On the Road - Asheville, NC

A few home brews and ciders to share with friends ready to travel

Hello All,
This weekend to celebrate the marriage of two close friends, I find myself in the very pretty, very touristy, and very beer friendly town of Asheville, NC. So many breweries are here, or very close to here, that I cannot even attempt to get a fraction of the local flavor, but ill do my best to get as much a feel as possible.


At the first function of the wedding festivities, at the reception dinner, the hosts provided a number of wines, soft drinks, and a wonderfully refreshing, organic Pisgah Endless Summer Ale. The beer started out stronger than it ended. From what i can recall, given the number of drinks I had over the night, This ale was light and crisp, minimal hoppyness with a slight fruitiness, and reminded me of a farm style ale whose name escapes me, that I overindulged in at a house warming a couple years ago, for the same couple being honored at this party. The first three where tasty, the 4th and 5th were okay, and by the sixth i needed something not so sweet and acidic (FYI, these were 6oz pours at best, so its not as if I was on a bender).

When the initial party wound down, though, we (being the groom to be and 7 others) hit a small brewpub called Jack of the Wood, or Greenman, depending on who you ask. Located a fair walk from the main strip where we started the evening, its a bit hidden, but quite a treasure, if you like dank, dark holes to sip suds (and I do). I had an ESB that was just okay, being very malt forward, with a light maple taste, and slight bitter backend. However the Cask Aged Pale Ale, that my friend Scott had, was amazing.

One thing that Ashville has over Atlanta, is the option to walk out of bars with growlers, 64oz monsters of beer, for post pub enjoyment. While my wife picked up Greenman's IPA at a supermarket for me, I will have to see if I can find my way back to this brewery to give that pale ale a home in the Dirty Dirty.

 I wish I had more to tell you from the night, but after a quick pint, the night devolved into stock bachelor party depravity of cheap beer, shots, and tits.

Looking to the future, I am already planning a birthday weekend of beer drinking and pub crawling in this upstate hamlet, where things are on the slow end, and really my speed.

Prost!