Beer trip to Asheville, NC - looking for recommendations on "must-sees"

Im planning a beer-cation to Asheville, NC for my buddies b-day in 2 weeks.

Below are some places i was thinking about visiting. Does anyone have any recommendations of places I must go or I hould skip or anything else not listed?

We are driving up from atlanta, but would like to drive as little as possible from then on so if someone could recommend a hotel it would be greatly appreciated.

Lexington Avenue Brewery
Jack of the Wood
Barley's Taproom
Hannah Flanagan's
The Bier Garden
Craggy Brewing Company
Thirsty Monk
Bruisin' Ales
Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company
French Broad Brewing Co
Highland Brewery
Brewscruise.com tour

Well, there's only two on the list I can speak to (as a fellow Atlantan)...

Brusin' Ales was kind of cool, but I think if you've been to Hop City in Atlanta, Brusin Ales will let you down. He has a few beers that you can't get here, some local, some not, but the place is about 1/5 the size of Hop City.

Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company was ok. The food was not great, but the beer was decent and they have a pretty inexpensive sampler that is a good value.

my .02...

Thats good info and the type of stuff I was looking for! Keep 'em coming.

Atl300zx said:

Im planning a beer-cation to Asheville, NC for my buddies b-day in 2 weeks.

Below are some places i was thinking about visiting. Does anyone have any recommendations of places I must go or I hould skip or anything else not listed?


Lexington Avenue Brewery
Barley's Taproom
The Bier Garden
Craggy Brewing Company
Thirsty Monk
Bruisin' Ales
Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company
French Broad Brewing Co

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Ive been to Asheville many many times. I adjusted your list!

Thirsty monk is the #1 stop!
French Broad makes some good stuff. The owner also owns the LHBS in asheville.

http://www.downtowninnandsuites.com/

This place is cheap, and 1 block from Jack of the Wood & the Thirsty Monk.

I hvent been to Craggy or Lex.

I go to Barleys, Monk, French Broad & Brusin ales everytime I'm there. Ashe. pizza is a neat place too.

Asheville is a really, really cool town.

I live in Asheville, hopefully I can help. I would suggest hitting the Thirsty Monk for sure, they have all Belgian beer on the bottom floor and American microbrews on the second. One place that is a must, is the Wedge Brewery. They make great beer and are minutes from downtown. Stop by Barleys, they have a great selection. If you go on the Brewscruise, they will get you to French Broad Brewery, and Asheville Pizza. For a hotel, the Battery Park Hotel is in the middle of downtown and the Ramada Renaissance is a very short walk as is the Indigo Hotel. Stay away from the Days Inn downtown.

Subscribe...im a 3hr drive and debating heading over.

great stuff. im gonna book the hotel tomorrow most likely, keep the suggestions coming.

I stayed at the Renaissance on Woodfin. It was a great hotel with a great location. Literally a 3-5 minute walk to Barley's.

As far as beer bars go:

My favorites: Barley's, Jack of the Wood, Thirsty Monk; all must-see in my book. I didn't visit Asheville Pizza and Brewing, but I hear great things. If you don't mind driving a little, definitely visit Pisgah.

DON'T VISIT: Bier Garden - the service is horrendous, the selection is just okay, when you do actually see a server they are dicks.


EDIT: I also want to add that The Mellow Mushroom in Asheville kicks serious ass, and has a pretty good local selection. They are even closer to the Renaissance hotel than Barley's, so it goes without saying that we found ourselves here more than once.

NCBeernut said:

If you don't mind driving a little, definitely visit Pisgah.

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I forgot about them! The firewater IPA was pretty damn good and the Pisgah pumpkin ale I had was good (for a pumpkin ale)... of course, it's seasonal - I had it on draught at Asheville Pizza.

Grizzlybrew said:

I forgot about them! The firewater IPA was pretty damn good and the Pisgah pumpkin ale I had was good (for a pumpkin ale)... of course, it's seasonal - I had it on draught at Asheville Pizza.

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IIRC, Firewater IPA is a Catawba Valley brew, also a solid brewery that you don't really see outside of western NC. I had an oak aged version and it was pretty good.

I have toured the Highland Brewery in Asheville and had fun. All the free samples you can drink, play some cornhole, and hang with the friendly staff.

NCBeernut said:

IIRC, Firewater IPA is a Catawba Valley brew, also a solid brewery that you don't really see outside of western NC. I had an oak aged version and it was pretty good.

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You're right. I was mixing them up. I think I saw some things for Pisgah, but, you're right, I can picture the Catawba Growler sitting at home right now.

I just made my first trip to Asheville recently for a bachelor party. We went on the bruise cruise and had a great time. Pisgah is def worth checking out. The Valdez is incredible! We didn't make it to wedge, but def will on the next stop. Craggy was ok, Lexington avenue was pretty cool, but I can't remember the beer. Jack of the Wood was a good stop and it's right across the street from the Thirsty Monk which was also pretty cool. We also went to Asheville Brewing, and the brewer there was really cool and let us hang out while he was working. We stayed at the Downtown Inn since all we did was sleep there. It was fine if that's all your doing there. We crammed a lot of action into one night for sure and am very much looking forward to going back. Enjoy your trip!

All the best beer places have already been mentioned. I love Mellow Mushroom, but their headquarters is in Atlanta, so Barley's is a better choice for pizza and beer. I've done the brewery tours at Highland and Pisgah. Highland is free, although they ask that you donate to their food bank. Good solid beer, when I went, they were opening a bier garden where they would sell beers after the tour. Haven't been back so I've no idea if they are still doing it.

Pisgah is probably the highlight. Great organic beers, always have evening entertainment, and just outside Asheville in Black Mountain. If you stay in downtown Asheville and want to hit as many places as possible, you'll miss out on Pisgah, but their beer is on tap all over the city. This reminds me that I need to take a road trip up when the weather gets warmer. Asheville's beer scene rules.:rockin: