Asheville Area Brewery Guide

On our recent trip to Asheville, Josh and I checked out a ton of breweries.  Asheville has the largest per capita of breweries in the country.  Josh loves craft brews and brews himself so it was natural for us to make sure we checked out a lot of the local scene while we were there.

Overall we made it to ten breweries on our trip.  Here's a little run down on each one along with our favorites.

1. Lexington Avenue Brewery: Located in downtown Asheville, this was a great start to our brewery tour.  We grabbed lunch here and a few pints.  Josh thought the Eleanor Rye IPA was pretty good. Jen didn't prefer the honey wheat due to the sour notes from the belgian yeast. The layout of the restaurant with a huge round glass room in the middle holding the brewing room was impressive.The beer was good but neither of us were impressed enough to warrant making a second trip.

2. Green Man Brewery: One of Asheville's oldest breweries located downtown.  We stopped in here after lunch at L.A.B.  Green Man had a great pub atmosphere and was a nice little place to escape the cold. Josh tried the Seeing Double IPA from Foothills Brewery (see later note) for the first time here and it ended up being one of his favorites. Neither of us were huge fans of the british style of the Green Man's brews.

3. Wicked Weed Brewing: Both Josh and I loved the atmosphere at this place.  With a separate bar downstairs, you can get away from the casual dinners (or be a dinner without the beer crowd!).  The place was packed but we appreciated the quick service and the large beer selection.  They had an outside area which I bet is great in the summer months. There were five different IPA varieties and Josh enjoyed the "Freak of Nature DIPA" the best. Despite not being able to try them all, both of us agreed that this was probably the best of all the breweries we visited.

4. Wedge Brewing Company: This brewery is in the River Arts District and definitely reflects that.  The outside decor seemed to be a collection of whatever had been found at the local scrap yard put together with an artist's eye.  With no inside seating, you have to have a nice day to enjoy this brewery but the food trucks parked outside were a nice touch.

5. Asheville Brewing Company: Asheville's third oldest brewery is combined with a pizza restaurant and movie theater making it an unique experience.  We stumbled onto this one as it is located across the street from a growler store. Josh enjoyed a seasonal IPA that is nowhere to be found online but was better than their Shiva IPA.

6. Tipping Point Brewing: In Waynesville, this small brewery is more a restaurant than bar.  We stopped in for a light lunch and a few pints before heading to Bryson City.  The Punch In the Face IPA was more like a slap in the face at just 4.9%

7. Nantahala Brewing Company: In Bryson City, this brewery uses clean, crisp Great Smoky Mountain water from one of the purest, protected watersheds on the planet.  This brewery had one of the more unique set ups of all the breweries.  They were undergoing lots of construction to build multiple levels and places to hang out.  Its going to be a really great place to hang out come summer. There was a huge open area inside with a band stage and enough space to play a few games of cornhole. While the beers were good, this place probably came in second overall due to the ambiance.

8. Lookout Brewing: In Black Mountain, this nano-brewery specializes in IPA's and session beers.  This brewery was the smaller of the two in Black Mountain but our favorite.  The atmosphere was super relaxed and felt more like hanging out in a friend's garage than in a brewery. Their beer was reasonably priced and really good! Our only disappointment was they didn't have the usual number of IPA's (Josh's favorite) on draft due to a busy weekend and limited production capacity. Thankfully, halfway through the first pint, they brought in a beautifully crafted seasonal double IPA.

9. Pisgah Brewing Company: A local staple, this brewery was voted best brewery in Western North Carolina.  Pisgah specializes in brewing organic beer.  We weren't overly impressed with the beer or atmosphere of this place.  It was pretty quiet and dark inside and the bartender was a bit rude.  We mainly hit it up to be able to say we'd been there.

10.  Foothills Brewery: This brewery got thrown in the mix on a whim.  Located in Winston-Salem, we stopped in here for lunch on our way back from Asheville.  Despite feeling like a chain brewery, I think overall this brewery had a really well rounded selection of brews and a few fun seasonals to throw in the mix.  Josh fell in love with their Seeing Double IPA at the Green Man and ended up filling up a growler to take home.