Tag Archives: Asheville Beer

Imagine calling a business meeting on a Sunday, in the morning, without serving coffee. Then add instructions: Don’t eat breakfast or drink coffee before arriving, and IF you brush your teeth, make it at least an hour before you arrive. As the group leader, you’d rightly expect attendance to hover near zero. But there is a time and place where everyone shows up. Hungry and uncaffeinated, employees arrive at Highland Brewing Company for one Sunday morning assignment: deciding the flavor profile for this year’s batch of Cold Mountain Winter Ale.

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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. announced two new products to hit the market in Q1 2017: Sidecar Orange Pale Ale and Tropical Torpedo IPA.  With nearly 5,000 craft breweries in operation in the United States, Sierra Nevada ranks third in annual volume with products like Pale Ale and Torpedo IPA leading the charge.  “Innovation is part of our DNA,” says Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada.  “36 years ago we changed the way Americans look at hoppy beer with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  In 2017 we’ll be doing it again, with fresh takes on beer styles that we helped pioneer: pale ale and IPA.” 

Sidecar Orange Pale Ale is the perfect accompaniment to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  Made with orange peel and bold, citrus-heavy hops, this 35 IBUs and 5.3% ABV addition is a refreshing twist on the classic pale ale.

Using the proprietary dry-hopping device – the “Hop Torpedo” – Sierra Nevada is able to control how much hop aroma is infused into beer without adding additional bitterness.  Tropical Torpedo IPA is prime for new drinkers entering the craft beer market via the IPA style.  “A lot of the excitement is coming from IPA styles utilizing intense aromatic hops that deliver notes of exotic fruits," says Brian Grossman, second generation brewer for Sierra Nevada.  “The rush of hop flavor and lush aromas of mango, papaya and passionfruit awaken your senses with our most adventurous IPA yet.”  This IPA has no fruit added and weighs in at 6.7% ABV and 55 IBUs, making it a truly sessionable beer fit for a variety of drinking occasions.

Sidecar Orange Pale Ale will be available January 1, 2017, in 6- and 12-pack 12 oz. bottles at retail and on draught in the on-premise.  Tropical Torpedo IPA launches January 1, 2017, in 6-pack 12 oz. bottles only, with draught to follow late Q1.

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A Highland Brewing Company perennial favorite, Thunderstruck Coffee Porter, is back this October with two coffee infusions. The lightly caffeinated, cool weather beverage is a collaboration between Highland and Dynamite Roasting Company. After an August 12th tour of Dynamite Roasting and a primer on coffee tasting basics, the Highland brewing team got down to business and participated in a “cupping” to determine what roasts and varietals Highland wanted to include in this year’s recipe. The cupping practice, guided by Dynamite owner Andy Gibbon, involves a multi-step process of steeping, smelling and audible slurping (the louder the better) to fully realize the coffees’ characteristics. “There are some really cool parallels in the sensory evaluation of coffee and beer. I’m now able to experience my second favorite beverage with the same amount of depth that I enjoy a good beer,” said Brewmaster Hollie Stephenson. After sampling several varietals, the fully amped group settled on a dark roast Mexican blend for the brew house addition, and a lighter Honduran blend for the post fermentation addition.

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In celebration of their 25^th anniversary and grand opening in Asheville, NC, the New Belgium Asheville brewing team is sending their first limited release, one-off beer out of New Belgium’s Asheville brewery to draft lines across North Carolina. The 25^th Anniversary Ale is an unfiltered citrus pale ale hopped like an IPA but at a drinkable 5.7% ABV. Beer fans can find the hoppy pale ale on draft at the Asheville Liquid Center now, and at taprooms across the state starting next week. 

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Sunday, September 18th at 1:00pm, HiWire Brewing will be releasing Batch #7 of their Single Barrel Series, as well as a small batch wild ale called Sour Heady Porter for $15 per bottle. The bottle release will start at 1:00pm at their South Slope Speciality Facility that solely produces Sour and Wild Ales.

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Gang of Blades Double IPA & Scythe Rye IPA Can Release 

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Wicked Weed Brewing has announced their expansion into the Washington DC and Northern Virginia markets beginning on Monday, September 12th. The Asheville, North Carolina based brewery will be launching their beers in these regions by hosting numerous tap takeovers and events in the areas.

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HiWire Brewing’s Hop Circus Experimental IPA Series was created to push the boundaries of what has become to be expected from HiWire, which is known for creating balanced and approachable ales and lagers. Each beer in this rotating series highlights a different combination of hops and malts to create one-of-a-kind IPAs.

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Nearing its 20th anniversary, Green Man brewery has evolved quite a bit from its humble beginnings as the first brewery in the “brewery district” of Asheville, the South Slope. Most recently its growth is marked by the opening of the Greenmansion in March and its first cans out in the market this Summer. The latest development is a 20th Anniversary Variety Pack of cans that will be hitting all 5 states in Green Man’s distribution footprint this Fall.   

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In early January 2016, Burial Beer Co. announced their plans for second brewery also located in Asheville, NC in addition to plans for a new side project. The brewery, which opened in 2013 with a one-barrel system, quickly outgrew the home-brew size brewery into a ten-barrel operation. Now, after operating for just over three years, the brewery will expand distribution to South Carolina, a move that follows closely on the heels of their announcement to expand into Georgia.

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