What’s on the beer flight:

Allagash White: “Our interpretation of a traditional Belgian wheat beer. Brewed with a generous portion of wheat and spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel, this beer is fruity, refreshing and slightly cloudy in appearance.” [5.0% abv]

Allagash Black: “Allagash Black is a Belgian style stout brewed with 2 Row barley, torrified wheat, oats, both roasted and chocolate malt and a generous portion of dark caramelized candi sugar. The silky mouth feel is a great balance to the roasted character, coffee and dark chocolate notes expressed throughout this beer.” [7.5% abv]

Allagash Tripel: “This strong golden ale is marked by passion fruit and herbal notes in the aroma, with suggestions of banana and honey in the complex palate. The Tripel has a remarkably long and smooth finish.” [9.0% abv]

… and a very special addition straight from the brewery for samples only …

Mattina Rossa: “Mattina Rossa is a beer that was a long time in the making. It was brewed in August of 2008 with a base of 2-Row malt and 440 lbs of local raspberries in the mash. It was then conservatively hopped with Tettanang, German Tradition and Saaz and fermented with our house yeast strain. Shortly after primary fermentation, the beer was racked into eleven red wine barrels, nine of which were inoculated with either Lactobacillus or Brettanomyces ‘Allagensis’. After one year, we placed an additional 100 lbs of local raspberries in five of the barrels. The beer continued to age for an additional year, at which time the barrels were blended to strike the desired balance of fruit and funk. Mattina Rossa has an aroma of fresh raspberry, strawberry preserves and lemon rind. Raspberry is also discernible in the flavor, along with mild quince and pomegranate. The long finish starts with a tart citrus and ends with a pronounced biscuit flavor and a slight bitterness.” [6.9% abv]

(PS: We also have the draft-only release Big Little Beer wild ale on the kegerator for purchase.)

If you haven’t heard by now (and you should have), Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Company is visiting Asheville on Friday, October 28 for a series of events to promote a new book, The Craft of Stone Brewing.

At Bruisin’ Ales, we’re holding a private book signing and beer tasting from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Cost is $30/per person and includes the new book ($25 retail price), plus a flight of rare Stone Brewing beers paired with local cheeses and snacks. There are only 35 spots available. You must call the store with a credit card to make your reservation. (828) 252-8999

A little bit about Greg and the history of Stone Brewing:

Since starting the brewery with his partner Steve Wagner in 1996, Stone has become one of the fastest growing and highest rated breweries in the world. Brewing a projected 150,000 barrels in 2011, Stone is the 14th largest craft brewery in the United States, a position it achieved without ever advertising, discounting, giving away freebies or compromising.

Greg passionately believes that environmental and social sustainability goes hand-in-hand with brewing mind-blowing beer and he frequently is called on to speak on topics ranging from craft beer to business to food to marketing, bringing a bold, entertaining, and often humorous approach along with his philosophy.

The beers [UPDATE]:

Trio of Bastards:
Arrogant Bastard
Oaked Arrogant Bastard
Double Bastard (2011)

Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

After the Bruisin’ Ales private event, please follow us to the LAB (Lexington Avenue Brewery), where Greg will deliver a talk on the craft beer industry, entrepreneurship, and creative marketing at 6:30 p.m. We have been fortunate to hear Greg speak in the past, and trust us, you don’t want to miss it. While we don’t much care for comparisons, many of you are familiar with Gary Vee of the wine industry. Greg Koch is that guy for all us craft beer supporters (and then some). The LAB speaking engagement is free to the public and will be held in the back room stage area of the brewery.

If you’re still up for some Stone Brewing beers after that (and who wouldn’t be?), The Thirsty Monk has a fantastic line-up of special draft beers that night, offering you another opportunity for a Meet & Greet.

Please note that books will be available at all locations, including Stone Brewing Company’s first book, The Brewers Apprentice. (And a special shout to all our friends at Malaprops, our amazing local bookstore, for handling the book orders.)

Call today! These spots will go quickly! We look forward to seeing you all at Bruisin’ Ales.

If you were following us on Twitter over the weekend, you probably noticed we weren’t at Bele Chere. In true Bruisin’ Ales last-minute fashion, Jason & I decided to hit the road across the state, chasing down some beers at breweries we’ve never visited (shamefully). Leaving the store in the able hands of Mike and Craig, the bosses took to the highway for a 4-day North Carolina beer adventure. We didn’t see everyone or everything we wanted to, but we did cram a bunch of sites into a whirlwind trip, met up with a lot of great people, and of course, drank many beers from our fine state and beyond.

