Top rated West Virginia beers to try on National Beer Day
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Despite West Virginia's relatively small craft beverage industry compared to surrounding states like Ohio or Virginia, Mountain State brewers still put out a ton of top-notch beer that deserves recognition.
If you live in north central West Virginia, here are some of the top-rated beers from each brewery in the area that craft beer drinkers think are the most worthy of your attention.
The two most popular beers on Short Story's tap list, according to beer review website Untappd, are the Argonaut Helles Lager and the Chasing Daylight IPA.
The Argonaut is a fairly light beer and is described as having a 'strong wheat profile' and a crisp finish—a perfect beer to enjoy on a warm evening, although the next few days will be a bit chillier than last week.
Untappd reviewers described the Chasing Daylight IPA as light, citrusy and aromatic.
Chestnut Brew Works' Halleck Pale Ale is essentially the poster child of craft beer in Morgantown and certainly deserves a try if you haven't given it a chance already. The Halleck does have some hop to it, but the beer itself remains light and refreshing. Plus, it's widely available in cans if you want to save yourself a trip to the Chestnut Beer Hall on Pleasant Street in downtown Morgantown.
If you're looking for a darker option, the South Park Porter is another highly rated beer from Chestnut Brew Works that can also be found in cans in craft beverage stores and some grocery stores.
You can watch 12 News' Restaurant Road Trip to the Chestnut Beer Hall below.
Mountain State Brewing Company can be found all around north central West Virginia, and in addition to making great wood-fired pizza, they also make some great beer.
MSBC's Almost Heaven Amber Ale and Cold Trail Blonde are two of the brewery's most popular beers, with more than 25,000 ratings on Untappd between the two of them. The Cold Trail is light and easy-drinking—a perfect pair for any pizza on their menu—and the Amber Ale is a little more robust with 'a pleasing caramel finish.'
MSBC also has its own oatmeal stout called Miner's Daughter if you're looking for something that steps away from the usual 'light beer' experience.
As one of West Virginia's most recognizable breweries, Big Timber beer can be found in just about any corner of the state. If you're a fan of craft beer, you've almost certainly tried Big Timber's flagship IPA before, but if you haven't, there's a reason it's one of the most widely distributed craft beers in West Virginia. It's well balanced and relatively light, and its hops give the beer character without being all-consuming.
But if you really aren't a fan of IPA's, the Logger Lager can be a good alternative. It's a solid lager with a malty finish; it tastes different from a lot of other lagers but is still good in its own right. You can also try the brewery's award-winning Porter, which took home the gold medal in the Robust Porter category at the 2024 World Beer Cup.
Stumptown Ales prides itself on its IPA's and should be a destination brewery for any West Virginia hop-head. Its most-rated beer on Untappd is the Holy Citra! Double IPA, which is brewed with 'loads' of Citra hops and has tons of fruity notes like mango, papaya and pineapple.
Although no longer 'new,' Fox Hops is one of the newer breweries to open in the region, and when 12 News visited the brewery for a Restaurant Road Trip, we were impressed by the creativity in both its beer and its food.
Sami's Saison is probably what people would consider its flagship beer, but it is also a great place to go for unique beers as well. For example, 12 News got to sample a peppercorn beer during our visit, and on Monday the brewery announced it would be releasing a 'ramp beer' on Friday, April 11.
While it might be off the beaten path for most of north central West Virginia, Screech Owl Brewing is worth a visit. Not only does this brewery put out consistent beer, it also has a killer menu of food made with spent grain from their brewing process, making its meals both unique and delicious.
