Devils Backbone Brewing: Two new markets and a cool new mixed 12-pack

One of AB InBev’s most recent acquisitions, Devils Backbone Brewing, is making its next moves. Founded by Steve Crandall and his wife Heidi after a skiing trip where they had their first taste of German beer, Devils Backbone Brewing now consists of two breweries in Virginia: Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows (the original) and the Outpost Brewery & Tap Room (state-of-the-art production brewery and tap room) and an ever-expanding distribution footprint. In addition to Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland and Washington, D.C., the company just announced the additions of Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Devils Backbone has partnered with Penn Distributing, Gretz Beer Co. and Allentown Beverage Co. in Pennsylvania to bring their brews to beer lovers in Philadelphia, the surrounding counties and the Lehigh Valley. In Delaware, Devils Backbone has partnered with NKS Distributors to bring their brews to New Castle, Kent and Sussex.

The markets will get to enjoy Devils Backbone’s new Family Beer Project, a mixed 12 pack which includes its flagship beer, Vienna Lager, a Vienna style lager, and Ale of Two Cities, an Amero Kolsch-style ale; Apple-achian Pie Stout, an ale brewed with apple, spice, and molasses; Hot Shot IPA, an India pale ale brewed with jalapeno peppers; Space Fruit Pale Ale, an ale brewed with new world hops; and Tropical Thunder, a crystal-weizen ale brewed with pineapple juice.

Tell us more about the Family Beer Project!

During 15-month Family Beer Project, employees from every branch of the Devils Backbone family tree, from servers to members of the sales team to packaging hall employees, formed into 12 groups, each led by a brewer. The groups selected the style, ingredients, and name of their beer and then brewed it together. The brewers chose five of these beers to include in the final lineup of this Adventure Pack.

“The Family Member Beer project is a great introduction to Devils Backbone because each style in the pack is a genuinely unique beer created directly by our family members at the brewery,” said Devils Backbone Brewmaster Jason Oliver.

The five beers featured in the Adventure Pack, only available for a limited amount of time, alongside the award-winning Vienna Lager, include:

• Ale of Two Cities (4.7 percent ABV; 18 IBU): Pale, crisp, refreshing A blend of traditional German brewing tradition and American hops. Ale of Two Cities has great malt character up-front with a crisp clean finish. Low ABV and very drinkable. Brewed by: Aaron (brewer), Michael (packaging line), Karen (Basecamp server), Brittigan (warehouse operator), and Jennifer (Basecamp server)

• Apple-achian Pie Stout (8.0 percent ABV; 28 IBU): Rich, apple, spice The members on this team have close ties to Appalachian Virginia. The stories of Virginia moonshiners using local apples to make their shine was the inspiration behind this brew. Ingredients include apple butter, pie spice, and blackstrap molasses. Brewed by: April (brewer), Cara (marketing manager), TJ (maintenance technician), Delmas (lead cook), Daniel (line cook), Siporah (Basecamp server), and Carrie (Basecamp server)

• Hot Shot IPA (6.2 percent ABV; 55 IBU): Jalapeno, hop, zip A tribute to some of the Devils Backbone Mug Club members who travel out west every summer to bravely fight wildfire. The addition of jalapenos provides a nice “hot shot” to this well-balanced IPA. Jalapeno, hop, zip. Brewed by: Robbie (brewer), Ann (Craft Adventure Coordinator), Ben (brewer), Annick (Basecamp server), Melanie (Basecamp server), Brodie (HR director), and Tony (hospitality director)

• Space Fruit Pale Ale (4.6 percent ABV; 38 IBU): Tropical, hop, zing Designed to introduce both hop-heads and those who don’t know they’re hop fans yet to a mildly bitter, yet still hop forward beer using Galaxy (Space) and Citra (Fruit) hops. Brewed by: Justin (brewer), Coey (quality manager), Majestic (packaging line), and Bryant (packaging line)

• Tropical Thunder (5.3 percent ABV; 20 IBU): Fruity, tropical, wheat A nose of pineapple and tropical fruits with a slight hop linger. Tastes clean and crisp with small amounts of banana Weissbier aroma coming through and finishing with a tropical fruit and pineapple hop kick. Brewed by: Josh (brewer), Cherice (hostess), Craig (warehouse operator), Lauren (Basecamp server), Danielle (Basecamp server), and John (Basecamp server)

• Vienna Lager (5.2 percent ABV; 18 IBU): Mild, toasted, caramel Vienna Lager is amber in color with a subtle toasted caramel note and a smooth malty finish. Brewed using a combination of Northern Brewer and Saaz hops with Vienna, Pilsen, Dark Munich and Caramel malts and allowing five weeks for the lagering process and the flavors to fully develop. Vienna Lager is a multi-award-winning brew: 2015/2012 gold medal and 2009 Silver in the Vienna-Style Lager category at the Great American Beer Festival and 2014 Silver, 2012 Gold in the Vienna-Style Lager category at the World Beer Cup.