Archive for the ‘In the news’ Category

For immediate release: February 1, 2012

Asheville Beer Week Logo Contest
Asheville Beer Week needs a logo and fast

Love beer? Got some design skills? The Asheville Beer Week folks are looking for a hot logo for this inaugural beer-centric week (which actually will be an 11-day party running from May 24 until June 3).

Submit your logo designs to avlbeerweek@gmail.com by February 17. The logo winner will receive two tickets to Beer City Fest (June 2), two tickets to Brewgrass (Sept. 15), and two tickets to Asheville Beer Week’s Iron Brewer Competition (TBA).

You know the deal—nothing obscene or inappropriate. This is a wholesome(ish) beer week. Your design could be featured on every piece of Asheville Beer Week swag.

Submit logos to: avlbeerweek@gmail.com.

For more information, follow us on Facebook at Asheville Beer Week or Twitter @avlbeerweek.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CHICO, Calif. — Jan. 25, 2012 —Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is pleased to announce that it has chosen a site in western North Carolina for the future home of an East Coast brewery. The site, approximately 90 acres in the Henderson County Town of Mills River— along the French Broad River, 12 miles south of Asheville — will be home to the new production facility, as well as a proposed restaurant and gift shop. “We are thrilled to have found an ideal location in western North Carolina for our second brewery,” says Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada. “The beer culture, water quality and quality of life are excellent. We feel lucky to be a part of this community.”

The new facility will add much needed capacity for Sierra Nevada, and will allow for the quick shipment of brewery-fresh beer to consumers in the east. The East Coast brewery will start with a capacity around 300,000 barrels, with room to grow. The added barrelage will accommodate wider production of the myriad of seasonal beers and bottled specialties Sierra Nevada has produced in recent years, as well as an expansion of the brewery’s well?known flagship product: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Sierra Nevada began the search for a new location several years ago. The brewery looked at hundreds of potential sites, eventually narrowing the search down to a handful of locations. The list of criteria was long and included quantifiable factors such as ease of shipping and water quality, as well as quality of life issues for its employees. Sierra Nevada has a reputation for a laid-back brewery culture and a love of the outdoors, and the new facility will retain this same tone. The Asheville area offers Sierra Nevada Brewing the perfect confluence of community, recreation and craft beer culture.

Sierra Nevada’s eastern brewery site is expected to employ approximately 90 workers, with additional staff in the restaurant to follow. The brewery anticipates being operational by early 2014.

About Sierra Nevada Founded in 1980, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of America’s premier craft breweries, highly regarded for using only whole-cone hops and ingredients of the finest quality. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for its extensive line of beers including the flagship Pale Ale, Torpedo, Porter, Stout, Kellerweis, four seasonal beers, Estate Ale, Harvest Ales, Ovila Abbey Ales and a host of draught-only specialties.

Additional links from beernews.org:

Sierra Nevada Ken Grossman’s statement on North Carolina
Sierra Nevada Brewing to invest $107.5 million over next five years in North Carolina brewery

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.

******************************************

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

Wow. Five years. Happy, happy 5th birthday to the humble storefront today!

I had every intention of writing a whimsical retrospective, something witty and funny, but the truth is, we’re so busy right now, I can’t even think. So, on that note: Jason & I would like to extend a big, FAT “thank you” to Asheville and all you wonderful beer people who have supported Bruisin’ Ales since 2006. It’s worth every minute. (Even the paper cuts, black-n-blue marks, and back spasms, sometimes.) Thank you also to the people who have helped us over the years: Chris Dotson, Philip Dotson, Craig Weitzel, Sophie Thompson and the absolutely irreplaceable Mike Guarracino.

It’s a little bit difficult to celebrate the Big-Birthday-Anniversary-Whatever, what with the holiday shoppers and all, but we’ll be giving away samples all day while you shop. We brought some items from our own beer cellar, plus we have a very rare keg we got from Allagash Brewing—the only keg in North Carolina—Curieux aged on Booker’s Bourbon barrels. (Normally, this beer is made with Jim Beam barrels, in case you were wondering.)

Thank you! We love you! Support your local, independent beer retailer!

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!