Lenny Boy beer to debut at Ben’s Tune-Up

BEER CULTURE: Lenny Boy kombucha, beer and alcoholic kombucha will all be part of the pint night at Ben's Tune-Up. Photo by Thom O'Hearn

Asheville will get its first taste of alcoholic kombucha on Wednesday, Oct 1, when Lenny Boy Brewing Co. brings a variety of beverages up the mountain from Charlotte. The company’s nonalcoholic kombucha is already available at Whole Foods, Greenlife, Earth Fare and the French Broad Food Co-op. However, this will be the first time the brewery’s beer and alcoholic kombucha blends will be available outside of a festival in Asheville.

Owner Townes Mozer is no stranger to Asheville though. He started brewing kombucha for Lenny Boy at Blue Ridge Food Ventures in 2011 when he worked full-time in Spring Creek at Mountain Harvest Organics.

Mozer says with Buchi in Asheville and no competition in his home town of Charlotte, it made more sense to move back to the Queen City when Lenny Boy was ready for its own brewing facility. Since then, Lenny Boy has continued to expand. Mozer says they now have a 7-barrel brewery dedicated to making “clean” organic beer, and they make organic alcoholic kombucha in a separate facility.

He says Asheville may soon start seeing his beer and boozy kombucha on tap, but Ben’s event will be the first chance to give them a try. He’s bringing the following offerings (descriptions courtesy of Lenny Boy):

– Peach Bomb (2% ABV): A slightly alcoholic kombucha with organic South Carolina peaches and vanilla, aged in Kentucky oak barrels.

– Tart de la Wit (4.6% ABV): A Belgian style wit fermented with organic South Carolina peaches and aged with house kombucha culture. 

– Burn Down Brown (5% ABV): Pale, crystal and chocolate  malts intermingle with smoked oats to deliver a delicious and mildly creamy brown ale.

– Cheeky IPA (4.3% ABV): We take a classic English Ale and give it a little taste of freedom by blasting it with loads of citrusy American hops. This beer has all the flavor of an American IPA, but half the alcohol.

– Wake Up Call (0%): A Traditional kombucha (nonalcoholic) with green tea,  blueberry and organic yerba mate from Mate Factor.

The event will be held at Ben’s Tune-Up’s back bar 5-9 p.m. Wednesday. Shirts and pint glasses will be given away and Mozer will be there to discuss his unique offerings.

If you can’t make it to Ben’s on Wednesday, the local hangout is also throwing an Oktoberfest party on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2-9 p.m. They’ll be pouring Oktoberfest beers from Sylva’s Heinzelmannchen and Munich’s Hofbrau as well as Hi-Wire, Highland, French Broad and Pisgah.  Owner Jonathan Robinson says they’ll also have “music, games of strength and wit and a hot dog eating contest at 5 p.m. The winner gets a $250 Ben’s gift certificate and $100 in cash.”

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About Thom O'Hearn
Thom O’Hearn is a writer, book editor and homebrewer. Twitter: @thomohearn

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