Mountain State Brewing Company

The Dobie and I spent the first night of our brewcation in Davis, WV at Blackwater Falls State Park, a favorite camping spot of ours.  It isn't just the beautiful mountains or the cute little towns of Davis and Thomas that bring us out time and time again - it's also the beer!  I first want to give a little shout out to Blackwater Brewing Company, as we always seem to come in on an odd day and miss their open hours - we did meet their awesome brewmaster while we were in town but unfortunately our schedule ended up with us not being able to spend a second day.  No worries, we will be back (we can't seem to go very long without a trip to our favorite camping spot) and we're definitely going to make it out to the local Brew Skies Festival next year at Canaan Valley!

Located just up the road from popular Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley state parks in Thomas, WV, Mountain State Brewing Company is a little taste of West Virginia's almost heaven kind of flavor.  The Dobie and I discovered Mountain State back in May when camping in nearby Davis, WV.  We bought a few singles of their signature bottled brews and we were sold!

Mountain State has an awesome little bar-style tasting room attached to a good sized micro-brewing facility.  Its rustic interiors and local flavor will make you feel at home as soon as you walk in the door.  Make sure you get there early in the evening if you're looking to stay a while, as they do have limited seating in the bar-area.

We were told by one of the locals in nearby Davis that Mountain State started bottling pretty recently, but their brews already seem to be a hit.  They're currently packaging up their Seneca Indian Pale Ale, Miner's Daughter Oatmeal Stout, and Cold Trail Ale (and perhaps a few others we didn't see), all of which can be found in the local grocery store and liquor store.  They don't have a super-far reach just yet but I won't be surprised if I start to see Mountain State's beers start popping up in neighboring states at some specialty stores in the not all too distant future.

My favorite Mountain State brew is without a doubt the Miner's Daughter, but since I brought a few bottles home that I'll be reviewing in more detail, I'm not going to talk about that one quite as much.  While at the brewery, I had the pleasure of tasting their Almost Heaven Amber Ale.  A pretty standard but very well executed amber, this was exactly what I was craving when we rolled into town Thursday evening.  Malt, nut, and caramel tones blend for a well rounded short session beer that would be a good transition brew if you're trying to convince your friends who think that Killians is the pinnacle of brewing creations that there is more to beer than the macrobrewery.

Next time I'm in town, I'll be pretty excited to get a taste of their Dolly Suds Cranberry Wheat or perhaps one of their limited rotating seasonal beers.  Craft beer isn't just for the city folks - get on down to West Virginia and get your camp on while enjoying some awesome local flavors at Mountain State Brewing Company!  I am also quite excited to hit one of their two brewpubs the next time I roll through Morgantown, a bit north of the Thomas brewery; with beer this tasty they've got to have great food!

Check out Mountain State's website and read about their story and their beers here - http://mountainstatebrewing.com/