And, we properly defaced to brewery beer coolers, too! That’s Jamie Bartholamus of Foothills Brewing throwing a little beerlanthropy® on his wall. All our pictures are below, followed by a little bit on each visit, if you’re the reading type.

FRIDAY
Olde Hickory Brewing Company (Hickory)
Hickory Taproom (Hickory)

First stop with Steve Lylerly, brewmaster at Olde Hickory Brewing. The brewery was much larger than we had imagined it to be, filled with tanks, barrels and a killer private bar with amazing woodwork. It was hot, so we started out with a Piedmont Pilsner, but then went straight to a new batch of Imperial Stout when offered.

The Hickory Taproom is a stone’s throw from the brewery, too. Feels like a taproom should feel. Get the fish-n-chips or the fried oysters with buffalo plum sauce. No regret there!

Cool thing: The brewery was making its 500th batch when we visited. The beer will be a barleywine, likely aged two years.

Natty Greene’s (Greensboro)
In Greensboro, we met with Kayne Fischer, co-owner of Natty Greene’s. He gave us a little tour of the basement brewery and expansions that are going on. The sweet space on the corner of Hamburger Square (which used to be a grocery store, a brothel, and a hotel—not necessarily in that order), is a lovely taproom experience. Restaurant downstairs with plenty of outdoor seating with an upstairs taproom, similar to Barley’s here in town.

But upstairs, on the third floor is the mac daddy of all. A private, rentable suite, complete with leather couches, your own bar taps and pool table. Swanky stuff. I want one.

Cool thing: Natty Greene’s just celebrated their 7th Anniversary August 1 with a big, FREE outdoor concert outside the brewpub. Good stuff.

Foothills Brewery & Brewpub (Winston-Salem)
This stop was so overdue, it’s embarrassing. Yes, we had never been to Foothills. But we made it! Brewmaster Jamie Bartholamus greeted us with a *gasp* sip of this year’s Olde Rabbit’s Foot, which will be released at the brewery on August 13th. (In fact, they were going to bottle that evening.) From there, we got a quick tour of the facilities while sipping a Torch Pilsner filtered through Citra hops and whole peppercorns. What a treat.

What amazed us most about Foothills was how much beer they crank out of this space. It is mind boggling a little bit, although they do brew twice a day, every day. It seems they can never have enough Hoppyum since the bottles came out. Luckily, they’ll be starting production at their big facility in a short while, which means more Foothills for everyone!

Also, we had some killer onion rings with  house-made beer-based ketchup.

Cool thing: We were told that on the day of our visit, Foothills filled it’s first-ever grain silo at the new Mooresville production brewery.

SATURDAY
We got up and visited our comrades and City Beverage in Winston-Salem, a neat, family-owned and operated business just walking’s distance from Foothills. Sweet little spot, so hit them up on your travels and support another independent bottle shop.

We arrived in Raleigh to meet our friends Robin and Dave who offered to take us around, so we wouldn’t have to drive. Cheers to that! It turns out it’s also good they did, because we would have been lost. On top of that, it was three billion degrees in Raleigh on Saturday.

Busy Bee Cafe (Raleigh)
Before touring, we needed a little lunch, so we hit up this great little cafe with some great taps. A little open-faced turkey with bacon, fried egg and gruyere never hurt anyone. Neither did a Victory Headwater’s Pale Ale. We tried to get the Fullsteam Summer Basil cask, but it was gone. (No matter, since we head there tomorrow.)

Lonerider Beer Company (Raleigh)
With bellies full, we are ready for some beer. We head over to Lone Rider, located in a windy-road business park somewhere near the airport. Jason got a little brewery tour and Jackie, in the tasting room, took care of us with cold Shotgun Betty Hefeweizens. Did I mention it was three billion degrees? I don’t normally consider myself a frail flower, but the heat was unbearable, so we didn’t last long here before heading out to Roth Brewing just around the corner.

Cool thing: Their website says Asheville reigns supreme, just like Iron Chef!

Roth Brewing (Raleigh)
In the same business park more or less with LoneRider (but not in agreement with any GPS), is home to Roth Brewing. Many of you in WNC might not yet heard of Roth. We didn’t either. Roth is run by two brothers on a two-barrel system. These guys are the rowdy young guns. Word is, at festivals they and their fans run around in Viking helmets and sell foam axes with their logo on it. I know this to be true because Jason had to have one. The small little tasting room painted black with low lighting. A couple guys dropped by with homebrew, but otherwise it was just the four of us and the Roth guys. We tried the Amber, Hefeweizen and American Barleywine. I especially loved the Hefe, as it was made with plums and honey. Very interesting and very refreshing.

