Asheville Breweries...

[wyowolf]

Just got back from a trip there, didnt go there just for breweries but it was part of the reason. Anniversary trip.
WOW... i knew they had a LOT of breweries up there..but holy hell!! they are everywhere!! competition must be intense for business...

I only had time to go to a few breweries.. Highland was on my list but didnt make it. Wanted to avoid the bigger ones... SN etc so focused on ones I hadnt heard of...

Man the styles there i felt were SO far out my comfort zone... sours, all kinds of exp beers that I couldnt even tell what they were... and I cant even drink BMCs... But the places were all busy as heck!!

One place i saw even had a Electric Brewery Panel!! was a small place downtown...

I guess my point is that I was surprised how extreme the beers were... I mean people can make or drink whatever they wish, but I honestly cant imagine drinking those on a daily basis. I am sure there were a TON of good breweries that I just didnt get to... and I wish i had gone to Highland as nearly everything I've tried from them has been excellent..

I guess my philosophy is to make beer that tastes good first and foremost... not to make the wildest tasting beer, but beer I want people to drink and say damn! thats great stuff!

I will say walking around Asheville is a great experience, easy to walk around in and lots of good food to be had..

rant over... flame suit on.

 

[forgetaboudit]

Asheville is an odd city for sure. Went there a few years ago, and yeah, the strange people make strange brews. My son calls it the "weird town" haha

 

[wyowolf]

I did get to try Mead which I never have before... it was quite good, i can see making up a batch of that for sure...

 

[mongoose33]

I was in Asheville for a few days in June. Did the New Belgium tour again, since my wife had never been on it. Tremendous tour, no charge, and several beer tastings along the way. If anyone's interested, you need reservations and get them a few days ahead if you can.

THE best brewery I have been to in Asheville isn't in Asheville proper--it's in Black Mountain about 15 miles east. Every once in a while I go to a brewery/tasting room and everything I try is just stunningly good. That was the case with Pisgah Brewing. I wish I'd had a designated driver, I wanted to just go down the line of 24 taps and have one of everything. Probably 16 of the beers were theirs, the others were guest beers, ciders, like that.

They had a Rye Stout that....well, I like Rye beers, so I tried the Rye Stout, even though I'm not a Stout guy. Well. I'd have had another, which is about the highest praise I can give a beer. They also had a Schwarzbier which I'd swear was my own Darth Lager. Delicious.

There are a lot of interesting breweries in Asheville, but this one stood out for me. Pisgah Brewing. Next time I'm back, I'm back there.

*********

White Labs also has a facility there. They do tours on Saturday which is worth it, IMO. They also serve beers made from the same recipe except using different yeast. Depending on when you're there, they may have two of the same brew, different yeast, or perhaps four (when @Morrey was there, they had 4). Amazing what changing the yeast does, and you can sample the difference without any other interfering variables.

They have a restaurant too--we thought the food was great. Reservations likely needed, though there is some drop-in business and we lucked into getting a table. Worth the trip, IMO.

 

[wyowolf]

really??? thats where we stayed!!! I knew I should have gone there!!

I was in Asheville for a few days in June. Did the New Belgium tour again, since my wife had never been on it. Tremendous tour, no charge, and several beer tastings along the way. If anyone's interested, you need reservations and get them a few days ahead if you can.

THE best brewery I have been to in Asheville isn't in Asheville proper--it's in Black Mountain about 15 miles east. Every once in a while I go to a brewery/tasting room and everything I try is just stunningly good. That was the case with Pisgah Brewing. I wish I'd had a designated driver, I wanted to just go down the line of 24 taps and have one of everything. Probably 16 of the beers were theirs, the others were guest beers, ciders, like that.

They had a Rye Stout that....well, I like Rye beers, so I tried the Rye Stout, even though I'm not a Stout guy. Well. I'd have had another, which is about the highest praise I can give a beer. They also had a Schwarzbier which I'd swear was my own Darth Lager. Delicious.

There are a lot of interesting breweries in Asheville, but this one stood out for me. Pisgah Brewing. Next time I'm back, I'm back there.

*********

White Labs also has a facility there. They do tours on Saturday which is worth it, IMO. They also serve beers made from the same recipe except using different yeast. Depending on when you're there, they may have two of the same brew, different yeast, or perhaps four (when @Morrey was there, they had 4). Amazing what changing the yeast does, and you can sample the difference without any other interfering variables.

They have a restaurant too--we thought the food was great. Reservations likely needed, though there is some drop-in business and we lucked into getting a table. Worth the trip, IMO.