The Hoo's Your Daddy IPA is by far the most rated beer from Screech Owl on Untappd, described on the brewery's website as a 'smooth yet sassy, crisp but not quite sharp,' mid-coast IPA. The brewery also has its Wild & Wonderful Strawberry Ale, which is nice and fruity without being tart or too sweet.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Forbes
15-05-2025
- Forbes
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- Los Angeles Times
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Trolls love to proclaim, 'This guy needs to get laid.'tr5,.The majority of responses, however, have been supportive, with fellow fans of 'The Mummy' hyped about, if not in awe of, Halleck's quixotic dedication. Many have offered to send him tapes from their own collection, prompting Halleck to rent a P.O. Box. The dogged pursuit of a solitary VHS is no new concept. The artist collective Everything is Terrible collects 'Jerry Maguire' tapes and an Instagrammer in Florida known as @titanicfan_97 has turned his entire home into a shrine to James Cameron's 'Titanic.' Although quantity is tantamount for all three VHS collectors, Halleck believes his mission is different. ''The Mummy' is an action-adventure-horror film,' he says, 'and 'Titanic' is a romantic historical drama based on one of the worst tragedies, and 'Jerry Maguire' is a sports romance.' Halleck sees his project as a Homeric odyssey of sorts, less about the destination than the journey. 'If I wanted to buy out eBay, I could, but there's something funny about being on the streets and getting respect that way,' he says. Halleck has spent anywhere from 25 cents to $14 for a copy of 'The Mummy' and has trained to quickly scan shelves for the film's orange-and-black spine. If he doesn't see other '90s action films such as 'Armageddon' or 'Jurassic Park' at a store, he likely won't find 'The Mummy' either. Visiting stores in large cities is usually a waste of time. In San Francisco, he went to 22 stores in one day and left empty-handed. In the film's first year, Universal Pictures released more than 7 million VHS tapes of 'The Mummy,' so statistically there should be an abundance of tapes to be found. The problem for Halleck is that the film has remained popular, especially among millennials. A modern-day 'Brenaissance' ushered in by a 2016 petition to 'bring Brendan Fraser back' successfully relaunched the actor's career. New roles and a long-overdue Oscar win brought renewed attention to the star and his earlier films. (Fraser declined to comment for this story.) 'The Mummy' is a particular favorite among Fraserheads. Multiple fan Facebook groups boast more than 100,000 members, and there is no shortage of 'Mummy' memes circulating on social media. Capitalizing on 'The Mummy's' popularity, Blumhouse Productions is releasing a horror adaptation of the film in 2026. Despite being 26 years old, 'The Mummy' starring Fraser is still frequently rented at the last remaining Blockbuster in Bend, Ore., with staff regularly screening the movie in-store. When Los Angeles video store and independent movie theater Vidiots reopened in 2023, 'The Mummy' was among the films shown, and the film was screened again in 2024 with a follow-up talk by an Egyptologist from the Getty. 'It's just a cozy movie for millennials,' says Lucé Tomlin-Brenner, manager of the Highland Park video store Vidéothèque, who first watched the movie after attending homecoming. 'There's a coming-of-age experience with the film that is tied so tightly for people even though there's not a lot to read into it critically other than Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser being hot,' Tomlin-Brenner says. Film writer Chad Collins, 30, published a love letter to 'The Mummy' on its 25th anniversary. 'I've always thought parts of our personal stories were the stories we grew up with, and for me, there's a clear tether between my worn-out VHS copy of 'The Mummy' and the work I do in horror writing now,' he says. The film also helped Collins find love. When his now-boyfriend learned they were both fans of 'The Mummy,' he took it as a sign Collins 'was the one.' By the year's end, Halleck hopes to amass around 1,000 tapes. He has fantasies of building a pyramid with the tapes on the Hollywood Walk of Fame or at the Venice Boardwalk and inviting onlookers to take photos with Evan's Famous 'Mummy' Pyramid. But his end goal is to create a comedic documentary about the project. Road trips to Las Vegas and the East Coast are next on his docket, but those journeys are on hiatus until after Halleck and Schulz marry this month. Like 'The Mummy,' their wedding will take place 'in the sands' (of Joshua Tree, not Egypt). A rack of the groom's VHS collection will serve as an optional photo backdrop, and Halleck is dressing as Fraser's white shirt and gun-holstered character for the Friday night pre-wedding dinner. Although Schulz and Halleck's baby plans are still far off, Halleck has already received permission from Schulz to decorate the nursery with an Egyptian theme.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Chestnut Beer Hall taproom closes in Morgantown
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — Morgantown is losing a piece of its craft beer culture after Chestnut Beer Hall announced on Facebook that it is now closed as of Monday, April 28. Luckily for Halleck fans, the Chestnut Brew Works brewery will remain open, according to the post. 'In with a heavy heart we deliver this unfortunate news, but Chestnut Beer Hall is closed. We had a great time slingin' beers in this #historicdowntownmorgantown space and getting some of our best local musicians back up on that classic stage. Thank y'all so much for your support over the past year!' the post reads. Chestnut Beer Hall opened its doors on Pleasant Street at the beginning of 2024. Although there are other craft beer hubs in the area such as Short Story, Mountain State and Apothecary Ale House, Chestnut Beer Hall was the only taproom operated by a Morgantown brewery after the closure of the Morgantown Brewing Company in March last year. Chestnut Brew Works is best known for its flagship beer, the Halleck Pale Ale, but also for its Your Best Hoption IPA and the South Park Porter. The Beer Hall was also one of the original participants of the Morgantown PODA or 'Morgantown Mile.' 12 News visited the taproom in a Restaurant Road Trip shortly after it opened. The brewery is 'tentatively' planning on reopening its smaller taproom on Brockway Avenue, where Chestnut Brew Works brews its beer. For more updates on that reopening, you can follow the brewery on Facebook. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
