Archive for the ‘Beer Places’ Category

It’s officially one of our favorite weekends in the mountains: Brewgrass Festival Weekend! Many people missed out on tickets this year with an incredibly fast sell-out—something around 21 hours?—but there are still a few options for you happening now.

First, Explore Asheville is giving away four tickets total at 4pm today. Follow the instructions for a chance to win. Also, Asheville Brewing, on their Facebook page, is giving away one ticket (also at 4pm) for the best named infusion of Rocket Girl + a melon medley. Details on that here. If that doesn’t work for you, try the Brewgrass Facebook Page. Right now, there are more “needs” than “gots,” but might be worth a shot. And, in our experience, there are usually tickets being sold at the MLK Park gate on the day of the festival. Good luck!

Here are some special things leading up to the festival (most links to Facebook, for more frequently updated information):

Pre-Brewgrass Tasting at Bruisin’ Ales: Rick Tufts, head brewer of Triangle Brewing in Durham, NC will be here to launch his new canned beers. We’ll be sampling the Belgian White and Belgian Strong Golden Ales from 5-7pm. Be there.

Barley’s Taproom: Check out the Bruisin’ Tap downstairs,  always hand-selected by us for you. On now is the super-limited Founders Nemesis. That will probably change very soon, so stay tuned on that by following us on Twitter @bruisinales. There are a ton of local/regional pumpkin and Oktoberfest ales, so get those while you can, too.

The Thirsty Monk: The Monk is having a lead-up to the festival. Tonight at 6pm is a cask of Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard on oak chips. Friday night they tap a keg of Victory Saison du BUFF (with Dogfish Head and Stone Brewing). Saturday, after the festival, they’ll lighten it up with a cask of Dupont Pommeau Cider. And, Sunday, they’re cracking a case of Bell’s The Oracle Double IPA bottles.

Universal Joint (West Asheville): Make sure to check in at this spot. They’ve always got special kegs on deck, but announce last minute.

Finally, if you are attending the fest, be a respectful fest attendee, drink water to stay hydrated, and eat. The MALT Homebrew Club will be selling pretzel necklaces as a fundraiser, so be sure to visit their tent. And please remember, Bruisin’ Ales will be CLOSED ON SATURDAY for the Brewgrass Festival. We will re-open regular hours on Sunday, 12-4pm. Cheers! Happy festing!

The upcoming Blind Eye Beer Battle we’re co-hosting at Pack’s Tavern just got even better with the release of the food pairing menu. The event is a blind beer tasting of IPA’s and Porters. Cost per person if $30. Make reservations with credit card by calling Pack’s Tavern at (828) 225-6944.

IPA’s

• Lamb Kabobs- seasoned ground lamb formed around and fried with a cucumber dipping sauce
• Sweetbreads- poached in IPA and seared, orange and chili pepper reduction with grilled black pepper peaches
• Sausages and Grilled Granny Smith Apples with Lusty Monk Mustard
• Rosemary Corncakes with Grapefruit Syrup
• Ginger Granita (shaved ice palate cleanser)

Porter’s

• Cheese Board- Cabrales, Humboldt Fog with Local Honey
• Papperdel with lamb and mushroom ragout
• Scallop with Arugula and Blackberry Couli
• Coconut Granita

Sprecher Brewery from Wisconsin coming tomorrow
Yup, a classic from the original brewing city, Milwaukee, is hitting the shelves tomorrow. Welcome, Sprecher Brewing! We’re making our list and checking it twice today, including some of the Brewmasters Premium Reserve Series. Can I get a woot?

Tweet for beer at Bele Chere
The Mountain XPress is offering beer for tweets this weekend to help them cover Bele Chere. Basic rules are: Have five or more posts with the #belechere tag and/or upload pictures or videos and if they use either, show up at 3pm on Sunday at Asheville Brewing on Coxe and they will buy you a beer.

Foothills got label approval for more bottles
Beernews.org reports that Foothills Brewery got label approval for Hoppyum IPA, Torch Pilsner and Peoples Porter. While the post makes this seem imminent, beer spies tell us that bottles are at least a few months down the line. Look for them on our shelves later this year. *cross fingers*

The End of History
In the on-going-school-boys-on-the-playground-pissing-contest that is for “the world’s strongest beer,” Brewdog’s forthcoming The End of The World was leaked to the masses yesterday. The End of The World is the latest (possibly dumbest) incarnation by Scotland’s Brewdog. There are only 12 bottles being made at the cost of $800-$1,100 per bottle …with the actual bottle stuffed into road kill converted to a bottle vessel by a taxidermist. Wait, what? Yup, not joking. You can’t make this crap up. The best news, in my humble opinion, is that Brewdog states this is the last in their high ABV experiments, and thank god, already. We like the brewery, we love their marketing, but we’re 100% over the hype. Hopefully, they’ll return to brewing beer now instead of scouring the Scottish Highlands for dead squirrels.

Everyone’s an entrepreneur
A homeless man broke into a Northern California bar and reopened it, posing as the new owner. A+ for ingenuity, but ultimately, still a failing grade.