Mountain Spirits: Brusin' Ales Events During Asheville Beer Week

Asheville Beer Week takes place in 2013 from May 25 through June 1. Brusin' Ales, located at 66 Broad Street in downtown Asheville, will be offering a variety of experiences to celebrate the week.

May 26, 6 PM:   LaZoom Sunday Beer Run
Where: On the big, purple bus!
Tickets: $25.00 per person,  Buy online HERE
Hop on the big, purple bus - Asheville's Feral Chihuahuas, Bruisin' Ales and LaZoom team up to bring you a beer and comedy explosion tour not to be missed. Wrap your mind around the area's beer history-as told by local funny guys, The Feral Chihuahuas. Includes beer on the bus and at least one brewery stop along the way! **This is event is close to selling out - get your tickets NOW.

May 28, 12:00 PM: ABA Hoppy Saison Release
Where: Bruisin' Ales
The ABA Hoppy Saison-made with North Carolina honey, and around 6.5% abv-is the first-ever collaborative brew to come from the Asheville Brewers Alliance. Twenty different breweries came together for this creation: Altamont Brewing Co., Asheville Brewing, BearWaters Brewing Co., Blue Mountain Pizza and Brew Pub, Burial Beer Co., Catawba Valley Brewing Company, French Broad Brewing Company, Green Man Brewery, Heinzelmannchen Brewery, Highland Brewing Company, Lexington Avenue Brewery, Nantahala Brewing Co., New Belgium Brewing, Oskar Blues, Pisgah Brewing Company, Riverbend Malt House, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Southern Appalachian Brewery, Thirsty Monk, Tipping Point Brewing, Wedge Brewing Company, Wicked Weed Brewing.

Green Man Brewing's 750s of Raugupatis, Baltic Porter Aged in Whiskey Barrels, will also be released.



May 29, 6 - 8 PM: Mitch Steele, Brewmaster of Stone Brewing, Book Signing and IPA Tasting
Where: Bruisin' Ales
Tickets: $25 per person. By reservation with book purchase, (828) 252-8999
Join the tasting and meet-n-greet with Mitch Steele, Brewmaster of Stone Brewing Company, California. He'll be signing his new book, IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale. Get a signed copy of the book (while supplies last) and a flight of Stone's flagship IPAs: Stone IPA, Stone Ruination, Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous, and Stone Cali-Belgique.  Reservations with book purchase.



May 30, 6 - 9 PM: The Market Plate Small Plate Pairing with Allagash Brewing
Where: The Market Place
Tickets: $40/pp with tax + gratuity. On sale at both The Market Place (828-252-4162) and Bruisin' Ales (828-252-8999).
The Market Place and Bruisin' Ales welcome Allagash present a casual, small plate tasting and beer pairing. Come mingle. Bring your reservation anytime between 6-8:30, at your leisure, and chill out in the bar area good eats, great beer and live Moog jazz and funky beats by Ben Hovey.
Tasting Plates:
Single lady oyster, Allagash white mignonette, toasted coriander, seaweed & cucumber salad. Paired with Allagash White.
Looking Glass Creamery chocolate lab cheese, local lavender flower honey, sorghum glazed hazelnut & arugula salad. Paired with Allagash Victoria
Braised pork shank & mushroom ragu, local chevre & spring onion grits. Paired with Allagash Dubbel
Pecan tart, caramel sauce, bourbon macerated raspberry.  Paired with Allagash Bourbon-barrel Black

May 28, 6 PM: Beer at The Ballpark Mini-Fest
Where: McCormick Field, Oskar Blues Party Pavilion
Tickets: $60 per person, now available at Bruisin' Ales (828) 252-8999.   Includes game ticket, VIP seating, all-you-can-eat buffet, and beer samples.

Asheville Tourists and Bruisin' Ales bring Belgian pub food and Belgian-style beer to the home game at McCormick Field. Nine innings-Nine breweries:
- Liefmans: Goudenband, Cuvee Brut, Fruitesse
- Het Anker Gouden Carolus: Hopsinjour, Easter Ale, Cuvée van de Keizer Blauw
- Allagash Brewing:  Blonde, James Bean (Curieux w/ coffee), Midnight Brett
- Brewery Ommegang:  Biere d'Hougoumont, Rare Vos, Gnommegang
- The Bruery:  Saison Rue, Mischief Golden, Tradewinds Tripel w/ Thai Basil
- Boulevard Brewing:  Tank 7, Nommo, Sixth Glass
- Pisgah Brewing:  White Ale, Solstice Tripel, Baptista
- New Belgium Brewing:  Biere de Garde, Peach Porch Lounger, Cascara Quad
- Weyerbacher Brewing:  Verboten, Quad, Tiny
All breweries are bringing THREE selections. Brewery reps will be on-hand-and the brewer of Boulevard Brewing will be at the Asheville event for the first time.


