Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings: June 12-18

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 Saturday, June 16, Appalachian Vintner hosts this year’s release of Appalachian Walker (10 percent ABV), a version of Olde Hickory Brewery‘s Irish Walker Barleywine aged in brandy barrels for a year. A portion of sales will be donated to the Puzzle Piece Project, which supports research of autism and gives support to those affected. The beer will be available in 22-ounce bottles, and vintage Irish Walker will also be on tap.
• On Sunday, June 17, Burial Beer Co. releases Anno Domini MMXVIII Dark Sour with Orange Peel, Vanilla and Cocoa (8 percent ABV) in 750-milliliter bottles for $20 each. Also available that day is When I Surfed the Sky Double India Pale Ale (8.8 percent ABV), aka Double Surf Wax, made with Citra and Mosaic hops and double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic Cryo, in four-packs of 16-ounce cans for $18.

Small-batch beers

• In addition to Anno Domini and When I Surfed the Sky, Burial has four new beers this week. Tapped Monday, June 12, was Our Last Rites Lager with Brettanomyces (5.6 percent ABV) a collaboration with Invasive Species Brewing, and Felled in Howling Wind Cherry Stout (5 percent ABV). Wednesday, June 13, brings The Bridge of Restraint Open Fermented Saison Ale (5.5 percent ABV), followed by Bonedagger Pale Ale (5.5 percent ABV), made from malted red wheat, flaked wheat and raw North Carolina-grown wheat and dry-hopped with Citra hops and Simcoe Lupulin Powder on Friday, June 15.
• Catawba Brewing Co. releases a Bière de Garde on Wednesday, June 13, and a Blueberry Berliner Weisse, brewed with fresh WNC blueberries, on Saturday, June 16. For every Blueberry Berliner Weisse sold June 16-July 15, Catawba will donate $1 to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
• On Thursday, June 14, Appalachian Vintner and Zillicoah Beer Co. release a collaborative Export Lager. It will be available at both establishments, and part of the proceeds from the beer will go to the Mission NICU Family Advisory Council to help neonatal intensive-care unit families in need by providing resources and materials.
• **NEW** As of Friday, June 15, Wedge Brewing Co. is pouring Gandy Dancer (5.1 percent ABV) at its Wedge Studios location. The American Amber Ale was dry hopped with Willamette and Santiam.

Special events

• Burial‘s next Off-Topic discussion series takes place Tuesday, June 12, 5:30-7 p.m. with TRVE Brewing Co. and Troubadour Maltings. Tickets are $10 at the door and include a branded glass to keep, access to the talk and shared beers from TRVE.
• The next Monk Beer Academy class Tuesday, June 12, at 7 p.m. at the Biltmore Park Thirsty Monk and covers Fermented Foods and Beer Pairing. Tickets are $15 and available online.
• Asheville Brewers Supply hosts a free beginner/intermediate brewing class on Saturday, June 16, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 828-358-3536.
• Burial‘s fifth anniversary party unfolds Sunday, June 17, at noon. Along with the aforementioned bottle, can and draft releases, there will be “throwback beer releases,” live music from the Digs and Tomato Calculator, and the ability to contribute to a time capsule and vote on next year’s anniversary beer.

New breweries

• The former Sidetracked Taproom in Morganton officially became Sidetracked Brewery on April 14. The brewery opened with six railroad-themed beers — Cross Tie Brown, Whistleblower Sour, Light Rail Blonde, Thomas the Dank Engine New England IPA, Bessemer Process Pale Ale and Weizenbahn Hefeweizen — and in time will typically have 12-14 beers on tap, all brewed in-house.