This past Saturday, February 27th, The Venue in Downtown Asheville was filled wall-to-wall with craft beer lovers, brewers, and entrepreneurs as they hosted the Asheville Beer Expo.  The Asheville Brewers Alliance invited about 30 breweries to this variation on a common beer festival.

Everyone loves Halloween - kids and adults alike can dress up and party for no particular reason, candy is readily available for those who ask, and parents can dig into their child's plentiful stash as soon as they slip into a sugar induced coma. Beer, like wine, can be paired with certain food items to enhance the overall flavor experience, and Halloween is no exception to the rule. Grab your favorite local craft beer, break open that candy stash, turn on your favorite horror flick, and settle back to indulge your senses and prepare for the rush that only comes with pairing alcohol and sugar. 

It's been a pleasantly exhausting ABW to this point. After the opening fest-focused weekend, the past few days have centered on many smaller tasting events and beer dinners, culminating in last night's Goose Island specialty beers tapping (2013 Lolita, 2014 Bourbon County Brand Barleywine, The Illinois) at Appalachian Vintner (745 S. Biltmore) and the Not So Big BIG Beer Fest at Thirsty Monk's future brewery location near Biltmore Village (92 Thompson St.), where that line-up even included the prized Westbrook Mexican Cake. But, with a few days left to go, I offer these few additional picks:

Blood, Sweat, and Beer: Quench your thirst with a craft beer documentary for Asheville Beer Week

On Sundays, in an odd tradition for a beer purveyor, Asheville's Burial Brewery hosts brunches. I sampled their 'Cajun-inspired' offerings recently.

Saturday April 11 @ 2PM Burial will open their taproom but it won't be like every other Saturday. This marks the unveiling of their beer garden.

Three more days left of beer week 2014 folks! As a continuation of our beer week series, we are going to introduce you to a drinking game called AnimaL. This fast paced thinking game requires you to be quick on your feet and with your words. This is an ideal drinking game to be played as an icebreaker with a group of new friends. Grab some growlers, shot glasses, and your beer of choice and let's play AnimaL!

The answer, of course, is: anywhere. Anywhere there’s beer. In the kitchen, the living room, even in the bathroom. Ashevilleans love their beer, and with good reason: it’s fresh and tasty and makes a persuasive case for moving here.