I was gone last week, if you followed the twitter feed, you probably figured that out. I tried to start a trending topic on twitter with VGRIDAVL, but apparently was the only person to use it. I wanted it to be as popular as when the Obama's went to Asheville, but apparently #avlpotus got more people to use it than #vgridavl. Oh well.
Kridz and I left on Monday morning for the 600 mile drive. It was uneventful, so that was nice. It takes us right around 9 hours for the trip, more or less depending on if you stop to eat, or just grab a gas station sammich.
We got there on Monday and went to the fiddlin pig. They have some local beers on tap, so, of course, I had local beer. I believe I had something from French Broad. I finished up with a Carolina Blonde. It's from Carolina, but not necessarily local. I had the Beef Brisket Platter, with fried okra and greens. It was ok. There's live bluegrass playing, which was nice. Kridz thought I hated bluegrass, but I can appreciate it. I reminded her that we listened to the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack on the way back from Dark Lord Day, but she thought I only put it in to be funny or mock, when I asked her why I could sing along, she didn't really have an answer.
I had some thoughts about songs that I'd like to hear in a bluegrass style. Mostly, I thought Famous Blue Raincoat would make an awesome bluegrass song. I also wondered how I could turn Baby Got Back into a bluegrass song.
That was about it for Monday. Tuesday, we didn't really have any plans, except our hosts had to take their two month old to the doctor for shots, so we couldn't really plan to do much on Tuesday. So, I went to the store and got stuff for a dinner. We had a cheese plate with brie and drunken goat and a baby greens salad, served with New Belgium IPA. Second course was pan fried beef tenderloin steaks with asparagus in a balsamic reduction, served over parmesan risotto; served with Ommegang Abbey Ale. We were all pretty full at this point, so we let our dinner settle and later had a Sara Lee vanilla bean cake, served with the Sierra Nevada Fritz and Ken's Stout. All in all, it was a decent meal, and I think it was received well. Neither Kridz nor Dana are very experimental with their food. They had their salads with ranch dressing, instead of balsamic. Dana, normally puts ranch on her steak, but said that this was good enough that it didn't need anything on it, so that made me happy. Neither really like the asparagus. The risotto (to me) didn't turn out the way I wanted.
Wednesday, we went downtown and had lunch at Lexington Avenue Brewery. I had the American Pale Ale, Kridz had the India Pale Ale. I ate the portobello sandwich, Kridz had the beer cheese soup. Both were good enough.
We left there and walked down to the Mellow Mushroom. MM in Asheville has an awesome beer selection, for being a pizza place. They have a large amount of taps, and have a lot of local beer on tap. I can't remember what anyone had, but I know we enjoyed them. Evening meal was spaghetti.
Thursday for lunch, went to Asheville Brewing Company. I had the buffet, Kridz had some sort of chicken alfredo looking thing. I don't remember what beer I had, but it was something I've had before. It was serviceable. Neither outstandingly great, nor horrifically bad.
We left there and made our way back to downtown and walked to Bruisin' Ales. I gave Jason and Julie two bottles of Dark Lord, and Jay gave me a bottle of Le Baladin (can't remember what) but it had a sticker price of $50. I think we'll be opening it on Monday. Also picked up some other things that I've never heard of, and haven't seen, so that'll be nice.
After spending about $120, we left and went down to the Woolworths (odd how there's another Oh Brother reference). The woolworth in Asheville has a soda fountain, and is an art gallery. When I go there, I get ideas of things to do. I don't really do them, but I get ideas.
Thursday night we ate beef strogonoff, nothing too spectacular.
Friday, Frank arrived, after having worked in Knoxville for the week. Lunch was at BW, which has asome local beers on tap, so I had the French Broad Wee Heavy-er, followed up by Highland Black Mocha. Later that afternoon, we went down to Craggie. Had a sip of the antebellum ale, which is heavy on the ginger. I drank the Battery Hill, which is an english-style rye. Kridz and Frank both had the Toubab, zwickel beer.
We left there and went to the Green Man Brewing and Tasting Room (also known as Dirty Jacks for some reason). I had the porter, Kridz had the stout, Frank had the Imperial stout. I bought a new trucker hat. We left there planning on going to the Yacht Club, but instead went to the Green Man sister restaurant Jack of the Wood. Frank had a Founders Double Trouble, I had a Stone Ruination. I ate the Salmon Fish and Chips, which was pretty good.
We then went across the street to the Thirsty Monk. They were having a Terrapin event. They had the newest side project on cask, Boom Shaka Lager. Which was pretty darn good. Frank got one as well. Kridz got a Wake-n-Bake. We got to talk to Spike Buckowski, of the brewery, and I begged him to come to Champaign. I also asked that he distribute solely to Radio Maria in Illinois, but he didn't really seem interested in that, but I tried.
We then headed back to Frank and Dana's as the baby was getting cranky. Frank and I shared a couple of beers, but I really don't remember what all we had.
Saturday was Frank's birthday, there was a cookout, there was beer. There was fuzzy memories. I know we had the previous Terrapin Side Project, Capt'n Krunkles which was a really good black IPA; there was plenty of other stuff too, but, I don't remember. After everyone left, Frank and I split a Widmer Brothers' Reserve Prickly Pear Braggot. It seemed to have more of the honey flavor than of the prickly pear. It also had quite an alcohol kick towards the end. It was good, but I'd have hoped for more of the fruit juice in the flavor. We finished his birthday with a Foothills Brewery Sexual Chocolate. This is one of those beers, that you consider yourself blessed to try. It wasn't a bitter chocolate, but it wasn't a milk shake either. It was a darn fine beer. (It's listed as #97 on Beer Advocate's top 100 list; I don't care about rankings, but some people do).
Sunday, we drove back, on my twitter feed, you can see how fast we were traveling and how far we got each hour. Made it back in time for Blackhawks puck drop. Then I went in to Radio Maria to count beer.
It was a good trip. Lots of beer. Time with friends. And yes, I held the baby, but only because on Saturday night, Dana put the baby on me, as I was sitting in a chair. When the baby was removed, I germ-x'ed myself thoroughly. Babies make me sick. Why, I don't know. But touching babies seems to give me the flu.
Showing posts with label Bruisin' Ales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bruisin' Ales. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving South Easterly Trip
Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. For it, Kridz and I went south east. Our initial plans were to go down to Marietta Georgia and spend the week with my uncle helga, and do Thanksgiving day (proper) with the mother.
