Catawba Brewing Company: Another Look

My fellow beer blogger, Mia Pedersen, began our series with her grand opening day assessment of the new Catawba Brewery on Asheville’s “South Slope” (http://ashevilleblog.com/a-taste-of-catawbas-new-brewery/).  Our intent is to provide friendly beer banter, fully expecting that the weekly beer world perspectives of a female in her early twenties and this “ol’ man” might not always mesh.  We’ll provide insight to various beer-related fests and events, as well as reviewing the brews we sample.  We hope you enjoy our differences as we both report on Asheville’s ever-exciting craft beer news, sometimes lauding great praise while at other times taking-to-task those who deserve it.

I visited Catawba’s brewery not just once, but twice this past week.  On both occasions, beertender Micah Pulleyn (also well known for her stupendous beer event planning, including Funk Asheville) served me at the smaller specialty bar in what I will refer to as the “grand hall” (chandeliers and all) leading from the expansive main brewing and bar area to the outdoor patio.  Like Mia, I opted to try the specialty brews she did, but also added one more.  My tasting notes are a bit more detailed, but I was surprised that we didn’t differ much in our overall impression of those beers.

The Lactobacillus-infused Sour Zombie (6.8%ABV; 2 years in Jack Daniels barrels) has a tart, refreshing front end, but only “sour” in the same sense that a Berliner weisse would also be considered a sour beer…so perhaps using sour in the name prompts a mistaken impression.  Notes of peach and citrus prevail in this derivation of their White Zombie Belgian White style.

Dark fruit notes and Bourbon barrel-induced oak and chocolate enhance the Brown Bear (7%ABV; 7 months in Heaven Hill barrels), a barrel-aged version of their always-available 5.2% English-inspired brown ale, but is still an otherwise light-bodied brown ale.  The barrels had previous held their Jack Knife sour, lending to its mild acidity.

The aptly-named (but lacking any ingenuity) Blueberry Stout (6.7%ABV; 1.5 years in Claremont Springs Bourbon barrels) produced the expected fruity nose, but my taste-buds found the blueberries initially almost overly-balanced by the roasty qualities of a charred barrel.  Eventually, the intensity of this fruity concoction improved both in aroma and taste as it warmed.

Mia’s four choices didn’t include this one, but the “king” of all hooligans, my King Hooligan (11.4%ABV; 2 years in Jim Beam barrels) tasting pour produced flavors of Bourbon, chocolate and toffee in this more intense – but not boozy – version of their 8% Hooligan “wee heavy” Scotch ale.  I found the aroma captivating as the beer warmed, but the flavor and body didn’t show the same strength.

And the big finish, Catawba’s Belgian Quad (14.4%ABV; 3.5 years in Biltmore Estate Cabernet Sauvignon barrels) was like figgy pudding in a glass…then drizzled with sherry.  This compex cabernet barrel-aged quadruple promotes a slight alcohol burn on the initial nose, then both aroma and brew soften (in a good way) as it warms.  Intense, and perhaps a little too much heat for me as springtime temps arrived (this is a perfect slow-sipping firepit nitecap), but still my fave of the five.

On another occasion, I did also have a few small pours at the main bar, selecting four brews I hadn’t sampled before (and to my knowledge are mostly available on draft, but not packaged).  The Nose is a “session” IPA (4.75%) that I think is a solid entry into that lower-alcohol niche category.  RED-iculous Red IPA (6%) produced a balance of hops and malt backbone, but wasn’t a favorite compared to other craft breweries producing a like-style beer.  Black Dome Stout (6%) showed a nice chocolaty-roastiness, but drank a little too thin for me.  Pay-Dirt Double Black IPA (8.5%) was to my taste the best of this bunch, with chocolate malts adding dark roasty notes to an unmistakably hop-centric brew.

Refer to Mia’s linked article for location and hours details…and enjoy this new brewing gem of the South Slope.