Just a quick post after a recent trip to Asheville for a work retreat. Our management team had some discussion of potential synergies, thought out of the box about our vision, and had some required “team-building” aka drinking and eating.
I’ve spent little time in Asheville, and was stoked to try some spots that have been on my list for a while. Good food and beer abound in this bohemian mountain town, which has the highest brewery per capita ratio of any city in the US. In addition to the dozens of local breweries, many of the largest craft brewers in the country are installing East Coast operations in the Asheville area, such as Oscar Blue’s, New Belgium, and Sierra Nevada. We took a brewery tour (highly recommended) where I was informed that most companies get along quite well, with the larger players often lending a helping hand to the local microbreweries.
I’m looking forward to getting back up there – I would love to do a weekend trip with friends and spouses. Hiking, drinking, good eating, fun bars, and just a few hour drive from Atlanta. Here are some of my shots from the weekend.
Catfish at Chestnut. Quite good.
Cocktails and a dashi soup with noodles at The Admiral. Very fun, funky little place.
Our tour vehicle for the day.
First stop, a little restaurant called Oyster House that brews their own beer – they are well known for their oyster stout, which yes, is actually brewed with oysters.
Stop #2 – Green Man. Really nice beers. Pro-tip – they are right next door to the French Broad Chocolate factory store. Their chocolate is fantastic.
Stop #3 – Wicked Weed. This place is relatively new and coming on super strong. A couple of young brothers are brewing and running the show, with some strong financial backing, I’m told. Right now they are building a second brewing facility called “The Funkatoreum” where they are going to brew their sours and wilds, so as to avoid cross contamination with their other beers.
The place is super nice, a full service restaurant with dozens of beers on draft, and everything I tried was very, very good. Stupid good in some cases.
If you like flavor, interesting beers, or funky sours, it’s a must visit. It’s a beer geek mecca.
We were actually filmed for The Today Show segment about craft beer – you can see me in the blue striped shirt at 1:10 and that’s my father speaking. The words have a way of flowing when you are on your third brewery stop.
One last beer the next day. Plotting my return. Let me know where else to go.
Pingback: — Eat It, Atlanta - Atlanta Restaurant | Cooking | Food Blog()