Then we thought a whole week in Georgia might be too much, so we thought about going to Asheville on Friday (or Saturday) and spending some time with Frank and Dana. Then we changed our minds again, and went to Asheville first, and headed to Atlanta area on Thanksgiving itself.
On the Sunday before we left, I stopped at Friar Tucks to pick up some things to trade with Julie from BruisinAles. She had asked for some of this years Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Three Floyds Behemoth, and Three Floyds Alpha Klaus. GIBCS and Behemoth were available at Tucks so I picked up some of that for her.
We left on Monday morning around 8:30 or so. We got to 465 in Indy around 10:45 (with the time change; maybe). Then had to get gas, so we stoped at Crown Liquors. Crown Liq is at exit 2B on 465. Take that for about 3 miles south and it's on the left. It doesn't have a huge selection, but the selection it has is outstanding. (If you go down 31 further south, you'll come to E Stop 11 road, turn left there and go down another 2 miles and on the right is Parti-pak Liquors, that store doesn't look like much, but has an OUTSTANDING beer selection, and everything is available in singles; we didn't go there this time) We weren't really shopping to get much, just hoping to pick up some more GIBCS (tucks only had the bombers) and hopefully some Alpha Klaus. The store had Alpha Klaus, horray. It also had bombers and 4 packs of GIBCS, horray. It also had Behemoth, horray. It didn't just have Behemoth, it had '09 Behemoth, sitting next to '08 Behemoth, sitting next to '07 Behemoth. All were the same price, exactly how that was possible, I have no idea. So, I got one of each of those (for Julie). I also picked up a 4pack of Bells Hell Hath No Fury, because that's awesome. I think that's about all we got there. The guy working was nice enough to give us 15% off our purchase, it was supposed to be just for bombers, but he did it for the whole thing. I'm sure we got more, I just don't remember what all else we got there.
We continued traveling to Asheville. Interstate 40 is closed just inside the North Carolina border, so we hadda take a detour. This was through some of the windy-est up and down backwoods parts of North Carolina. In Illinois, we are pampered. Seriously. The ground is flat, and pretty much all the roads go north and south, or east and west. There are a few curves, but it's pretty straight. Even the non-interstate roads are pretty straight. You can take route 150 from Danville to the Quad Cities, and you'll be stopping a lot, but it's pretty straight. This backroad route that we had to take in North Carolina, I swear we stayed on the same road, but intersected the road we were on. There's a lot of turning. There's a lot of ups and downs. There's mountains. There's valleys. There's OMG YOU ARE GOING TO FAST FOR THIS CORNER!!!! ARRRRGGGGHHH.
We made it to Asheville, without much incident (although my car is making a weird rattling noise). Got to Frank and Dana's and ate and had a beer or 2, not exactly sure what all we drank that night, the week got kind of fuzzy...
Woke up on Tuesday and ate breakfast. Killed some time, then headed to downtown to the Mellow Mushroom to eat lunch. I had a Sweetwater Motorboat, Kridz had a Wedge Pale, Frank had a Highland Cold Mountain. I had a second beer, that was the French Broad Rye Hopper. We left there and headed to Pisgah Brewery. There we met Julie and J from BruisinAles. We all got beer and went and sat at the tables and chatted about beer. Based on my twitter messages, I know that the first beer I had was their Belgian Amber. Kridz had their porter and Frank had the Nitro Stout. Because we were there with Julie and J, we got to go back and check out the works of the brewery (I'm sure they would have let us back their without them; but it didn't hurt that we were there with one of the top beer store people in the world). We talked to one of the brewers and learned some of their stuff. We finished up and headed to the next brewery.
Our next stop was Wedge Brewing Co. Wedge is pretty. Wedge is possibly how I'd like my brewery to look. While there, I had their belgian abbey ale, which was awesome. Frank and Kridz both got their DIPA. We got to go back and talk with Carl, the brewer, about some of the things he was doing, and to look at their setup. I'm pretty sure that I had another beer there, but who really knows. We packed up there and headed to the next brewery.
Our next stop was Dirty Jacks. While there, we got to talk with the brewer, John. I was drinking the DIPA, and Kridz got the ESB. Their ESB was one of the first non-bud light beers that Kridz had. From our first trip to Asheville, when we helped move Frank and Dana down. It's a good gateway beer. Back then, it was probably a lot more flavor than she was used to, now it's probably kind of tame. John was working on something special for something special (not exactly sure what it was) but he brought out some samples of a stout for us, and that was pretty darn good. We packed up there and headed to our next stop.
Next stop, the Thirsty Monk. The monk is pretty much 2 pubs, downstairs is all Belgian and belgian style, upstairs is pretty much... beer, any and all beer. When we were there, we got to sit in on a tasting of Hanssens Lambics in the basement, which I enjoyed, but Frank and Kridz didn't seem to like. At one point I said, "you have to want to like these beers" if you don't you'll never get around to appreciating them. If you don't want it, you'll hate them and just be stuck with the vinegar flavor. Then we went upstairs and got to drink some cask Ola Dubh 12 year. That was awesome too. I'm pretty sure I had a beer from downstairs, but I have no clue what it was. While we were finishing up the Ola Dubh glasses, Dana called and said she was about ready to be picked up from work. That call ended a LONG day of drinking. A LONG great day of drinking. Although I think we may have had another one or two when we got back to Frank and Dana's.
Woke up Wed, and felt a little small, not horribly hungover, but not the greatest. Dana managed to get the day off, so we ate breakfast and headed out to go do some beer exchanging with BruisinAles. We got there before they opened, so we had to figure out something else to do. We wound up going to The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa for the National Gingerbread House Display. That was... interesting. The place smelled like gingerbread, which I guess is to be expected. Some of them were nice, others were... meh. We finished up there and went to BruisinAles again. (the final haul list will be at the bottom of this post).
We left there, went back to Frank and Dana's ate dinner had a couple beers (including a Troegs Nugget Nectar from Julie and J's private stash) and watched Pelham 123. Woke up Thursday and headed towards Atlanta. Made the 200 wind-y drive in about 4 hours. Got to mom's a little bit into the packer game. Had to call mother for directions to her house from the road we exited the interstate from. She apparently doesn't know the road's name to turn on from the road we were on, which I believe is the road she works on.