Get links and a list of Asheville Breweries and beer Pubs on the Asheville NC Visitor Guide.

May 27 - June 3    LaZoom "Sunday Beer Run" for Asheville Beer Week   Bruisin' Ales and LaZoom Comedy Tours have teamed up for an epic tour of Asheville's beer culture during Asheville Beer Week. For the Sunday Beer Run, the LaZoom team is writing a very special tour for beer fans. Canned beers on board will be provided by Asheville Brewing and Catawba Valley Brewing Co. You may also bring your own beers on board.

There are two tour options, one at the start of Beer Week, another at the end: Sunday, May 27th, 1:00 p.m. Sunday, June 3rd, 1:00 p.m. Hop on LaZoom’s iconic purple bus and find the funny side of Asheville Beer. Our city wide afternoon tours are historical and hysterical, feature outlandish comedy skits, entertaining tour guides, loads of Asheville information and … beer! You’ve never taken a tour like this before – it’s a show on wheels! So bring your Sunday hangovers, some beer to drink, and do what the locals do… “Get on the Big Purple Bus!” Standard tour length is two hours with a (2) 20-minute stops at Green Man Brewery and Wedge Brewery.

Get a link for La Zoom Tours and other local information on the Asheville NC Visitor Guide.

Feasting with Brew in Asheville

June 4 - 5, 1847 Blake House Inn, 150 Royal Pines Drive, Asheville North Carolina. Affordable Fun for a Great Cause in Asheville! Angela McKeller is hosting a culinary event, "Feasting with Brew!" this June that is the biggest "Kooking, Jamming, Brewing" event this summer! Pisgah Brewing will be there & another great brewery to be disclosed. Best beer in town and Asheville is the best in the nation for microbrews! Both afternoons, beer pairings with delicious chocolate truffles on Friday & delicious desserts on Saturday (and yes, you get the recipes to take home!) Live music from Davin McCoy & the Coming Attractions.

Wine and Beer Tasting at Appalachian Vintner

May 29, 3PM - 8PM, Appalachian Vintner, 2-B Huntsman Place, Asheville North Carolina. Wine Tasting includes:
Domaine Claude Branger Le Fils des Gras Moutons Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie- 100% Melon de Bourgogne, from the far Northwestern portion of France, near the mouth of the Loire River.
Artadi Artazuri Rosé- 100% Garnacha. Faithful to Navarra’s tradition, this rosé is made by means of the accepted system of drawing juice from the must, based on the use of gravity after a short period of maceration saignée.
Au Bon Climat La Bauge Au-Dessus Pinot Noir- 100% Pinot Noir. Jim Clendenen (owner ABC) is by far one of the most animated winemakers in California and in our estimation has one of the best hands in regards to Pinot Noir.
Rabbit Ridge Le Lapin Zinfandel- Paso Robles, California. Rabbit Ridge is one of California’s premier value wine producers. Unlike other “value” producers they almost always deliver flavor packed bottlings that seem unreal for the money.

All North Carolina breweries are 10% off on Saturday and enjoy a free pint of Pisgah Pale with every case of beer purchased. Cheers! http://www.appalachianvintner.com/

Beer Tasting Tomorrow at Hops and Vines

May 28th. 5-7pm, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd. Ste 100 West Asheville North Carolina. Brews form Brooklyn Brewing Co.:

Brooklyn Summer Ale - Brooklyn Summer Ale is a refreshing rendition of the the "Light Dinner Ales" brewed in England throughout the 1800's right up until the 1940's Come taste this historic brew while it lasts through the early summer.

Brooklyn Lager - One of our best selling canned beers, this refreshing lager is brewed as pre-prohibition style Vienna lager with English Pale malts and European and American Hops. This is one of the few lagers that is actually "dry hopped" in American brewing.