 

[Morrey]

I only had time to go to a few breweries.. Highland was on my list but didnt make it. Wanted to avoid the bigger ones... SN etc so focused on ones I hadnt heard of...

Next time you go back to AVL, Highlands is our favorite. Wife and I went on a tour and spoke with the head brewer (Holly) who later came up front and was chatting with a gentleman. I stopped to thank Holly for her portion of the tour, and she introduced me to the gentleman (Oscar) who was the owner of the brewery. Who would have thought the owner and head brewer would stop to take time to be cordial to everyday folks hanging out for a beer.

My impression of Highlands is that they are a huge craft brewery with a small brewery attitude. They are not as big as SN, but the feel of the place is so warm and inviting...not to mention their small batch brews are simply amazing.

 

[Morrey]

I only had time to go to a few breweries.. Highland was on my list but didnt make it. Wanted to avoid the bigger ones... SN etc so focused on ones I hadnt heard of...

Next time you go back to AVL, Highlands is our favorite. Wife and I went on a tour and spoke with the head brewer (Holly) who later came up front and was chatting with a gentleman. I stopped to thank Holly for her portion of the tour, and she introduced me to the gentleman (Oscar) who was the owner of the brewery. Who would have thought the owner and head brewer would stop to take time to be cordial to everyday folks hanging out for a beer.

My impression of Highlands is that they are a huge craft brewery with a small brewery attitude. They are not as big as SN, but the feel of the place is so warm and inviting...not to mention their small batch brews are simply amazing.

 

[wyowolf]

I should have went there, I just wasnt close to it or I would have... next time for sure I will.

Next time you go back to AVL, Highlands is our favorite. Wife and I went on a tour and spoke with the head brewer (Holly) who later came up front and was chatting with a gentleman. I stopped to thank Holly for her portion of the tour, and she introduced me to the gentleman (Oscar) who was the owner of the brewery. Who would have thought the owner and head brewer would stop to take time to be cordial to everyday folks hanging out for a beer.

My impression of Highlands is that they are a huge craft brewery with a small brewery attitude. They are not as big as SN, but the feel of the place is so warm and inviting...not to mention their small batch brews are simply amazing.

 

[brewswithshoes]

Asheville really covers the spectrum on beer styles. My folks live outside town so I frequent them and many AVL breweries. SN is cool, but I prefer the smaller local ones. Asheville Brewing Company on Coxe Ave is the best for food & beer. Pisgah is really good. So is Bear Water (just outside AVL in Canton), and Boojum in Waynesville as you get farther out the perimeter of AVL.

Didn't know White Labs did tours there now. I've done the WL tour in San Diego, and the sampling will blow your mind as a homebrewer. Gonna have to check that out. Thanks for sharing about WL !!

 

[wyowolf]

Dang would have liked to check out WL for sure...
I didnt want to name the places...none of those listed and say anything bad about them...I just didnt think they were very good...

 

[Morrey]

Asheville really covers the spectrum on beer styles. My folks live outside town so I frequent them and many AVL breweries. SN is cool, but I prefer the smaller local ones. Asheville Brewing Company on Coxe Ave is the best for food & beer. Pisgah is really good. So is Bear Water (just outside AVL in Canton), and Boojum in Waynesville as you get farther out the perimeter of AVL.

Didn't know White Labs did tours there now. I've done the WL tour in San Diego, and the sampling will blow your mind as a homebrewer. Gonna have to check that out. Thanks for sharing about WL !!

Agreed! We enjoy Asheville Brewing Company on Coxe and think the pizza there is awesome!

The White Labs tour was great as well as their food and tap room. They had 4 split batch IPA's all with a different yeast as well as 4 split batch Hefe's with 4 different yeasts. This is what I had been looking for, and the yeast I always seemed to favor (WLP001) ended up being my least favorite of the IPA group. I realize 001 has its place in my brewery, but the other strains were more interesting in this IPA group.

 

[Spartan1979]

We were there in November. My favorite was Hillman Beer.

 

[Morrey]

Many folks believe AVL is beautifully cool in the summer since it is basically in the mountains. I typically go in the middle summer annually and the heat is darn near what it is in SC...HOT. I may follow your lead as November seems to be a gorgeous time to visit. Now...if my work schedule will cooperate....

 

[sfrisby]

We moved to Asheville in December and it’s been a great year so far. Even as a “local” it’s hard to hit every spot. There’s still new breweries opening around town all the time!

 

[wyowolf]

We moved to Asheville in December and it’s been a great year so far. Even as a “local” it’s hard to hit every spot. There’s still new breweries opening around town all the time!

I can def believe that!! Never seen so many breweries... even at the airport there were t shirts and signs for it...