Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings Dec. 15-21

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 Thursday, Dec. 17, Appalachian Vintner hosts the release of Puzzle Pieces select barrel sour ale, a 6.7 percent ABV collaboration with Wicked Weed Brewing. Proceeds from sales of the bottles will benefit the Autism Society and Appalachian Vintner’s Puzzle Pieces Project.
• Burial Beer Co. will have a new batch of its Haysaw Saison in 16-ounce cans Friday, Dec. 18.
• Originally scheduled for a Friday, Dec. 11, release, Hi-Wire Brewing will officially debut Tropical Fruit Golden Strong Ale on Friday, Dec. 18. This fruit-forward, 11 percent ABV American-style golden strong was brewed with fresh guava, papaya and mango. A one-time release, Tropical Fruit will be available in 22-ounce bottles in addition to a highly limited draft presence in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Small batch beers

• Pisgah Brewing Co. has a new Vanilla Porter available on tap and to go in growlers. The beer is brewed with organic malts, whole hops and real Madagascar vanilla beans. A nitro version is coming soon.
• Urban Orchard Cider Co. is currently pouring nine ciders, including a seasonal Cranberry Cider and small batches of Bonsai Cider (6.9 percent ABV and lightly infused with juniper berries) and Cinnamon Toast Cider (6.5 percent ABV).
• As of Thursday, Dec. 17, Green Man Brewery has a new dark lager on draft.
• Burial Beer Co. also has Haysaw Saison on draft starting Friday, Dec. 18, as well as Crucible India Black Lager, a 7 percent ABV brew that takes the dark malt bill of a Cascadian Dark Ale, the light body and lagering process of a German Pilsner and a hop bill of an IPA featuring piney Mt. Hood and El Dorado with citrusy Galaxy and Amarillo.

Special events

• Bruisin’ Ales‘ ninth annual Holiday Tasting with Pisgah Brewing Co. takes place Thursday, Dec. 17 from 5-7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door ($5 per person) and all proceeds will go to Be Loved Asheville. The fee will be waived for anyone who donates canned food, pasta, clothing (there’s a special need for mens clothing), socks, shoes, toiletries, backpacks, blankets, tents, sleeping bags or drink mixes.
  Valdez coffee stout, Red Devil Belgian-style ale, Vanilla Porter, 10th Anniversary Double IPA and vintage cellared bottles of 10th Anniversary Cosmos (which combines the rich flavor of the Baltic Porter with the subtleness of a special Belgian yeast strain) will be poured.
• On Thursday, Dec. 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Hobbs from Samuel Adams will be at Tasty Beverage Co. for the release of Kosmic Mother Funk, a draft-only fouder aged sour brown ale. Bottles from the Barrel Room Collection, all of which have KMF in the blend, will also be sampled.
• On Friday, Dec. 18, Thirsty Monk has a selection of seasonal Belgian beers on tap at its Biltmore Park location. The lineup includes Duvel Single (Belgian pale ale), Brewery Ommegang Three Philosophers quadruple ale, Brewery Ommegang Hennepin farmhouse saison, Brewery Ommegang Lovely Dark and Deep oatmeal stout, Delirium Noël (Belgian strong dark ale) and Liefmans Goudenband Flanders Oud Bruin.

New breweries and bars

• Sweeten Creek Brewing opened Monday, Dec. 14, and is currently pouring its pilsner, pale ale and black IPA.
• The New Mountain AVL complex now includes the Blue Ridge Taproom. The facility has 18 taps.