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Explore Asheville N.C.’s Vibrant Beer Scene

By Marla Milling Jan 18, 2013 8:37 AM

Love craft beer so much that you’d fashion a vacation around it? You’re in luck. Asheville, North Carolina, which has claimed the title “Beer City U.S.A.” several years running thanks to the Examiner’s online poll, provides a mega thrill for beer lovers. With its cool downtown, 11 microbreweries, scenic beauty and a plethora of outdoor adventures, Asheville is a no-brainer when it comes to a guys’ fun-filled getaway.

The southern town, known as the home of George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate, has become such a hot spot in the world of brews that New Belgium is building a brewery in the happening River Arts District and Sierra Nevada plans to jump on the bandwagon with a new brewery of its own in Mills River, just south of Asheville. Plus, the new Oskar Blues Brewery recently opened in nearby Brevard.

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Oscar Wong got the ball rolling in 1994 when he founded Highland Brewing Company in Asheville. Cooking Light Magazine recently gave nod to Highland’s Oatmeal Porter as one of the top 50 American craft beers. A couple of years ago Highland expanded by offering a tasting room to sample the latest varieties and listen to live music.

When you arrive in town, kick off on a tour with Asheville Brews Cruise. Voted one of the top seven brewery tours in the country, Asheville Brews Cruise takes participants to Highland Brewing, Pisgah Brewing Company, Asheville Brewing Company,
as well as an assortment of local pubs and bars. The Hotel Indigo and Haywood Park Hotel are both located in the downtown area and within easy walking distance of where the tours originate.

Another notable stop: Bruisin’ Ales at 66 Broadway. Owners Jason and Julie Atallah opened in 2006 and feature more than 1000 brews from around the world. While there, pick up a copy of Anne Fitten Glenn’s newly released “Asheville Beer: An Intoxicating History of Mountain Brewing.”

Marla Hardee Milling is a full-time freelance writer living in a place often called the Paris of the South, Sante Fe of the… Read Full Bio

Cafe Charmant, The Corner Store Crew’s Latest, Puts Food Ahead of the Scene

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I’ll be honest. If I weren’t a writer, there is no way in hell I could have landed a 7:15 Saturday night reservation at Cafe Charmant just a mere four weeks after its opening. The most recent jewel in the buzzy Catch Hospitality Group’s crown, the glitzy eatery is the newest IT restaurant to hit the downtown scene, so chalk it up to one of the perks of the job that I could walk in, order a drink, and be ushered to a corner table for two in under 10 minutes.

Though the state of making prime reservations in New York City may not come as a surprise to many, I’m still not able to reconcile with the current velvet rope of so many of this city’s restaurants. Sure, the 90s and early 2000’s had their Indochine, Moomba (if you remember that one, we need to grab a drink). The Waverly Inn, but for the most part, you could easily make a reservation or even walk in and wait for a table with a cocktail in hand at most popular establishments. And, let’s be honest, half the people weren’t even eating, if you know what I mean.

A tasting guide to Livermore Valley, California’s friendliest wine country

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Livermore Valley sits in Northern California’s East Bay, where the hustle and bustle of neighboring Oakland and San Francisco give way to grassy rolling hills, big open skies, and over 40 tasting rooms. The region is home to some of the best wines I’ve tasted in the state, without the pretense and rigidity I’ve come to expect from other tasting rooms in the region.

And thanks to the valley’s marine-influenced winds, varied climate, and diverse soils, I tasted an unusually broad range of wines. Crisp whites, structured reds, and everything in between seem to be able to find their footing here.

High Society, Low Alcohol: A Trip to the Hamptons with Heineken 0.0

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After a multi-year bender of back-to-back press trips, I decided to swear off travel this past summer. The old dog was tired, and I desperately wanted to reconnect with old friends, visit family, and continue wooing a lovely lady in New York. Oh, and I needed to find time to actually write the stories I had promised publicists in exchange for gallivanting around the globe on their dime. I am, after all, a professional.

As summer raced by, my inbox swelled with tantalizing invitations. I turned them down one after the next with Spartan fortitude. A junket to the Loire Valley to review wineries? Thank you for considering me, but for the next few weeks, I’m committed to rekindling my relationship with my bed. A sailboat cruise on the Amalfi Coast? I hear it’s beautiful this time of year, but sadly, I’m in the weeds bingeing Landman.