Watched football, ate, played scategories, left and went to Uncle Helga's. Wanted a beer during dinner, but not so much after. Relaxed the rest of the night at Harolds. Friday went back to go work on their laptops that both had issues. Frank's display was turning off, and they needed the data from it on the other lappy. Mom's lappy wasn't printing. I managed to transfer the data without having much visibility on the monitor, and managed to get her printer working (Windows 7 security features have a tendency to lock down machines to a point where they don't work). Ate, then headed to Highland Beverage in Hiram.
Highland doesn't have the biggest selection, but they do have a decent one. This whole trip my plan was to only get beers from the south east, I pretty much succeeded, but did get a couple of Stone's and some other things.
Left there and went to Taco Mac Marietta. Other than pizza, Taco Mac is the beer place that Old Chicago wishes it was. Old Chicago has like 20 taps, Taco Mac Marietta has 50. Old Chicago claims 110 brews. Taco Mac has 402 bottles. I don't know any place locally with that number, (other than the houses of people in the beer club). While there, met my cousin, his wife and 2 daughters. That was nice. I added 4 beers (between kridz and I) to my passport club thing.
Saturday, packed up and headed back to Illinois.
That's pretty much the trip. Here's the haul...
4 pack Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
4 pack Atlanta Brewing Company Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter
4 pack Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout (and another for Puffer)(commonly known as Wake and Bake)
2 Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada Life and Limb
3 Terrapin Gamma Ray
2 Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
2 Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch
2 Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot
Sweetwater Festive '09 #1655 (must check to see what number my '06 is)
Bruery 2 Turgle Doves
Stone Old Guardian Early '09 Release
Smuttynose Baltic Porter
Smuttynose Imperial Stout
Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale
Weyerbacher Insanity
Hanssens Oude Kriek (from Thirsty Monk tasting)
Highland Tasgall
Sweetwater Wet Dream (dank tank)
Terrapin Side Project #6 90 Shelling
Terrapin Side Project #7 Maggies' Farmhouse Ale
Weyerbacher XIII
Weyerbacher 12
Deschutes Jubelale '08 (from Julie and J)
Highland Imperial Black Mocha
Sweetwater Big Ol' Belgian Blue Balls (dank tank)
Troegs Mad Elf (from Julie and J)
Terrapin Imperial Red Ale Big Hoppy Monster
Brewdog Paradox Smokehead #15
Brewdog Paradox Isle of Arran #16
Weyerbacher 14
Weyerbacher Quad
(the Paradox gives me numbers 1,3,5,8,10,11, 13, 15, and 16)
Then we thought a whole week in Georgia might be too much, so we thought about going to Asheville on Friday (or Saturday) and spending some time with Frank and Dana. Then we changed our minds again, and went to Asheville first, and headed to Atlanta area on Thanksgiving itself.
On the Sunday before we left, I stopped at Friar Tucks to pick up some things to trade with Julie from BruisinAles. She had asked for some of this years Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Three Floyds Behemoth, and Three Floyds Alpha Klaus. GIBCS and Behemoth were available at Tucks so I picked up some of that for her.
We left on Monday morning around 8:30 or so. We got to 465 in Indy around 10:45 (with the time change; maybe). Then had to get gas, so we stoped at Crown Liquors. Crown Liq is at exit 2B on 465. Take that for about 3 miles south and it's on the left. It doesn't have a huge selection, but the selection it has is outstanding. (If you go down 31 further south, you'll come to E Stop 11 road, turn left there and go down another 2 miles and on the right is Parti-pak Liquors, that store doesn't look like much, but has an OUTSTANDING beer selection, and everything is available in singles; we didn't go there this time) We weren't really shopping to get much, just hoping to pick up some more GIBCS (tucks only had the bombers) and hopefully some Alpha Klaus. The store had Alpha Klaus, horray. It also had bombers and 4 packs of GIBCS, horray. It also had Behemoth, horray. It didn't just have Behemoth, it had '09 Behemoth, sitting next to '08 Behemoth, sitting next to '07 Behemoth. All were the same price, exactly how that was possible, I have no idea. So, I got one of each of those (for Julie). I also picked up a 4pack of Bells Hell Hath No Fury, because that's awesome. I think that's about all we got there. The guy working was nice enough to give us 15% off our purchase, it was supposed to be just for bombers, but he did it for the whole thing. I'm sure we got more, I just don't remember what all else we got there.
We continued traveling to Asheville. Interstate 40 is closed just inside the North Carolina border, so we hadda take a detour. This was through some of the windy-est up and down backwoods parts of North Carolina. In Illinois, we are pampered. Seriously. The ground is flat, and pretty much all the roads go north and south, or east and west. There are a few curves, but it's pretty straight. Even the non-interstate roads are pretty straight. You can take route 150 from Danville to the Quad Cities, and you'll be stopping a lot, but it's pretty straight. This backroad route that we had to take in North Carolina, I swear we stayed on the same road, but intersected the road we were on. There's a lot of turning. There's a lot of ups and downs. There's mountains. There's valleys. There's OMG YOU ARE GOING TO FAST FOR THIS CORNER!!!! ARRRRGGGGHHH.
We made it to Asheville, without much incident (although my car is making a weird rattling noise). Got to Frank and Dana's and ate and had a beer or 2, not exactly sure what all we drank that night, the week got kind of fuzzy...
Woke up on Tuesday and ate breakfast. Killed some time, then headed to downtown to the Mellow Mushroom to eat lunch. I had a Sweetwater Motorboat, Kridz had a Wedge Pale, Frank had a Highland Cold Mountain. I had a second beer, that was the French Broad Rye Hopper. We left there and headed to Pisgah Brewery. There we met Julie and J from BruisinAles. We all got beer and went and sat at the tables and chatted about beer. Based on my twitter messages, I know that the first beer I had was their Belgian Amber. Kridz had their porter and Frank had the Nitro Stout. Because we were there with Julie and J, we got to go back and check out the works of the brewery (I'm sure they would have let us back their without them; but it didn't hurt that we were there with one of the top beer store people in the world). We talked to one of the brewers and learned some of their stuff. We finished up and headed to the next brewery.
Our next stop was Wedge Brewing Co. Wedge is pretty. Wedge is possibly how I'd like my brewery to look. While there, I had their belgian abbey ale, which was awesome. Frank and Kridz both got their DIPA. We got to go back and talk with Carl, the brewer, about some of the things he was doing, and to look at their setup. I'm pretty sure that I had another beer there, but who really knows. We packed up there and headed to the next brewery.
