Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings Oct. 24-30

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 and can releases

• **NEW** Zebulon Artisan Ales debuts FramboZe (for George Romero) Barrel Aged Raspberry Sour (6.8 percent ABV) on Friday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m. at its Weaverville brewery. Fermented with 100 percent coolship sourced wild culture in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir oak barrels for eight months, the beer was then aged for two more months on two and a half pounds per gallon of raspberries. Bottle conditioned, cork and caged 750 mililter bottles are $20 each with a limit of four per person. They will also be available in local bottle shops early next week. Also available on Oct. 27 are 50 bottles of a Single Barrel Sour (6 percent ABV), made in the original Magic Barrel from which Zebulon brewer Mike Karnowski started Asheville’s first sour program while at Green Man Brewery. $25 per 750 milliliter bottle, limit one per person. All proceeds go toward medical expenses for Kyle Milligan as he continues to recover from a fall from a waterfall.
• Burial Beer Co. releases two new packaged collaborations on Friday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m. Bright Lights and Butterfly Blades is a sour ale aged on Florida dragonfruit and muscadine grapes, brewed with J. Wakefield Brewing and bottle-conditioned in 500-milliliter bottles. Out of Body Experience is a double IPA brewed with 18th Street Brewing, available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans. This DIPA features mango, coconut and lactose and is double dry-hopped with Citra and Azacca.
• **NEW** Green Man Brewery has a triple bottle release on Sunday, Oct. 29. Holly King Barrel-Aged Holiday Ale (9.8 percent ABV), Thriller Blood Orange Saison (7.7 percent ABV) and Bootsy American Sour Ale Aged in Oak Barrels (5.2 percent ABV) will be available in 750 milliliter bottles starting at noon on a first come, first served basis with a two bottle limit per style. Bottle service for all styles will be available upstairs after the bottle purchase and Dirty Jacks will be open for regular business.

Small-batch beers

• Catawba Brewing Co. releases an English Mild on Thursday, Oct. 26. This 4.4 percent ABV dark session ale will be available at all four of Catawba’s tasting rooms, and will be pouring on the nitro tap at the brewery’s Asheville South Slope location.
• In addition to Out of Body Experience and Bright Lights and Butterfly Blades, Burial will tap a new small-batch, draft-only offering on Friday, Oct. 27. Mouthbreather Waffleweizen is a 5.5 percent ABV dunkelweizen brewed with White Labs 611 yeast and aged on waffles.
• Highland Brewing Co. and Urban Orchard Cider Co. release a collaboration beer on Friday, Oct. 27, at Highland. Apple Molasses Brown Ale was brewed with homemade apple molasses made using a recipe from UO Marketing Director Jeff Anderson’s family.
• A number of breweries on the South Slope will release small-batch beers to celebrate Devil’s Night on Monday Oct. 30. Details on the Devil’s Night beers that have been announced early can be found in Tony Kiss’ recent Carolina Beer Guy article.

Special events

• Catawba Brewing hosts an Oktoberfest-themed four-course food and beer pairing at the South Slope brewery’s Rickhouse Bar 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25. The dinner begins with a canapé station followed by a variety of German-inspired dishes prepared by the chefs at Verbena Cakes and Catering and paired with Catawba beers. Tickets must be purchased in advance and can be found here.
• Burial celebrates the premiere of the second season of the Netflix show Stranger Things 7-11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27. A DJ set will kick things off 7-8 p.m. followed by an 8-9 p.m. screening of Stranger Things season 2, episode 1 and an ’80s-themed dance party 9-11 p.m.
• Black Star Line Brewing Co. hosts a bar-warming celebration at its new location at 131 Third Ave. West in downtown Hendersonville on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 7-10 p.m.
• **NEW** On Saturday, Oct. 28, Archetype Brewing hosts a costume contest — the winner of which will receive a growler and a baseball T-shirt — and releases a Belgian-style Red Ale.
• Blue Ghost Brewing Co. hosts a Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Fletcher brewery, with a portion of all beer sales going to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. The party includes the release of an Imperial Brown Ale brewed in collaboration with BWAR, a screening of Hotel Transylvania at 4:30 p.m., a costume contest, kids’ craft table, live music and food from the Hungry Ghost food truck.
• Urban Orchard Cider Co. celebrates its fourth anniversary with a Halloween dance party on Saturday, Oct. 28, from noon to 1 a.m. The party will include six small-batch ciders featuring chili peppers from Smokin’ J’s Fiery Foods, a DJ set starting at 8 p.m., a costume contest starting at 11 p.m. and food from American Pig starting at 5 p.m.
• Asheville Brewing Co. hosts a special costume contest to coincide with the Devil’s Night festivities on Monday, Oct. 30, at its Coxe Avenue location. Contestants can drop by 7-9 p.m. to have a photo taken, with winners chosen via social media. Prizes include a $100 ABC gift card for Best Beer-Themed Costume, a $100 ABC gift card for Funniest Costume and a $150 ABC gift card for Best Group Costume.
• Catawba Brewing Co. presents a special theme night, Nightmare on South Slope, to coincide with Devil’s Night celebrations. The event will include a costume contest, Halloween-themed performance from Musicians in the Round and the release of Zombie Night, a bourbon barrel-aged variant of White Zombie.