By Julia Lancaster
Devils Backbone last month was named the Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival. The Nelson County brewery, which has an “outpost” brewing and bottling plant in Rockbridge County, also took home six awards, including two gold medals, from the Denver competition.
This is the second year the brewery received major honors at the festival. Last year, Devils Backbone was named Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year, before growing into the full-time production brewery it is today.
Each year, 4,800 beer styles are judged with just a little over 200 medals presented.
“To hear your name called is amazing,” said Heidi Crandall, marketing director of Devils Backbone. “Then to walk up to the stage with your team and be honored in front of thousands of breweries is incredible.”
The Devils Backbone Outpost in Lexington plays a crucial role in the company’s continued success. It added capacity this year to meet demand and will continue to do so in 2014.
John West, the operations manager at the production facility on Route 11, north of Lexington, said that sales have increased since being honored by the beer festival last year.
“We have been fighting to keep up with demand since opening the Outpost and releasing beer into the market in early 2012,” said West.
Twelve 120-barrel fermenters were installed this year at the Outpost. The facility now has a total of 16 120-barrel fermenters and four 60-barrel fermenters.
These additions completely filled up the Outpost’s fermentation cellar and took the company into year 10 of its business plan — in a year and a half.
To put this growth into perspective, in 2008, its first year in business, Devils Backbone sold about 138,000 cases. The company aims to sell about 344,500 cases this year, and in 2014 hopes to reach 620,000 to 689,000 cases, nearly five times its first-year sales.
The Lexington Outpost is building a new production hall, where it will add more automation to the bottle line and a can-filler for 2014.
West also said the Outpost plans to hire a few more people for specific roles in the company. Its workforce now numbers about 15.
“We are looking for a HR manager, an engineer/mechanic, a senior accountant, and two more brewers by year’s end or the beginning of next year,” he said.
However, the Devils Backbone Outpost in Lexington doesn’t seem to be looking to add any waiters.
“We have a restaurant at our brewpub location in Roseland, Va., but people are clamoring for a restaurant in Lexington,” West acknowledged. “I never say ‘never,’ but we currently do not have the space.”
The brewery isn’t resting on its laurels. Devils Backbone will compete in April in the World Beer Cup in Denver. This is a biennial event with beers from all over the world.
In 2012, DBB’s Vienna Lager took home a gold award in the World Beer Cup.
“We have had the great fortune of taking that walk up to the stage multiple times over the last four years,” said Crandall. “It is just as thrilling as the very first time.”