The Final Countdown

So its almost here. Perhaps the biggest celebration of the year for our local beer scene. Brewgrass started way back in 1996, when we had one brewery and one good beer bar. Things have changed a lot since then, but Brewgrass is still the annual event that everyone looks forward to. This is personally my 10th Brewgrass, and it is always a day filled with great beer, great friends, and I hear that they have great music too. This year should be no different. For a great rundown of this year's Brewgrass, as well as what to expect from WNC breweries, check out this Mountain Xpress article. As for other breweries, I will be on the lookout for Coast Brewing from Charleston, and Ham's Brewing out of Greenville, NC (some underated beer from this brewery). And I say this every year, if you are looking for tickets, check out craigslist, and if you don't have any luck there, show up early at MLK park and put on your best sad face. I always see people selling tickets outside. There will also be a raffle at tomorrow's Bruisin' Ales beer tasting for tickets. I hope to have a full writeup of Brewgrass next week.

If you are looking for some pre-Brewgrass activities, look no further than the Thirsty Monk. This Thursday night, that is tomorrow for those counting at home, there will be a cask from New Belgium brewery, a rare treat. In addition to the cask, they will also be tapping the Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout. This is not in reference to Canadian Bacon, which is neither bacon, nor Canadian (discuss). The Canadian part comes from aging the beer in bourbon barrels that were used to make maple syrup. This is an extremely rare beer that I highly encourage you folks to try. I will definitely be there. Friday at the Monk will feature a cask all the way from Rogue Brewing Company.

The other beer news for the week can be found at this Mountain Express article (thanks for doing my job Edgy Mama). Of note is the new south location of the Thirsty Monk, which I will give a full report on soon, and also the news of a new beer festival that will be held in late spring in Asheville. Tickets will go on sale at the Brewgrass festival, and at local breweries starting this Friday.

And now for a rant. I am extremely excited that we will be host to another beer festival. In my opinion, there is no such thing as too many beer festivals. But please, can you wait until we get a little closer to these beer festivals before you put your tickets on sale? Brewgrass tickets went on sale back in FEBRUARY. There are many folks who had no idea that they went on sale until it was too late. And now this spring festival's tickets are going on sale a full 8 months before the date of the festival. I have no idea what my calendar will look like in May. Obviously, my advice to you is to buy the tickets, since it will probably sell out sometime before the last leaves fall off the trees. I will give credit to the folks at the World Beer Festival who do it right. Tickets for the Durham event went on sale one month prior to the event, and they never have a problem selling out. While I'm at it, can you also limit the amount of tickets sold to one person? Four would be a good number. The more people get a chance at tickets, the better. Okay rant over, and again, I appreciate the festivals and I know they take a lot of work to produce.

Happy drinking, and we'll see you at Brewgrass.

Another Brewgrass Blast

Another Brewgrass has come and gone. I am always amazed at how quickly the day goes by. This is certainly my favorite beer festival, mainly because I get a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. One of the new friends I made is Anne Fitten Glenn, aka Edgy Mama, a local writer, blogger and beer lover (that is me and her in the picture, taken by her husband Drew). I also had a great time hanging with the local brew crew as well as some friends from Pennsylvania and Alabama. It was a perfect day and I am sorry that it had to come to an end.

So, how was the beer you ask? There was plenty of good beer to be had, and a few standouts that I will mention. Blue Ridge Brewing out of Greenville, South Carolina again impressed me. They brought a Black Honey Imperial Elixir Stout. Elixir is a good word to describe it, as the sweet honey really matched well with the roasted malts of the stout. If you have any gas and happen to be heading down to Greenville, be sure to check them out. It also turns out that there is some good beer to be had in Greenville, North Carolina as well. T.L. Adkisson is an award winning brewer that is doing some great things in the flatlands of North Carolina. His Double Peg Leg Pale Ale was one of my favorites, with a nice balance of hops and sweet malts. Its too bad that his beer can only be had at Hams Restaurant and Brewhouse in Greenville. Heading back to the other Carolina, Coast Brewing in South Carolina also brought some good beers, in particular their Rye Knot Brown. I am not usually a huge fan of Brown ales, but the addition of Rye really gave this beer some added depth. An interesting side note is that Pisgah's own Dave Quinn used to pester the current brewer of Coast, David Merritt, when he was a brewer at the now defunct Palmetto Brewery in Charleston. Coincidentally, Coast Brewing is also an organic brewery, just like Pisgah.

The locals also had some great beer flowing. Green Man featured their Imperial Stout which has made its second appearance, just in time for the cooler weather. French Broad also featured a Rye beer, the Rye Hopper, another brown ale with rye and some spicy hops to match. And of course there was the Highland Imperial Black Mocha Stout, which was a big hit at the festival. I was told that the beer would only be available at the brewery, but do not be surprised if it shows up in stores in a few weeks.

Again, it was such a wonderful day and I am already looking forward to next year's festival. Kudos goes out to Doug Beatty, who always puts on a great festival.

