Asheville Brewing Company Celebrates National Comedy Month

In honor of National Comedy Month (April), Asheville Brewing is showing a series of classic comedies combined with special, small batch beer releases to provide the perfect drinking accompaniment for each movie.

In conjunction with the special showing of the cult classic, Napoleon Dynamite, AB will release a special beer, Tater Tart Saison. The movie will take place at our Merrimon Avenue movie theater on Thursday, April 27, at 7 PM. The beer will be released on draft the same day at 5 PM at the downtown and north locations.

Tater Tart Saison is brewed with a Belgian yeast blend and a gentle malt bill of Pilsner, Vienna, and flaked wheat. It’s hopped with Centennial, Lemondrop, and Citra and then dry-hopped with Nelson Suavin giving it a complex yet delicate aroma.

“This beer has a nice balance between tart, a touch of belgian character and delicious hoppiness,” says Asheville Brewing head brewer Pete Langheinrich. “There’s just enough pucker.  ABV: 5.4;  IBUs: 23; SRM: 3.  Pairs well with tots, quesadillas, and llamas.

When you have a combination movie theater and brewery, celebrating National Humor Month, which takes place in April, with classic and cult comedy movies paired with fresh interesting beers is a natural opportunity for fun.

Asheville Brewing Co. is located at  675 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville, NC.

Race to the Taps 7 Miler in Asheville NC this Saturday

September 24, 2016    Race to the Taps 7 Miler   This series hits downtown's south slope neighborhood and features Twin Leaf and Catawba Brewing. The Asheville Downtown Association is the nonprofit partner for this race.  



Race to the Taps is produced by Asheville Radio Group and Kick It Event Management. These runs certainly aren’t pub crawls.  Each race is a chip-timed, 4-miler highlighting the neighborhood surrounding the host brewery with varying degrees of difficulty appropriate for seasoned runners or the casual runner/walker. 



The reward is refreshing with some great craft beer and prizes. 

Brewgrass Festival this Weekend in Asheville NC

September 17, 2016    Brewgrass Festival   American breweries gather to showcase more than 120 different beers. Live entertainment includes a great lineup of national and regional bluegrass musicians  featuring The Travelin' McCourys with special guest Peter Rowan, Jon Stickley Trio, and Bobby Miller and the Virginia Daredevils. 

The festival will be held on Saturday,  featuring over 55 breweries sampling a diverse assortment of local, regional, and national craft beers. The event also features a variety of area food vendors and plenty of water. 

Brewgrass is held from 1 - 6 PM at Asheville's Memorial Stadium. 

Learn more about Asheville events and festivals on our Asheville NC Visitors Guide. 

Asheville Beer News: Thursday Tasting at Brusin' Ales

September 1, 2016, 3 - 7 PM at Brusin' Ales, 66 Broadway Street in Asheville NC: Troegs Brewing Co. Tasting.   Troegs is one of America's most beloved breweries and Brusin' Ales will be hosting their NC sales rep, Corey, for the tasting. This go around,  a few of their seasonal releases as well as the classics will be tasted.

Hop Knife:  "Hop Knife Harvest Ale recognizes the time-honored tradition of hand-harvesting at the peak of maturity. At the end of fermentation, the beer flows through our HopCyclone releasing a bounty of preserved citrus rind, crushed jungle and tropical aromas." American IPA.

Troegenator:  "Thick and chewy with intense notes of caramel, chocolate and dried stone fruit, 'Nator (as he is called) serves as a tribute to this liquid bread style." Dopplebock.

Jovial:   "Originally brewed for Chris' wedding, it was decided Jovial was just too good a union of dark stone fruit character and evocative notes of toffee, chocolate and molasses to make only once." Dubbel.

LaGrave: "Our Triple Golden Ale carves out flavors of ripe pear, straw and black pepper with a dry, champagne powder finish."   Belgian-Style Tripe.

JavaHead Stout:   "This creamy oatmeal stout is infused with locally roasted, cold steeped coffee through our HopBack vessel releasing subtle hints of cocoa, roasted nuts and dark mocha." Oatmeal Stou.

