Beer

 New Belgium Brewing is getting closer to opening their Asheville facilities with an 80-person team that is just over half way built. The 100% employee owned company made their first two Asheville hires co-owners at their annual retreat this summer, will hire approximately 40 additional positions before opening next spring. Additional positions will be hired through full build out over the next handful of years.

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Starting the second week of September, Hi-Wire Brewing will begin pouring its ales and lagers outside of North Carolina for the first time. The launch of their products into South Carolina comes on the heels of the opening of their 27,000 square foot Big Top facility (2 Huntsman Place, Asheville, NC 28803) in July, which greatly increased the production of their flagship and quarterly released seasonal ales and lagers.

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Hi-Wire Brewing has gone through incredible growth in a very short amount of time. The barely two year old brewery started with a small taproom in the South Slope area of downtown Asheville. Last month they opened a second location, a 27,000 square foot building that will take their 2015 production from 6,000 barrels to 10,000 barrels. With the opening of this new location, the South Slope Taproom was converted into Hi-Wire’s experimental brewery. A new brewer, Johnathan Parks, was brought on to run this specialty arm of the brewery and has developed a new series of beers, The Farmhouse Series.

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Sanctuary Brewing Company officially opened their doors Saturday, August 22nd at 1 pm. Owners Joe Dinan and Lisa McDonald were ecstatic to share their hard work with friends and family this past weekend. Only the second brewery to open in Hendersonville, Sanctuary has 15 beers and one cider currently on tap. In addition to beer, the brewery offers craft soda from Virgil's and Boylan, as well as small range of vegan friendly foods from Roots Hummus, No Evil Foods, and Edible Musings. 

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A steamy summer Saturday night in July.  A local waves farewell to his friends at the River Cleanup, jumps on his bike and heads to the Wedge for a sunset beer on the patio with the gang. Visitors from far and wide are finishing up at the Biltmore House ascending on Wicked Weed. The line out the door does not mean it is the only brewery in town.  The mugginess of this July day is swept up by a mountain breeze whipping across Lexington Ave up along Woodfin Ave and over Broadway. I lift my head back to take in the cooling relief while gazing up at the whisping straw of the tiki umbrella.

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On tap now at Catawba Brewing are two new barrel aged beers, the Imperial Stout and Brett Red Ale. You can grab a pint or flight at either of Catawba's two Asheville locations, in Biltmore Village or the South Slope.

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Wicked Weed has shot up like, well, a weed. This almost three year old business has opened as many facilities in just as many years. Starting out with the flagship location on Biltmore Avenue, expanding to the Funkatorium located on Asheville's South Slope, the team now is brewing at their new production facility in Candler. Wicked Weed first introduced their new 40,000 square facility earlier this year with a groundbreaking ceremony, where they outline their plans to brew, bottle, and sell their beloved beer to the Asheville masses. The new facility will not only bottle and brew, but in late 2016 the tasting room should be available for the general public to come and imbibe in one of the many Wicked brews.

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New Belgium Brewing will minimize the number of their shuttle trucks traveling Haywood Road in West Asheville, directing outbound shuttle trips traveling from the brewery to their Enka distribution center (DC) to use Riverside Drive north. Inbound shuttle trucks will use Haywood Road, as the turning radius from Riverside Drive onto Craven Street going south does not allow for incoming trucks to use that same route. The brewery is leasing custom trailers that are 12” shorter in height to navigate the railroad trestle bridge on Riverside Drive north of Craven Street, and will continue to use that route as long as it is navigable, or until City roadway improvements get underway in that area. The City of Asheville committed to minor adjustments to the Craven Street and Riverside Drive intersection to enable trucks to navigate the community’s preferred route and help alleviate traffic in that area.

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Lisa Klepzig was a family practice nurse for twenty years, but has been known for years as the chocolate expert by her friends, showing up to holiday parties and feasts with loads of chocolates to share with her friends. Five years ago, she started The Chocolate Lab, but this year, she and her husband Kier decided to take it to the next level. She worked on her recipes and began to incorporate local beers into her truffles. She was invited to display her wares at the Asheville Wine and Food Festival, where she crossed my path, and this month has opened up her very own chocolate shop in north Asheville: The Chocolate Lab.

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Hi-Wire Brewing opened their new Biltmore Big Top tasting room and brewing facility Saturday, July 25^th and I was very glad to be there for a truly incredible grand opening. Hi-Wire showed everyone a fantastic time with circus performers, free tours of the facility, food trucks and a handful of beers created just for this night!

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