Doing the drive from Philadelphia to Asheville, via Charlottesville, in July, and I was hoping you guys could answer a couple of questions to help me plan the best route. 1. Blue Mountain vs. Devils Backbone. What is everyone's preference as far as beer, food, scenery? Probably going to hit one of these for lunch on a Tuesday before checking in to our hotel in Charlottesville. 2. Wednesday route is looking like Charlottesville > Foothills (lunch) > Olde Hickory > Fonta Flora > Asheville. Seem reasonable? And which OH spot would you say is best, the Tap Room? The web site was like going back in time, haha. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions before the trip, so any help is appreciated. Thanks!
For Olde Hickory, the tap room is always nice, but Olde Hickory Station will likely have anything they have on tap, if not more, and they have decent food as well. Tap room is just down the street, so can be a game-time decision. Only issue I could see with your day 2 is opening times for everything and making sure that order would work. Sounds like a blast though! South slope in Asheville should be awesome with not too many people on a Wednesday night. Cheers!
Thanks @rushRGB. Looks like Foothills and OH are both open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Wednesdays, and Fonta Flora opens at 5 p.m. Tentative plan would be lunch at Foothills from, say, 1 to 2:30 p.m., get to OH around 3:45 p.m., hang out for a bit and then drive over to FF. If Google's off on those hours or the drive times, let me know. We'll be in Asheville for three nights before leaving for Roanoke on Saturday (a wedding there is the reason this trip is happening). Looking forward to spending some quality time down there.
@TambaTime I think you're looking at the site for OHB that shows the Tap Room and Station (they both are just in town up the street from and not the actual brewery). Not sure when/if the actual "tap room" in the brewery is ever open. Between the two, definitely go the Station. Very solid tap list. Your timing for Foothills to Hickory to Morganton sounds perfect.
Personally I prefer Blue Mountain, but both have solid beer and good food (though I like both the beer and food from Blue Mountain better). Solid routing, should be dead on for time. OHB Station and OHB Taproom are across a parking lot from each other basically. The Station has a better beer list and generally better food, though the menus are different and I get a hankering for some of the Taproom items occasionally. In case you want to try it out, Amos Howards is also owned by OHB and is actually the original brewery. They still use it to do a small portion of their brewing on occasion. It's west of Hickory on US70 going towards Morganton and Fonta Flora, though I40 is the faster route. The brewery itself is never open in that sense. They open it up for bottle releases and beer competitions and the like, but at the moment the tap room inside the brewery is for employees and the occasional friend since there's a couple changes they'd have to make before opening to the public.
1. I too prefer the food as well as the beer of Blue Mountain. Their pizza is outstanding and if it's not that I get the Spicy Thai Burger or the Creole Cuban Press. Views are excellent as well. The outdoor area at DBB is very nice since they completed the recent build and beer is good but BMB tops it for me. On your way back to CVille from either you choose there is Pro Re Nata literally less than a 1/4 mile off 64 (exit 107). Once you get into CVille there are 4 breweries that will be open Tues as well. All within 1 mile of one another. Champion and Three Notch'd are the best IMO. South Street is owned by the same people who own Blue Mountain. Excellent food and their beers very solid as well.
1. More beers on tap at Devils Backbone vs. Blue Mountain. Food is probably a toss-up. Both places are beautiful (though it's going to be hot in July). I may prefer BMB in autumn (for nostalgia as much as anything) but, as others above have suggested, both places are phenomenal on that front. The deck at Bold Rock Cider is stunning as well and it's between BMB and DBB (though closer to Devils Backbone). 2. I would recommend the OHB Station over the OHB Restaurant or Brewpub or whatever it is across the street. I made the mistake of going to the latter earlier this year and then walked across to the Station and regretted my choice. Obviously, the OHB beer quality is the same in both places but I was incredibly underwhelmed by the service in the restaurant. Your mileage may vary, as the young people are wont to say ... Cheers; safe travels!
Skip Foothills food, get a pint of BASC then get down the road Hickory Station. Much better food. I live in Winston and avoid eating at Foothills. Went there for lunch when reg Sexual Chocolate came out and they served my friend ice cold mashed potatoes. Went on black Friday, no one in the restaurant and it took an hour to get a couple sandwiches.
I would add to the votes for Blue Mountain over Devils Backbone. I like the beer and food better at blue mountain. Plus its a little easier on the wallet. The view is probably better at Blue Mountain (watched a cool storm roll up about a year ago), but there is probably more going on at Devils Backbone outdoors. Would second the Pro Re Nata visit. I stopped in last fall shortly after they opened and thought they were off to a good start. If you have time and a driver you can easily hit all of the 151 breweries (Wild Wolf hasn't been mentioned), 2 cideries (I tend to prefer blue toad's cider (plus its harder to come by) but the deck at bold rock is cool), and distillery.
Thanks for the input, everyone. I'm definitely leaning toward Blue Mountain now, especially since it will save us 40 minutes in the car going to/from Devils Backbone, which might be nice after the drive from Philly. Pro Re Nata looks promising as well. Who knows, if we're up for it, maybe we'll end up hitting all three. But thanks again for helping me prioritize if we're just ready to trade in the wheels for our feet at that point. I'm guessing BASC will be long gone from taps come mid-July, but I'll be trying to trade for some for sure.
Another vote for BMB. More interesting, and slightly higher quality beers IMO (especially if you want something other than the German style lagers that DB does so well). BM also has tremendous food and one hell of a view. Do yourself a favor and get the bratwurst and apple pizza. Local bratwurst, apples, caramelized onions, and a balsamic drizzle. All of the food is outstanding, but this particular pizza is life changing.
Sorry I misread the date for your trip. Let me know if you can't land a bottle, could always work out an IP trade.
That pizza is really good. buyer beware, you can probably feed +4 from their pizzas (not sure why they don't offer a 1/2 size or something), actually had a server warn us that the pizzas are big (apparently people have complained in the past).
