Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings May 17-23

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.

Small-batch beers

• As of Monday, May 16, Green Man Brewery is pouring a Breakfast Mild on nitro brewed with crystal malt, brown malt, flaked barley and Tencho, an Ethiopian heirloom coffee variety from Mountain Air Roasting. As of Wednesday, May 18, the tart Meddler Berliner is also on tap.
• Burial Beer Co. has two new releases for Tuesday, May 17. Spoon & Hook spring lager (5.1 percent ABV) is brewed with pilsner and honey malt, flaked wheat, local wildflower honey, Lemondrop, Huell Melon, Wakatu, Centennial, Equinox and Hallertau Blanc hops, plus chamomile flowers and lemongrass in the whirlpool. The eighth iteration of the staff series The Forge is a 7 percent ABV Rye India Black Ale crafted with three rye malts (Riverbend, flaked and chocolate), late-hopped with plenty of Centennial, Simcoe and Amarillo, then aged two weeks on cedar spirals.
• Oyster House Brewing Co. is pouring casks of bourbon barrel aged Moonstone Oyster Stout and Zeb’s Ray Gun (roasted lemon Cloud Gatherer IPA).
• Garçon de Ferme (Farm Boy), the next release in Wicked Weed Brewing‘s Ferme series, is available starting Thursday, May 19 at the Funkatorium and the Brewpub. The brettanomyces farmhouse ale features over 1.5 pounds of fresh whole peaches and will be in limited distribution starting next week.
• As of Friday, May 20, Highland Brewing Co. is pouring a cask of its Saint Terese’s Pale Ale infused with jalapeños and honey.

Special events

• The Junction celebrates its fifth birthday on Wednesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. with a collaborative Hi-Wire Brewing beer dinner. Chef David Van Tassel will prepare a five-course pairing menu geared to complement each hand-selected brew. Tickets are $65 per person and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Asheville City Schools Foundation. Seating is limited and reservations are required.
• On Thursday, May 19, at 4 p.m., Thirsty Monk Biltmore Park will have all six of the 2016 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Beer Camp Across America beers on tap. For this year’s project, Sierra Nevada teamed with six regional brewing teams (representing 31 individual breweries, including Wicked Weed Brewing) to craft six different beers.
• Bruisin’ Ales‘ free weekly tasting 5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 19, features selections from Mother Earth Brewing. A brewery representative will be pouring, Park Day Bohemian-style Pilsner, Endless River Kolsch, Sisters of the Moon IPA, Dark Cloud Dunkel Lager, and Tripel Overhead, the brewery’s bourbon barrel aged Belgian-style Tripel.
• On Thursday, May 19 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Tasty Beverage Co. celebrates the funky and sour side of Natty Greene’s Brewing Co. American Sour and Belgo Brett IPA will be on draft as well as very limited quantities of Hitchpost Gueuze style lambic ale bottles for in-house consumption.
• On Saturday, May 21 Hi-Wire Brewing begins its “Summer of Bill Murray” film series with a screening of  Kingpin at 8:30 p.m. at the Big Top.
• Bike to Work Week continues through Friday, May 20. Read Dan Hesse’s report on local breweries’ efforts here.

Buyout

• Thirsty Monk Pub and Brewery has confirmed a deal to purchase French Broad Brewery, with the transaction expected to be completed this summer. The purchase will allow Thirsty Monk to expand its brewing operations, currently headquartered at Open Brewing in South Asheville, while also maintaining French Broad’s output under its own brand. The buyout will allow for the production and release of Thirsty Monk’s core beers in both kegs and retail packaging.