Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

This Friday, September 3, we’re pairing up with The Hop Ice Cream for more BEER FLOATS!

This week’s event is a benefit for our charity, FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education. The monies we raise go directly to the Asheville Chapter, which is one of the most traveled (yet least funded) portions of the 469-mile scenic roadway.

$5.00/pp for three different beer floats!

• Antebellum Ale Ice Cream with Craggie Brewing Antebellum Ale
• Aztec Chocolate Ice Cream (with cinnamon & cayenne pepper) with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
• Southern Comfort Ice Cream with Weyerbacher Insanity Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine

If you can’t join us, please consider an online donation to FRIENDS.

From Farmville, NC, The Duck-Rabbit Brewery bill themselves as the “dark beer specialists.” Come meet Mary Eliza in the tasting room from 5-7pm tomorrow for a sampling of the following:

Brown Ale: “An American brown ale brewed with loads of hops from start to finish. (It’s hoppy and beautifully bitter.) Amarillo hops in the boil provide a spicy, citrusy bitterness. Saaz dry hops in the fermentor provide a refined flowery aroma. These hops are supported by a grain bill of seven varieties of malt. Oh yeah!”

Milk Stout: “A traditional full-bodied stout brewed with lactose (milk sugar). The subtle sweetness imparted by the lactose balances the sharpness of the highly roasted grains which give this delicious beer its black color.”

Porter: “This robust porter features a pronounced flavor of roasted grains reminiscent of dark chocolate. Also, Paul and Brandon add oats to the grist to give a subtle round silkiness to the mouthfeel. We’re confident that you’re really going to love this yummy porter!”

Schwarzbier (Seasonal): “This is a refreshing summer beer (sometimes referred to as a black pils). In Duck-Rabbit fashion, we’ve made ours extra schwarzy. It’s very dark and quite roasty. Lot’s of Hallertau hops give this an authentic German character.”

We’re so excited about this event, it’s a miracle that my mouth stayed shut about it. We have been wanting to do a blind tasting for ages now and it’s finally happening. Better yet, it’s just the first one. Check out the details below and we’ll see you there!

Pack’s Tavern & Bruisin’ Ales presents the inaugural Blind Eye Beer Battle

ASHEVILLE, NC—Pack’s Tavern and Bruisin’ Ales are hosting the inaugural Blind Eye Beer Battle series on Thursday, August 26, 6:00-9:00 p.m. The event will be held in the Century Room upstairs at Pack’s Tavern. This is the first in a series of educational and entertaining blind beer tastings that will be co-hosted throughout the year.

Bruisin’ Ales proprietors, Jason and Julie Atallah, will select the beers from local, regional and national favorites. Teams  of eight will be given score cards and blindly sample, taste and judge two flights of beer styles—Porters and India Pales Ales. Three ounce samples of eight beers of each style—that’s 16 beers total, eight porters, eight IPA’s—will be provided along with culinary delights to compliment the beers (and cleanse the palate) by Pack’s Tavern Executive Chef Edwin French.

Each team of eight community judges will discuss and rate the beers provided with a team captain tallying results as we go. In addition to judging on appearance, taste, and aroma, judges will also have to guess which beer they are sampling.

The overall favorite beer, based on total scores, will become Pack’s Tavern Beer of the Month pint special. As an added bonus, individual judges also have a chance at winning. The top three people who correctly guess the most beer brands blindly, will be awarded prizes from the hosts, including gift certificates and breweriana.

Only seven teams of eight will be allowed to participate for a total of 56 community judges. Cost per person is $30.

Pack’s Tavern is located at 20 South Spruce Street in downtown Asheville. Make reservations with credit card by calling Pack’s Tavern at (828) 225-6944.

Follow Pack’s Tavern on Twitter at @packstavern and Bruisin’ Ales at @bruisinales for information leading up to the event.

We’re into our second week of welcoming Sprecher Brewing Company from Milwaukee at the humble storefront and the brand is killing it. Many people are either from the area and happy to see it in their new locale; others know the reputation of one of America’s oldest craft breweries and couldn’t wait to try it again. So, for those of you that haven’t yet tried Sprecher beers, we’re having another special Friday Tasting this week, 5:00-7:00pm. Join us in the tasting room with the folks from Next Generation Beer Company—the newest distributor in Asheville.