Our next stop was Dirty Jacks. While there, we got to talk with the brewer, John. I was drinking the DIPA, and Kridz got the ESB. Their ESB was one of the first non-bud light beers that Kridz had. From our first trip to Asheville, when we helped move Frank and Dana down. It's a good gateway beer. Back then, it was probably a lot more flavor than she was used to, now it's probably kind of tame. John was working on something special for something special (not exactly sure what it was) but he brought out some samples of a stout for us, and that was pretty darn good. We packed up there and headed to our next stop.
Next stop, the Thirsty Monk. The monk is pretty much 2 pubs, downstairs is all Belgian and belgian style, upstairs is pretty much... beer, any and all beer. When we were there, we got to sit in on a tasting of Hanssens Lambics in the basement, which I enjoyed, but Frank and Kridz didn't seem to like. At one point I said, "you have to want to like these beers" if you don't you'll never get around to appreciating them. If you don't want it, you'll hate them and just be stuck with the vinegar flavor. Then we went upstairs and got to drink some cask Ola Dubh 12 year. That was awesome too. I'm pretty sure I had a beer from downstairs, but I have no clue what it was. While we were finishing up the Ola Dubh glasses, Dana called and said she was about ready to be picked up from work. That call ended a LONG day of drinking. A LONG great day of drinking. Although I think we may have had another one or two when we got back to Frank and Dana's.
Woke up Wed, and felt a little small, not horribly hungover, but not the greatest. Dana managed to get the day off, so we ate breakfast and headed out to go do some beer exchanging with BruisinAles. We got there before they opened, so we had to figure out something else to do. We wound up going to The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa for the National Gingerbread House Display. That was... interesting. The place smelled like gingerbread, which I guess is to be expected. Some of them were nice, others were... meh. We finished up there and went to BruisinAles again. (the final haul list will be at the bottom of this post).
We left there, went back to Frank and Dana's ate dinner had a couple beers (including a Troegs Nugget Nectar from Julie and J's private stash) and watched Pelham 123. Woke up Thursday and headed towards Atlanta. Made the 200 wind-y drive in about 4 hours. Got to mom's a little bit into the packer game. Had to call mother for directions to her house from the road we exited the interstate from. She apparently doesn't know the road's name to turn on from the road we were on, which I believe is the road she works on.
Watched football, ate, played scategories, left and went to Uncle Helga's. Wanted a beer during dinner, but not so much after. Relaxed the rest of the night at Harolds. Friday went back to go work on their laptops that both had issues. Frank's display was turning off, and they needed the data from it on the other lappy. Mom's lappy wasn't printing. I managed to transfer the data without having much visibility on the monitor, and managed to get her printer working (Windows 7 security features have a tendency to lock down machines to a point where they don't work). Ate, then headed to Highland Beverage in Hiram.
Highland doesn't have the biggest selection, but they do have a decent one. This whole trip my plan was to only get beers from the south east, I pretty much succeeded, but did get a couple of Stone's and some other things.
Left there and went to Taco Mac Marietta. Other than pizza, Taco Mac is the beer place that Old Chicago wishes it was. Old Chicago has like 20 taps, Taco Mac Marietta has 50. Old Chicago claims 110 brews. Taco Mac has 402 bottles. I don't know any place locally with that number, (other than the houses of people in the beer club). While there, met my cousin, his wife and 2 daughters. That was nice. I added 4 beers (between kridz and I) to my passport club thing.
Saturday, packed up and headed back to Illinois.
That's pretty much the trip. Here's the haul...
4 pack Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
4 pack Atlanta Brewing Company Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter
4 pack Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout (and another for Puffer)(commonly known as Wake and Bake)
2 Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada Life and Limb
3 Terrapin Gamma Ray
2 Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
2 Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch
2 Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot
Sweetwater Festive '09 #1655 (must check to see what number my '06 is)
Bruery 2 Turgle Doves
Stone Old Guardian Early '09 Release
Smuttynose Baltic Porter
Smuttynose Imperial Stout
Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale
Weyerbacher Insanity
Hanssens Oude Kriek (from Thirsty Monk tasting)
Highland Tasgall
Sweetwater Wet Dream (dank tank)
Terrapin Side Project #6 90 Shelling
Terrapin Side Project #7 Maggies' Farmhouse Ale
Weyerbacher XIII
Weyerbacher 12
Deschutes Jubelale '08 (from Julie and J)
Highland Imperial Black Mocha
Sweetwater Big Ol' Belgian Blue Balls (dank tank)
Troegs Mad Elf (from Julie and J)
Terrapin Imperial Red Ale Big Hoppy Monster
Brewdog Paradox Smokehead #15
Brewdog Paradox Isle of Arran #16
Weyerbacher 14
Weyerbacher Quad
(the Paradox gives me numbers 1,3,5,8,10,11, 13, 15, and 16)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Georgia Road Trippin
Well, since Kridz and I weren't going to Denver this past weekend, but we already had the time off (you gotta be prepared), we decided to take a trip down to Georgia.
We had initially planned on going down to Georgia for New Years, but a death in the family changed that plan. So, since we weren't going ... yet... we rented a car and drove south east instead of due west.
We left Thursday after work, headed down I-57 then took a little detour over to Evansville, Indiana, and visit Turoni's Pizzery and Brewery. We were afraid that we weren't going to get there in time (the website says they close at 11), but thankfully, that part of Indiana is still on central time and isn't Eastern, so we had about an hour and a half to relax. We ordered the sampler platter that came with 6 beers.
Vinny's Light Lager, Honey Blonde Ale, ThunderBolt Red Ale, Blue Eyed Moose, Ol' 23 Stout, and the seasonal brown (that I don't remember the name of. All the beer was good. I enjoyed the red the most. Kridz, I think, liked the brown the best, or was it the IPA? We also ordered the garlic cheese toast, that was pretty good, and the Lots-a-meat pizza. The pizza was thin crust and pretty darn good. Skot claims it to be his favorite. I did enjoy it, but don't think it'd be my favorite, not that I have a pizza favorite. We finished up there, and headed down the road, headed towards Clarksville, and Fort Campbell.
