Oyster House Brewing - Asheville, NC

 

-We went for a feast here for dinner. They only brew a few beers but only had one on tap unfortunately and apparently always only have 1 or 2 on tap,  so no beer was drank here unfortunately. The food was very good however, and we got the feast for 4. Lots of fun and lots of good grub! Check them out! oysterhousebeers.com/

Oskar Blues - Asheville, NC

 

Technically Oskar Blues is not in Asheville, it's about a 40min drive in Brevard. However I will start by saying it is worth the drive. We found out Dale himself put the brewery there because he likes riding his bike and wanted a lot of open space...so now we know why it's in the middle of no where haha, it's okay Dale we love the beer! The tasting room always opens at noon and is open til 8 or 10 depending on the day.
-Just like Highland Brewing it is a little off the beaten path,but using a GPS we found it easily. Unlimited amounts of parking.
-When you walk up its overwhelming. Once you find the actual entrance you walk in and just see the entire brewery. I saw pallets full of all types of Oskar Blues cans stacked miles high it seemed. In the distance I could see the entire canning process being done throughout the machines. In front of me is a stairway with a very decorated archway over it (see below).

-Once upstairs, music was on, to the right a massive area of merchandise from stickers, patches, signs, to tshirts, hoodies and hats and tons more. To the left lots of tables for sitting. And in the middle a nice sized bar with a bartender ready to serve.

-As usual I order the sampler. I already have tasted most of Oskar Blues beers at home but figured hey why not try em all at once. We got a bowl of peanuts and enjoyed the beer.
-Best part is the bar overlooks the entire brewery, so it was fun to watch the process while you kick back on the beer being made in front of you.

-As for the beers, I loved them all (except the scotch ale). The Gubna Imperial IPA was excellent, Deviant Dales IPA also excellent, Dales Pale is always good, G'Knight Red was yummy.
-We found out Dale himself put the brewery there because he likes riding his bike and wanted a lot of open space...so now we know why it's in the middle of no where haha, it's okay Dale we love the beer!
-Check them out! http://www.oskarblues.com/about-us/oskarbluesbrevard

Wedge Brewing - Asheville, NC

-Wedge was another brewery that took a minute to find. It is located in Wedge Studious...at first we went up to the art gallery and were waiting for the beer to show up. But after asking someone we found out its BEHIND the building. So we went to the right, down the steps, and saw a nice grungy looking area.  Inside was Wedge Brewing.

-A tiny little bar to order your drinks. I tried the sampler of course and continued outside to enjoy the scenery.

-Looking out at a railroad track and giant backyard with lawn games and picnic tables for guests. This places furniture selection reminded me of Pigsah Brewing but I think Wedge felt like the furniture belonged there unlike the misplacement at Pigsah. Bathroom was pretty disgusting and I felt dirty after leaving, but for a local I can see this place being a good time on a Friday night.

-As for the beer I tried them all. It looked like Golem was their most popular, a strong golden ale, it wasn't bad. The Iron Rail IPA was also not too bad. As for all the others I tried..nothing really stood out to me, but maybe it was because I was coming off the heels of Wicked Weed and LAB.

-I would recommend stopping in for a beer just to see the uniqueness of this place.  Plus it's only a few minutes from the city.Check them out! www.wedgebrewing.com/

French Broad Brewing - Asheville, NC

-Well we showed up mid afternoon in hopes of getting a fresh beer when they opened their doors only to find out they were under construction. I have no problem with a place doing construction for a few days but A) have a massive sign saying CLOSED or B) post it on your website! We walked in like idiots and had no clue...so basically all I got was a picture at this place, but have no other comments since I didn't drink their beer. Check them out! frenchbroadbrewery.com/

Lexington Avenue Brewery - Asheville, NC

-We stopped in here after our second trip to Wicked Weed. This place is HUGE! Giant restaurant in front, nice hallway where you can see the brewery itself, huge very nice bathrooms and then the back room has live music set up with an additional bar. I bet at night this place is fantastic.

-I only tried the IPA here, their beer list was very minimal.

-For a merchandise guy they didn't have too much but a few tshirts and pint glass..and NO coasters.

-Our bartender was very friendly and it was a nice experience.
Check them out! www.lexavebrew.com/

Asheville Brewing Company - Asheville, NC

For dinner we went to Asheville Brewing Company. It was a Tuesday night and the place was pretty packed! It is in a great location in the middle of the city, easily walkable from our hotel.  The menu is a movie theme and some of the names are awesome. I had the Tombstone burger..nothing out of this world but it wasn't bad.

