Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings July 11-17

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

• On Wednesday, July 12, Burial Beer Co. releases The Cosmic and Divine Imperial Stout (10 percent ABV). Brewed with J. Wakefield Brewing, the beer was made with dark and caramel malts, lactose and salted caramel from Asheville’s Postre Caramels, then aged on chocolate and toasted pecans. It will be available in four-packs of 12 ounce cans and see limited distribution.
• **NEW** UpCountry Brewing Co.‘s Bogey Free Session IPA is now available in four packs of 16 ounce cans at the brewery and in local bottle shops. The beer features Citra and Mosaic hops.

Small-batch beers

• Burial will also have The Cosmic and Divine Imperial Stout on draft Wednesday, July 12, and on Monday, July 10 tapped The Rise of the Merciless Mixed Culture Saison (6.3 percent ABV). The latter beer was brewed with Riverbend Malthouse Pilsner and Rye and Carolina raw wheat, aged in the brewery’s puncheons for two months, then aged in steel upon orange peel, ginger, green and pink peppercorns and grains of paradise. Friday, July 14, brings a new batch of Surf Wax IPA (6.8 percent ABV) — hopped with Mosaic, Citra, Centennial and Columbus — while Hawkbill IPA (6 percent ABV), featuring Mosaic, El Dorado and Galaxy hops, returns Saturday, July 15.
• Thirsty Monk Brewery‘s triple dry-hopped Farmhouse IPA (5.7 percent ABV) is back on tap at both its locations.
• Catawba Brewing Co. taps a New England IPA (6.2 percent ABV) on Thursday, July 13, at all four of its tasting rooms. Brewed with flaked wheat and oats as well as Burlington Ale Yeast, the beer received a significant addition of Mosaic and Citra hops late in the boil, with more Mosaic used for dry-hopping. Friki Tiki Pineapple IPA (6.5 percent ABV) receives a release party on Friday, July 14, with island-themed food and festivities at all four Catawba tasting rooms. The beer — the first in a forthcoming series of fruited IPAs, made with seasonal produce and slated for 30-barrel batches at Catawba’s Morganton production brewery — will arrive in draft-only distribution shortly thereafter.
• **NEW** Hi-Wire Brewing debuts its Barn-A-Brew Pale Ale (5.5 percent ABV) — the official beer of Asheville Barnaroo — on Thursday, July 13, at 6 p.m. at its Big Top location. It was dry-hopped with Simcoe and Ahtanum.
• **NEW** On Friday, July 14, Bhramari Brewing Co. tapped Chainsaw Panda IPA, which the brewery describes as “hop-forward” and “low IBU.”
• Mountain District Optometric Society and Blue Ghost Brewing Co. have collaborated on Citra EyePA (6.5 percent ABV) and Tangerine Citra EyePA (6.0 percent ABV). Both beers will be released on Sunday, July 16, at 3 p.m. at Blue Ghost. 10 percent of beer sales for the day will be donated to the Community Low Vision Center.

Special events

• Thirsty Monk‘s monthly Monk Beer Academy takes place Tuesday, July 11, at at 7 p.m. at its Biltmore Park bar. Draft quality manager and Certified Cicerone Jeremiah Tracy will host a 45 minute informative guided tasting on Mixed Culture Farmhouse Ales. The class is complimentary and tasting flights may be purchased upon arrival. Seats for the limited space class may be reserved online.