What we’re sampling:

Black Bavarian: “This intensely dark Kulmbacher style lager has a superb malt complexity with the distinctive flavors and aromas of coffee, caramel and chocolate.” [Schwartzbier | 5.78% abv]

Abbey Tripel: “A Belgian Trappist triple yeast culture balanced with the finest imported pale barley, Belgian aromatic malt and oats, gives this golden ale a fruity bouquet and a light refined taste.” [Belgian-style Tripel | 8.41% abv]

IPA2: “This traditional ale was originally brewed in England for the British troops stationed in India. Double dry-hopped,it has intense hop flavors and aromas delicately balanced with a potent, yet delicious, malty sweetness.” [Imperial IPA | 7.5% abv]

Russian Imperial Stout: “Once brewed in Britain for the Russian Czars, this tremendously rich and thick ale uses a profusion of burnt and caramel malts. A massive mouthful of dark roasted malt and coffee flavors finishes with hints of chocolate, caramel & licorice.” [Russian Imperial Stout | 8.5% abv]

Don’t forget to pick up one of the Special Releases as well. We have both the Scotch Ale and the Bourbon barrel-aged Doppelbock.

Next Friday, July 16, drop by between 5-7 p.m. before Downtown After Five for a Teaser Tasting of Durham-based Fullsteam Brewery. Fullsteam is North Carolina’s newest brewery, having launched July 2010. Fullsteam is a “plow-to-pint” brewery with a mission: to create a distinctly Southern beer style that celebrates the culinary and agricultural heritage of the South. By brewing with local farmed goods, heirloom grains, and seasonal botanicals, Fullsteam Brewery is on a never-ended quest to explore what “Southern-style beer” means. We don’t pretend to have the answers—we just love the quest.

Fullsteam believes in:

• Southern farmers. We buy and brew local…not only to craft distinctly Southern beer, but ultimately to provide a higher quality of life for our neighbors and friends who farm for a living.
• Regional pride. Local identity trumps mass-marketed nationalism.
• Redemption. The image of beer can be redeemed in the beautiful South.
• Fun. Lofty as our goals may be, at the end of the day…it’s beer. The beverage of celebration and community.

Also, meet Sean Lilly Wilson, Fullsteam’s Chief Executive Optimist. He founded and led both Pop The Cap and Permit Beer, two beer lobbying organizations that have opened up economic markets to North Carolina’s craft beer industry. He holds both an MBA and Master of Public Policy from Duke University. Sean has ten years restaurant experience, including three years at Durham’s renowned Magnolia Grill. (He may also be a little crazy, and for the record, we like him tons.)

What we’re sampling…

Carver Sweet Potato Beer: Local North Carolina sweet potatoes account for nearly one-third of the total fermentables in this surprisingly refreshing amber ale. This is NOT your grandma’s sweet potato casserole — there are no pie spices in this beer! The goal is to let the natural flavor of the sweet potato to come through, not to hit you over the head with cloying pie spices. The grain bill is light, with a modest floral and citrus-hop profile. Perfect with grilled chicken, veg plates, and hearty dishes. [5.8% ABV]

Rocket Science IPA: A more modest IPA than some of the more “West Coast” versions now out there. Though the hop profile is subdued, Rocket Science remains an American- and not an English-style IPA. We know Asheville loves its hops… this is for you, Beer City USA! [6.5% ABV]

Summer Basil Farmhouse Ale: The very first batch of beer we brewed on our 15-barrel brewhouse. It’s a rustic farmhouse beer finished with a healthy dose of Coon Rock Farm basil. Like the sweet potato beer, don’t anticipate being hit over the head with basil (though we will have some basil bunches to do that if you’d like). Instead, expect a balanced, refreshing country ale with just a touch of fresh basil on the finish. Try it with panzanella, local cheeses, or just quafff it in a mason jar on the front porch. [5.5% ABV]

Look for Fullsteam to launch in the Asheville area later this year. We’re just giving you a taste! Follow them on Twitter at @fullsteam.