Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings March 6-12

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

• Twin Leaf Brewery celebrates its fourth anniversary on Thursday, March 8, 3-11 p.m. with a dual 500 milliliter bottle release of Mass Extinction Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout ($13.75)and The Beauty in the Cracks Flanders Red Sour Ale ($14.50).
• On Thursday, March 8, Wedge Brewing Co. offers its Maerzen (6 percent ABV), which won a gold medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, in 32-ounce crowlers at both locations.
• Burial Beer Co. has a triple can release on Saturday, March 10. Pools of Emerald Green Pale Lager (5 percent ABV) is a collaboration with Holy Mountain Brewing Co. and pairs Washington-grown barley and wheat with Yakima Valley Comet and Cascade hops. Visions of a Valkyrie India Pale Ale (7.3 percent ABV) is a collaboration with Industrial Arts Brewing Co. and double dry-hopped with Galaxy, Comet and Segal Ranch High Oil Cascade. The Consequences of Humanity Double India Pale Ale with Oranges (8 percent ABV) is made with oats and lactose, double dry-hopped with Citra and aged on oranges. All three beers will be available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.

Small-batch beers

• Thirsty Monk Brewery is currently pouring She-Monk Belgian-style Dubbel (7.1 percent ABV) at both its locations. Made with figs and golden raisins, the beer was brewed by the ladies of Thirsty Monk in honor of the Pink Boots Society North Carolina Chapter.
• In addition to tapping Pools of Emerald Green, Visions of a Valkyrie and The Consequences of Humanity on March 10, Burial also has The Plague India Pale Ale with Brettanomyces (6 percent ABV), hopped with Mosaic, Ekuanot, Ella, Eureka and Citra, on Thursday, March 8.
• Catawba Brewing Co. taps an Irish Red Ale (5.6 percent ABV) on Thursday, March 8, at all four of its tasting rooms. The beer features lightly kilned Crystal and Munich malts and is the first of two consecutive Irish-style Small Batch beers the brewery will release leading up to its St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
• On Friday, March 9, at 5 p.m., UpCountry Brewing Co. taps Isoprene (6 percent ABV), a hazy IPA double dry-hopped with Eldorado, Citra and Mandarina, and a DIPA (9.2 percent ABV) made in collaboration with Mad Co. Brewing and featuring 007, Pacific Jade, Simcoe and Simcoe Lupulin hops.
• Oskar Blues Brewery taps Cigar City Brewing’s Hunahpu Imperial Stout on Saturday, March 10, at noon at the Tasty Weasel Taproom. The beer is brewed with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon, and guajillo, anch, and pasilla chilies. Outside of the Hunahpu’s Day festival in Tampa and Oskar Blues’ Colorado taprooms, the Brevard brewery will be the only location where this extremely rare beer is available. No packaged beer will be sold.

Special events

• Hi-Wire Brewing hosts its second NC Small Batch Festival on Saturday, March 10, 1-5 p.m., at its Big Top Production Facility and Taproom. The festival features 21 North Carolina craft breweries, each of which will bring a small, one-off batch that will not be available in the market. Entry is $10 and includes two beer tokens and a commemorative tasting glass. Additional tokens will be for sale. A full list of participating breweries and beers is available here.
• Thirsty Monk‘s weeklong Sour Fest begins Monday, March 12, at both its locations. The beer list includes rare selections from Cascade Barrel House, New Belgium Brewing Co., Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Brouwerij Boon, Haw River Farmhouse Ales, Zebulon Artisan Ales and more. The full tap list will be release on the event’s Facebook page later this week.

Brewery openings

• 7 Clans Brewing debuts its MotherTown Blonde Ale on Saturday, March 10, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. The brewery is a female majority-owned business of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian members. Seven Clans has contracted with BearWaters Brewing Co. in Canton until its own facility is constructed. MotherTown Blonde Ale will be available on tap and in cans at Harrah’s following the release.