Asheville - a Declining Beer City?

Not sure but the new permanent truck Master BBQ is legit. Their chicken adobo and lumpia are so good. Very reasonable prices as well.

 

I'm going to risk stirring a hornet's nest here, but no one seems to have addressed the obvious. Having traveled to Asheville multiple times over the last 20 plus years, I would say it's a reflection of the recent decline in the city itself. Many years ago, it used to be a very pleasant place to visit. Recently, homelessness, crime and panhandling have become a big issue. My wife and I used to love going there but our last visit in 2022 may be our last for a while. The beer and the breweries are still great there, but tourism was noticeably down. It's not a big secret either, all businesses in Asheville have noticed it, not just the breweries. With less people coming in, there's less money spent. Simple economics.

 

My wife and i are moving to Arden in June which is about 20 minutes from the South Slope, where a cluster of AVL breweries call home. Looking forward to being closer to this area and also being 7 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is another main reason why we moved to the region. Anyway, i see and read about the homeless problem in AVL almost daily in the AVL press. Totally agree with @ATL6245 David, you cannot deny the increased panhandling and homelessness.
But before leaving PHX in 2021, for the five to ten years leading up to our departure, the homelessness/panhandling was happening on every freeway offramp. I did not see this as prevalent prior to the last financial cliff/real estate bust in the late 2000's. Plus living in north PHX in the confluence of a couple of "washes", we started to see homeless pitching tents there. Bottom line, without getting too preachy, Corporate America and the Elite class is sucking the economic life out of America's Middle Class for a lot of different reasons. Watch out for what happens in November as there is a candidate that is playing this like a fiddle to his advantage. Unfortunately, i do not appreciate the other candidate's policies with artificially pumping up the economy with student loan forgiveness and other BS. Who TF do i vote for? Ugh!!!
With that said, enjoy good beer and what you can control! And forgive me for my ramblings!
Cheers!
Tom

 

Me thinks we may be better off leaving that Office unoccupied the next four years.

 

And the city that is not experiencing these types of issues?

I grew up here, and except for a period with Uncle Sam's Canoe Club, have lived in or near Asheville. We simply don't do downtown, i.e. south slope. Panhandlers, parking with predatory towing, just creates a sketchy experience at times.

A few miles outside the 'downtown' area, from River Arts District, Biltmore Village, West Asheville, Woodfin/Weaverville area, are a number of excellent breweries and food options, and none of the issues of downtown. Or venture a little further out, Fairview, Black Mountain, Mills River, etc.

And people are still coming, as evidence by the fact they are building hotels as fast as the city will approve them.

 

Like I stated, probably kicking over a hornet's nest. All cities are experiencing similar issues. I was simply pointing out that the local businesses (many article have been written about this) have recognized a downturn in tourism and the city is built on tourism more than most. The main problem is the panhandling and crime. If they get a handle on that, it will improve. One of the breweries I really enjoyed visiting last time was Hillman Beer Co. Food and beer was great. My wife and I went to tour Biltmore Gardens (we've already toured the mansion before). While we were there, we hit a couple of breweries not downtown and a couple of restaurants downtown. We stayed in a Courtyard off of Tunnel Rd. and the homeless and panhandling was bad in that area as well. Me personally, it wouldn't stop me from going back to visit breweries. But my wife is not interested in going back because of it.

 

I've been 6 times since 2015 and I still really enjoy visiting. I'm going to try and visit again sometime this year. I'm going to bring some friends with me, at least that's the hope. I do get the vibe that it is a little rougher in regards to safety and homelessness but it's still a fantastic city with a lot to offer.

 

hey guys, I didn't want to make my own thread for when i tried executing a vermont trip and failing... quick...

Leaving dc on wednesday this wednesday night, starting near the VA/NC border... Boone Thursday (no Greensboro this trip, maybe a combined Charlotte trip in the future), Asheville 3 days...

Current strategy... Friday, hotel as soon as possible, get uber from hotel on edge of town. I have this sort of "north half, south half" strategy in mind when it comes to town. Staying in town through at least saturday night. So parked car for two dars.

Prioritizing New Belgium, prioritizing White Labs... burial i think? After that, this is why I originally decided on trying vermont because when I did a big trip last time I'd organize the obvious in a big city then pick one or two more working against the day of the week I was in town and operating hours. Here there isn't a limiting factor and I lot to choose from.

What I am going to do is operate on an "ask where next" basis.

Sunday is going to be highland, burning blush, and sierra nevada.

Sunday night I'll split the difference and likely stay closer to home.

Are there any obvious objections to this idea? Mostly worried about uber but I think that'd be fine.

 

This trend is hitting a lot of cities. Here in Portland, OR, the city once claimed over 70 breweries within the city limit, now the number is closer to 60. There also were once over 60 breweries within a 4 mile radius of the convention center, and 100 within 10 miles, this is now more like 50 within 4 and 85 within 10.

 

A big part of the problem is that there are too many people on the planet. The population increase has led to many positive things but also to many negative things. An increase in homelessness and poverty are two of the negatives.

 

If you don't like population increases, wait until you see what the forecasted declining population brings. The impacts are already visible in places like Japan and they are coming to all of the first world nations as family sizes get smaller.

 

I heard there's a 3rd party candidate who's polling in the double digits... But we probably should leave it at that lest the thread gets off topic

 

I'm going to go with "not a declining beer city," at least until my return visit this July.

