Gray promoted at Thirsty Monk school of hard knocks

“We¹ve been hard at work over the past year assembling what we consider the ‘Dream Team’ of Asheville pub management,” says Thirsty Monk founder Barry Bialik, whose company is preparing to open its fourth Asheville location.
Bialik recently promoted Chall Gray to vice president in anticipation of a busy 2014. Gray, a native of Western North Carolina, is well-known in the area as an entrepreneur and theater and music producer.

Thirsty Monk’s Beer City take on the Big Apple ball drop

Not to be outdone by New York City, Asheville is about to introduce its own Beer City version of the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop. The ever-innovative folks at Thirsty Monk will ring in 2014 by dropping a decorated and illuminated beer keg down a 20-foot cast-iron pole at the stroke of midnight at the brewery’s newest location in Biltmore Park.

New Year’s Eve eats and drinks

Are you trying to decide what to do for New Year’s Eve? If you want to buffer your midnight toast with a good meal, several local bars and restaurants are serving up interesting eats along with liquid cheer. There is even an Asheville-style take on the Times Square ball drop for those who are in the mood for something completely out of the ordinary.

Brewer-ism

In WNC, we’ve got mountains, an agreeable climate, good food and a thriving beer scene, complete with brew-centric festivals. What more could you ask for? Someone to drive you around from brewery to brewery while you liberally sample? Well, we’ve got that too. Brews Cruise, started by Asheville local Mark Lyons, provides an insider’s take […]

Brews News

Which home brew is the best? The second homebrew fest sponsored by Just Economics will take place on Sunday, May 2, at Roger McGuire Green at Pack Square Park. More than 50 home-brewed beers have been entered — and we have some amazing home-brewers in the region. To attend, visit justeconomicswnc.org/join-donate/ and join at the […]

Not just for the gals

Over the past 10 years, Asheville’s undergone a knitting and crocheting revival: witness groups like Stitch ‘n Bitch and and Men’s Knitting Night. And our eclectic town has, of course, touched the movement with its particular fingerprint. The knitting fad has been reawakened, and knitters and crocheters all over Asheville are gathering at Malaprop’s, Purl’s […]

Brews News

Charlie Papazian to visit Asheville Even non-beer-geeks around here recognize the name Charlie Papazian — because he’s the guy who runs the Beer City, USA online poll, which Asheville tied with Portland, Ore., in 2009, and won in 2010. What you might not know, unless you’re a home brewer, is that Papazian is widely considered […]

Get your hands dirty, Asheville! I did

Around 3 a.m. on Jan. 6, I was driving through downtown and [saw] streets littered with what appeared to be newspapers. I came upon Pack Square, and there was rain-soaked paper trash everywhere — surrounding the Vance Monument and completely covering the streets, sidewalks and restaurant fronts. The rain had stopped, and there were sparse […]