When Hi-Wire Brewing opened last summer, they pretended a circus was coming to town. The owners made sure that everyone who kept an eye on the beer scene knew something was about to happen, but they didn’t give much away ahead of time. Then, after weeks of hype, Hi-Wire revealed its big surprise: It would package its beers in 12-ounce bottles, just like Highland and Green Man, and sell them in six-packs right out of the gate.
Black Mountain’s Lookout Brewing has collaborated with Hi-Wire Brewing and Urban Orchard Cider to create a small-batch, short-release hemp-seed oil brew in support of a documentary made by local filmmakers about industrialized hemp. The beer will be available at a special screening of the movie, Bringing It Home, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 17.
Asheville Beer Week’s Just Brew It! Homebrew Festival is one of the most interesting events of the year. All stripes of homebrewers showcase all sorts of beer, with no commercial constraints (you know, like worrying if anyone is willing to buy it). So if a brewer is passionate about classic styles, she might serve a stellar Belgian Golden Strong or Altbier. The IPA-obsessed keep multiple taps of hoppy goodness flowing. And of course there are the mad scientists.
“Nobody would be alive without pickles and beer,” says Beau Martin, co-owner of Green River Picklers. Alcoholic beverages saved people from water-borne illnesses, and pickled and fermented foods got people through the winter long before water filters and grocery stores provided year-round produce, he explains. Bringing brine and beer together in the form of pickle-and-beer tastings is one of the first things Martin and co-owner Brandi Morrow want to do after their planned expansion to a new space in Weaverville.
Having just celebrated its third birthday, Asheville Beer Week is still a collective experiment: It’s a week-long series of events that will continue to evolve based on what we choose to attend. So perhaps it’s no surprise that in a town as creative as Asheville, we’re starting to see a slew of more creative offerings, where each year has topped the last.
Looming in the distance throughout Beer Week has been Burial Beer Co.’s Skillet Donut Stout Six Ways. On Friday, May 30, the weeks of patiently waiting came to an end as the Buxton Avenue brewery triumphantly presented their staple 8 percent ABV brew (quite possibly the best beer in town, flagship or otherwise) aged with six different adjuncts. […]
Putting their own spin on Thirsty Thursday, Burial Beer Co. and its South Slope neighbor, Twin Leaf Brewery, unveiled Follow the Hops, their special Beer Week collaboration and hopefully the first of many co-ventures. Working from the same base recipe, a dozen different beers were dry-hopped with a single hop then shared with the public on […]
The Not So Big BIG Beer Fest, part two of the Thirsty Monk’s Thirsty Fest, attracted fans of strong tastes to Mill Room on May 28 for a night to remember. With some of the country’s top breweries lining the left wall, participants carried a taster glass and two-sided list of beers, checking off conquests and […]
You know you’ve stumbled upon a special beer week event when you start the night off with a “beermosa” and end with a silly string fight. The LAB’s superhero-inspired beer dinner experience challenged the beer dinner status quo with its combination of live comedy, video, audience participation (complete with costumes for the staff and more dedicated attendees) and, of course, six courses of thoughtfully paired beer and food courses.
Out-of-towners like Goose Island and Dogfish Head are set to descend upon Asheville as Beer Week rolls along, but the opening weekend belonged to a handful of local breweries and their special releases. Getting the festivities started was the Asheville Brewers’ Alliance White IPA. Made especially for Beer Week with input from 20 WNC brewers and made at Catawba […]
Beer festivals are an excellent way to sample a wide range of craft breweries and styles. But if the festival scene doesn’t sound appealing, beer fans can create their own diverse festival at their own pace on almost any day of the week – while also getting the most out their drinking budget. The answer: flights.
Asheville has one of the best beer scenes around, but also one of the quirkiest. Wondering how the locals celebrate craft beer? Check out these tips. (photo by Tim Robison)
Beer Week got off to a mostly successful start on May 23 with the North Carolina Belgian Beer Festival, part one of the Thirsty Monk’s Thirsty Fest. Hosted at the new Woodfin location in Reynolds Village (which I’m dubbing RV-Monk, like Harvey Monk as if spoken by a pirate) and featuring many beers previously featured […]
Thirsty Monk’s original downtown location had character built right in. Even in Asheville’s funky downtown, it’s hard to miss a corner building that’s painted bright purple. Both the upstairs bar and the downstairs Belgian bar have their quirks — the latter is literally in the basement — and the entire building has a comically low capacity. So […]
In a field flush with fresh grass and rimmed with friendly shade trees, a sizable crowd has gathered to watch local favorites The Secret B-Sides unleash some soulful tunes from an outdoor stage. It’s early on a Friday evening, and The Meadow is speckled with a patchwork quilt of picnic blankets harboring lawn chairs, food […]
After two private soft opening parties, One World Brewing opens to the public at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 17. Asheville’s newest brewery and tasting room is a bit low-profile — located in the basement beneath Farm Burger, its entrance is via an unmarked door in the alley next to Salsa’s off Patton Avenue.
With major new breweries in Transylvania, Henderson and Buncombe counties in the area, the sipsters are about to eclipse the hipsters. (Unless they are one and the same.)
Two years ago Mike Rangel, co-owner of Asheville Brewing Company, took a trip out west for the San Diego Brewing Convention. While he was there, he visited a brewpub called Pizza Port.
Sure, Oskar Blues is known for their great beer, but founder Dale Katechis has also made a name for the company when it comes to canned beer. It is widely credited as the first craft brewer to package in cans, and it’s been breaking down the stereotype that canned beer = bad beer for more than a decade. Soon, Oskar Blues will take it a step further and be the first U.S. brewery to package “nitro” beer in cans. Those fine, cascading bubbles will now be available in Old Chub, a malt-driven Scottish ale, thanks to a widget inside each can that will release nitrogen when the beer is opened.
Over 7,000 brewing industry professionals gathered in Denver April 8-11 for the 2014 Craft Brewers Conference and World Beer Cup, sometimes referred to as the Olympics of Beer. The week was packed with seminars, events, tastings and an awards ceremony that placed some of North Carolina’s breweries among the best in the world.
A new location and a new festival, both featuring sour beer, are on the way from Wicked Weed.
