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| At the Pisgah brewery |
This past weekend Sally and I went to Asheville to visit
family. Of course the real reason was to visit some of the breweries in this
“Beer City” mecca. (Just kidding kids.) We didn’t have much time so we passed
up the Highland Brewing Company, the home of a nice IPA called Kashmir IPA (1).
We had quite a few pints of that tickle our throats in past trips and we were
anxious to try some others.
Ever notice how you can tell you are in an authentic brewery
by the beards, hats and attitudes of the people who work there? Well, the three
we visited were no exception. And I have noticed over the years how many craft
breweries are located in out-of-the-way old warehouses. Hard to find but worth
the effort. So we started our quest looking for the French Broad brewery in
Asheville. Sure enough: old warehouse and not easy to find. Beards, hair etc.
We tried several brews including the Wee Heavy-er Scotch Style Ale, Anvil Porter and the IPA, and the Ryehopper Rye Pale Ale. They were all nice to the
pallet, the Porter particularly smooth, but the IPA was just a little sweet at first taste so the Ryehopper got our "IPA" nod. No
surprise huh?
Next we stumbled on the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company (2). Situated
in an old building in down town Asheville on a side street makes it hard to
stumble on. Usual folks in evidence. We sat in the outdoor seating area and
while we drank our brews we were treated to an animated game of “Corn
Hole”. We only tried the Shiva IPA since
we were well on the way to happiness when we arrived, and were not
disappointed. Nice color, head and at 69.3 IBU a nice long hoppy finish.
Next day, Sunday, we set out for the Pisgah Brewing Company in Black
Mountain, N.C. Hard to find, warehouse, beards, the whole nine yards. We got
there about 15 minutes before they opened, but got in and started on the IPA.
Nice. Really nice. They were out of Wet Hop Ale, a fresh hopped ale that I
really wanted to try, but the IPA was enough. They also had a Framboise
Lambic on tap that was very tasty (not theirs, but an import). After a few
pints we wended our way home to get ready for dinner and whatever. In a really
surprising turn of events, the Italian place we went to for dinner, Nona Mia
Ritrovo, had a brewery, the Altamont Brewing Company, in the adjacent
space. Not theirs, just another craft brewery. We didn’t have time to sample
their wares, but will put that on the list for next time. All in all, Asheville well deserves the title “Beer City USA”.
1. http://www.highlandbrewing.com/craft-brews/style/kashmir-ipa
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