Countdown to Brewgrass

Well, its that time of year again. Tomorrow, 3500 beer lovers will descend on downtown Asheville for the 12th annual Brewgrass Festival. Tickets have been sold out for months, and if you don't have one, you are out of luck. There are two things that you can do though. First, check out craigslist, and hope that someone is selling a ticket at face value instead of scalping it for a hundred dollars a ticket. The other thing you can do is to show up at Martin Luther King Jr. Park about an hour early and see if anyone will be selling tickets. Every year I see a few people who are tyring to sell their extra tickets, so you might get lucky. I wish you luck in your search.

For a great writeup on what the local brewers are doing for Brewgrass, check out Anne Fitten Glenn's excellent write up in the Mountain Express (Anne is also known as the blogger Edgy Mama). Perhaps the most anticipated beer at Brewgrass will be Highland Brewing's Imperial Black Mocha Stout. This is the third year that Highland has introduced an Imperial version of one of their beers, and I think this year may be the best yet. Be sure to hit the Highland tent early, as they will likely run out of the Imperial Stout before the end of the day. As a matter of fact, it is a good idea to figure out what special beers that the breweries are offering and drink them early in the day. The good thing about the Imperial Black Mocha Stout is that you will be able to pick some up on Sunday. Highland is once again be selling their special beer at the brewery from noon to 3 pm.

The weather for tomorrow's festival should be perfect, with a forecasted high of 73 and no rain in sight. We'll hopefully see you there, and I will post a writeup of the festival early next week.

Highland To Go Imperial Again

Well, it looks like you might have to set your alarm again this year for the morning after Brewgrass. A tip from the beerinator forums indicates that Highland will once again be releasing a special beer the day after Brewgrass, following the very successful releases of the Imperial Gaelic two years ago and the Imperial Kashmir IPA last year. So which beer is it going to get the Imperial treatment this year? (Drum roll........). It will be none other than the Black Mocha Stout, which in my mind has the potential to be the best of the special releases. Typically, Highland has released these special beers at noon on the day after Brewgrass. Last year they made a lot more of the Imperial Kashmir than the Imperial Gaelic the year before, so it was also available in stores around Asheville and in other parts of North Carolina (and there are still some bottles floating around). If they follow tradition, they will also be pouring the beer at Brewgrass, so make sure to hit the Highland tent early on the day of the fest.

Mark Your Calendars

Its never too early to start planning for the Brewgrass Festival, Asheville's annual seven hour ode to bluegrass and beer. This year's festival will be held on September 20th, and tickets are already on sale at the Brewgrass website. Yes, I know it is early, but tickets for this event will sell out well ahead of time, so its not a bad idea to make your purchase early this year. For those of you that go for the music, three acts have already been announced, including local favorites The Biscuit Burners and Grammy Award winning Jim Lauderdale. We'll see you there in five months.

Brewgrass Roundup

Another Brewgrass festival has come and gone. It was a beautiful sunny day, and probably the hottest Brewgrass that I remember. The temperature reached 84, but it felt hotter with the lack of shade at the Martin Luther King ballfield. In fact, the only shade to be found was next to the port-a-johns, or the “dark caverns of plastic” as my wife referred to them. Thankfully there were plenty of bathrooms to go around this year, and I saw nary a line to speak of. The heat did not deter the crowd though, and plenty of good beer, food, and music helped to make it another successful festival.

There were a few surprises and some great beer at this years festival, several of those coming from North Carolina breweries. As mentioned in my last post, Foothills Sexual Chocolate was on tap, and the extra few months of aged have mellowed the beer a bit, making it even more drinkable. Again, one of my favorite North Carolina brewed beers. Foothills also had their Hoppyium IPA, a wonderfully hopped west coast style IPA that unfortunately has not seen too many visits to Asheville taps (it has been on at the Lobster Trap before). Duck Rabbit brought some aged Baltic Porter, one of the highest rated beers from North Carolina, and it was exceptional. Expect to see this years version coming out later in the fall. French Broad produced an easy drinking Pale Ale that will make a fine session beer. Whether it becomes a permanent addition to French Broad’s lineup will depend on how popular it becomes. The Kolsch was in such demand that it has become a mainstay for French Broad. John Stewart of Green Man Brewing debuted a Belgian Golden Ale. After a few sips, I immediately thought of Duvel, and it turns out that Stewart had that in mind when he brewed it. It might not make it to Jack of the Wood, but it should be available at Dirty Jacks. Catawba Brewing Company featured their Blackwater Uber Pale Ale, a big beer with a nice smoky malt flavor and moderate hops that defies style categorization (there is nothing pale about this beer). The Blackwater is currently on tap downstairs at Barleys. And last but not least, Highland rolled out the Imperial Kashmir IPA, and they were perhaps the most popular tent during the day. This is a huge beer, very sweet and hoppy, and should get even better with a couple more months in the bottle. I picked up a case on Sunday and hopefully there will be some available at local stores in the coming weeks. Get some while you can though, as it won’t last long.

