2016 Beer City Festival

Catawba White Zombie – I always like a beer event where actual brewery employees work the tents, and this was definitely the case with the Beer City Festival. When I happened upon the Catawba tent, I was first transfixed by the terrific label designs, then greeted by head brewer Billy Pyatt who walked me through each beer. My personal favorite was White Zombie, an engaging Witbier that hit all the right stylistic notes.

Hi-Wire Gose – Hi-Wire’s tent was located right by the entrance to the fest, so in our fervor to land some whale pours we scurried right past it. We found it again on our way out and were greeted by the brewery’s Gose, a newly canned beer that was spritzy and effervescent, with just the right amount of salinity. A refreshing draught to enjoy on our way out of the festival.

Sanctuary Raspberry Beret – Another tent that was inhabited by the head brewer and founder of its respective brewery, Sanctuary Brewing Company’s founder Joe Dinan outlined the flavor profile for the beers he was pouring. I opted for Raspberry Beret (both in remembrance of Prince and because I was all about fruit beers apparently), which was another delightful, ruby-colored fruit beer with tasty cereal notes and an enjoyable carbonation profile that helped to beat the heat on this sultry day.

Even high-capacity Western transplants New Belgium and Sierra Nevada were in attendance, both of which have established local outposts around Asheville in order to cut down on shipping times to the East Coast. New Belgium’s Heavy Melon, a revitalizing watermelon-lime ale, garnered hefty praise.

Asheville is almost certainly the best beer city in the south. With breweries dotting the downtown landscape alongside great bars, brewpubs and restaurants, the city makes for a terrific mountain retreat where you can both commune with nature and fully embrace The Beer Connoisseur lifestyle by discovering new breweries, tasting new flavors and making memories.

Asheville transplants Oskar Blues, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada poured rarer selections.

Beer festivals are a terrific starting point for any beer-themed Asheville trip, and the Beer City Festival was no exception. We look forward to returning in September for the 20^th Annual Brewgrass Festival (link), which is held at Memorial Stadium and is roughly double the size of the Beer City Festival. That’s quite a feat considering that the Beer City Festival was a rather sprawling event set near the heart of Downtown Asheville.

Beer events are a great way to mingle with fellow craft beer lovers and discuss everyone’s favorite beverage. When the beers being poured are brewed in (and around) Asheville, North Carolina, you can be sure you’ll find something worth talking about.

Header and Footer images by Josh Rhinehart.