Is anyone willing to point out top breweries to drag a family to? I've got adult kids who don't drink beer (but a daughter who will enjoy a cider or glass of wine), a full family that loves healthy food and the outdoors. And they're willing to go to a brewery or two because they know it will make this guy happy for the day. And they have a dad/husband who is not fucking around about his lagers, IPAs, big stouts and sours.

 

Burial is family friendly. That place has food/beer/other beverages and great atmosphere.

 

I will echo what Miles said. I've lived in Asheville for 10 years and the homeless situation has always been an issue, it's nothing new. I've never once *knock on wood* felt like I was in any real danger walking around downtown and the bad neighborhoods are off the beaten path, so there's not much risk of tourists unknowingly walking down a sketchy street.

Also tourism being down is expected since it has been every year since COVID.

I live about a quarter mile from that Courtyard. Part of the reason there's so much riff raff on that stretch is because there's a drug rehab clinic behind the Ingles next to the tunnel. But I walk and jog around that area all the time and have never *knock on wood again* felt threatened in the least bit. The homeless around here are generally pretty docile compared to the horror stories I've heard about the homeless in the Bay Area of California and other places out West.

South Slope Downtown:

-Terra Nova just opened up their new space which was where Bhramari used to be. They have a solid core lineup of beers including plenty of great lagers plus a few one-offs here and there. The pizza they serve is also solid. Kyle the head brewer came from Green Man.

-Burial is still my favorite Asheville brewery and you can easily walk there from Terra Nova. They lean heavily toward IPAs (both hazy and otherwise), Imp Stouts and Sours but they always have a few good lagers on as well. It's also a hop, skip and a jump to TRVE that just opened in the old Eurisko space but every time I've gone in there they've been playing Black Metal pretty loud on the speakers, so not sure if that's the vibe you're looking for. They lean toward Hazies, Sours and Belgian ales

West Asheville:

-Cellarest is my favorite brewery in West Asheville. All their beers are rested on some type of wood, hence the "rest" in Cellarest. They always have plenty of lagers and low ABV options so it's easy to have a nice long session and not worry about getting too buzzed. They lean toward Lagers, Wild Ales and Belgians but always have at least one really good IPA on tap for the hopheads. Mark used to be in charge of Burial's sour program and was a brewer at Cascade in Portland, OR before that.

-Diatribe is the new brewery in the space where Upcountry used to be (and before that it was Altamont Brewing) and it's really good. Pretty usual fare: IPAs both hazy and otherwise, Lagers, Sours, Stouts. Neither here or Cellarest has food though, so just be aware of that. Also it's on the far end of the main drag of West Asheville so walking there from Cellarest is not really an option.

Biltmore Village:

-Hillman, as @ATL6245 said, has solid beer and in my opinion is the brewery with the best food in town and the service is impeccable even when it's super busy. Get the patty melt and thank me later. They have a very diverse menu too and actually don't really lean in one particular direction or another now that I think about it.

-Forestry Camp is Burial's high-end restaurant and the location where they produce their Wild ales. They have the same type of selection as the downtown taproom but normally have a few different options than downtown.

I could keep going, but those are the big can't-miss places in my opinion.

In regards to the thread title, Asheville is not a declining beer city but it is definitely a shifting beer city and kind of always has been. Just in my recs above I mentioned 3 different breweries that have reoccupied space from a brewery before them. More breweries are opening than closing though and, to my knowledge, we are currently still Beer City USA with the most breweries per capita.

 

Definitely didn't know there was a rehab clinic nearby that area. Cellarest is one I wished I had the chance to visit the last time I was there. They up my alley in terms of what I like and they have a good rep.

 

A new brewery just north of Asheville, Salt Face Mule Brewing, has become one of our "go to" venues. Beer game, and variety, is impressive for a brewery that opened last fall. Nice indoor and outdoor space, very good food, and not just the typical pub fair. Also, a full bar, cider's, wine, seltzer. For the outdoor, 36 hole mini-golf course, all combined with great service.

 

I agree. The head brewer there came from Harpoon and he knows what he's doing. The food is really good too. I've only been once though since I don't make it up to that part of town very often

 

Now we're talking. Just 11 minutes from our VRBO. What family doesn't want to play mini-golf while Dad gets hammered?

 

When you say outdoors and lagers, my first reaction is Zillicoah. It's a 10 minute drive from the South Slope area. On a nice day, you can sit on one of their picnic tables in the grass on the side of the river. It's pretty and peaceful near the water. They are also generally considered to be one of the highly regarded lager brewing companies in the area. It wouldn't be my personal first choice of places to get a beer, but our criteria are different (and the general reputation of their brewing is quite high).

If you like Sierra Nevada and don't mind the drive (or car service), another option is their Mills River facility. It'll take you a half hour on highways to get there, but as a visitor experience, it's in a totally different ballpark than a typical brewery (so it will be a unique experience at the least). As an architectural face for the company it's almost scary (the "malt Disney world" pun is fitting). Your family can enjoy the level of food in the taproom and the outdoor spaces. They have a lot of land... with nature trails and animals (I didn't personally experience any of it though). I would think that there's considerably more for your family to do, eat and see than at your average brewery. And for you they'll have beers outside of the usual distributed suspects... and different tours of various lengths if you are interested. One tour is even a guided 1.5 mile nature hike.