We both got really tired at the same time, and tried to get a room. I guess I know how Joseph and Mary (were they actual historical figures) felt, as there was no rooms available in pretty much the entirety of Kentucky down the road we were traveling. As we drove, it was dark (being near 11 p.m.) but every so often, you'd see a tree limb coming right to the edge of the road. Power crews were still working to return lines back to people. At first, I thought there was a convention or trade show in the area, because all the hotels parking lots were full of trucks with cherry pickers. By the time we got down towards Fort Campbell, the crews had finished in that area, so we were able to get a hotel. There were still several cherry picker trucks in the hotels parking lots, but it wasn't completely packed, like a bit further north.
We got up on Friday, and continued the journey to Georgia. Our only real plans were for Friday evening and Saturday evening. We had minor plans for Sunday afternoon (Illini game) but other than that our schedule was flexible, we still didn't know what we were going to do on Monday and Tuesday (other than drive back). Well, on the way to the uncle's place, Frank (the groom) called to say he was going to be up in our area on Wednesday. After a bit more talking, we determined that we would drive up to Asheville on Sunday after the Illinois game, and spend the rest of Sunday and Monday with them. So, now we have plans for Monday, sweet.
We got down to the uncle's place, and took our stuff in, relaxed for a bit, then jumped in the car and headed to Sweetwater brewery. Sweetwater seems to pride itself on being ... um... not mainstream. They've got beers like 420, Happy Ending, Donkey Punch... and I'm a fan of their beers. We arrived at the brewery about 4:45. Walked in, and thought, that the place looked really nice. The merchandise was set up to the side, and there was a beautiful bar, with their tap handles. Their website said the tour started at 5:30, so we were a bit early (mostly because we're from out of town, and didn't want to miss it). The girl behind the merch booth asked if she could help us, we said, yes, we were there for the tour. She said, it starts at 5:30, we would have to go outside the gate and wait in line. No, we couldn't sit at the bar; no we couldn't wait inside. We would have to go stand in the line and wait until 530. She said the manager was very strict about no people inside. I thought about "don't float the mainstream" and their trying to be different, but when it came down to it, it's only ok to be different it it conforms to their rules.
So we got in the car and waited. A line started to form around 5:10, so we got in line. We met some nice people in line, what's his name, and what's her name, both from C-bus, Ohio (but they were nice anyway). He mentioned that the tour is apparently a good tour, because there's usually a line. This kind of confused me...
By the time the girl came out to the line and set up the table, there was probably 50 people in line, I thought, these people must really like brewery tours in the south.
The girl then told us our options, for $8 we could buy a brewery glass, that came with 6 tickets, that are good for 5.5 ounce samples of their beer, or for free, we could get the plastic cup, that had 6 tickets that would provide 6 tastes (about an ounce) of the beer. We obviously bought two glasses. The girl then said, that there would be no tour that day, there was construction in the back. Kridz and I almost left, at this point (Atlanta Brewing Company is a couple of miles away). but we went in and got our samples of beer.
Apparently, Sweetwater is a good place to have your company Friday happy hour. The place got to be very full. There were several hundered people in there. It was like a mix of a rock concert and college party style crowd. This was not what I had in mind when I thought "brewery tour".
It wasn't completely unenjoyable, but it wasn't the greatest time. There were more people in there that day than were at any other brewery that I've been to, other than Three Floyds on Dark Lord Day. It wasn't a special release, it was just another day at the tap room. No wonder the manager is strict. I'm a sort of "serious" beer guy. I was a bit upset that I didn't get to tour. I was also upset that people who have an interest in how the process is done, were thrown together with the people just there for happy hour. I'd recommend having an earlier 5 p.m. tour, before the mad crowd. Have it like Dogfish Head, where you have to call or email before, so that you aren't stuck with the raucus crowd. You can still run tours after, but at least be considerate of those who are going out of their way to be at your place, so they can get through before it just turns into a frat party. Sure, it's your place and you can run it like you want, if that's the way you want it.
I still got a trucker hat, and a happy ending shirt, because I like the beer, even though I didn't like how the friday evening was set up.
We finished up there and drove back up to Marietta, then went to Taco Mac. I'm a big fan of Taco-Mac. Last time we were down, I joined the Passport Club. I think I'm close to getting a reward or something. They claim to have 100 beers on tap and 300 bottles, how can you not love that? On Friday, I had four beers that I haven't had before. That and some wings, made for a good night.
Saturday, we got to help my cousin move back in to my uncle's. That man makes me do more work than anyone I know. In the times that I've visited him on "vacation" I've: raked his yard; cleaned his gutters; helped split wood; and now, moved my cousin back into the house. That's more than I've done at my place in the same amount of time.
We finished that up, got cleaned up, then headed for the hour or so, trip east to Athens to go to Terrapin. We showed up to Terrapin about 15 minutes early, bought our glass with 8 tickets (for 4 oz pours) but weren't told we'd have to wait outisde, which was nice. The lady actually let us buy our glasses, go get them filled, and then mill about in the merchandise area, instead of having to wait outside. Sadly, Terrapin only had their 4 year round beers on tap at the brewery. So 8 tickets for 4 different beers. If you gave 4 tickets you could get a full pour of something, so if you go, and they only have 4 on tap, try them all, pick a favorite, then have a pint of that. I wound up with a pint of the India Brown Ale. Terrapin actually ran the tour, which was nice. They have bands playing during the tours... which isn't as nice. The tour starts with taking everyone outside to the grain bin. There, the tour guide talks about the history of the place, a bit about their beers, and a bit about the brewing process. Meanwhile, inside, a band is playing, and college kids are playing bags, and the place is turning into a fraternity/sorority party with a band almost exactly like the day before.
After the outside part of the tour, the guide takes everyone in and he stands on the steps to the brewhouse. He's talking into a megaphone, but that doesn't matter, unless you are directly in front of him, you can't hear, because there's a band playing in a factory building... acoustics are horrible, sounds echoing, man talking about brewing process ".... (megaphone points towards where where standing) barley being passed around (turns) mumble... .... mumble... (turns towards) hops... mumble... boil... 90 minutes... volunteer..."Granted I've been on tours before, but not everyone has. I'd recommend to Terrapin as well, to have a before tap room opens tour. But, this place, I can see as almost being what the owners envisioned. If it was in someplace other than Georgia, it might be.
I already had a Terrapin shirt, but got one for the Oatmeal Coffee Stout (Wake'n'bake). Kridz also got a shirt. I figure I have enough brewery trucker hats, in Sweetwater, Bells, Dogfish Head; that I didn't need another, unless, I'm gonna be the Brewery Trucker Hat Guy. hmmm.
