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Asheville, NC- Beer Capital of the South

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Beerbuddha

Tue Mar 25 2008, 01:28PM

Joined: Tue Jan 08 2008, 04:17PM
Posts: 581

ASHEVILLE – The Asheville craft brewing scene, already flowing like a mighty river with six breweries, has two more operations in the works.

The Wedge Brewing Co. is expected to open in April in the French Broad River Arts District, and the LAB — Lexington Avenue Brewing Co. — is aiming to start sometime this year, adding to Asheville’s thriving beer scene. In October, the Hops and Vines beer shop opened in West Asheville, followed in January by the Thirsty Monk, an all-Belgian beer pub downtown. In January, the Bruisin’ Ales beer store on Broadway Street was ranked by visitors to a Web site as the world’s second-best beer retailer.

Wedge Brewing, in the lower back level of the Wedge Gallery building, is likely to be a growth catalyst along the French Broad River, said Karen Cragnolin of RiverLink, the nonprofit organization that works to boost business and recreational use of that waterway. “It creates another destination on the river,” she said. “We have parks, we have 12 Bones (barbecue restaurant), we have the Clingman Avenue Café and The Grey Eagle (Music Hall). And this will be another reason to go down there.”

“Asheville is the beer city of the South,” said Sean Wilson, leader of the Pop the Cap organization, which overturned North Carolina’s old law limiting beer strength, and now promotes craft brewing across the state.

Beer town
Since the 1994 opening of Asheville’s first modern-era brewery, Highland Brewing Co., the city has seen impressive growth in craft brewing. Other operations include Green Man Brewing (makers of the Jack of the Wood house brews); Asheville Pizza and Brewing and its sister operation Asheville Brewing Co.; French Broad Brewing near Biltmore Village; and Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain.

They have put Asheville in the company of other, much larger craft brewing cities as San Diego, Portland, Ore., and Boulder, Colo.

“Asheville is at the epicenter of the craft beer movement in the Southeast,” Wilson said. “The drink-local movement has been embraced by the people in Asheville. And when tourists come in, they know to get a local beer.”

With about three dozen breweries in the state, Pop the Cap is now developing a statewide map showing their locations, creating a do-it-yourself beer tour. “I will have to find a way to highlight the growth in Asheville,” Wilson said. “It’s a city too busy for the regular map.”

A cluster of breweries
Craft breweries tend to flourish when located near each other, said Julie Herz, of the Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo., nonprofit brewing trade association. In 2007, the association counted 1,449 breweries in the U.S., with 1,406 of them listed as small, independent craft brewers.

“There is power in numbers,” she said. “In Boulder, I think we have seven breweries within walking distance. The education level goes through the roof when you have more than one craft beer being made locally. (Such a community) becomes a destination” for beer lovers, she said.

While the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce doesn’t specifically track beer tourism, the Brews Cruise bus service is taking visitors (and curious locals) on nightly backstage tours to the local breweries.

Watching for the Wedge
The new River Arts District venture, Wedge Brewing Co. at 151 Roberts St., has been in the planning for two years, said owner Tim Schaller, who has been restoring old buildings for 35 years. Carl Melissas, who had been brewer at Green Man, will craft the beers.

“I wouldn’t have done this downtown,” Schaller said. “This was the perfect storm. The space (at the Wedge) was available. Carl was available, and the equipment was available in Florida. If I had known all the loopholes, all the hoops I had to jump through, it might have scared me. But it’s great to be near the end.”

With equipment now installed, Schaller hopes to be brewing in April. The site will include a small tasting room, seating on the outside loading dock and a small courtyard.

Cooking in the LAB
While work at the Wedge is under way, three Asheville businessmen have been planning another downtown brewery at the old vacated T.S. Morrison’s store at 39 N. Lexington Ave. The Lexington Avenue Brewing Co. will also offer food and live music, said Peter Cratin, who has been partnered with Mike Healy and Steve Wilmans in the project.

They’re keeping mum on an opening date. “You know how building projects go,” Cratin said. “We will wait a while before we start doing any projecting” on the opening, though the goal is sometime this year, and brewing equipment has been acquired.