Don't forget the webstore for pick-up
or shipping an amazing selection of beer

 

Asheville Beer Week - Celebrate NC Craft Beer

Highland Rooftop Grand Opening Kickoff Party

May 27 - June 4, 2016   Asheville Beer Week   This Annual event offers eight full days of celebrating all things beer in Asheville NC.  There is  a reason Asheville NC has become known as on the the premier craft beer destinations in the country - come to Asheville for Beer Week and discover for yourself.  The week of events will include tastings, dinners, beer education, keynote speakers, and other beer-related fun (and nonsense). 

Beer Dinner at Gaining Ground Farm

Get  a list of events and venues on the website beginning with Highland Brewing Company's Rooftop Grand Opening and ABW Kick Off PARTY!


Asheville Beer Week includes Asheville’s Beer City Festival on Saturday afternoon where dozens of breweries (and plenty of live music) are slated to appear on Roger McGuire Green. 


 

Asheville Hosts Annual Winter Warmer Beer Festival

January 23, 2016   9th Winter Warmer Beer Festival   This event is held on the main arena level of the Civic Center in downtown Asheville. Get rid of the winter blahs at this favorite event with great food and great brews. Enjoy live music and sample the best beer from more than 35 North Carolina and Southeast breweries. This event has sold out the past 5 years, so get your tickets ASAP.

photo courtesy Asheville Winter Warmer Festival

2016's Local and Regional Line-Up:

Asheville Brewing Company
Aviator Brewing Company
BearWaters Brewing Company
Bee & Bramble Fine Meads
Birdsong Brewing Company
Blind Squirrel
Bold Rock Hard Cider
Boojum Brewery
Catawba Valley Brewing Company
Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery
Foothills Brewing
French Broad Brewing Company
Fullsteam Brewery
Granite Falls Brewing Company
Hi-Wire Brewing (The Three Ring Brewing Co.)
Howard Brewing
Florida Beer Company (Indian River Beverage Corp.)
Lazy Hiker Brewing Co.
Lenny Boy Brewing Co.
Lexington Avenue Brewery
Natty Greene's
New Belgium Brewing Company
Newgrass Brewing Company
Oskar Blues Brewery
Oyster House Brewing Company
Pig Pounder Brewery
Pisgah Brewing Company
Red Brick Brewing
RJ Rockers Brewing Company
Sierra Nevada Brewing
Skulllcamp Brewing
Southern Appalachian Brewery
SweetWater Brewing Company
Thomas Creek
Twin Leaf Brewery
Troegs Independent Brewing
(GUEST BREWERY from PA)
Urban Orchard Cider Company

Asheville Brewing Company Announces New Release and Harry Potter Fest

Asheville Brewing Co., 1050 Hendersonville Road, now has Bavarian Rhapsody ~ On Tap.  Bavarian Rhapsody is a refreshing take on a traditional German Berliner weisse. IBU: 10 ABV: 4% Malts: Pale, Wheat Hops: Liberty.

Don't miss this week's movies, July 30 - August 6:

• Pitch Perfect 2 
• MadMax 3D 
• Spy 
• ALL 8 Harry Potter Films (Wednesday and Thursday)

And from the kitchen:
Offering Special Harry Potter menu items, through Thursday (July 30th), at the 675 Merrimon Ave. location.

• Molly's Beef Stew 
• Huffle Puff Pastries 
• Harry's Fried Tomatoes 
• Chinese Fireball Pizza 
• Magical Meatball Sandwich 
• Butter Beer 

will be available during the Harry Potter Fest.

Homebrew Workshop in Asheville

July 28, 2015 from 6 - 7 PM at Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Ste 100 in Asheville NC: Free homebrew workshop "Recipe Formulation"   Come learn how to put together your own homebrew recipes, and get a better understanding of the hundreds ingredients available in the homebrew market and how to use them to make your perfect beer.

The workshop will be presented by owner Alex Buerckholtz and it's FREE.

Asheville Craft Brewers "Can It"

submitted by Asheville Travel Blog

During the recent Beer Can Appreciation Day (January 24) a variety of Asheville NC area brewers dispelled the old belief that any beer in a can was a poor substitute for the rich and robust brews poured from bottles and taps.

Oskar Blues Brewery, which recently opened its East Coast location in nearby Brevard, was one such operation at the forefront of craft beer canning. They started putting their Dale's Pale Ale and Mama's Little Yella Pils in aluminum back in 2002 and never looked back.