There were some notable beers from outside the state as well. Brooklyn Brewery had the Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse. Another beer that is hard to put in a category, it can best be described as a hoppy weizenbock. It was created as a joint effort between Brooklyn Brewery and G. Schneider and Son brewery in Germany. Two versions were released, one a few weeks ago that was in bottles and was brewed by Schneider, and this latest version brewed here in the states using American hops. Both beers are very good. The Brooklyn version will be on tap at Barleys within the next couple of weeks if you want to try it. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came from our neighbors to the south. R.J. Rockers Brewing out of Spartanburg brought a Double IPA that was brewed in celebration of South Carolina finally popping the cap on their alcohol limit. Another South Carolina brewery had one of my favorite beers of the day. Blue Ridge Brewing in Greenville is making some great beers, and the Double Ball and Chain IPA was fantastic, a well balanced, flavorful DIPA that wasn’t too over the top. The regular Ball and Chain IPA was very good too. Head brewer Jay Simpson came up with the recipe for the original Ball and Chain for his wedding day and for his 2 year anniversary, he brewed the Double Ball and Chain. His wife should be proud, they are both excellent brews. I will definitely seek them out the next time I am in downtown Greenville. Lastly, Sweetwater Brewing Company out of Atlanta gave beer lovers their first taste of Donkey Punch barleywine. The name itself makes me cringe, but the beer was good, a bit overly hopped for the style, and may be available in bottles in the coming weeks. I just wish they didn’t have to resort to juvenile names for their beers.

Overall it was once again a wonderful festival. I do want to mention one thing about the music. This could get me run out of Asheville, but I have to be honest, I am not the biggest fan of Bluegrass music. But the one band that made me turn my attention away from the beer tents was the Carolina Chocolate Drops. They had an amazing energy and were a great closing act to the festival, bringing hundreds of onlookers to their feet. It was a great day reuniting with old friends and discovering new ones.

I'm too excited to sleep

The countdown to Brewgrass has begun. Tickets have been sold out for a couple of weeks now, and judging by the posts on Beer Advocate and craigslist, there hasn't been a ticket this hot since the Smashing Pumpkins played here earlier in the summer. So I hope everyone has their tickets, and if you don't, you may need to pray to the beer gods and hope that someone will be scalping them somewhere outside of MLK Park.

This year's Brewgrass has returned to its original home after meandering throughout various parts of downtown, some good (McCormick Field), and some bad (last year). Regardless of where it is held, the festival still provides an ample amount of beer, music, and camaraderie. In the past we have seen rainstorms, chilly weather, and a lack of port a johns, but that still does not deter from the fun. The most memorable Brewgrass for me was in 2001. It was four days after 9/11, and the entire country was still in a state of shock. I am glad that Doug Beatty decided not to postpone the festival, as it provided a wonderful respite from the terrible events that occurred just days before. We emerged from out in front of our TVs that day to interact with our fellow neighbors and friends over the fellowship of a cold beer.

One of the exciting aspects of a beer festival is that some brewers will often debut a new beer or offer something special for the festival, and this year will be no different. Highlighting the list will be the Imperial Kashmir IPA from Highland. You will probably want to make this tent one of your first stops, as the IKIPA will likely run out in the first hour or two of the festival, not unlike the Imperial Gaelic last year. Of course you can drag yourself out of bed the next morning to pick up a couple of cases for drinking at home. Another beer I am looking forward to is French Broad's debut of their Pale Ale, an unusual style for this brewery that has been known for its eclectic lineup.

If you like whiskey, be sure to swing by Catawba Valley's tent, as Scott Pyatt will likely have one of his barrel aged concoctions, perhaps being the only brewer to bring a barrel aged beer. The Whisky River IPA is fantastic if you like a boozy whiskey finish to your beers (I loved it). If you are a fan of Imperial Stouts, I would suggest checking out Foothills brewing early in the day. They are bringing a very limited amount of last years Sexual Chocolate, one of my favorite new beers of last year, and it should only have gotten better with a few more months of aging. I am sure there are going to be even more surprises at this year's Festival.

If you need some practice before the big day on Saturday, the folks at ratebeer are organizing an Asheville pub crawl Friday afternoon and evening. I will likely take part in the beginning of the crawl before I head on over to the Grove Arcade to shake my posterior to the grooves of Yo Mamma's Big Fat Booty Band for the last Downtown After 5.

Brewgrass report

The 2006 Brewgrass festival has come and gone, and what a time it was. The weather cooperated and things went well in spite of the somewhat cramped location in "the Block." Space limitations made it next to impossible to approach booths on the upper level without forcing one's way through crowds. Despite this, people milled throughout the area enjoying fine brewgrass music and beer from over 40 breweries.

Highlights in my book were Allagash Double, a new double IPA from Oskar Blues, and Pisgah Pale from our own Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain. I enjoyed the chance to try some other beers that aren't usually available in this area.

I saw Asheville bloggers Brainshrub and Screwie Hoolie but missed Edgy Mama. I also enjoyed meeting other folks, including a fellow University of Maine alum who noticed my Gritty McDuff's T-shirt. Gritty's is a brewpub in Portland, Maine which has the distinction of being Maine's first.

Despite shortcomings with the location this fest was the best of the eight I've attended. I'm already looking forward to next year.