Archive for the ‘Coming Soon’ Category

Announcing the first ever Asheville Beer Week

For immediate release: January 24, 2011

The first ever Asheville Beer Week will take place May 24 through June 3, 2012. The ten days celebrating beer and Beer City, USA, will culminate at Asheville’s third Beer City Festival on June 2.

Our mission is to celebrate that nectar known as beer—to taste many different styles of beer and variations on those styles; to pair beer with a smorgasbord of delicious foods; to learn about and explore beer in all its delectable complexity; and, most of all, to have fun drinking beer in the brewery-centric mountains of Asheville, NC.

The “week” will include seminars, tastings, dinners, and special events with “beer celebrities” from around the country and the world. More than 40 breweries are slated to appear at Beer City Festival already.

Organized by a beer-loving bunch of regional beer industry folks, Asheville Beer Week will offer a variety of events and include as many bars, restaurants and breweries as possible.

If you’re interested in holding an event, please contact us at avlbeerweek@gmail.com, and we’ll send you a sign-up sheet. Event sign-ups are due by February 17, after which time, we’ll produce an official Asheville Beer Week calendar.

Whether or not you’d like to participate or attend, please spread the word about Asheville Beer Week.

We’re also holding a logo contest. Submissions for the Asheville Beer Week logo also are due by February 17. The winner will receive two tickets to Beer City Fest, two tickets to Brewgrass (Sept. 15), and two tickets to an Iron Man Chef Competition to be held during Asheville Beer Week.

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Contacts:

Mike Rangel, Asheville Brewers Alliance and Asheville Brewing Company, asheville.ninja@gmail.com.

Anne Fitten Glenn, beer writer/educator/Brewgasm.com., annefittenglenn@gmail.com.

General email: avlbeerweek@gmail.com

Facebook: Asheville Beer Week

Twitter: @avlbeerweek

December 5th is another cause to celebrate during the holidays. It’s Repeal Day! No more Prohibition! Fill our glasses with foamy, frothy deliciousness!

This coming Monday, Bruisin’ Ales will have special Monday hours to launch the long-awaited 21st Amendment Brewery from San Francisco, California. The entire line comes in cans. Probably best known for their Hell or High Watermelon Wheat (which exploded onto the beer scene initially and will likely make an appearance after the New Year), this is a fantastic canned line. We’re thrilled to launch it in WNC and we welcome them to the Bruisin’ shelves. About the brewery/brewpub:

In 2000, Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan founded the 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco’s historic South Park neighborhood. The popular brewpub is now at the heart of the new city center, just south of the financial district and only two blocks from the San Francisco Giants baseball park. In addition to eight rotating taps of multiple award-winning hand-crafted house beers, the pub has been voted “Best Brewpub”, “Best Burger” and “Best Happy Hour” by the San Francisco press.

So, what 21st Amendment beers will be coming on the initial shipment? Here’s what we’re tasting on Monday from 5:00-7:00 pm.

Brew Free or Die (IPA)
Brewed with some serious west coast attitude. This aromatic golden IPA starts with a sucker punch of six different hops to the nose, quickly balanced by a solid malt backbone. Our top selling beer at the pub, this IPA starts big and finishes clean leaving you wanting more. [7.0% abv]

Back in Black  (Black IPA)
Inspired by Paul Revere’s midnight ride, we rebelled against the British style IPA, embraced the more aggressive American version and then recast it in bold, brave, defiant black. Our Black IPA is a Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the expected. Back in Black is our newest year-round beer available now in six pack cans and on draft. Brewed like an American IPA but with the addition of rich, dark malts, this beer has all the flavor and hop character you expect with a smooth, mellow finish. [6.8% abv]

Allies Win the War (Strong Ale brewed with Dates, Collaboration with Ninkasi Brewing)
In a surprising turn of events, rival superpowers have joined forces to bring a beer of might to the world. According to top-secret documents, recently unclassified, brewmasters for 21st Amendment in California and Ninkasi in Oregon began their brewing careers together many years ago. The two leaders reunited recently at a secret camp in the Sierras to devise their master plan. “We are more alike than we are different,” said 21st Amendment’s Shaun O’Sullivan. “We must unite in our common cause,” added Ninkasi’s Jamie Floyd. The resulting collaboration, an ale brewed with California dates, an aggressive arsenal of all-Northwest hops and an unmistakable aroma of victory, deals a unified blow to unoriginal beers everywhere. [8.5% abv]

Please note: Store hours will be 5:00-8:00 pm on Monday, December 5th, so come on down for a sample and get a little beer shopping done!

