Carolina Beer Guy: Local breweries featured on Amazon Prime series ‘Crafted’ and other beer-related news

ACTION: Jael Rattigan, left, owner of French Broad Chocolates, discusses beer with Vince Tursi, right, of DSSOLVR, and filmmaker Craig Chapman in an upcoming episode of “Crafted,” a web video series. French Broad Chocolate is one of several local shops that provided ingredients for some of the specialty beers created for the show. Photo by Christopher Berger

Four Asheville breweries — Bhramari Brewing Co., Green Man Brewery, Zillicoah Beer Co. and DSSOLVR — will be featured in the second season of “Crafted,” a series on Amazon Prime and Facebook Watch. The show, produced by Craig Chapman, tours craft breweries across the country. The White Labs yeast facility and Riverbend Malt House will also be included in the episode.

“We heard so many great things about these four breweries,” says Chapman. “And they are across the spectrum in their approach to craft beer.”

As part of the series, Bhramari Brewing Co., Green Man Brewery, Zillicoah Beer Co. and DSSOLVR have brewed and canned beers for a special four-pack release, which is available for purchase starting Wednesday, March 11, at all four locations.

The second season begins streaming Sunday, Feb. 29, at 6:30 p.m. on the “Crafted” Facebook page.

Batter up!

The Asheville Tourists baseball club returns to the field in May, but the popular Thirsty Thursday draft beer promotion won’t be in the lineup — at least not to lead off.

The pause on Thirsty Thursday — which always draws a big lively crowd — is due to COVID-19 concerns.  “We may reevaluate this later in the season,” says Brian DeWine, team owner and president

Furthermore, all beer and food sales will be cashless; attendance will be reduced, though the new capacity has not been announced; and fewer games are scheduled for the season with 60 at home and 60 on the road.

With the team’s recent promotion to the High-A East league, the Asheville Tourists will also face some new teams. First on the list is the Brooklyn Cyclones, who come to town on Tuesday, May 4. Batter up!

Capitalize the B

To honor Black History Month, Asheville’s Wicked Weed Brewing has teamed with Jawbreaking Creative for the “Capitalize the B” campaign, which aims to normalize Blackness within the craft beer narrative.

The campaign includes a series of silent films, as well as interviews with local and national Black community leaders, including Darin Waters, assistant professor of history at UNC Asheville; Johnetta Elzie, Ferguson, Mo., activist; and Kimberly Foster, editor of For Harriet. The content is available on Wicked Weed’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Catawba expands to Wilmington

Catawba Brewing Co. has made another major expansion, acquiring the former Skytown Beer Co. in Wilmington. It’s the latest location for Catawba, which also operates in Morganton, Asheville, Charlotte and owns Palmetto Brewing Co. in Charleston, S.C.

“We like the vibe [in Wilmington] a lot,” says Catawba co-founder Billy Pyatt.

The brewery uses a 5-barrel system, and Pyatt says he expects Catawba to reopen the venue before March 1.

Cellarest Beer Project opens

Cellarest Beer Project has opened at 395 Haywood Road, next to West Asheville Lounge & Kitchen. It’s the latest brewery along the busy Haywood Road corridor, which includes Archetype Brewing, Oysterhouse Brewing Co., One World Brewing, All Sevens Brewing and UpCountry Brewing Co.

The brewery will make farmhouse table beers, wood lagers and more on a 4-barrel system. “My goal is to have everything touch wood, one way or another, either wood fermentation or wood lagering,” says co-founder Mark Goodwin.

 

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About Tony Kiss
Tony Kiss covers brewing news for the Xpress. He has been reporting on the Carolina beer scene since 1994. He's also covered distilling and cider making and spent 30 years reporting on area entertainment. Follow me @BeerguyTK

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One thought on “Carolina Beer Guy: Local breweries featured on Amazon Prime series ‘Crafted’ and other beer-related news

  1. crackalacky

    I’m still waiting for them to massmarket crack cocaine. It’s easy to imagine younger children accepting it as “crack-a-lacky”. They could open up crack dens around town with cartoons of bears hitting crack pipes. Guys with long beards and banjos could sit around on the street freebasing.

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