Brooklyn Brown Ale - This award wining American Brown Ale was once a Brooklyn seasonal but is now a year-round brew. This brown is full of malt character and pairs perfectly with food, especially barbeque. http://www.hopsandvines.net

Beer Tasting Tomorrow at Hops and Vines

April23, 5PM - 7PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd. Ste 100, Asheville North Carolina. Beer tasting  - Come in a see why our canned beers have become some of our best selling and tasting beers:
Oskar Blues Mama's YELLA Pils This pilsner is a clear golden color. Four additions of Saaz hops lend a spicy-floral hop component. A delicious summer beer.
Brooklyn Lager - the Brewery's flagship label, is New York's "hometown" beer, brewed to a pre-Prohibition recipe that dates back to the days when Brooklyn was the brewing capital of the East Coast. Brooklyn Lager has won numerous awards.
Ska Modus Hoperandi - Our best selling IPA these days... bitter, full of citrusy and piney hops with a solid malt backbone.  http://www.hopsandvines.net

Home Brew Class in "Beer City"

April 4, 12PM-5PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd. Ste 100, West Asheville North Carolina.  An advanced/ all-grain class, with a follow up bottling class April 18th. This class is intended for those who are currently brewing extract based beer and looking to make the switch to all-grain or learn more about the techniques. We brew on premises, bottle the beer two weeks later and split the batch. $45 per person includes everything. Sign up in advance, this class has a 7 person cap.  828-252-5275   http://www.hopsandvines.net

Beer Tasting Tomorrow at Hops and Vines

March 19th 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd. Ste 100 West Asheville, North Carolina. This Friday evening you can explore the world of homebrew. The informal homebrew tasting is open to the public and you are not required to bring homebrew to attend. However, if you are a homebrewer, bring a sampling of your beer to share with others. Hops and Vines homebrews Munich Dunkel and Pale Ale will be available. http://www.hopsandvines.net

New Belgium Seasonal Beer Tasting

Feb 19, 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd. Ste 100, West Asheville North Carolina. T.J. Burke from Skyland Distributing will be joining the tasting of some new seasonal releases from New Belgium Brewing. The pouring will be ample so come in, get warm, relax and enjoy:
Ranger IPA - This clear amber beauty bursts at the starting gate with an abundance of hops: Cascade (citrus), Chinook (floral/citrus), and Simcoe (fruity) lead off the beer, with Cascade added again for an intense dry hop flavor.
Mighty Arrow Pale Ale provides lots of pleasurable sniffs from Amarillo and Cascade hops with a fetching honey malt base. This is our brewed tribute to Arrow, Kim's Aussie/Border Collie mix who ran (literally) New Belgium for 12 years.
1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolatey malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. http://www.hopsandvines.net

Lindeman's Lambics FreeTasting

Feb 12, 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, Asheville North Carolina. Limdeman's Lambics are a perfect balance between fruity sweetness and acidity. Lambics are spontaneously fermented with native wild yeasts giving them their special character. These beers go great with chocolate, ice cream, and most any dessert. Come in and try them with a piece of chocolate and you'll know what we mean!
Framboise - Lindeman's most popular brand is brewed with raspberries, the acidity from the lambic blends perfectly with the raspberries.
Kreik - Shows off a bouquet of freshly harvest cherries, sparkling, smooth and refreshing. Finishes dry and tart.
Peche Peach Lambic Style - golden in color; with a nose that fills the room with fresh peaches. Sparkling, crisp and refreshing balance of fruit and acid.   http://www.hopsandvines.net

Tommyknocker Tasting

Jan 15, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Asheville North Carolina. Beer tasting 5PM-7PM:

Pix Axe Pale Ale - A classic American Pale Ale dominated by mildly hopped, sparkling flavors and pleasant aromas.

Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer - Porter Winter Warmer Ale has been specially brewed in celebration of the old world tradition of Porters and European Winter Warmers.

