After a day in the woods or on the slopes it’s nice to know that you can find a place to kick back and relax with a great local beer. One such place is Mountain State Brewing Co., a recent addition to the small town of Thomas, West Virginia.

Co-owners and stepbrothers Brian Arnett of Elkins and Willie Leymann of Helvetia both dreamed of starting a brewery for years before going into business together.

Brian, who began homebrewing in high school, started an apprenticeship at Ryleigh's Brewpub in Baltimore when he was in his mid-20s. A couple of months later he found himself in the position of head brewer.

Meanwhile, Willie made honey wine and moonshine in college and kept busy drawing up plans for a brewery to sit next door to his grandmother's restaurant in Helvetia. Although he worked as a stonemason, he would often visit Brian in Baltimore and help him brew.

Brian started collecting brewing equipment whenever pieces became available. When Bare Bones Grill and Brewery in Ellicott City, MD stopped brewing a few years ago, Brian filled his Baltimore apartment with all their equipment.

Then, in 2005, the two stepbrothers got the financial go ahead to put up the shell of the 40-by-64-square-foot building in Thomas. They built the interior themselves -- Willie's stone work decorated the bar. They started brewing in September.

The stepbrothers brew on-site with the help of an employee. “It’s a seven-barrel brewhouse,” Brian describes it. The brewery has a capacity of seven 31-gallon barrels a day. Mountain State Brewing Co. offers four styles: Cold Trail Ale, Almost Heaven Amber Ale, Seneca Indian Pale Ale and Miner's Daughter Oatmeal Stout.

The brewpub is open at 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays with live music every Friday night.

For more information call Mountain State Brewing at (304) 463-4500 or visit mountainstatebrewing.com.