Cans offer certain advantages over the traditional bottles - quick cooling, protection against breakage and the ability to tote them to beaches and pools, among others. So it's no surprise that over the past decade, more craft brewers have hopped on board.

Cans from local brewers like Asheville Brewing Company, French Broad Brewing Company, Pisgah Brewing Company and Catawba Brewing Company are readily available both in grocery stores and some area bars. Cans from Frog Level Brewing, located in nearby Waynesville, have started showing up at local specialty shops. And big names in craft brewing like Sierra Nevada and New Belgium are arriving in Asheville with a solid canning program already in place.

And those who love Beer City beers should expect to see more cans in the future, especially as a new mobile canning operator makes waves locally. Check out this article by local beer expert Tony Kiss for more information about what's on the horizon.

And in the meantime, grab a can of your favorite beer, pop it open, and appreciate.

Get links for local Asheville Area Breweries and beer on the 

Asheville NC Visitor Guide

FREE Oskar Blues Tasting at Asheville's Brusin' Ales

January 15 from 5-7 PM at Brusin' Ales, 66 Broadway Street in downtown Asheville NC - Oskar Blues Tasting.  The first tasting at Brusin' Ales of 2015 is with Amy Rubin of Oskar Blues. Come to the wee tasting room from 5:00-7:00 for a free beer flight:

Pinner Throwback IPA: "How do you cram as much hop & malt flavor and aroma as possible into a beer but make it crushable too? That's the challenge we answered with PINNER Throwback IPA. At 4.9% ABV and 35 IBUs, this drinkable IPA uses several varieties of hops to target the ever-evolving flavor. With tropical fruits, citrus juices, pineapple and spice berry up front in the aroma and flavor, the biscuit & toasted bread at the back balance out all the hops and make a great finish to go on to your next can of PINNER. It's the perfect beer for a little sip, sip, give."

G'Knight: "Our 'Velvet M-80' is a hefty, dry hopped double-red ipa with a nose full of aroma, a sticky mouthfeel, a malty middle and unctuous hop flavors. G'Knight sports a surprisingly sensuous finish for a beer of its size (8.7% ABV, 60 IBUs). It's brewed in tribute to a fellow Colorado craft beer pioneer and Vietnam vet who died fighting a 2002 wild fire outside of our Lyons hometown.

Deviant Dale's: "Deviant Dale's IPA (8 percent ABV, 85 IBUs) was born at the crossroads, in a juke joint, as if Dale's Pale Ale sold its soul to balance Deviant's foreboding aromas of citrus, grapefruit rind and piney resins, its copper ball-of-fire color and inscrutable flavor-intense finish. Deviant is the Devil incarnate with untold amounts of malt and hedonistic Columbus dry-hopping. Oskar Blues delivers this boundary-buster in the brewery's first 16-ounce tallboy can."

Ten Fidy: "This titanic, immensely viscous stout is loaded with inimitable flavors of chocolate-covered caramel and coffee and hides a hefty 98 IBUs underneath the smooth blanket of malt. Ten FIDY (10.5% ABV) is made with enormous amounts of two-row malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats and hops. Ten FIDY is the ultimate celebration of dark malts and boundary-stretching beer."

Highland Brewing Company Cold Mountain Release Party

November 13, 4 PM - 9 PM at Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville NC: Cold Mountain Release Party.The Brewery's Tasting Room will offer a limited amount of packaged Cold Mountain beer available for purchase starting at 4 PM. 

Enjoy live music by The Blood Gypsies, River Whyless and Brushfire Stankgrass. Local food trucks and a free shuttle service from the Oakley Shopping Center will be available.

Homebrew Night Tonight at Hops and Vines Plus Weekend FREE Beer and Wine Tastings

October 2, 4:30 - 7:30 PM at Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Ste 100 in Asheville NC: Homebrewers Night. Homebrewers - bring in a few bottles of your labeled homebrew to share with others. This event is free and held ever 1st Thursday of the month. Don't miss this popular AVL beer event.
October 3,  5 - 7 PM:  Free tasting this Friday. Hobsons Brewery, Shropshire's sustainable brewer and creator of award winning beers. Dedicated to an ethos of using the finest locally sourced ingredients teamed with sustainable technologies has produced a range of award winning cask ale and bottled beers. Come check out their line up of English session beer including:

