Tag Archives: beer

Westville Pub attracts a fun crowd on Tuesdays with their Blues night. The Westville All Stars headline, and other folks interested in jamming are welcomed up to play. The music starts at 10 P.M., but the sound checks start earlier. If you’re there around 9, you may get to hear Somewhere Over the Rainbow sung in a grizzly ‘ol bluegrass voice while the mics and instruments are tuned up. The crowd is eclectic, the music was hopping, and I haven’t had shrimp and grits that good since I was in Charleston! The space is comfortable and Westville Pub is an easy place to be. With a small dance area, a pool table in the back, and different places to perch, it’s no wonder West Asheville is proud to claim this neighborhood pub. If you’re free on a Tuesday, come dance and buy me a Magic Hat stout at Westville Pub on Haywood, and best of all, no cover charge!

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Oskar Blues Brewery, out of Colorado, has recently opened a facility near Asheville in Brevard, NC. The coolest part - they offer a TROLLEY that picks you up in downtown Asheville and takes you all the way to the brewery then brings you back to town as...

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Hello Beer and Now readers! I'm sorry there hasn't been much content here lately. I have big plans for the site though, so stay tuned.I'm afraid I have been spending quite a bit of time focusing on tiny houses. See, I started writing for two tiny house...

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Wicked Weed, Ashevilles’ newest taste topic who had originally intended to open on the 21st, welcomed A-Town to pull up a thirsty stool December 28th, 2012. And bring in the New Year they most certainly did, with 15 specialty craft made brews. Half American, half Belgian style ales, lagers, stouts and sours. The best part is they plan on having more to come throughout the year. I didn’t have a chance to find out what the staple beers were but I did get a taste of 7 delicious ales, all with Wicked Weeds wickedly clever titles: Freak double I.P.A. (8.4%) Dark age burbon stout (10.5%) Transgressor red (7.2%) Vixen cocoa stout (8.8%) Bedeviled golden strong (9.4%) Black angel cherry sour (5.6%) I was concerned at first that two guys from Dogfish Head wouldn’t have the flavor and style to compare to Ashevilles unique scene and culture. But gladly mistaken I was. This beer is on point. The freak double IPA hints at the 60/120 minute IPA but lacks the sweetness, which in my humble opinion, is a good thing. Citrus hops immediately punch me in the face and leave me wanting more right before noticing the subtle sweetness calming me back …

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I have been doing quite a bit of writing about beer, thanks for asking. Fortunately for me those posts are going up at Beer City Guide instead of here. So If you're looking for great new beer content from me, go there and check it out. While you're there, check out some of the other stuff. It is all good.

I am really enjoying these opportunities to check out breweries in the Asheville area. I've been able to review old favorites as well as brand new operations in the area.

Seriously, go read them. I might cry if you don't.

In the tiny glasses laid before me were the Porter, the ESB, a cask ESB, the IPA, and their summer seasonal Wheat. Our bartender, Autumn, declared the ESB the best beer but said that IPA was most popular. She did concede that it was popular for potentially all the wrong reasons – everyone (*cough* hipsters *cough*) wants to try IPAs even if they don’t like them. The ESB has been my favorite since I discovered it, though. It is a delicious example of a bitter beer with just the right caramel notes. I was surprised to find myself unimpressed with the cask ESB, however. I thought the regular tap was more complex while the cask tasted strongly of the caramel and chocolate with less hops coming through.

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The reason I have included a link over on the right for the Beer and Now UK is because I am writing for them!  This is super exciting for me mostly because of the way it happened. I was just minding my own business when I got an email from Andy in...

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Quitting my job and moving to Asheville to pursue writing full time has proven to be most advantageous. Among my favorite new projects is writing for the Asheville Beer City Guide.  Seriously, check it out!

I began my exploration of all that Beer Week has to offer by starting the day at Mellow Mushroom. At 11am Tuesday they offered specials on Southern Tier; all two styles available. I enjoyed a 2XIPA, but that wasn’t the most exciting part of the experience. Talking to a colorful gentleman visiting from Atlanta about jail and leather bondage gear was way more fun. There is no limit to the things you might discuss with strangers in Asheville.

There are several more projects that I am very excited about and I can't wait to share them with you!

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I just moved to the Asheville area on Wednesday, May 9th. The move had been planned, to one degree or another, for about three years so it is super exciting to actually be here and settled in.  You can read about that adventure here.Now that we're...

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I was reviewing my stats and learned that someone found this blog by Googling the words "How to make Zulu Beer."  My sincerest apologies as you would have discovered that you will not learn to do that here.  In fact, I should have titled the ...

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I recently tried a highly experimental home brew project.  As I explained before, the idea came from South Africa and a traditional Zulu beer that is made for celebrations. Because of our work with the Zulu Orphan Alliance in South Africa, I wante...

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