such as Short Story and Stumptown Ales, brewers who lead with portfolios full of max-hoppy beauties. Big Timber, Weathered Ground, Greenbrier Valley also throw in some strong candidates in this category. 

As for the positive views for growth in sales for pale lager, this would be following a broad national trend. Here again, many of the the pale lagers that are leading growth nationally are  ones with a distinct hoppy signature—more likely to be pilsners that basic American lagers or light lagers. 

The other side of lager growth expected in WV are ones with a Mexican tilt. This could easily be viewed as an extension of the runaway growth of the Modelo brand in the non-craft space. Mexican-style lagers appear to give craft beer its entré into the more basic American pale lager space. Using corn to lighten flavor and smaller amounts of hops, the Mexican lagers appeal strongly to customers wanting a basic, clean, simple beer. Several WV brewers also dose their Mexican lagers with added lime flavor. While this may not appeal to those seeking a beer-flavored beer, it does cross the line into fans of the fruited//flavored beer style that are driving the popularity of the fruited sours mentioned below.

Interestingly, several less obvious styles and less hoppy styles were also included as those poised for growth. They included: Fruited Sours, Hefeweizen, and Belgians. None of these three are hop forward beers. They all are flavorful brews, but ones that get their signature flavors from things other than hops, be it yeast or bacteria fermentation 

For several years, there has been a strong West Virginia following for the fruited-up brews made by WV brewers. Looks like that trend is continuing—even though some think it has run its course.  I guess we’ll see.  As for Belgians and Hefeweizen, it seems that what brewers may be suggesting is that their customers are leaning toward beer styles with more complex flavors. That would seem to definitely be a sign of a maturing craft beer market.  

STYLES MAINTAINING

When asked for the beer styles that brewers expect to see maintaining, but not growing in popularity, their answers were fairly united in selecting a block of beer styles that form core offerings of the small, independent craft brewing movement, almost since its inception. These are a lot of ales that have a distinct British heritage. 

We’re talking about Basic IPA, Pale Ales, Ambers, Porters, Stouts, and Brown Ales. This group of beer has been leading the American craft beer movement since its earlier days. These were the styles that differentiated craft beer from the pervasive, pale/light lagers produced by the mega-brewers (Bud-Miller-Coors). These styles helped initiate the American craft beer industry, and it’s pleasing to see that WV brewers still have faith in them as core offerings in their portfolios.

STYLES DECLINING

Trends in American craft beer can be every bit as fickle and local as West Virginia is diverse. It seems each brewer surveyed sees different styles as having run their course at that brewery. This survey found no real agreement in styles that are sure to decline in 2026. 

Often, a declining style mentioned is a style that the brewer likes and has made numerous times through the years. But today, they’re finding their customer base may be a bit burned out on it and sales are declining.  At one brewery, it might be farmhouse ales, and at another it’s funky sours. A few offered some of the tried and true British-heritage ales, like Browns and Blondes.  

We found it encouraging that there was nowhere near a consensus on styles that are in decline. That likely shows the local nature of the experience. While all of these beer styles have been around for many years, overall, it’s a safe bet that they will continue to be broadly represented on our state’s craft brewing industry’s dance card.

Most Respected

Beyond their beer style momentum predictions, we asked each brewer what other WV brewers they most respect. While this survey was certainly not scientific and had a small sample size, it did contain input from several of the state’s more successful brewers. 

The most frequently-mentioned breweries were: 

1. High Ground Brewing
2. Short Story Brewing
3. (Tie) Weathered Ground Brewery
   Bridge Brew Works

Also receiving mentions:

Big Timber Brewing
Screech Owl Brewing
Greenbrier Valley Brewing
Abolitionist Beer Works
Bad Shepherd Beer Company
The Peddler
Fox Hops Brewing

Support Your Local Brewery