Manor Ale - Brewed specially to celebrate Severn Valley Railway's Manor Class steam engines. Severn Valley, one of Britain's finest Heritage Railways, chose Hobsons for its integrity and commitment to its roots in the heart of England. With aromas that reflect fresh grain, hops Manor Ale is a crisp refreshing amber bitter with biscuit overtones. 4.2%

Town Crier is a golden ale with a big voice, the elegant straw coloured bitter has a hint of sweetness which is complemented by subtle hop flavors, lending a dry finish. 4.5%

Postman's Knock is a beer offering an intelligent blend of complex ingredients, the rich brown beer with a smooth fine head has a very chocolately character. The combination of subtle flavour notes of vanilla, treacle and roast malt gives an initial rich sweetness leading to a velvety chocolate finish. 4.8%

October 4, 3 - 6 PM:  FREE Sherry Wine Tasting. Sherry is a unique kind of fortified wine made in what's called a "Solera" system. Come learn all about Sherries this Saturday as we taste three estate bottled, small production, family owned wines. The tastings will include:

Cesar Florido Fino:   Flor grows year-round in Chipiona making the Finos here very unique. Even more unique is the fact that this Fino is made from estate-grown palomino from the Balbaína and Miraflores vineyards. On the palate this Fino is light and soft with a pleasing brackish quality that is due to the winery’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

La Cigarrera Manzanilla:  Aged four years on the lees before being bottled. Vibrant and fresh with aromas of yeasts and salinity. The wine on the palate is rich and substantial with a long finish.  El Maestro Pedro Ximenez:

El Maestro Pedro Ximenez:  This Pedro Ximénez is aged for 15 years in the solera system. A great nose of exotic spices and almost red fruits combine with more classic caramel overtones with great acidity.

10% off all featured bottles on Saturday.

Upcoming Homebrew Classes:  All-grain/advanced class with be held Sunday, October 5th from 11-4pm. This class is intended for those already familiar with extract brewing and want to advance their skills. We cover everything you need to know about all-grain brewing and you keep a six pack of the brew. $50/pp

Next Beginners class we be held Sunday, November 2nd from 12-4pm. We'll be brewing something for winter stout. $45 pp in advance.

About the Hops and Vines Classes...  All classes include a bottling class two weeks following the class date from 11am - noon. You keep a six pack of the beer we brew!  All classes brew on premises and cover everything from equipment to recipe formulation, fermentation, sanitation, bottling and more.  Call 828-252-5275, stop by the shop or e-mail info@hopsandvines.net to sign up, spaces are limited.

Highland Brewing Company Community Night

April 3, 4 PM - 8 PM at Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville, NC: Community Night. The Brewing Company will donate $1.00 of every pint sold to Loving Food Resources.

LFR started in Asheville by three individuals in 1991 to address the food insecurity issues faced by people living with HIV/AIDS. In 1996, they expanded their services to any person receiving home Hospice care regardless of diagnosis. LFR is the only "self select" food pantry addressing the issue of food security or hunger in the HIV/AIDS or home Hospice communities in Western North Carolina. LFR continues to do this work as a 100% volunteer non-profit organization.

Highland Brewing Company opened in December 1994, using almost entirely of retrofitted dairy equipment. The original brewery in downtown Asheville could produce up to 6,500 barrels of beer per year. Now located at a new location on the outskirts of Asheville, they have capacity to brew over 50,000 barrels annually with room to grow. Until 1998,  beer was available only in kegs and hand-filled 22-oz. bottles.  That year a four-head bottling machine was added, which enabled packaging in 12-oz. bottles. In 2002, a used Krones bottling line was installed, capable of filling 7,200 12-oz. bottles per hour. Today beer is brewed twice daily, four days per week, and demand continues to exceed supply.

West Asheville Pint Night

April 2, 7 PM - 10 PM at Westville Pub, 777 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC: West Asheville Pint Night at the Pub. Join the Hi-Wire guys at Westville Pub as they feature, on tap and in bottles, their Hi-Pitch IPA, Hi-Wire Lager, Prime Time Pale, and the NEWEST to-be-named seasonal.  Glasses are $3.50, lager bottles are $3 and pitchers at $12! AND buy a pint and keep the Hi-Wire pint glass (while they last).

