Asheville, NC-based Hi-Wire Brewing announced Monday it was beginning a statewide distribution rollout in South Carolina, the first state outside of North Carolina to receive the brewery’s beer.
Tag Archives: Asheville
Green Man expands distribution to all of SC
After successful launches in the Upstate and Midlands, Asheville’s Green Man Brewery has expanded to statewide distribution across South Carolina.
Quest, Burial collaboration Calumet Strawberry Rhubarb Grisette coming April 23
Quest recently hosted the fine folks from Asheville, NC’s Burial for a collaboration brew day, the result of which will debut in the Greenville brewery’s taproom Thursday, April 23.
Holy City collaborates with SC, NC, GA breweries for Brewvival
If you’ve been following Brewvival’s Twitter account (and if you’re not, you really should), you’ve noticed they’ve slowly been releasing the beers and breweries that will be appearing at the festival. And there was quite an announcement Wednesday afternoon: Of the five beers Holy City will have on hand, four will be collaborations with regional breweries.
In addition to a Jack Daniels barrel-aged version of their Manuel Fantastico barleywine, HCB will also be offering the following:
- Holy Weed, an imperial IPA brewed in collaboration with Wicked Weed out of Asheville, NC. It’ll include green tea from the Charleston Tea Plantation.
- Sister City Saison, a farmhouse ale brewed in collaboration with Savannah’s Southbound Brewing Co. This one’s an imperial saison brewed with rose hips.
- Half Calf, brewed with Spartanburg’s RJ Rockers. It’s a coffee milk stout that includes coffee from Coastal Coffee Roasters in Summerville.
- Shades of Grace, a blend of HCB’s Graveyard Shiftee and NoDa of Charlotte’s Imperial Coco Loco. So, a massive imperial porter.
Brewvival will be held Saturday, February 22, at the field across from COAST. It will sell out.
Green Man launching in Upstate next January
Asheville’s Green Man Brewery will be launching in its first South Carolina market in early 2014.
Following news from the Greenville Beer Exchange last week that the North Carolina beer maker would be available in the area soon, Green Man announced it would begin distributing to the Greenville and Clemson markets starting January 2014. Expect to see their year-round IPA, ESB and Porter – all of which were recently released in six packs – as the first regular offerings.
Green Man started out as a brewpub in downtown Asheville in 1997 at what is now Jack of the Wood. It morphed into a full-fledged brewery in 2010 and is now located down from The Orange Peel and Wicked Weed off Biltmore Avenue, and around the corner from much-hyped upstart Burial Beer Co. They’ll join fellow Asheville breweries Highland and French Broad in the Palmetto State distribution system.
Destination: Asheville – Part 1
It’s hard to talk about beer destinations in the U.S. and not mention Asheville, NC. In the past few months, the hipster-friendly mountain town has snagged the East Coast operations of both Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, and won the title of Beer City U.S.A. for a third straight year. Not only is the city alone home to more breweries than some neighboring states have in their entirety, but it’s clean water and independent attitude make it a haven for beer geeks in the surrounding areas.
While it’s just about three hours away from Columbia, I’d never had the chance to make it up to Asheville until this past Saturday. A great concert at The Orange Peel happened to fall on a weekend when there were no wedding-related activities for my fiancee or me, so we decided to take a day trip and check out some of Asheville’s beer culture.
Our first stop of the day was Jack of the Wood, a Celtic-style pub in the heart of downtown Asheville. The original home of Green Man Brewery, Jack of the Wood has a relaxed rustic atmosphere, an impressive and inexpensive menu full of unique and local food, and a great selection of both local and guest beers. I opted for the duck and bacon burger with Sriracha aioli (!!!) and a Green Man IPA, a 6% American IPA with an earthy dank hop profile and a smooth maltiness. A great beer to start our journey.
Next up was a short drive out to Black Mountain, NC, home of Pisgah Brewing Company. Located in an unassuming industrial park – I thought my GPS had lied to me we had arrived – Pisgah pumps out organic brews that range from the standard IPAs and wheat beers to bacon stouts and coconut porters, all with certified organic ingredients. It’s a characteristic the brewery prides itself on, so much so that their logo is a play on the “Organic” stamp you see on foods. Additionally, they use only whole-leaf hops and no pellets, so the hop leaves steep like tea instead of dissolving and becoming part of the beer. That adds a lot of unique characteristics.
The taproom is located in a big, open warehouse with a stage and patio. With the weather being nice and warm on Saturday, the doors were thrown open and people came and went as they pleased.
My soon-to-be sister-in-law and her husband, who were married last weekend, were honeymooning in Asheville, so the four of us met up to tour the brewery and sample some of their offerings, including:
- Pisgah’s award-winning Pale Ale, a 5% American pale ale brewed Chinook and Nugget hops. It was crisp, hoppy and had a good bite to it. A real classic pale ale, and the beer that Ashevillians (is that right?) named their No. 1 beer of last year;
- Blueberry Wheat, which blended the refreshing smoothness of a wheat with an excellent sweet and tart flavor from the blueberry puree used while brewing;
- Endless Summer Ale, a blonde ale with a crisp and grassy taste and a really light and refreshing body;
- Solstice, their sneak-up-and-knock-you-on-your-ass tripel. At 9.5%, it had a huge ester and bubblegum note and a mellowed hop profile;
- Their standard American IPA. While my palate had been battered at that point, it still had a great piney hop profile from the six hops used while brewing and dry-hopping; and
- The Coconut Porter, also known as the Blind Pig Porter. The pound of coconut used while brewing was quite apparent, as were the creamy chocolate notes from the roasted malts.
Full of beer and food, my fiancee and I decided to head back to downtown Asheville to walk around for a bit. And walk we did – straight to Bruisin’ Ales. (What is a trip to Beer City U.S.A. without a chance to stop and stock up?)
I’ve heard a lot about what many consider Asheville’s go-to beer store from friends who have traveled through the city. I was expecting some expansive and cavernous store with beers as far as the eye can see, but of course, that’s about as un-Asheville as you can get. Instead, Bruisin’ Ales is a quaint and unintimidating spot in the heart of downtown with a great staff and an even greater selection of craft beer from near and far.
It should be noted that co-owner Julie Atallah was nice enough to stop and talk with me for a bit and give us a little liquid welcome to enjoy by browsing. But that hospitality in no way affected my thoughts that Bruisin’ Ales is a great beer store you should give all your money to.
This was only part of our day in Asheville. But you look like I need a drink, so stay tuned for part two.