No results found for "brewery trucker hat guy".
Ok, so now I have a goal, great... this is gonna be expensive.
Well, we left terrapin and were looking for a place to eat, saw a hooters from the road, and were gonna stop, until the backseat overrulled the uncle and I, so then were were gonna have mexican, but saw a Mellow Mushroom, and I was like hellz yeah, mellow mushroom. I thought back to the one in Asheville, with 4 pages of local beer on the menu... and, this place had like 10 taps and about 20 different version of american style lager. I had a beer that I just had at the brewery, as it was the best option. The calzone was really good, but the beer selection wasn't what I wanted. Man, it seems like a trip of massive dissappointment so far, doesn't it? It wasn't there's just a few things I'd rather have be different.
Sunday, woke up, went to Waffle House (our first time ever, for Kridz or I) so our waitress gave us both a hat. The food was ok, nothing too great. Then we went back to the uncle's looked for the Illini game. From the time I looked on Saturday, to Sunday, the game had been moved from noon to 1. It also wasn't on local CBS, so we hadda go to Taco Mac... again. Darn. More beer... horray!!! But, the time change was disappointing, as that meant I wouldn't be able to get to Bruisin Ales, because they aren't open on Monday, and they close at 4 on Sunday.
I talked to Frank, wh went over there after church, and picked up a couple bottles of Dos Cocoas, from Terrapin, and he also got a few other things for us on Sunday. I told him to ask them, if they'ed open up for an hour on monday, if I promised to buy $200 worth of beer, they said, they would be open at noon for me. So that was awesome of them. After the Illini beat THE OSU, we packed up and headed up to Asheville. We arrived around 7. Frank picked up some beers, so we tried Golem by Wedge. It went pretty good with the chicken that night. We later had the dos cocoas, and some others. Then crashed on the couch while watching NHRA. (apparently the nitromethane shortage is over, if anyone was wondering).
Woke up on Monday, then headed out to Bruisin Ales to go make my purchases. It was a pretty good haul. I finally picked up a Taste Your Beer Kit. I also got a shirt, so now I've got shirts for the #3 and #10 beer stores, according to Ratebeer. (beer haul for the weekend will be below).
We then went to a Sushi place down the street. Then got stuff for dinner. Ate, drank some beer, played yahtzee, then went to bed.
Drove straight back on Tuesday, as there was already 4 boxes of beer in the trunk, and probably didn't need anymore.
It was a good trip. Got some good stuff, some good beer, had a bit of fun, and actually got some stuff done.
Highland Black Mountian Bitter (5)
Duck Rabbit Amber
Duck Rabbit Barleywine (5)
Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch (2)
Pisgah Valdez
Pisgah Vortex2 (not 2 bottles)
Abita Abbey Ale
Abita Andygator
Shipyard Imperial Porter
Shipyard Barleywine
Smuttynose IPA
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale
Highland Imperial Black Mocha Stout
Ommegang Biere de Mars
Oudbeitje
Cantillon Saint Lamivinus
Boon Geuze Marriage Parfait
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien
Lefthand Terra Rye'zd
Harpoon Rauchfetzen
Redbrick Winter Brew
Weyerbacher Firesirde Ale
Weyerbacher Autumn Fest.
Also picked up 8 bottles (but drank one) of Terrapin's Oatmeal Coffee Stout (Wake'n'bake) for eric, and 3 bottles of the Terrapin Dos Cocoas (drank one, one for Eric, one for skot). Also got 3 Terrapin Rye Pales, and 3 Rye Squared for Andy. Also gave a bottle of the Shipyard Barleywine to skot, as I apparently grabbed 2 of them.
We had initially planned on going down to Georgia for New Years, but a death in the family changed that plan. So, since we weren't going ... yet... we rented a car and drove south east instead of due west.
We left Thursday after work, headed down I-57 then took a little detour over to Evansville, Indiana, and visit Turoni's Pizzery and Brewery. We were afraid that we weren't going to get there in time (the website says they close at 11), but thankfully, that part of Indiana is still on central time and isn't Eastern, so we had about an hour and a half to relax. We ordered the sampler platter that came with 6 beers.
Vinny's Light Lager, Honey Blonde Ale, ThunderBolt Red Ale, Blue Eyed Moose, Ol' 23 Stout, and the seasonal brown (that I don't remember the name of. All the beer was good. I enjoyed the red the most. Kridz, I think, liked the brown the best, or was it the IPA? We also ordered the garlic cheese toast, that was pretty good, and the Lots-a-meat pizza. The pizza was thin crust and pretty darn good. Skot claims it to be his favorite. I did enjoy it, but don't think it'd be my favorite, not that I have a pizza favorite. We finished up there, and headed down the road, headed towards Clarksville, and Fort Campbell.We both got really tired at the same time, and tried to get a room. I guess I know how Joseph and Mary (were they actual historical figures) felt, as there was no rooms available in pretty much the entirety of Kentucky down the road we were traveling. As we drove, it was dark (being near 11 p.m.) but every so often, you'd see a tree limb coming right to the edge of the road. Power crews were still working to return lines back to people. At first, I thought there was a convention or trade show in the area, because all the hotels parking lots were full of trucks with cherry pickers. By the time we got down towards Fort Campbell, the crews had finished in that area, so we were able to get a hotel. There were still several cherry picker trucks in the hotels parking lots, but it wasn't completely packed, like a bit further north.
We got up on Friday, and continued the journey to Georgia. Our only real plans were for Friday evening and Saturday evening. We had minor plans for Sunday afternoon (Illini game) but other than that our schedule was flexible, we still didn't know what we were going to do on Monday and Tuesday (other than drive back). Well, on the way to the uncle's place, Frank (the groom) called to say he was going to be up in our area on Wednesday. After a bit more talking, we determined that we would drive up to Asheville on Sunday after the Illinois game, and spend the rest of Sunday and Monday with them. So, now we have plans for Monday, sweet.
We got down to the uncle's place, and took our stuff in, relaxed for a bit, then jumped in the car and headed to Sweetwater brewery. Sweetwater seems to pride itself on being ... um... not mainstream. They've got beers like 420, Happy Ending, Donkey Punch... and I'm a fan of their beers. We arrived at the brewery about 4:45. Walked in, and thought, that the place looked really nice. The merchandise was set up to the side, and there was a beautiful bar, with their tap handles. Their website said the tour started at 5:30, so we were a bit early (mostly because we're from out of town, and didn't want to miss it). The girl behind the merch booth asked if she could help us, we said, yes, we were there for the tour. She said, it starts at 5:30, we would have to go outside the gate and wait in line. No, we couldn't sit at the bar; no we couldn't wait inside. We would have to go stand in the line and wait until 530. She said the manager was very strict about no people inside. I thought about "don't float the mainstream" and their trying to be different, but when it came down to it, it's only ok to be different it it conforms to their rules.
