Archive for the ‘Coming Soon’ Category

Another Carolina brewery will launch next Thursday TODAY in Asheville: Mother Earth Brewing from Kinston, NC. Owner Trent Mooring and Brewmaster Josh Brewer (great name, eh?) will be coming along to chat beer and put beverages in your hands. The evening starts with a tasting at the humble storefront from 5:00-7:00 p.m. followed by four Mother Earth taps at The Thirsty Monk. Please join us, beer people, as we welcome a new North Carolina brewery into the mountains! We had the great opportunity to share a beer with Brewmaster Josh way back in late 2009 and we’re excited to have him back.

About the brewery: “Take the goodness of garden-grown products, the warmth of small town life, the earthy ethic of rock ‘n roll, a deep respect for a time-honored craft…and you have the ingredients of Mother Earth Brewing. Born in the summer of 2008, Mother Earth is the dream-child of Stephen Hill and Trent Mooring, two guys from Kinston, North Carolina, a sweet southern town in the heart of the old tobacco belt.”

Endless River Kölsch
“A clean, crisp beer, Kolsch offers a very slight fruity flavor and aroma. It is light gold in color, with a delicate head. This light-bodied beer appeals to nearly everyone who samples it. Expect to enjoy a slight tang in the finish.”

Weeping Willow Wit
“This beer style is over 400 years old, and continues to enjoy overwhelming popularity. Offering low hop bitterness, it is easy to enjoy. It pours very hazy, with a light gold color… we say it’s like summertime in a glass. Bitter orange peel and fresh coriander add zest and depth to this refreshing beer.”

Dark Cloud Munich Dunkel
“Steeped in a long history dating back hundreds of years, this “old-fashioned” beer is again in vogue. Lager is the German word meaning “to store,” so this beer ages three times longer than our ales do. “Dunkel” means dark in German, but don’t let the color fool you, it is by no means heavy, overbearing or bitter. In fact, it proves to be a very drinkable session beer.”

Sisters of the Moon IPA
“Made with hops grown in the good ‘ol USA… you’ll proudly support American farmers when you drink this beer! Light copper in color, it has an intense hop aroma and strong hop bitterness. Our hopback process uses fresh hop cones to take this IPA to unexpected places. Prepare for a mouthful of flavor.”

Jimi Rentz, owner of Barley’s Taproom in Asheville, gave us a really awesome opportunity: Our own tap downstairs! The Bruisin’ Ales Tap will be a regular feature from here on out of rare, limited, cool, and delicious brews outside the local/regional circle. Mixing a little variety into your local brews… first up? Dogfish Head Red & White! We’re hoping it will go on the beginning of next week!

The following was sent to us by our friends at COAST Brewing in Charleston, SC. I know we’re going to try to make it, how about you? For a first-time venture into a planning a festival—something we can’t even imagine—this is top-notch stuff with top-notch speakers. But Jaime at COAST is pretty kick-ass, so this actually does not surprise us at all. Impressed!

COAST Brewing Company and The Charleston Beer Exchange collaborate to create “Charleston Brewvival”, a craft beer festival in North Charleston, South Carolina. Brewvival will consist of over thirty breweries, including both regional and national brewers, showcasing unusual and limited offerings.  Brewers and Brewery owners will be on hand to introduce their wares including key note speaker Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of Stone Brewing Co., one of the largest craft beer producers in the U.S. Charleston Brewvival takes place on Saturday, February 27th from Noon to 6pm at The Navy Yard at Noisette in North Charleston.

COAST Brewing and The Charleston Beer Exchange have decided to bring their unique areas of expertise and passion for promoting quality beer drinking to a festival, celebrating the growth and continued experimentation within the craft beer segment.

“I’ve been really impressed with the trajectory of South Carolina over the past few years”, says Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Co. and Key Note Speaker of the festival.

“The team effort of the local brewing community and important events like Brewvival have set the stage for a world-class craft beer scene.  Personally, I’m looking very forward to attending the event and sharing beers in the beautiful state of South Carolina!”

For additional information including ticketing, transportation and accommodations see www.charlestonbrewvival.com or call (843) 577-5446.

