Brews News

Hendersonville residents rejoice: Appalachian Craft Brewery will move their production facility from Fletcher to Hendersonville and expand their operation to include a tasting room and music venue. The exact location of the brewery will be finalized soon. Husband-and-wife team Andy and Kelly Cubbin predict they'll be selling their beers from Hendersonville by mid-summer.

Cold beer, warm hearts: The Highland Brewing Company crew at the Winter Warmer beer festival. Photo by Anne Fitten Glenn

In the meantime, they'll continue to sell beer on tap from area restaurants and bars. In Asheville, try ACB's beers at Carmel's, The Bier Garden, Burgermeister's, and Thirsty Monk South. The brewery has three regular styles: Copperhead Amber Ale, Black Bear Stout and Indian Pale Ale.

Winter Warmer Beer Fest review: The third annual Winter Warmer Beer Festival made 850 people very happy last Saturday (and some of us — those with designated drivers — a little tipsy). The event featured all of the Western North Carolina microbreweries plus a number of other N.C. and Southeastern breweries. Although the ballroom at the Haywood Park Hotel was crowded, there were enough breweries so that tasting lines were a rarity.

Including food in the ticket price from The Lobster Trap was a great idea — although one of the longest lines of the day was for the oyster bar. Lobster Trap chef Tres Hundertmark didn't succeed in his attempt to break the Guinness World Record for oyster shucking, which he termed as "a bummer." But we had the inspired sounds of Woody Wood and Brushfire Stankgrass to console us.

The only other downer of the day was the looooong bathroom lines. Only four toilets for 850 beer drinkers? Some of us snuck out to the hotel bathrooms, but other folks figured that out as well and … more lines ensued. If the event is held in the same venue next year, I'm going to rent a hotel room with a bunch of friends just for quick potty privileges.

Here’s an interview with Mark Lyons of the Winter Warmer Beer Festival.

And Hundertmark going for the record.

F. Scott gets his own brew: In honor of the Inn's most famous guest (so far), Highland Brewing has created a new beer for the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa: a new brown ale called Great Gatsby Abbey Style Ale.

"This beer is in the tanks and coming along nicely," says Highland rep Steve "The Heat" Schwartz.

The Gatsby will debut at a special beer dinner on Friday, Feb. 5, in the GPI's Horizons Dining Room. The four-course meal plus hors d'oeuvres — combining fine food and Highland Brewing Company's beers — will cost $60 plus a 20-percent service charge and tax. Call 800-438-5800 to make reservations.

Great Gatsby Ale then will be available at retail outlets in 12-ounce bottles and on tap in the GPI's Great Hall.

Flavor-infused yumminess: Every Thursday night at 5:30 p.m., Asheville Brewing Company breaks out Randall. That would be the Randall beer filter — a device that infuses various flavors into beer. So far, ABPC co-owner Mike Rangel says his fave Randall-infused beer is the Ninja Porter with organic raspberries. I'm looking forward to their delicious ESB infused with Applewood-smoked bacon cooked up by 12 Bones Smokehouse. Yum. Here's the sked of Randall "experiments" for the next few Thursdays: Feb. 4, Old School Pale Ale plus fire-roasted peppers; Feb. 11, Ninja Porter plus organic raspberries (Valentines Day); Feb. 18: Rocket Girl Lager plus fresh mangoes. Visit Randall at the Asheville Brewing Company location on Coxe Ave.

Got Brews News? Contact Anne Fitten Glenn at edgymama@gmail.com.

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