By Katie Allie
In West Virginia, it isn’t difficult to drink local when it comes to craft beer. With more than 20 breweries currently operating in cities and towns all over the state, each is working to provide quality beer at a reasonable price, and many are finding ways to source their ingredients from local farmers and purveyors.
For example, Berkeley Springs Brewing Company brews its Apple Butter Ale with freshly pressed apple juice from nearby Glasscock’s Produce. Big Timber Brewing Company in Elkins teams up with other local businesses, like Pies & Pints and its Appalachian Brew Club, to host competitions and events promoting up-and-coming home brewers. Several breweries, like Parkersburg Brewing Company, Morgantown Brewing Company and North End Tavern & Brewery, host tap takeovers as a way for other local West Virginia brewers and distillers to showcase their products and help each other create name recognition within their shared customer base. In this way, it is not uncommon to see West Virginia businesses working to help each other succeed.
Two West Virginia breweries have taken collaboration to a whole new level. Bridge Brew Works of Fayetteville has partnered with West Virginia Land Trust and Wheeling Brewing Company of Wheeling has joined forces with several local businesses, including Weelunk.com, Omni Strategic Technologies, Later Alligator and Grow Ohio Valley, in a joint effort to promote West Virginia’s best interests through the beer they brew.
Bridge Brew Works
Photo by Jessica Spatafore.
West Virginia Land Trust’s unique partnership with Bridge Brew Works came about as a result of a long day at the office.
“I was in a brainstorming meeting with my communications staff to discuss marketing ideas, and to be honest, it had been a long day, and we all really just wanted to go have a beer,” says Jessica Spatafore, director of development and communications for the land trust, a conservation organization that works to preserve land, wildlife and watersheds in West Virginia. “A light bulb went off, and I said, ‘Hey, clean water makes great beer!’”
In 2016, Spatafore was introduced to Nathan Herrold and Ken Linch, co-owners at Bridge Brew Works, and a new partnership was born. They have since gone on to brew their Seldom Seen Saison and old German dark wheat style Water Wise-N-Bock in support of clean water in the Mountain State.
In this collaboration, Bridge Brew Works and West Virginia Land Trust put their heads together to come up with a unique beer that Bridge Brew Works brews. Meanwhile, West Virginia Land Trust develops marketing materials and helps get the word out via social media and at restaurants, pubs and other events where the special beer will be served. The two organizations have found work that goes hand in hand and plan to collaborate again in the future. West Virginia Land Trust is also open to other brewery partnerships around the state.
“We believe a significant number of craft beer drinkers view being associated with a good cause that has a positive influence on our land and water as a good thing,” says Linch. “We are located in an outdoor sports mecca. Bridge Brew Works Co-owner Nathan Herrold is an avid fisher of our local waters. We depend on not just West Virginians playing here but also tourists. We feel having a desirable environment is a great thing and want to be associated with protecting and improving it even in a small way.”
According to Spatafore, keeping the rivers and streams clean is essential for drinking water, recreation and businesses. “The only way to truly protect our waterways is by protecting the land that borders it,” she says. “This is where the land trust comes in. We conserve land by working with communities and private land owners to keep the land free of pollutants that could enter our rivers and streams.”
Wheeling Brewing Company
Photo by Jimmy Schulte.
“Keepin’ it local” is the motto of the Wheeling Brewing Company, which was founded in 2014. The owners strive daily to source food from local purveyors and farmers and even decorate with the help of a local antique shop. It is only natural then that they partner up with other local businesses in order to brew great beer.
The brewery’s first collaboration was with Weelunk.com, an online platform that publishes local content highlighting the positive aspects of living in Wheeling in an effort to change West Virginia’s regional and national narrative.
Weelunk’s co-owner, Jason Koegler, believes locals associate the two companies with representing a new Wheeling since both got their start around the same time and Weelunk’s launch party was held at the brewery. Their joint effort, the Weelunk Blonde Ale, is now a house staple and one of the brewery’s best sellers.
The brewery has also partnered with Omni Strategic Technologies, a firm that works to improve business performance with effective technology and marketing strategies. With Omni’s location only two blocks down the street from the brewery, a partnership formed naturally.
“We believe a local brewer like Wheeling Brewing is symbolic of the quality and craftsmanship West Virginia is known for historically,” Omni’s president, John Reasbeck, says of the company’s reason for signing up for the partnership. The Omni Baltic Porter is a result of this relationship, for which Reasbeck says they happily volunteer as taste testers and proudly serve during their annual Jingle Mingle event.
Wheeling Brewing Company has also been building a partnership with Later Alligator, a Wheeling restaurant, and released their Later Gator Imperial Stout in late March 2017 with the restaurant’s menu in mind. They have also worked in conjunction with Grow Ohio Valley, using many of their herbs while brewing the Swan Saison, which is released every November.
“In each partnership, we push ourselves to brew great beers that now represent something bigger than just our brewery—our city and the businesses in the city,” says Wheeling Brewing Company Co-owner Jimmy Schulte. “We want to keep spending our dollars locally and help other small local businesses. We are happy to gain a closer relationship with the companies we are working with and hope we are both able to benefit at least in terms of exposing new clients to each other’s brands.”
Breweries in West Virginia—and the businesses they partner with—are working to make the Mountain State a better place to work and play. Be a part of these innovative partnerships by supporting local commerce and putting your dollars behind these businesses. When dining out or drinking in the Mountain State, ask what local breweries are on tap. You may be surprised to find how many places now carry West Virginia craft beers.
