Asheville, North Carolina is a fabulous town for enjoying micro-brews. Named BeerCity USA three years running, this small mountain community believes in good beer. There are quite a few local breweries in the area and they won’t all be mentioned here. This article will stick to the most popular locally and the one’s I like the best.
The Bigger Small Brewers
Just to get them out of the way, let us start with Asheville Brewing Company and Highland Brewing Company. These are the larger local brewers and Highland has national distribution. My personal favorite from either of these brewers is the Ninja Porter from Asheville Brewing. Highland’s brews are not my style, but lucky for them, I am a minority. The Highland Gaelic Ale goes quickly wherever it is available.
The Mid-sized Small Brewers
Another pair of breweries, Pisgah Brewing Company and French Broad Brewing Company, join the battle for the local thirst for beer. Each of these has its own special flavor in their brewing and both are much loved by all. From my somewhat limited tasting of the French Broad and Pisgah brews, I have found them among the most consistent with the taste of each batch among the smaller brewers. (Though even APBC can’t seem to make their Shiva IPA taste the same every time.) Pisgah and French Broad beers are well represented in bars and restaurants around the area.
The Just-right-sized Small Brewery
Now we come to the crux, to the ultimate in beer in Asheville. Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, anyway. I am, of course, talking about Green Man Brewery. Not only do they have an awesome logo and a great off the beaten path location at which to lurk and drink, they have some of the most amazing beer I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. Their brewer, John Stuart, is fabulous and incredibly creative – and a nice guy to boot. They make special small batches periodically that would amaze any connoisseur.
Green Man Brewery is currently working on some serious expansion plans, which have me quite excited. They are always developing new brews and are working on expanding their distribution area. Green Man beers should also come with a warning: you will drink, you will enjoy, and you will have at least one more than you planned on, because they are JUST THAT GOOD. For example, I am not much of an IPA fan. However, given the choice of that one Green Man beer or any other local beer, I would take the Green Man IPA.
Before I moved to Asheville, I was convinced that beer was horrific in all of its forms and served no purpose but to keep one from collapsing while sitting in Busch Stadium or to make it okay that the Blues just lost to the Blackhawks, again. This town has shown me otherwise. Asheville loves its beer and its breweries and I wholeheartedly join in the love.