Asheville... Hippies, mountains, beggars, and beer. Asheville has named itself "Beer City". But is it really deserving of the name? Is it a better beer destination than Portland, Seattle, or San Diego? The hippies out west may take exception to that, which, if we are lucky, could ignite a massive hippy war! Snake, Bim and their loving spouses Blackberry Pamcakes and Florence Naughtygale made the trip south to find out what all the hype was about. After arriving at our "
hotel" we were greeted by the the hotel clerk, with some
bad news...and we quickly moved on. First stop was the
Oysterhouse Brewing Company. They advertise that they use real oysters in their beer. We sampled the
Moonstone Stout (4.5%). The beer was good, but not great, without a hint of oysters. Not a good start. We considered returning the next night to sample their other offerings, but the bartender assured us that there would be "over 500 people" in the restaurant, and we would never get in. Shit buddy, just cut to the chase and tell us we're not welcome! Snake wanted to de-throat him right then and there, but decided to grant him mercy, as Snake is a just and merciful Beer God. Next stop was
Jack of the Wood Public House. Now this was more our kind of place. Irish music and a good selection of beers. We started with the
Foothills Jade IPA (6%), which we have sampled in the past. This is a damn fine IPA. Full of citrusy flavor and crisp, rating a really good. Next up was the
Green Man Porter (5.6%) which was decent, but sorta forgettable. We chased that with a
Green Man Norwegian Wood, a
Baltic Porter (8.3%) aged in Maker's Mark barrels. Now your talking! This beer had a touch of sweet bourbon, easily rating a really good. Four beers down, and it was time for a change of venue. Luckily, the Asheville beer scene is designed for drunks, with a different pub on every corner. We headed across the street to the Thirsty Monk, where there was a Belgian bar downstairs and a American Craft beer bar upstairs. What a great idea! Separate the men from the eurotrash right at the door. We started with a
Atwater Vanilla Java Imperial Stout (6%), which was a really good, with a smooth vanilla/coffee flavor. The
Anderson Valley Brewing Company's Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout (5.8%) was another winner, also rating a really good. Having hit what we figured to be the best 2 bars in Asheville, we headed out to dinner. Snake, our carnivore friend, quickly told the skinny waiter that if he didn't produce a leg of lamb pretty fucking quick, he was going to "tear off his arm and start eating it". After being escorted out, we headed over to Barley's Tap Room. This place was packed, with a mix of hippies and "English". The beer selection was top heavy with session pales and porters. By this time in the evening, Bim was starting to fall into the hippy spell. He was ranting about the evils of soap, and searching his Iphone-3 for the nearest second-hand store. Things were getting crazy.
The next day, Snake awoke to find Bim fully embracing his new
lifestyle, wandering around Asheville begging for
change. Things weren't looking good. Luckily, the allure of beer was enough to get Bim back on track. After a day of sightseeing, we sampled the
Biltmore Brewing Company's Cedric's Brown Ale (5.5%), named after George Vanderbilt's St. Bernard dog, Cedric. If Vanderbilt had known they were going to one day brew this swill on his property, he'd have burned the place to the ground and named his dog Shithead. Enough said. We ended up at one of Asheville's newest breweries,
Wicked Weed. The name had us initially concerned, as it suggested something altogether different. We quickly learned that this place was no daisy at all! We started with a
Hey Porter (7.5%). This beer was aged in bourbon barrels, with a hint of smoke and vanilla. What a great beer to start with, rating a really good. Then came probably the most unique beer of the whole trip,
Black Angel Cherry Stout (6.6%) another barrel aged beer that was amazing. Next up was
Dark Age Bourbon Stout (10.5%) the first RFG of the night. By the time we finished this beer, Snake was
weeping uncontrollably, as Bim tried to cheer him up with some simple clown
antics. We ended the night with another great beer,
Freak Double IPA (8%). This beer is every bit as good as Pliny, and just a notch below Heady Topper. And to think that this brewery only opened several months ago. Our hat's off to the Wicked Weed, by far the best brewery in Asheville.
Another day, another brewery. The final day in Asheville was spent at another touted brewery,
Wedge Brewing. We sampled their
Iron Rail IPA (7%) and
Vadim Bora Russian Imperial Stout (9.2%), a RIS brewed with raspberries. The IPA was good but not special, while the Vadim Bora was really good. The location, in the River Arts district, offers a great view of the passing freight trains, which
Snake loved immensely (what a loser...). Unfortunately, the dude pouring the beer was a douchebag, making the beer taste a little worse. Their strict "one sticker per person" policy is ridiculous, and if you've never heard of the Great American Beer Festival, as this pretentious idiot hadn't, you probably need to quit pouring beer and try your hand at selling roller dogs at the 7-11. The "
eclectic" clientele may enjoy this place for it's artwork, but from the BC4M's point of view, there is only one place to visit when in Asheville, and that's Wicked Weed.
The following day, the group packed up and started heading back to Virginia, minus one member. Last we saw of Bim, he was
settling in with his new friends, never to be seen again. So, has Asheville really earned the title Beer City? The jury's still out. But one thing is for sure. If more breweries like Wicked Weed start popping up, then the BC4M will be certain to make a return trip.
