Asheville Dilemma

What's the one beer at Hi-Wire? Either our tastes are different or they weren't pouring it when I was there. I'm pretty sure its the only place EVER that I didn't finish one of the beers in a sampler, and that was with splitting it with my wife...

Now Wedge I like their beer fairly well (and love the atmosphere). Was there this weekend and had the Iron Rail for the umpteenth time and still like it. 3rd rail is perfectly fine as a barleywine/DIPA (whenever they figure out which it is), though isn't going to change my world, as is the witbier. In the past I've always loved the Golem and the Raspberry Imperial Stout (which unfortunately I've haven't had in quite some time).

 

Hi Wire's Lager is terrific, a straight lager, no weird stuff going on, tasty, smooth, fine example of a lager. Wedge has its Pilsner that I like a lot on hot days. It is light, a bit on the sweet side and very drinkable. mmmmm. My main issue with Wedge is, I don't like IPA's and that seems to dominate their line up.

 

Ended up booking the Four Points Sheraton. Looks like its in a good location, google maps says 10 min walk to Wicked Weed. My girlfriend and I are gonna be there Tues-Sun, and the wedding is on Sat, so we have plenty of time to wander around downtown. Any other recs besides breweries?

 

Iron Rail is arguably their flagship and Third Rail is pretty good. And I think they've done a Belgian IPA at some point or another, but I don't think I'd say that IPAs dominate their lineup. The Raspberry Wheat was a favorite of my group this weekend and the Witbier really hit the spot for me.

 

I've stayed at that hotel a couple times, perfectly fine hotel. It's on the other end of Broadway, so you can either start at Bruisin', go to LAB, and make your way towards Burial/Green Man/WW or start at the other end and walk back, which might be a better idea to make sure you make it home

For non-brewery but still beer-related, Barleys is awesome. I'm sure Mellow Mushroom is good, the one near me is but I've never been to the one in Asheville. For non-beer, there's lots of stuff to do in west Asheville. Went to a honey-related store this weekend (Bee Charmer) that was pretty cool (they have honey tastings), and for brunch Sunny Point and Biscuit Head are both in west Asheville and pretty awesome (and popular...). 12 Bones is good for BBQ.

 

Perfect place to stay. Walking distance from anything downtown. Hit over easy for breakfast!

 

Drive up to Mt. Mitchell- highest point east of the Mississippi (6684 ft). It's a different world.

 

Three words...White Duck Taco!

The Moog tour is free and very much worth it.

And French Broad Chocolate shop.

 

Definitely recommend Sunny Point Cafe but like treznor says, don't be fooled by them being in west asheville...it will be as/more crowded than the popular breakfast places downtown. There is however endless cups of coffee while you wait and the food was awesome.

 

While you are at it, and if you can find the time and tickets, do a, "LaZoom" tour. Side splitting funny and will educate you on some of Asheville's past. http://www.lazoomtours.com/ Oh, and it departs/boards right across the street from Wicked Weed and its byob.

 

And time for my pet peeve: If breweries put what they're pouring on their website (or Facebook, Twitter, anywhere), then I'd be much more likely to try out breweries that I've tried in the past and not necessarily cared for. In Highland's example, if I saw that they have a barrel-aged coconut milk stout, I'd almost stop by and try it and more than likely end up trying some of their base lineup again as well. But without knowing what they're pouring and possibly just having it be stuff I've tried before and not liked, I'm much less likely to go. If they're trying to reward their constant customer base with cool stuff, and thus not marketing it widely, then that I understand. But I don't think that's what all breweries/taprooms are doing.

Same goes for bars...

 

On a side note, Sept. 20th Highland Brewing has a ticketed event, with a fantastic Celtic band, starts at 8pm. Seriously good time.

 

So I have a different Asheville Dilemma...

Driving down from DC to Charlotte for a wedding in early October. My girlfriend is pretty tolerant of my beer-ness, let's just say.. The drive from DC to Charlotte is about 6-7 hours.

Is it worth it to wake up early on Sunday to drive to Asheville, then leave from there to DC for Wicked Weed? Or can I get a lot of good WW stuff in Charlotte, without having to add 3+ hours of driving on the Sunday drive home after what should be a late wedding night?

Cheers!
-Mike

 

I've been at Highland before right before an event, but never attended one. How do they normally work? I know they have a field behind the brewery where the event actually is, and they have food trucks, but how about beer? Do they pour their main lineup or do they normally have the one-offs that are currently pouring as well?

 

You'll more than likely be able to find some WW bottles in Charlotte. I'm not in Charlotte all that often but I'm about an hour north (in Hickory) and we usually have 3-5 WW bottles. I'd guess that some of the stores in Charlotte have at least that much if not more. You'll miss out on items that are brewery only (which is a lot of their stuff) and on stuff that isn't in bottles at the moment, but you'll almost certainly be able to find some good WW stuff in Charlotte.

Whether hitting up the brewery only stuff or the stuff that isn't in bottles at the moment (but might be on tap) is an exercise left for you Personally, after a long wedding and facing a 6 hour drive back... I'd probably skip it and try and pick up something in Charlotte.

One thing I will suggest... Based on your drive, I'd suggest stopping off at Foothills in Winston-Salem for lunch and some beers. Its at a place in your travel that it'll probably be about lunch time (if you're like me when getting up after a wedding...) and its only about 15 minutes out of the way.

 

It is a 2:15 drive from Charlotte and probably another 1:30 from Asheville back to statesville-I/40 so I would say you are adding closer to 4 hours. While WW is great, that would be way too far out of my way when there is 5-6 hours of driving to go (plus the time spent in the brewery). Most bottle shops in CLT have 3-5 WW sours and a few places have WW drafts as well. Grab some bottles in town and save the trip for another day.

 

@NoMoreBeerBelly & @treznor , Those were incredibly helpful posts.. Got all the info I needed. Thanks a lot! Appreciate it!

 

Depending on your location, hit either Brawleys (SouthPark area), Good Bottle Co (SouthEnd), Salud (Noda) or Vintners (South CLT) for bottles. I know those places carry them (and many of them have WW on tap). WW only distributes bottles to a few places in town so don't bother hunting around at too many other places.

 

@NoMoreBeerBelly is correct. You'd be adding a lot of time going through Asheville. But I will tell you that the drive from Asheville to DC will be must less stressful and more beautiful. Your drive from DC to Lexington, NC will be smooth. But after Lex, you'll hit traffic, construction work all the way to Charlotte. Asheville to DC is full of beautiful scenery and less traffic. If you do this, I'd consider staying a night in Asheville.

But Charlotte is also a great beer destination. You'll be able to find many brews at the bottle shops mentioned above and might have time to hit such breweries as NoDa, Birdsong or Old Meck just to name a few.

 

I guess it depends on your definition... The wife and I avoid 81 (which you'd need to take from Asheville to DC) like the plague...