So we got in the car and waited. A line started to form around 5:10, so we got in line. We met some nice people in line, what's his name, and what's her name, both from C-bus, Ohio (but they were nice anyway). He mentioned that the tour is apparently a good tour, because there's usually a line. This kind of confused me...
By the time the girl came out to the line and set up the table, there was probably 50 people in line, I thought, these people must really like brewery tours in the south.
The girl then told us our options, for $8 we could buy a brewery glass, that came with 6 tickets, that are good for 5.5 ounce samples of their beer, or for free, we could get the plastic cup, that had 6 tickets that would provide 6 tastes (about an ounce) of the beer. We obviously bought two glasses. The girl then said, that there would be no tour that day, there was construction in the back. Kridz and I almost left, at this point (Atlanta Brewing Company is a couple of miles away). but we went in and got our samples of beer.
Apparently, Sweetwater is a good place to have your company Friday happy hour. The place got to be very full. There were several hundered people in there. It was like a mix of a rock concert and college party style crowd. This was not what I had in mind when I thought "brewery tour".
It wasn't completely unenjoyable, but it wasn't the greatest time. There were more people in there that day than were at any other brewery that I've been to, other than Three Floyds on Dark Lord Day. It wasn't a special release, it was just another day at the tap room. No wonder the manager is strict. I'm a sort of "serious" beer guy. I was a bit upset that I didn't get to tour. I was also upset that people who have an interest in how the process is done, were thrown together with the people just there for happy hour. I'd recommend having an earlier 5 p.m. tour, before the mad crowd. Have it like Dogfish Head, where you have to call or email before, so that you aren't stuck with the raucus crowd. You can still run tours after, but at least be considerate of those who are going out of their way to be at your place, so they can get through before it just turns into a frat party. Sure, it's your place and you can run it like you want, if that's the way you want it.
I still got a trucker hat, and a happy ending shirt, because I like the beer, even though I didn't like how the friday evening was set up.
We finished up there and drove back up to Marietta, then went to Taco Mac. I'm a big fan of Taco-Mac. Last time we were down, I joined the Passport Club. I think I'm close to getting a reward or something. They claim to have 100 beers on tap and 300 bottles, how can you not love that? On Friday, I had four beers that I haven't had before. That and some wings, made for a good night.
Saturday, we got to help my cousin move back in to my uncle's. That man makes me do more work than anyone I know. In the times that I've visited him on "vacation" I've: raked his yard; cleaned his gutters; helped split wood; and now, moved my cousin back into the house. That's more than I've done at my place in the same amount of time.
We finished that up, got cleaned up, then headed for the hour or so, trip east to Athens to go to Terrapin. We showed up to Terrapin about 15 minutes early, bought our glass with 8 tickets (for 4 oz pours) but weren't told we'd have to wait outisde, which was nice. The lady actually let us buy our glasses, go get them filled, and then mill about in the merchandise area, instead of having to wait outside. Sadly, Terrapin only had their 4 year round beers on tap at the brewery. So 8 tickets for 4 different beers. If you gave 4 tickets you could get a full pour of something, so if you go, and they only have 4 on tap, try them all, pick a favorite, then have a pint of that. I wound up with a pint of the India Brown Ale. Terrapin actually ran the tour, which was nice. They have bands playing during the tours... which isn't as nice. The tour starts with taking everyone outside to the grain bin. There, the tour guide talks about the history of the place, a bit about their beers, and a bit about the brewing process. Meanwhile, inside, a band is playing, and college kids are playing bags, and the place is turning into a fraternity/sorority party with a band almost exactly like the day before.
After the outside part of the tour, the guide takes everyone in and he stands on the steps to the brewhouse. He's talking into a megaphone, but that doesn't matter, unless you are directly in front of him, you can't hear, because there's a band playing in a factory building... acoustics are horrible, sounds echoing, man talking about brewing process ".... (megaphone points towards where where standing) barley being passed around (turns) mumble... .... mumble... (turns towards) hops... mumble... boil... 90 minutes... volunteer..."Granted I've been on tours before, but not everyone has. I'd recommend to Terrapin as well, to have a before tap room opens tour. But, this place, I can see as almost being what the owners envisioned. If it was in someplace other than Georgia, it might be.
I already had a Terrapin shirt, but got one for the Oatmeal Coffee Stout (Wake'n'bake). Kridz also got a shirt. I figure I have enough brewery trucker hats, in Sweetwater, Bells, Dogfish Head; that I didn't need another, unless, I'm gonna be the Brewery Trucker Hat Guy. hmmm.
No results found for "brewery trucker hat guy".
Ok, so now I have a goal, great... this is gonna be expensive.
Well, we left terrapin and were looking for a place to eat, saw a hooters from the road, and were gonna stop, until the backseat overrulled the uncle and I, so then were were gonna have mexican, but saw a Mellow Mushroom, and I was like hellz yeah, mellow mushroom. I thought back to the one in Asheville, with 4 pages of local beer on the menu... and, this place had like 10 taps and about 20 different version of american style lager. I had a beer that I just had at the brewery, as it was the best option. The calzone was really good, but the beer selection wasn't what I wanted. Man, it seems like a trip of massive dissappointment so far, doesn't it? It wasn't there's just a few things I'd rather have be different.
Sunday, woke up, went to Waffle House (our first time ever, for Kridz or I) so our waitress gave us both a hat. The food was ok, nothing too great. Then we went back to the uncle's looked for the Illini game. From the time I looked on Saturday, to Sunday, the game had been moved from noon to 1. It also wasn't on local CBS, so we hadda go to Taco Mac... again. Darn. More beer... horray!!! But, the time change was disappointing, as that meant I wouldn't be able to get to Bruisin Ales, because they aren't open on Monday, and they close at 4 on Sunday.