The Friday night before Brewgrass Festival, we’ll be having a tasting with Pisgah Brewing Company. This is the official release of Vortex II, people! Join us 5:00-7:00 p.m. that night with Head Brewer, Kyle, and Owner, Jason. See you there!

Equinox: “This harvest style ale celebrates the bounty of the seasons.  Amber in color and well hopped this beer weighs in at a comfortable 7.5% abv.”

Solstice: Pisgah’s year-round Belgian. A Tripel ale, this beer contains moderately fruity esters with an alcoholic complexity supported by a soft malt character. This beer is pale gold in color and 9.5% abv.

Special Reserve Cosmos: “Dark and mysterious, this Pisgah beer is a tribute to Belgian tradition and our homebrew roots. Combining the rich flavor of a Baltic Porter with the subtleness of a special Belgian yeast strain, the Cosmos is born. Bottle conditioned and aged for months this authentic organic beer will cellar for years to come.” 9.5% abv

Vortex II: A big, beefy Russian Imperial Stout. 11.7% abv

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Grand Hop Harvest Tour & Sampling — Showcasing Hops from Vine to Keg.

Hop’n Blueberry Farm and Pisgah Brewing Company invite you to experience a dual hop tour on Saturday, August 6, 2011.

Arrive at the Farm (24 Middle Mountain Road – Black Mountain) by 12:45pm for a 1:00pm tour.  Then take a short drive down the road to Pisgah Brewing Company (150 Eastside Drive – Black Mountain) to continue your experience.  Tickets are $8.00 per person and include a beer sample (or two).

Pisgah Brewing Company has been producing a “wet hop” beer with fresh hops grown at Hop’n Blueberry Farm for the last three years.  This unique beer only happens once per year when hops are picked and added to the brewing process at the brewery within hours after leaving the farm.

The tour begins at the farm where owner Van Burnette will share information about growing hops from the ground up, taking us from the vine to the kettle. Participants will enjoy a complimentary sample of Pisgah’s wet-hopped beer, appropriately named “Burnette’s Brew”.  According to Burnette, “This is the best batch yet with a fresh aromatic taste that will delight anyone.”  The afternoon continues at the brewery where the tour will hear about hops from the kettle to the keg.  Join us, for this farm-to-table collaboration.

www.hopnblueberryfarm.com
www.pisgahbrewing.com

Next weekend, in nearby Weaverville, is the second annual Hops Festival at Echoview Farms. Tour the farm, try beers from their harvest. Sounds like a great time!

From there website: “Hops may not have been the most obvious choice for our first experiments in sustainable agriculture, but they have been a great choice. The soils and climate of Western North Carolina show great promise for the cultivation of hops. And local breweries have been very receptive to the idea of using locally-grown hops. Not only does local agriculture cut down on fossil fuels; it also encourages more symbiosis between local growers and local consumers.”

Here are the details for next Saturday, June 16:

Second Annual Hops Festival
*Online event registration for 2nd Annual Hops Festival at Echoview Farm powered by Eventbrite*

Brewers and farm lovers alike are invited to the Second Annual Hops Festival at Echoview Farm in Weaverville, NC. Visit the largest hops farm in the state. See an oast at work. And enjoy lunch and home brew. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Limit 500.  Please click above for on-line registration. 

Saturday, July 16, 2011
Time: 11:00am – 3:00pm  (Last year was such a success we have extended the hours)

Echoview Farm Hops Field
534 Old Mars Hill Hwy
Weaverville, NC 28787
828-645-7667

[Photo credit: © Mike Guarracino]