Asheville Dilemma

I've had friends that have done a tour before (Asheville Brews Cruise I think) and liked it pretty well. WW, Burial, One World, and Thirsty Monk (and you should go ahead and toss in Green Man) are all within walking distance though.

 

Thanks I think we are gonna do the tour friday and maybe visit a couple more sat

 

I have two Treeing Walker **** Hounds. Greta prefers Wicked Weed and Otis loves Green Man. It's a struggle.

 

Love Barleys too, great pizza. 12 Bones has to be a must, damn good BBQ but the collard greens are spectacular.

 

I'm actually heading down on the 6-8 for a quick stay in Asheville and was wondering how hard it is to come by Hop Drop and Roll? Am I better off making the haul to Charlotte?

Thanks.

 

Seriously call Asheville Vinter and Bruisin' Ales. Availability for HDR has changed ALOT in the last week and I don't think anyone knows if this is just a blip or if its going to stay like this. Three weeks ago I'd have said there's no chance they would have it. Now, there's a really good chance they will, but you'll need to call to make sure. Otherwise, Hickory and Greensboro should have some supply still in the next week (if you don't want to drive down to Charlotte).

 

There are plenty of other IPA's for you to enjoy while in Asheville, don't worry yourself! I know I leave all IPA's for folks like you to enjoy! Freak of Nature at WW, or Twin Leaf's offering, or Wedge Brewings IPA, Shiva IPA by Asheville Brewing, etc... Burial Brewing supposedly has a great IPA as well. All seem to produce high ratings. >shrugs< Good luck with your search though... call Appalachian Vintners (eye's treznor with suspicion) they can figure it out for you, if your looking for Hop Drop and Roll.

 

I'm at GABF and posted after a night of meeting up with people. I got pretty close to the right name

 

lol

 

Got our motel booked, going down on a Thursday , hoping to beat the weekend crowd at WW. Planing our attack now, thinking WW first, burial, one world, and a few more that we haven't decided yet. As far as bars, we are doing thirsty monk. Any other suggestions ?

 

Well I guess I could scroll back through four pages and get my answer

 

I would hit WW first. Being a Thursday you can get a flight if interested. Then I would trek down to Burial and Green Man. Then you can head back up the hill and potentially hit Twin Leaf, Hi-Wire, and/or Asheville Brewing as they are all on the way up to Thirsty Monk. After that you can finish by going to One World. That is typically my route with some variation in there depending what I am in the mood for. The only "bars" I would go to in terms of beer are Thirsty Monk or Barley's. Other than that just stick with the breweries.

 

That sounds like great route, do you walk to all those or drive?

 

Walk. It is very doable even if you are out of shape and a little drunk while heading back up the hill.

 

Cool. That's what we will do then Thanks

 

Look for this as well while you are out. Can definitely help you navigate the breweries. I think One World is not included because they are newer.

http://ashevillealetrail.com/field-guide/#.VC3uQkuDpuY

 

Yep. Or a few years' worth of similar threads

 

I would probably not go back "a few years" on threads, since many of the breweries in Asheville would not have even existed yet at that point.

 

Maybe not a few years, but there have been many threads in the last 6 months that would be very appropriate to review. Unless its a specific odd-question that hasn't been answered (like why are hotels so damn expensive during a certain time period or where should I take my dog, which are recent ones), the answer is largely going to be the same as before.

 

My girlfriend and I had a great time. So much so that we are already looking at future dates to potentially return. We stayed at the 4 Points Sheraton, a little further out then some places but prices were insane for some reason (Aloft was around $500/night, see above). Sheraton was fine, hotel itself wasnt that great, but we loved the location. We walked to everything we did, which was a nice change of pace for us. The furthest brewery we walked to was Burial,and although it was over a mile, there were plenty of other places to stop at on the way back to the hotel.

We hit up several breweries. Wicked Weed, Burial, Greenman, One World, Asheville Brewing Company and LAB.

Wicked Weed: absolutely ridiculous place. Loved everything about it. Tap list was out of the world, at least 20 different original beers on tap, probably more. I tried around ten, thanks to the flights as well as the options for smaller pours (10oz, maybe even 8oz I dont remember). The food was fantastic too, honestly the best cheese plate Ive ever had. And the price was ridiculous. Literally laughed when we got our bill which included a full beer pour, a flight, a glass of wine (for the lady friend) and both our meals for around $55, incredible deal. Anyways, back to the important thing, the beers. They were great. The sours were the only thing about the place that didnt exceed expectations. I was a bit disappointed in the Black Angel, although it was good. I thought their hoppy beers were excellent, Tyrant double red was awesome, and my favorite beer from them was surprisingly Reticent their flagship farmhouse ale. Overall an amazing place that I cant wait to go back to.

Green Man: my second favorite place. Their Imperial Porter (bourbon barrel aged) was my favorite beer of the entire week in Asheville. My girlfriend doesnt drink beer (tragic I know), but she always samples the beers I get. Well she liked this one so much that she actually wanted her own pour. This may seem minor, but we've been dating over 3 years and this was the first time shes ever ordered a beer for herself. Game changer, haha. Cool atmosphere here too, very chill outdoor area. My kinda place. Only downside is they dont serve food, although there was a food truck there.

One World: tiny place, in a basement which is literally just a basement. Pretty cool though. Seems like these guys are about as early a start up as it gets. I was shocked at how small the batches were (they were fermenting in rooms you can see into). Only had one beer there, the coconut porter, which was very good. I could see this being a fun low key place to hang out.

Burial: was packed and we were rushed. Only had one beer there, a raspberry IS. Wasnt a huge fan of it, not bad but it was following up some killer Green Man beers so it was a bit of a let down. Seemed to be more of a hipster scene too, which isnt exactly my scene. Place was fine, but its not a must re-visit for me.

Asheville Brewing Company: kind of a generic atmosphere compared to all the cool places with character in the city, beer selection was pretty straight forward, I only had one beer there which was an IPA and it was real good. Pizza was awesome.

LAB: By far my least favorite place. I like the location and the outdoor/open air part is ideal for people watching the characters of Asheville. The beer selection was quite small, and neither of the beers I had was anything better than average (I had a saison and an IPA). Food was good though.

In terms of Brewery Tours, we passed on that. I figured with the knowledge I had of the breweries (mostly from this thread and other BA searches), I could put together my own tour that focused more on my specific wants. It worked out well. I will say that we did do a food tour, which was awesome and a great deal. $57 a person, stopped at 7 places including some great restuarants. Each place had a small food serving (think, small appetizer), and 6 of the 7 had an alcoholic beverage paired with the food. We are not big eaters but it was plenty of food to count as dinner for my girlfriend and I, so if you are in town I would highly recommend that as well (Eating Asheville Walking Food Tour).


Sorry for the long post. Figured Id share my experiences as they might be helpful to others.

Cant wait to go back, to those who live in Asheville, ya'll have a great city. We're thinking about going back over NYE, thats how much we liked it.