Asheville’s neighbors in Hendersonville will be getting their own craft brewery this spring—Appalachian Craft Brewery. Currently operating in Fletcher, Appalachian Craft will will be moving to a spot in the 7th Avenue area of downtown which will include a tasting room, flat-screen TV’s and an outdoor patio. Though we don’t see Andy and Kelly often, we’re super happy for this husband and wife team. Moving to Hendersonville is smart and will definitely be more of a draw for beer people. Full story from the Times-News here. Hendersonville Epicurean also has an update (reprinted with permission):

Hinted at previously, announced today in the Hendersonville Times-News is that Appalachian Craft Brewery is in final negotiations to lease a space in the “7th Ave area”. They’re planning a facility that includes a production space, a tasting room and an outdoor patio.

The above Logo is not real, it’s been edited by Hendersonville Epicurean because I’m so excited they’re moving to Hendersonville! Yippee!!

It looks like the brewery is working on their website, so bookmark it for future reference.

Owners, Andy and Kelly Cubbin, currently have their wholesale facility located in Fletcher and have been quoted as looking forward to the move because, “We think Hendersonville is a great town and is a great place to move our business and family,” and “We think this is something Hendersonville needs.”

Appalachian Craft currently produces Black Bear Stout, an India Pale Ale and Copperhead Amber Ale. They’re planning at least six beer varieties in supply once it moves, including seasonal and specialty beers.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, Asheville beer people get to meet another beer “celebrity” when Ray Daniels comes to town. You can rank Ray right up there with Charlie Papazian with his incredible wealth of beer knowledge. Ray is in town to teach courses at the Grove Park Inn for Cicerone Certification Program. The Cicerone is the beer equivalent to a wine sommelier. In recent years with the resurgence of craft beer, there has been much debate as to what you call a true beer professional—the one that knows all things beer, inside-and-out. Daniels stepped to the challenge. Harvard educated with a storied career in beer (and marketing), Daniels has worked previously for the Real Ale Fest in Chicago and The Brewers Association before creating the Cicerone Program in 2007.

There is no other person in recent years whom we’ve heard more about that Daniels. He’s been called “the most educated man on beer” for one thing. And we have a special treat for you Asheville beer geeks. We’re hosting Ray in-store next Tuesday, January 19 starting at 6:30 p.m. for a meet-n-greet, so all you fanatics, homebrewers, and beer lovers should not miss this opportunity.

More on the program: A pre-requisite for the Cicerone Certification is the Beer Server Exam, a shorter test taken on-line for those in the industry. We highly encourage all folks working in the Asheville beer community to take this exam. (We’ll be taking the Beer Server Exam this weekend, prior to the courses at Grove Park Inn next week followed by the Cicerone later this year.) The Cicerone Program course syllabus is comprised of two courses designed to help those with weaknesses in particular areas of beer. For those interested, the information is below:

Registration Still Open for Cicerone Exam and Courses in Asheville!

Online registration is now available for the Ceritified Cicerone exam and two Cicerone Program advanced courses that will be held this month in Asheville, NC.

Advanced Courses:
Tuesday January 19, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm / Draft Beer Systems & Advanced Beer Service

Draft Systems & Advanced Beer Service:

- Enemies of beer – skunking, oxidation, heat, infection
- Proper handling & dispense: corked & bottle-conditioned beers
- Draft system components, structure & balance
- Draft system operation & maintenance
- Beer glassware

Tuesday January 19, 1:30 – 5:00 pm / Advanced Beer Styles (German & Belgian)

Advanced Beer Styles:

- Advanced beer quantitation: gravity, attenuation, BU:GU ratios
- German pale lagers
- German dark lagers
- German wheat beers
- German Rhine ales
- Belgian abbey and trappist ales
- Belgian farmhouse ales
- Belgian lambics & Flanders ales

Both courses will be conducted at Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC.

Exam:
Wednesday, January 20, starts at 11:00 am (Should finish by 3:00 pm.) / Asheville Brewing Co., Coxe Avenue location, Asheville, NC.

Advance Registration is Required. See Links Below.

Advanced Beer Styles German & Belgian

Advanced Draft Systems and Service

Combined Advanced Courses