Steve and Heidi Crandall, opened Devils Backbone in Nelson County, Virginia in 2008 in the idyllic setting of 100 acres surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. The name “Devils Backbone” was chosen to incorporate the region’s history. “On September 25, 1746, a group of Virginians led by Peter Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s father, set out on one of the most legendary land surveys in American history,” says Brew Master Jason Oliver. They mapped a straight line through the wilderness to connect the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. “It took fifty days over extremely rugged terrain from the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Allegheny range. Halfway through, they reached the toughest part of their journey, the top of Devils Backbone.”
Also: Dogfish Head Made the Hoppiest Beer Ever (Probably)
Their beers are inspired by the great brewing traditions of Europe and the ingenuity of modern craft brewing. “Our year-round beers are our Vienna Lager, Schwartz Bier, Eight Point IPA, Gold Leaf Lager and Striped Bass Pale Ale.” The Vienna Lager is hands down their most popular beer. “It has received national and international recognition and is considered a benchmark for the style,” says Oliver. “It has found a great home having balance between reward and approachability.”
He says the beer provides maximum reward with extreme drinkability. “It’s found a wide audience from macro beer drinkers to beer aficionados. It’s a great go-to beer.” The Schwartz Bier is one of his favorites. “It provides that great lager drinkability with subtle roasted character. It has a cool niche.” The Striped Bass Pale Ale is made to raise awareness for the Chesapeake Bay. They donate money from its sales to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “It was designed to be enjoyed out on the bay and to pair well with seafood.” He blended aspects of German pilsner with American pale ale to create an old school American ale similar to the classic Ballantine. “It has a hop bite but goes down crisp and easy.”
Brewing In Virginia
Virginia’s beer culture, much like everywhere in the country, is ever advancing and maturing. “There are great breweries throughout the state marching to the beat of their own drums,” says Oliver. “We have both urban and country breweries providing not only the diversity of beers you would expect but also unique on-site experiences.” In 2009, Devils Backbone helped develop the “Brew Ridge Trail” from their original brewery. This trail linked the local rural breweries together much like the already established wine-trails.
The old adage of a “rising tide raises all ships” applies to the breweries of Virginia working together. “The Virginia Brewers Guild only gets stronger and has had legislative success improving laws regarding breweries.” Both the current and previous governors were pro-craft brewing. “They saw craft brewing rightly as pro-job, pro-economic development, and pro-tourism.” It is not a surprise that Stone and Green Flash chose Virginia for their east coast breweries. “Virginia is a beautiful state steeped in history, natural beauty, and has a sense of itself. It’s a great place to have a beer.”
Beer Collaborations
Devils Backbone released a 12 pack that highlighted their collaborations with different breweries. “It has a nice variety and diversity of breweries,” says Oliver.
With Charlotte’s NoDa Brewing they decided to blend their strengths together. “They do hops well and we do lagers well.” Being a long time fan of session beers and taking inspiration from multiple origins they decided to brew a session- strength India Pale Lager. “We kept it simple with two grains and two hops; Vienna malt & flaked oats and Azacca & Simcoe hops.” The beer is a very drinkable 3.8% alcohol and packs a great hop punch on a little frame. “Having come together so well I want to do one even lower in ABV, maybe 3.2% or lower in the future.” He says this is the most fun part of collaborating with other brewers that share his passion. “You get inspiration from places when you weren’t looking.”
Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina tested the high end of their new collaboration system. “The Seven Summits Imperial Stout not only challenged our equipment with its strength but also our ability to source some of the ingredients,” says Oliver. “We used ingredients inspired by the seven tallest peaks of the continents including: blue/green algae, wattle seed, coconut, cocoa, oak, rye bread and pink Himalayan sea salt.” It’s easy to purchase a few ounces of macaroon grade coconut but to find several hundred pounds of the stuff without buying a huge shipping container’s worth was more challenging. “Brewing it, the brew deck looked cool with buckets upon buckets of broken up rye bread that would be added to the mash. This collaboration took us out of our normal comfort zone which is always illuminating.”
With Indianapolis’ Sun King Brewing, they took something they are known for, Cream Ale, and married it with a double IPA. “We call the style double Dank Cream Ale,” says Oliver. “It uses pilsner malt, flaked corn and a touch of flaked oats. It’s super pale, dry and banging with hop goodness.” They used Simcoe and Columbus for a punchy hop character. “I’ve known and respected the Sun King folks for a while and it was a joy to be able to brew with them.” Other beers in the pack include: collaborations with Minnesota’s Surly and Melbourne, Australia’s Thunder Road Brewing Company.
On the horizon at Devils Backbone
“We’ve added a few new beers to the 2016 Trail Blazer family lineup, Danzig Baltic-style Porter and Skull Crushing Ape, a schwarzweizendopplebock,” says Oliver. Danzig has been brewed since 2009 at their pub and has a close place in Oliver’s heart. “It has won numerous national and international awards and the style of Baltic Porter is one I’ve brewed at a total of four breweries now.” He has some Eastern European heritage, so he’s been long interested in the style. “Baltic-style Porters blend the English strong black ale tradition with the lager tradition of Europe. In some ways it blends aspects of bocks (strong lager) with porter.
Devils Backbone’s beer is currently available in Virginia, DC, Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee.