More beer
Two other nonbrewing locations have also energized the beer community and are drawing steady crowds. The Thirsty Monk beer bar, 50 Commerce St., opened in January, selling only Belgian and Belgian-style brews. “Response has been phenomenal,” said owner Barry Bialik. “We are trying to stay ahead” of demand for the beers, which are often more expensive than other imports and usually served in smaller portions, especially those with higher alcohol content.

Also in January, the Bruisin’ Ales specialty beer shop at 66 Broadway St. was named by the RateBeer.com Web site as the world’s second-best beer retailer in votes cast by online visitors. The shop offers more than 700 imported and American craft beers, and a few domestic brands.

“It got us a lot of press,” said Jason Atallah, who operates the shop with his wife, Julie. “It makes people come here and want to see us. People from the surrounding area have come to recognize that this is where can get those specialty beers.”

Even with its vast international offerings, four of the five best-selling beers at the shop are made in Asheville, with Pisgah Pale Ale topping the list (the others are Highland’s Imperial Kashmir, French Broad’s Wee Heaviest and Pisgah’s Baptista).

Too much brew?
With dozens of local beers being made here every day, competition for store space and tap accounts is keen. But no local brewer will say that the market is reaching the saturation point.

“When you look at places like Portland, Ore., where 20 percent of the beer sold is craft beer, and (in Asheville) we are less than 4 percent, the possibilities (for more growth) are there,” said Oscar Wong, founder of Highland Brewing.

New breweries “may have some short-term cutting in” on Highland, “but if they make a good product, it will grow the product for the whole area.”

That was proved by the quick growth of Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain, which began less than three years ago and now has more than 50 accounts, almost all of them in Buncombe County. The brewery was just featured in a story in USA TODAY and is adding equipment and, in April, will open a small tasting room where customers can sit and enjoy an ale.

“I think there is room” for more local breweries, said Pisgah co-founder Jason Caughman. “In this market, people are adventurous and will try new things. We worked hard and are proud to be where we are and have the support we have.”

Brewing by the numbers
Beer is measured by the barrel, which is 31 gallons. Here are brewing estimates for 2008 from the Buncombe County breweries.

Highland Brewing: 16,000 barrels.

Asheville Pizza and Brewing and Asheville Brewing Co. combined: 2,000 barrels.

French Broad Brewing Co.: A minimum of 2,000 barrels.

Green Man Brewing Co: 1,000 barrels.

Wedge Brewing Co.: 1,100 barrels.

Pisgah Brewing Co.: 3,000 barrels.

Lowdown on local beers
More than three dozen beers made in Buncombe County are available. The selections can change, but here’s what is currently out there:

• Highland: Gaelic Ale, St. Terese’s Pale Ale, Oatmeal Porter, Kashmir IPA, Black Mocha Stout and limited supply of Imperial Kashmir IPA.

• Asheville Pizza and Brewing and Asheville Brewing: Shiva IPA, Red Light IPA, Houdini Extra Special Pale, Rocket 77 Gold Ale, Ninja Porter, Scottish Ale, Roland’s Extra Special Bitter, and Scout Stout.

• Pisgah Brewing: Pale Ale, Porter, Endless Summer Gold Ale, Nitro Stout, Solstice Belgian Triple, IPA, Red Devil Belgian Fruit Ale, Valdez Stout, Baptista Belgian Noel and Cosmos Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

• French Broad: Alt Beer, Gateway Kolsch, Goldenrod Pilsner, 13 Rebels ESB, Wee Heavier Scotch Ale, Dunkelwitte (blend of dark German and Belgian white brews), Imperial Porter, Irish Stout, and a limited supply of Wee Heaviest Ale.

• Green Man Brewing: Gold Ale, Pale Ale, IPA, ESB, Porter and cask-conditioned IPA.

rafjr00

Tue Mar 25 2008, 04:01PM

Joined: Wed Jan 09 2008, 07:20AM
Posts: 638

Gee thanks......for reminding me of all the good beers I had for an entire week. Highland makes killer beer, as does French Broad. I can't speak for the rest, but I am sure they are just as good.

Kickin' it in Met' tree...dawlin

usmittymc

Tue Mar 25 2008, 04:36PM