Troegs Brewery - Hershey, PA

On our way home from Asheville we decided to spend a night in Hershey, PA since it is a long drive back to Buffalo.  Nugget Nectar was a staple in our family so why not go to the source? The GPS was not our friend, but after calling the brewery we realized we were just a minute away, it was right next to the outlets.  Tons of parking, this place is massive as you can see below. Check them out! https://www.troegs.com/

Walking in the gift shop is bigger than most breweries all together and it's on our right, straight ahead is the tasting room which is more like a restaurant. Lots of tables and bar space. We chatted with the bartender, very nice woman...she directed us to the food counter so we could order some grub.  Minutes later it was ready.

 As for the beer, I won't really review them since they are sold all over, but the Perpetual IPA tasted better than I've ever had. Unfortunately Nugget Nectar wasn't as good as we were used to but still good.  All of their other beers in the sampler were good though.

Food was all tasty, nothing was jaw dropping but for dinner it was a good amount of food and the prices were nice.

 I really liked that you can do your own self guided tour of the brewery. Of course the tour pops you out at the gift shop.

As for the gift shop, they offer more gifts than any place I've ever seen. You name they logo'd it. I do have one major complaint however. I went there with buying a Nugget Nectar tin sign in mind since I didn't want to pay shipping since I knew we would be going there.  Well the cashier said they're sold out. However there were two on the wall.  She stated the next order was coming in the next day. I asked if I could have one off the wall, she said they don't do that..okay I can understand its screwed into the wall and can be a pain. However, I would of hoped they would let me buy it that day and maybe give me free shipping? But no. So I tried ordering it online days later, willing to pay shipping and it wouldn't process my order. I get an email to call the brewery to complete the order.  I call the brewery an hour after they open, I'm told the manager is on lunch.  I leave my name and number..never got a call back. I refuse to BEG to give them my money, so I gave up.  

 With the exception of the poor management of the gift shop, I was there for the beer and wasn't disappointed, highly recommended to check out if you are ever in the Hershey area! The outlets, theme park and much more are all within a mile.

***Update (5/30/14): I visited Troegs again on our to AND from Philly since it was just THAT good. They had 4 Scratch beers on tap, 2 were Session IPAs and 2 were IPAs and they were all good with one of the IPAs being outstanding! Bought a bunch of growlers, and everyone in my group all kept saying how nice Troegs Brewery was.  It was packed both times we stopped, but it is a juggernaut and knows how to quickly serve it's customers! I would rank this easily in my top 10 breweries and it reassured me how great this place really is.

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

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!