-As for the beer I had the sampler..of course. I had the Shiva IPA, Scout Stout, Fire Escape, Escape Artist, and Ninja Porter. None of them blew me away, but with the exception of the Porter they were all drinkable beers to me, I realized I wasn't a Porter guy.
-The setting is nice, typical restaurant style and less of a brewery feel but that's okay.

-I recommend going here towards the end of the day, having a sampler and a bite to eat.

Check them out! www.ashevillebrewing.com/

Pigsah Brewing - Asheville, NC

 

-Our next stop on our Asheville beer tour was Pigsah. I respect Pigsah since I was told it was one of the original breweries that really helped Asheville gain it's microbrew popularity. Now I read all over yelp that the place was damn near impossible to find and boy were people right. It truly is hidden! I don't mind hidden, but what I don't like is that there is next to NO signage anywhere to be found. Luckily we saw a couple people drinking at a picnic table so we determined this must be it.

-Stepping foot through the garage door you are blasted with a yeast smell that is extremely over powering.  I have smelled this faintly at other breweries in the past, but this was the potent I've experienced.
-As for the negatives...the lay out is huge, but a lot of wasted space.  All the tables and chairs look like street side pick ups or garage sale furniture.  The bathroom is further into the warehouse area and is the type of bathroom I expected in this area.
-As for the beers..I had a sampler of about 10 of their house beers.  I will be honest I came strictly to try the Bacon Stout (wasn't very good). I also had the Vortex II, Nitro Stout, IPA of course, Pale Ale, Porter, and a few others that I didn't get to write down.  All the beers were decent as best, with my favorite being the IPA but unfortunately my least favorite IPA on the entire trip.
-All in all I will say that the drive was worth it for the history but if I ever went back to Asheville I wouldn't waste the gas and time.  I wasn't there for live music but I think once the party starts at night I'm sure its a fantastic place to hang out for the locals. As for the beer however I will say I wasn't impressed by any, and the setting would look so much nicer if they just bought a few sets of bar height tables and stools.

Check them out!  pisgahbrewing.com/
 -They also had my least favorite pint glass of the bunch I purchased. Asheville citizens don't like to hear this place bad mouthed so I do apologize, but hey we are all entitled to an opinion!
A couple videos around the area so you have an idea..

Green Man Brewing - Asheville, NC

We set the GPS to take us to Green Man Brewing (expecting it to take us to Jack of the Wood) but thankfully we were wrong and ended up at the actual Green Man Brewery. It wasn't huge, but I will say it had the most comfortable bar stool/chairs I may have ever sat in.

-The waitress was extremely friendly even though she was running all over since it was somewhat crowded.
-The brewery was rather oddly decorated, but neat and unique.  Plenty of room to move around after buying a pint.

-As for the beer we only had the IPA an the Double IPA but I must say the Double IPA was quite tasty and good. The regular IPA was decent.

-Good merchandise for sale, including a sticker or pint glass set of all four seasons of the green man (see below).
-Worth visiting and trying one or two of their beers...cool place!
Check them out! www.jackofthewood.com/ or greenmanbrewery.com/

Highland Brewing - Asheville, NC

-Our next visit was Highland Brewing. They didn't open til 4 but we walked in ten minutes early and already saw plenty of people drinking...so I wouldn't hold them to 4pm to the dot.
-First off, this place wasn't easy to find. We made our turn and drove right past the entrance. Granted, after our U-turn we realized there was Highland Brewing with an arrow sign we didn't see our first time passing but it's there. You drive up about 30 seconds and then there it is.
-The exterior is beautiful...wonderful steel work as you will see below in the pictures.  When we walked in the brewery was massive.  A few picnic tables and bar top tables, but I felt like a lot of wasted room. Random offices off the to the side, and a stage set up for live music.  The hostess was about to start a brewery tour so we took advantage and stole a bar spot while all the other people went on the tour.
-The bartender was great and very knowledgeable of his place of employment. 
-The merhandise counter had lots of offer..including tshirts, free stickers (score!), and much much more.
-I ordered their sampler..as I always do, and I like the board it came on because it included the names of each beer I was drinking (see below).  However one thing did bother me...the sample glasses I drank out of contained a Scottish man. When I purchased a sample glass from the bartender I expected this same glass...but once I got home and unwrapped it I realized it was a boring "Highland Brewing" with no Scottish man sample glass...o well! Their tulip glass is excellent (see below).
-As for beers...I had the Coffee Porter(not bad), Little Hump Pale (decent), St Therese Pale Ale (decent), Oatmeal Porter (tasty), Kashmir IPA (not bad), Gaelic Ale (decent), Black Mocha Stout (good), and Devils Britches iPA(the best of them all). Check them out! www.highlandbrewing.com/

 Brought the Imperial Kashmir home...not bad at all!