Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings April 5-11

Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow is the one-stop home for Asheville-area beer news. Check back throughout the week for updates and send your own to wncbeertoday@gmail.com.

Bottle/can releases

• On Tuesday, April 5, at 5 p.m., Appalachian Vintner hosts a bottle release and tasting for Urban Orchard Cider Co. Cidre Nu, the cidery’s first bottled product. Cidre Nu (5.3 percent ABV) is based slightly on the tart, wild fermented sidre of Spain and is available in 750-milliliter bottles.
• Zebulon Artisan Ales has released Batch #4 Hoppy Farmhouse Style Ale (for David Bowie). The classic mixed field saison is brewed with oats, rye, spelt and wheat, hopped like a west coast IPA and intended to be consumed as fresh as possible. Bottles available at the brewery Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6 from 1-6 p.m. ($11/750 millimeter bottle, limit of 4 bottles per person) and are currently at select bottle shops.
• Oskar Blues Brewery releases Beerito Mexican Lager (4 percent ABV, brewed with premium German and Colorado sourced craft malts and Noble hops) on Friday, April 8 at 5 p.m. in its Brevard taproom. Beerito is the latest addition to the brewery’s year-round lineup. A free round-trip trolly to the release party departs from the Aloft Hotel on Biltmore Ave. at 6 p.m., spots aboard which may be reserved online.

Small-batch beers

• In addition to bringing back Shadowclock Bohemian lager (5.9 percent ABV) on Monday, April 4, Burial Beer Co. rolls out Lawn Chair Pale Ale (a 5.8 percent ABV Northeastern-inspired pale with El Dorado, Belma and Amarillo hops) on Tuesday, April 5. Piston Imperial Espresso Stout (a 9 percent ABV version of the beloved Skillet Donut Stout with 50 percent more coffee than its sibling) returns Thursday, April 7, followed by a new round of Bolo Coconut Brown (5.9 percent ABV) on draft and in 16-ounce cans on Friday, April 8. The week of releases closes out Saturday, April 9, with The Remains Belgian Dubbel (7 percent ABV) and NZ Vise (a 4.2 percent ABV session pale ale with Vic Secret, Summer and Ella hops).
• At 4 p.m. Friday, April 8, Highland Brewing Co. releases Highland Pilsner. The 5.5 percent ABV brew features German Hallertau Blanc hops, three other Hallertau region varietals ( Saphir, Perle and Hersbrucker) and was cold-fermented with lager yeast. Highland Pilsner will initially be on draft only but will soon be available year-round in cans.
• Working from a recipe created by Asheville Brewing Co. packaging manager/brewer Leah Tyrell and Highland Brewing Co. head brewer Hollie Stephenson, the women of Pink Boots Asheville made an apricot gose for Big Boots Brew Day in March. On Friday, April 8, at 5 p.m., Pink Boots Apricot Gose receives a simultaneous release at Asheville Brewing (both Coxe Avenue and Merrimon Avenue locations) and Highland Brewing. The 3.2 percent ABV gose was boiled with Azacca hops, coriander seeds and pink Himalayan sea salt, with apricot purée added to the actively fermenting beer. One dollar from each pint sold goes to Pink Boots Society to fund advocacy and scholarships for women in beer.
• Hi-Wire Brewing Uprisin’ Hefeweizen (5 percent ABV) returns starting Friday, April 8. Brewed with wheat from Asheville’s Riverbend Malt House, the traditional German Hefeweizen is available on draft and in six-packs of 12 ounce bottles through July. On the same day, a small-batch saison made with Halleratau Blanc hops (5 percent ABV) begins pouring at the Hilliard Ave. tasting room.

Special events

• The monthly Monk Beer Academy takes place Tuesday, April 5, at 7 p.m. at the downtown Thirsty Monk and focuses on saisons. The free class is taught by certified cicerone and draft quality manager Jeremiah Tracy, who will lead participants on a 45-minute informative guided tasting. The lone cost is a tasting flight (typically between $12 and $17), and spaces may be reserved online.
• On Thursday, April 7, at 4 p.m., Thirsty Monk Biltmore Park hosts BBQ and Brews. Smoky pulled pork and Eastern-, Central-, Western- and Lexington-style barbecue sauces will be paired with popular North Carolina beers.
• Bruisin’ Ales‘ free weekly tasting on Thursday, April 7 from 5-7 p.m. features a selection from The Bruery. Samples of Trade Winds Tripel, Tonnellerie Rue (rye saison 100% fermented in oak barrels), Rueuze (Belgian-style blend of lambics of different ages) and Gypsy Tart (Flanders-style brown ale) will be poured.
• Tasty Beverage Co. is the site of a Hi-Wire Brewing lager tap takeover on Thursday, April 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Kegs of Doppelbock, Baltic Porter, Dortmunder Export Lager and Aerialist Hoppy Lager will be tapped.