This is like your garage bar. Off to the corner is a beat-up couch, an old PS2, a Nintendo, two Guitar Heroes, and just in case… a coffeepot.

Cool thing: Allegedly, Roth’s American Barleywine, Foehammer, is the strongest year-round beer made in North Carolina.

Big Boss Brewing (Raleigh)
We head off to Big Boss Brewing. The entrance welcomes you with stairs leading up between hop vines. Up the stairs, you go into another dark tasting room. It was busy while we were there, folks playing shuffleboard and pool. Another impressive space, much larger than we had imagined.

Here we tried the Lucky Bastard Porter, High Roller IPA, Monkey Bizzness farmhouse ale. The real treat, though, was Dave Rogers letting us sample a barrel concoction: Hell’s Belle blended with Monkey Bizzness on sour cherries on a wine barrel. Bejebus!

Cool thing: No food to be had here, but they don’t mind one bit if you bring something with you and hang out. In fact, we were told some people do pot lucks at the brewery. How cool!

[Here is where we got diverted. Plans to tour Aviator Brewing were changed due to a fundraiser.]

Foundation (Raleigh)
This has got to be the coolest cocktail bar we’ve been to in a long time. Concept: All NC-local or house-made cocktails. Ten taps of NC beer and drinks made with NC spirits, house-made syrups, etc. After a long day of sweating, a pear and Brut sparkling cocktail was just what the doctor ordered.

Cool thing: This place had to dig out its buried foundation to exist, so it’s dark and cool, which was especially welcome on a three-billion-degree day.

Raleigh Times (Raleigh)
“Seymour, feed me!” We were really hungry and our hosts told us to “linger” around tables because it’s first-come, first-served. Luckily, it wasn’t long until we scored a sweet little table in back. Six taps at all times. Although it seemed strange to have two taprooms, but the same beers on-tap at both. At any rate, cool menu like a newspaper with an impressive bottle list. Here we had a Bell’s Bourbon Barrel-aged Hell Hath No Fury, New Belgium Tripel and shared a bottle of Cascade Kriek. Not to mention totally badass burgers.

Cool thing: The building is actually the original location of the now-defunct Raleigh Times newspaper.

SUNDAY
The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (Farmville)
After breakfast, we braved some pretty wicked storms to head out to Farmville for a visit with Paul Philippon at Duck-Rabbit. Turns out, there really isn’t a lot in Farmville! Located in a business park, this small production brewery is bursting at the seams. Luckily, there’s a lot of property around the brewery and Paul hopes to take advantage of that someday. There’s a new entrance and the three of us toured the brewery while it poured rain and Milk Stout. Ever the nice guy, Paul opened a 2010 Olde Rabbit’s Foot and we got to sample the upcoming Schwartzbier, which will be out soon.

Cool thing: More visitors are making the trek, so the brewery has new little tasting room that will open soon.

Fullsteam Brewery (Durham)
Back to Durham for the last evening. We headed down to Fullsteam. Things were quiet on a Sunday, but Sean Wilson came to give us a tour because he’s cool like that. (We also got to see brewer Chris, who popped in to say hello.) This is a sexy place. The entrance has a rolling front door with back backwards “F” on it. With its steampunk theme, there are all sorts of gadgets around. There’s a wicked turning door between the air-conditioned bar area and rest of the seated area that’s made out of an old brewing vat. Clear glass interior windows allow you to see right into the brewery’s workings. With the agricultural theme, we tried the Carver Sweet Potato and Summer Basil. The special treat was the Wanderlust Imperial Stout, with a hint of cherry.

Cool thing: Food trucks park right around the brewery almost every night. Street food + beer = Good.

Tyler’s Taproom (Durham)
Located in the old tobacco district, Tyler’s is a massive place with three different bars: one in the restaurant, one in the back game room, and one outside, which we’re sure is a blast during baseball games. (The Durham Bulls stadium is just around the corner.) Great location with good food, we started out with FREE fresh garlic fries just from checking in on Foursquare. Sierra Nevada Ovila Saison and a house-made, worth-the-wait chicken pot pie. J had the pork belly sandwich. For dessert, we had a 2003 Thomas Hardy’s Ale straight off the menu. Yowzers.

Cool thing: All the bars have different draft lines, so if you don’t find what you like on one, you have two others to check out.

MONDAY
Triangle Brewing (Durham)
We started the morning with beer for breakfast with Rick Tufts, brewmaster at Triangle Brewing. We’re grateful he opened his doors to us, after brewing since 3 a.m. that morning. It’s a small open tasting room, but the building has loads of room for growth. The brewery has a canning line and also does some canning for other breweries. We sampled the IPA, the Abbey Dubbel, Bourbon barrel-aged Abbey Dubbel, a Flemish sour.