I talked to Frank, wh went over there after church, and picked up a couple bottles of Dos Cocoas, from Terrapin, and he also got a few other things for us on Sunday. I told him to ask them, if they'ed open up for an hour on monday, if I promised to buy $200 worth of beer, they said, they would be open at noon for me. So that was awesome of them. After the Illini beat THE OSU, we packed up and headed up to Asheville. We arrived around 7. Frank picked up some beers, so we tried Golem by Wedge. It went pretty good with the chicken that night. We later had the dos cocoas, and some others. Then crashed on the couch while watching NHRA. (apparently the nitromethane shortage is over, if anyone was wondering).
Woke up on Monday, then headed out to Bruisin Ales to go make my purchases. It was a pretty good haul. I finally picked up a Taste Your Beer Kit. I also got a shirt, so now I've got shirts for the #3 and #10 beer stores, according to Ratebeer. (beer haul for the weekend will be below).
We then went to a Sushi place down the street. Then got stuff for dinner. Ate, drank some beer, played yahtzee, then went to bed.
Drove straight back on Tuesday, as there was already 4 boxes of beer in the trunk, and probably didn't need anymore.
It was a good trip. Got some good stuff, some good beer, had a bit of fun, and actually got some stuff done.
Highland Black Mountian Bitter (5)
Duck Rabbit Amber
Duck Rabbit Barleywine (5)
Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch (2)
Pisgah Valdez
Pisgah Vortex2 (not 2 bottles)
Abita Abbey Ale
Abita Andygator
Shipyard Imperial Porter
Shipyard Barleywine
Smuttynose IPA
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale
Highland Imperial Black Mocha Stout
Ommegang Biere de Mars
Oudbeitje
Cantillon Saint Lamivinus
Boon Geuze Marriage Parfait
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien
Lefthand Terra Rye'zd
Harpoon Rauchfetzen
Redbrick Winter Brew
Weyerbacher Firesirde Ale
Weyerbacher Autumn Fest.
Also picked up 8 bottles (but drank one) of Terrapin's Oatmeal Coffee Stout (Wake'n'bake) for eric, and 3 bottles of the Terrapin Dos Cocoas (drank one, one for Eric, one for skot). Also got 3 Terrapin Rye Pales, and 3 Rye Squared for Andy. Also gave a bottle of the Shipyard Barleywine to skot, as I apparently grabbed 2 of them.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bruisin' Ales; Asheville Beer Run
If you are in or near Asheville, you just HAVE to go to Bruisin' Ales. If you remember back to beer b-ashe-ville (beer bash- ville) we stopped in there after the Brews Cruise. This time we went with a purpose, to get local beer.
We had gone down to Asheville for their Bele Chere festival, I was hoping to meet some friends from other places on the web, but I don't think they went :(. So, we just hung out around the fest and drank beer.
Meat had asked me to see how much Sweetwater Happy Ending, I could get, and I told him I'd try, but getting beer for me, is obviously my first priority. Well, when we went in to Bruisin Ales, I didn't see any 12 oz bottles, but as I looked around, I found some larger bottles, so I got all of them.
The owners were really helpful and nice. We didn't get to park near the store, so they let me fill a box and pay for it and leave it overnight. The were even more helpful when I told them that I'd give them a bottle of this year's Dark Lord.
At some point, they mentioned they had Westy 12 in the back. At first I asked for two of them, but then reconsidered and took 5 (at $30 each).
Bruisin' Ales has a great selection of local, national and international beers. They carry local beers from Greenman (in growlers), Pisgah (bottles and growlers) French Broad, and Highland. Regionally, they have Duck-Rabbit, Terrapin, Sweetwater, Atlanta Brewing Company and others. They've got a good selection of Weyerbacher, Southampton, Oskar Blues and some other hard to find beers (at least around here). I only picked up one beer from overseas, other than the westies.
Each time I've been in there, I've spent a bunch, and it seems they will give you a glass if you spend about $100 (don't quote me on that). Last time we were there, I got the Chimay glass. This time, I got a Rochefort glass on Saturday; then on Sunday I picked up the Terrapin Goblet, which will be great for drinking the Sweetwater out of.
They've got a good shirt selection too, I got a terrapin shirt, but there's also Highland, Pisgah, Bruisin' Ales and other shirts for sale. They've got a couple of books and some other things for sale (including the hops appreciation kit).
Most of the beer is kept in the open, at cellaring temperatures, there is a fridge to hold single bottles and growlers. they have some sort of liquor license that allows you to drink while shopping, so when you go, ask for a beer.
If Asheville is a beer destination, then this is definitely one of the places you HAVE to go.
We had gone down to Asheville for their Bele Chere festival, I was hoping to meet some friends from other places on the web, but I don't think they went :(. So, we just hung out around the fest and drank beer.
Meat had asked me to see how much Sweetwater Happy Ending, I could get, and I told him I'd try, but getting beer for me, is obviously my first priority. Well, when we went in to Bruisin Ales, I didn't see any 12 oz bottles, but as I looked around, I found some larger bottles, so I got all of them.
The owners were really helpful and nice. We didn't get to park near the store, so they let me fill a box and pay for it and leave it overnight. The were even more helpful when I told them that I'd give them a bottle of this year's Dark Lord.
At some point, they mentioned they had Westy 12 in the back. At first I asked for two of them, but then reconsidered and took 5 (at $30 each).
Bruisin' Ales has a great selection of local, national and international beers. They carry local beers from Greenman (in growlers), Pisgah (bottles and growlers) French Broad, and Highland. Regionally, they have Duck-Rabbit, Terrapin, Sweetwater, Atlanta Brewing Company and others. They've got a good selection of Weyerbacher, Southampton, Oskar Blues and some other hard to find beers (at least around here). I only picked up one beer from overseas, other than the westies.
Each time I've been in there, I've spent a bunch, and it seems they will give you a glass if you spend about $100 (don't quote me on that). Last time we were there, I got the Chimay glass. This time, I got a Rochefort glass on Saturday; then on Sunday I picked up the Terrapin Goblet, which will be great for drinking the Sweetwater out of.
They've got a good shirt selection too, I got a terrapin shirt, but there's also Highland, Pisgah, Bruisin' Ales and other shirts for sale. They've got a couple of books and some other things for sale (including the hops appreciation kit).
Most of the beer is kept in the open, at cellaring temperatures, there is a fridge to hold single bottles and growlers. they have some sort of liquor license that allows you to drink while shopping, so when you go, ask for a beer.
If Asheville is a beer destination, then this is definitely one of the places you HAVE to go.
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