Brewgrass Festival in Asheville

September 21   Brewgrass Festival   40 American breweries gather to showcase more than 120 different beers. Live entertainment includes a great lineup of national and regional bluegrass musicians that, in the past, has included such notables as Cadillac Sky, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Infamous String Dusters, Dry Branch Fire Squad, J.D. Crowe, The Osborne Brothers, Norman Blake, Tony Trischka, Jim Lauderdale, Valerie Smith, Tony Furtado, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Sons Of Ralph. The event also features a variety of area food vendors and plenty of water.

Ale Sharpton Cruises Asheville

Ale Sharpton Presents Operation Asheville - Asheville's burgeoning beer scene is once again in the spotlight. Ale Sharpton, a renowned beer aficionado and blogger, took to the streets of Asheville to produce an episode of his upcoming show Cruisin' for a Bruisin'.

The show is currently in post production, but Sharpton did post a teaser which highlights the Brews Cruise, Highland Brewing, French Broad Brewing, the now defunct Craggie Brewing (RIP) and more.

The full video is expected to be released soon and in the meantime, follow Ale's adventures on his blog.

Learn more about Asheville beer, breweries and beer tastings on the Asheville NC Visitor Guide.

NC Beer Month Event: Asheville's The Best Frikin Beer Festival

April 27   The Best Firkin Beer Festival  The 2013 Beer Festival features cask-conditioned, barrel-aged and specialty beer. This is a pre-prohibition era festival that will have old time music by The Big Nasty Jazz Band and old time food from The Lowdown Food Truck.

Tickets can be purchased on the website by clicking on "The Best Firkin Beer Festival" poster. If event is not sold out by the day of the festival, tickets will be available at the door. VIP ticket holders will receive access to the festival 1 hour early and a free t-shirt.

The Festival is held at The Meadow at Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy in  Asheville NC

 

Mountain Spirits: Beer Tasting Tonight at Hops and Vines

April 19 - 5 PM to 7 PM at Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Ste 100 in Asheville NC: FREE beer Tasting.  Sierra Nevada Summerfest plus more.  Hops and Vines is the first account to recieve this year's Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager in bottles. Come be the first to grab a 6 pack of this great summer quencher. Taste some other refreshing Sierra beers alongside.

Summerfest Lager- Summerfest is a delightfully refreshing example of a traditional style lager beer. While lighter in body than our ales, Summerfest displays significant hop aroma and a tangy hop bite. The long lagering period adds a smoothness that makes this beer a great summertime treat.

Kellerweis - Kellerweis is one of the only American Hefeweizens made using the traditional Bavarian style of open fermentation. This difficult and labor-intensive technique adds uncommon depth and flavor complexity. Our hazy-golden hefeweizen is deeply flavorful, refreshing and perfect for a sunny day. To serve, pour two-thirds into a glass, swirl and pour the rest.

Pale Ale -Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a delightful example of the classic pale ale style. It has a deep amber color and a exceptionally full-bodied, complex character. The fragrant bouquet and spicy flavor are the results of the generous use of the best Cascade hops.

Get links for Asheville Breweries and Asheville beer HERE.

NC Beer Month Event: Asheville Brewing Company month-long Sale

April 1 - 30, 2103 - Asheville Brewing Company, 675 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville NC, is offering 15% off all brewing merchandise during the entire month of April in celebration of NC Beer Month.

Asheville Brewing Company was voted 2012 Best in WNC for a 15th year in a row by a Mountain Express readers survey. The production brewery is located on Cox Avenue and offers beer tastings. The Pub - restaurant on Merrimon is kid-friendly and known for having some of the best pizza in Asheville. Other menu items include local farm-raised beef burgers and vegan sandwiches.

Asheville Beer News: Wicked Weed Brewing Releases Smoked Brown Belgian Beer

April 5   Wicked Weed Smoked Brown Belgian Release   Wicked Weed Brewing will be releasing a Smoked Brown Belgian in their Downstairs Tasting Room with Riverbend Malt House and 12 Bones Smokehouse. The new brew's ingredients include locally malted grain, produced by Riverbend and smoked at 12 Bones' smoking facility, and sweet potatoes.

Learn more about Asheville Breweries and craft Beer on the Asheville NC Visitor Guide