Cool thing: We also tried an experimental lambic in a can. Have you ever? Me neither.

Bull City Burger & Brewery (Durham)
Stopped for lunch here at Durham’s newest brewpub. Nifty little flight of beers. We especially liked the hsaWaknow Strong Ale and wet-hop ale. (The hops were grown locally next to a watermelon patch and so tasted very fruity.) The burgers were to die for “just a little pink.” Ask for fresh garlic on your burger, you get about ten cloves on top. And don’t miss out on the duck frites—string fries with rosemary, drizzled with duck fat. Goodness.

Cool thing: Even the bread is made in-house.

Dos Perros (Durham)
While we were at Bull City Burger, Charlie, owner of Dos Perros, popped in and invited us around the corner to his place. Wish we would have had time to eat here, too. We chatted beer and shared a Vrienden. Nothing wrong with that!

Cool thing: He’s got a pretty badass Stone event coming up, the Stone Brewing Cage Match.

A quick stop at Sam’s Quik Stop to grab some goodies that don’t make it our way, and away we went back to the mountains. (And a broken air conditioner.)

The weekend was great fun. We highly recommend making the trip to see the other fantastic beer folks in our state. Now get out there and drink some North Carolina beer!

If you haven’t yet heard, Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery is coming to Asheville in August. There are two same-day events that you can attend, both involving food and beer. Hooray to that! Please note: You can get tickets to the Pack’s Tavern Luncheon at Bruisin’ Ales. CASH ONLY, please.

(Above is Garrett’s interview with Gary V of WineLibraryTV.)

Luncheon:
Pack’s Tavern
August 17, 2011
12:00 Noon
Garrett Oliver and 5 Courses paired with 5 Brooklyn beers seminar.
$50/pp all inclusive
ON SALE NOW! Get your ticket at Pack’s or Bruisin’ Ales!

Dinner:
Cedric’s Tavern on the Biltmore Estate
August 17, 2011
6:30pm
An evening with Garrett Oliver and fine foods paired with fine beers.
$100/pp all inclusive
Let me know if you are interested, VERY FEW SPACES LEFT.
mountaingirl88@gmail.com

We’re pleased to announce a very special beer dinner at Bouchon on Tuesday, April 12, featuring owner and brewmaster of Urthel Brewery, Hildegard Van Ostaden. We met Hilde five years ago at BeerAdvocate’s Belgian Beer Festival in Boston and look forward to hosting her here in Asheville.

The dinner will be held in Bouchon’s “Beer Cellar” in an intimate setting with very limited seating. The dinner will feature a traditional French/Belgian farmhouse 5-course menu paired with the beers of Urthel, including some cellar reserves by Urthel that are no longer produced.

Menu:

Welcome: Brie en croute chaud. Baked brie served with chutney, fruit, nuts.
Pairing: Urthel Hop-It

First: Mussels Parisienne with Saisonniere ale, garlic, thyme sauce.
Pairing: Urthel Saisonniere

Second: Le Poisson avec Tripel buerre blanc. Tilefish finished with Tripel infused buerre blanc served with couscous pilaf.
Pairing: Urthel Hibernus Quentum Tripel

Third: Le Canard et ris de veau grand mere. Duck & sweetbreads stew with Urthel Vlamese Bock broth.
Pairing: Urthel Vlamese Bock

Dessert: Creme brulee infused with Urthel Quadrium.
Pairing: Urthel Quadrium

Please call Bouchon for reservations, 828.350.1140.
$48.50 per person all inclusive.

The WNC Chef’s Challenge is going on right now and last week’s ingredient was… BEER! The event squared off teams from Pomodoros and Tomato Jam Café, featuring beers from Lexington Avenue Brewery and The Wedge. Here is the low-down, reprinted with permission from WNC Magazine.

To some, beer trumps bacon as a secret ingredient in the Chefs Challenge. After all, here in Beer City, USA, we wash down every meal with a local microbrew, right? But if you ask any nonchef holding a pint what dishes you can make using beer, you might get a glazed stare that can’t be attributed to his or her alcohol level. Luckily, the teams in the second face-off of the Chefs Challenge competition, led by Chef Greg King of Pomodoros Greek and Italian Café and Chef Daniel Wright of Tomato Jam Café, rose to the occasion, subtly blending the beverage into batters, sauces, and even chocolate mousses.