Butt Head Bock - This award winning, high gravity doppelbock lager is brewed with a generous supply of roasted malts producing caramel sweetness and rich mouthfeel.  8.2%

http://www.hopsandvines.net

Homebrew Tasting at Hops and Vines

Jan 8, 3PM-6PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Asheville NC. Back by popular demand, Hops and VInes will be hosting another homebrew tasting. Homebrewers bring in your beer to share, non-brewers seize the opportunity! This is an educational tasting to encourage those not familiar with homebrew to come in and taste what you can make at home!  http://www.hopsandvines.net

Green Man and Lusty Monk

Dec 18, 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Hatwood Road, Asheville NC. Beer and pretzels - life is good!  This week's tasting includes three brews from Green Man Brewing, we now proudly carry their line of flagship beers in growlers. At the tasting this Friday, when you buy any Green Man growler you'll get a free Green Man Brewing pint glass! We will also be serving Lusty Monk mustard and pretzels with the beer. Hops and Vines will be carrying Lusty Monk Mustard for retail sale, come taste what all the buzz is about!
India Pale Ale - English in style, this beer is “monster-hopped,” with English malts plus a special honey malt from Canada, Target and Kent Goldings hops added five times during the brewing process.
E.S.B (Extra Special Bitter) - This richly flavored, full-bodied bitter is copper colored, with a slight fruity aroma and a balanced malt/hop character.
Porter - English style brown porter. A dark brown beer with a red tint, it offers mocha, carob, and chocolate flavors and coffee aromas with a slightly smoky and warming alcohol finish.

Free beer tasting at Hops and Vines

Dec 4, 5-7PM, Hops adn Vines, Asheville NC. This week we will feature three mega IPAs from three different breweries, some of the best examples of American IPA. These beers are fresh and just hit the shelves in the last week:
Hopsecutioner - Here ye, here ye…All hopheads shall herewith rejoice! Terrapin has recruited ye old HOPSECUTIONER to execute the exact hop profile for this killer IPA! 7.2%
Ska Modus Hoperandi - A mix of citrus and pine that will remind you of the time you went on a vision quest with your native american cousin and woke up in a pine-grove full of grapefruit trees.
Pisgah Vortex I - The hoppiest beer in Buncombe County is back and hoppier than ever. Brewed with over 3.5 grams of four distinct varieties of super high alpha hops per glass, lupulin lovers rejoice. Treat Tourself while it’s fresh!  Website: http://www.hopsandvines.net

Homebrew Tasting in Asheville

Nov 20, 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd. Ste 100, West Asheville NC. This week were going to keep it simple and have a homebrew tasting. Homebrewers, bring in your beer to share with others! I will be bringing a homebrew clone brew of my favorite IPA (Pliny the Elder. This is a casual tasting and usually a lot of fun. You do not have to bring homebrew to attend. Homebrew is not for sale, free samples only, we do encourage everyone to start homebrewing.Website: http://www.hopsandvines.net

Friday the 13th Beery, not Scarey

Nov 13, 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, Asheville NC. A tasting of some of our favorite beer from Belgium.  Brasserie d'Achouffe has been at it since 1982 staring out as a small artisian brewery.  Today, with high demand for this beer all over the world, it is now brewed by Duvel Moortgat Brewery. This week's tastings:
LA CHOUFFE is an unfiltered blonde beer, which is re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg.
HOUBLON CHOUFFE was brewed for the first time in 2006.  It is an ‘Indian Pale ale’ type of beer.
Mc CHOUFFE is an unfiltered dark beer, which is re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg.

Webstie: http://www.hopsandvines.net

Cold Mountain Verticle Tasting

Nov 6, 5PM-7PM, Hops and Vines, Asheville NC. The tasting includes three vintages of Highland's Cold Mountain Winter ale!  The 2009 Cold Mtn. arrived last Tuesday and is a big hit as usual. The new beer will be tasted alongside bottles that have been aged for a year or two, when the spices and flavors have married. Website: http://hopsandvines.net

The Big Butte Smoked Ported Winner of the 2nd Annual Highland Cup Makes it's Debut.

September 8 from 5PM until the keg is empty at Hops & Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Asheville NC. Special release party for the Big Butte Smoked Ported winner of the 2nd annual Highland Cup will. Samples will be generous and we will have the beer for sale in 22oz bottles.  http://www.hopsandvines.net

FREE Beer Tasting at Hops and Vines

September 4 from 4PM-7PM at Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Asheville NC. Stoudt’s Brewing Company has grown and evolved from a small brewery with limited draught distribution to a packaging regional microbrewery with distribution in 10 different states, producing over 10,000 barrels a year. Stoudt's brewing is one of the bestselling and best quality lines of beer we sell at Hops & Vines, if you haven't tried them yet don't miss this week's beer tasting! American Pale Ale, Gold Lager, Scarlet Lady ESB and Pilsner. http://www.hopsandvines.net/