Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings Oct. 20-26

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/can releases

• Grimm Artisanal Ales has shipped a small amount of its Great American Beer Festival gold-medal-winning imperial stout Double Negative to Asheville. Supplies are limited, so check your favorite bottle shop sooner rather than later.
• Wedge Brewing Co. will release its inaugural canned offering, Iron Rail IPA, on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. Four-packs of 16 ounce cans will be available for $14. Due to the limited quantity, there is a two case purchase limit.

Small-batch beers

• Oyster House Brewing Co. is pouring casks of its Watch Stone Scotch Ale and Oak Aged Supermoon imperial stout. Both beers sport ABVs north of 10 percent.
• The second beer in Asheville Brewing Co.‘s Farewell to the Mothership series is a chocolate-spiced raspberry oatmeal stout. A combination of some of ABC’s favorite dark beer recipes – including such ingredients as raspberries, ghost peppers, oats and cacao nibs – the 7.6 percent ABV brew will be released on Thursday, Oct. 22 at both brewpub locations.
• On Friday, Oct. 23, Highland Brewing Co. releases Slam Dunkel Weizen in its taproom. The dark, malty 5 percent ABV brew pours the color of a brown ale, has notes of banana and clove from the yeast and very subtle hop aroma and bitterness.
• Also on Oct. 23, Hi-Wire Brewing begins pouring Twice as Nice Doppelbock. Inspired by a traditional German doppelbock, this easy-drinking 10 percent ABV beer was lagered for over eight weeks, made with Vienna and Munich malt and has hints of fig, plum and chocolate. Bottles of Twice as Nice will be available soon.
• Burial Beer Co. releases a new or returning beer each day from Wednesday, Oct. 21 through Saturday, Oct. 24. In chronological order: The Forge hazelnut blackberry brown ale (6 percent ABV), Cradle rye IPA (7 percent ABV), Surf Wax IPA (6.8 percent ABV) and Hori Hori carrot wit (4.8 percent ABV).

Rare kegs

• Bruisin’ Ales has one keg of Bomb! Imperial Stout from Prairie Artisan Ales. Pours are available in 4 and 12 ounce options.

Special events

• Bruisin’ Ales continues the Brooklyn Brewery welcome wagon with a tasting on Thursday, Oct. 22, 5-7 p.m. Samples include Sorachi Ace golden farmhouse ale, BLAST! IPA, Wild Streak (Belgian-style Strong Golden Ale aged in bourbon barrels and bottled with Brettanomyces), Black Chocolate Stout and Black Ops bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout.
• Tasty Beverage Co. will tap a keg of Great Divide Brewing Co.‘s 21st Anniversary Sour Ale on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 5:30. Dave from Great Divide will be in attendance to answer questions about the beer and the brewery.
• Thirsty Monk Biltmore Park celebrates its second anniversary on Friday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. Twelve Thirsty Monk Brewery beers will be on tap including Brother Noah Belgian Chocolate Stout, the brewery’s latest small-batch release. The event will also include $2 specials and giveaways, a t-shirt raffle, and birthday cake while supplies last.
• Wicked Weed Brewing hosts the Dark Arts Barrel-Aged Party on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. at the Funkatorium. No purchase is necessary for entry, and a number of rare barrel-aged kegs will be tapped, including this year’s Dark Arts and Dark Arts Espresso.
• Burial Beer Co. will host its second Burnpile Harvest Fest on Saturday, Oct. 24, starting at 2 p.m. and featuring 30 North Carolina breweries. A $4 entry fee secures one 5.5-ounce commemorative tasting glass. For sale will be $2 tokens, which can be redeemed for one pour of beer or used to purchase food from Salt & Smoke‘s harvest feast menu.
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. brings its Oktoberfest celebration to the brewery’s Mills River location on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 5-10 p.m. The $40 general admission ticket includes a contemporary German meal provided by the Sierra Nevada Taproom, a commemorative beer stein, shuttle and one drink or pretzel ticket. $30 designated driver tickets are also on sale. Additional beer tickets are $5 each and will be available for purchase online (recommended) or at the event.

New to distribution

• Brooklyn Brewery has returned to the Asheville market after a lengthy absence and has hit shelves with a strong lineup of specialty offerings. Along with Brooklyn Lager, Black Chocolate Stout, Blast!, Sorachi Ace and Wild Streak, available large-format bottles from the Brooklyn Quarterly Experiment line include Cuvée Noire, a bourbon barrel-aged Belgian stout; K is for Kriek, a dark Abbey ale fermented with both Champagne and Brettanomyces yeasts and aged in bourbon barrels on whole Montmorency cherries; Intensified Coffee Porter, an 11.8 percent ABV coffee porter aged in bourbon barrels; and Hand & Seal, a 13.3 percent ABV English-style barleywine aged in bourbon barrels.