Devils Backbone Expanding to NC

Was unimpressed with what I had a couple years ago in VA, but have only heard great things about them. Excited to give them another try.

 

Solid standards - well made. Most offerings won't excite 75% of the BA crowd, but definitely solid beers, especially worth buying if you like the style of any of the beers distributed.

 

Very good at the traditional styles. Win tons of awards, but really don't brew a whole lot to satiate the BA type crowd. I keep probably 5-6 different beers of theirs on my shelf at all times for daily drinkers.

The taprooms themselves will rotate through a LOT of different varieties, but those that actually make it in to distribution are limited. Their Adventure packs (variety pack featuring at least two beers that are not otherwise packaged) are one way they do try to get some of these other beers out though.

 

You hit the nail on the head! I live about 30 minutes away from their Basecamp brewery and they definitely brew the majority of their beers with the standards in mind. If you are looking for beers that make you say, "WOW! I've never had anything like this before!" then DBB may miss your mark but if you are looking for great beers that are brewed to BJCP guidelines then they will definitely be a welcome new addition for these states.

 

SC next?

 

Kilt Flasher, Schwartzbier, Striped Bass, Vienna Lager, Turbo Cougar and Dark Abby are all pretty solid. I'd also give Eight Point a try to see if it's your style of IPA, but for me it lacks depth.

 

Just to echo thoughts above, I've tried almost all of thier bottled beers and just about every time my reaction is: "that was just fine." I think the one I liked the most was a bomber of wood aged kilt flasher.

 

I will 2nd or 3rd what DWheeler, Rmarth, and TomCat have said. If you ever get a chance to visit the brewery its a cool spot with a great view, plus you can easily visit blue mountain, bold rock, wild wolf, and star hill while in the area.

TomCat- Hows the expansion of the outdoor area at basecamp going? I was there in late May and there was a lot of work going on. Could see the form of things but not the details. Looking forward to visiting in the fall when its all finished up/

 

I honestly have not been by Basecamp since they started the expansion but the pictures I have seen of their outdoor build looks fantastic. It was so much open space previously they are really adding a lot on to improve the experience! They are pretty close to finishing up. I think their goal is to be completed in time for the Va Craft Brewers Fest on Aug 22nd and that looks pretty realistic.

One beer I forgot to mention earlier was their Trail Angel Weiss. That is absolutely one of my favorite beers of Summer. If anyone comes across it do yourself a face and grab it. They are in 6 pack cans.

 

Striped Bass and Vienna Lager are both really good beers, and I've heard that everything they make is solid at worst. Not the overhopped/sour/barrel aged reliant type of brewery but good stuff. Hope they'll expand to SC soon!

 

Speaking of more BA-friendly beers, this spring DBB put out limited bombers of their 16 Point DIPA and they were REALLY good. Not sure when they are releasing them again but keep an eye out.

 

Best thing I've ever tasted from them was:
Dead Bear Imperial Stout (I had just run a half marathon up and down a mountain)
Danzig Baltic Porter (at Basecamp, during a camping excursion)

But the above might all be "one and dones". 16 Point DIPA is pretty solid too, but that's seasonal. Their standard lineup are, as above, "all fine".

 

They do a ton of iterations of the black bear stout. I think they did a couple barrel treatments and different additive versions this year (the Vanilla was great). Like everything else, they're very limited, taproom only things. They've done two bomber releases in the past year that I can recall: 16-PT IPA and the Bourbon Barrel Kilt Flasher. They've also done some great cask/pin releases that trickle out to local bars and their outpost taproom (a smaller taproom at the production facility about 40 miles away from the Basecamp brewpub).

 

fyi - Saw several of these still sitting around in SE VA, at least as of a week ago.