Wedge Brewing Co. and Lexington Avenue Brewery, both in Asheville, supplied the star ingredients. The evening played out with two seafood and two pork dishes, and two chocolate mousses. The opening offering by Pomodoros, an IPA-battered shrimp, was a logical use for the beer, but the accompanying beet and goat cheese salad and candied lemon slice brought color and originality to the dish. Chef Wright’s dish of striped bass with parsnip and sunchoke puree that followed was a nice taste progression. Though the puree could easily have been mistaken for mashed potatoes at first glance, its sweetness was a fresh complement to the fish, which was rated the second best dish of the evening.

Two very different takes on pork and beer came next. Tomato Jam’s pork loin ragù served with sides of beet and carrot grits created a colorful plate. The savory ragù with tender bites of pork was the standout on the plate. At least one diner (me) guessed that the following plate, an American Pale Ale-braised pulled pork butt with ale-infused barbecue sauce and a crisp and refreshing apple and fennel slaw, was in keeping with Tomato Jam’s menu of homestyle cooking. Instead, it was a testament to Chef King’s culinary versatility. The apple slaw with cider vinaigrette was a bright and refreshing take on a traditional cabbage salad.

Both presented mousses for dessert, creating a battle of chocolate. Pomodoros’ mocha stout mousse was the lighter of the two and came presented in a phylo cup complemented with porter ice cream, sprinkled with caramel brittle. Tomato Jam’s richer chocolate dollop was festooned with a blue peppermint candy twist. Both dishes were fine finales, but perhaps it was the ice cream that pushed Pomodoros ahead, because diners rated this the top dish of the evening.

Chef King claimed the victory in the match-up, which was even closer than last week’s between Bistro at Biltmore and Deerfield Community, with only 439 points, less than 7 percent of the vote, separating the challengers. Cheers to both chefs.

Team Pomodoros
Led by Chef Greg King
Menu:
- Japanese-style, IPA-battered shrimp with cucumber, goat cheese, and beet salad with ale-lemon vinaigrette, candied lemon, and arugula
- Wedge American Pale Ale-braised pulled pork butt with ale barbecue sauce, and apple and fennel slaw with apple cider vinaigrette
- Mocha stout mousse in phylo dough garnished with roasted pistachios, and served with porter ice cream topped with caramel brittle

Team Tomato Jam
Led by Chef Daniel Wright
Menu:
- Striped bass with raisin tapenade, bay leaf-ale béchamel, parsnip-sunchoke purée, and arugula garnish
- Pork loin ragù with shiitake mushrooms and beet and carrot grits
- Chocolate stout mousse with a chocolate-beer reduction, served with a buttery pastry cookie and berry gastrique

Next week: Chef Rob Keener of Flight Wood Grill & Wine Bar in Hendersonville vs. Chef Jason Roy of Lexington Avenue Brewery in Asheville. Visit www.ashevillewineandfoodfestival.com to purchase tickets.

We hope to do another in Fall!

The highest-rated IPAs: 1) Sweetwater IPA 2) Terrapin Hopsecutioner 3) Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
The highest-rated Porters: 1) Smuttynose Robust Porter 2) Founder’s Porter 3) Highland Oatmeal Porter

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

A Public Apology: June 24th, 2010 from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Spike Buckowski, Brewmaster at Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Ga., is coming to Asheville as a guest during American Craft Beer Week. Chef Adam Bannasch of Zambra has created another fantastic 6-course beer pairing menu for the evening of Thursday, May 20. Won’t you join us?

Terrapin Beer Co. Beer Dinner
Thursday, May 20—6:30 p.m. Welcome
Six Paired Courses
$60/pp (incl. tax + grat)

Please call Zambra for reservations. 828-232-1060

Welcome Course—Terrapin Rye Pale [Pale ale with rye malt / 5.5% abv]
Spiced nuts, cheeses, housemade pretzels with honey mustard

Course 1—Sun Ray Wheat [German-style hefeweizen / 5.3% abv]
Scallop sausage with fennel, pineapple sauerkraut, crispy capers and honey toast

Course 2— Monks Revenge [Belgian-style IPA / 9.8% abv]
Local bibb salad with three graces farm feta, strawberries, bacon, croutons, buttermilk

Course 3—Hopsecutioner IPA [American-style IPA / 7.2% abv]
Soba noodles wtih poached shrimp, panang curry, cashews, pickled vegetables

Course 4—Cap’t Krunkles [Black IPA / 8.0% abv]
Venison loin confit, purple potato gratin, crispy serrano, grapefruit, pine

Course 5—Dark Side [Belgian-style Stout / 8.5% abv]
Date-stuffed beignets w/ espresso ganache, honey creme fraiche, rose petals