BEER Chere 2009

If there's a better "beer town" in the U.S. than Asheville, I sure would like to visit it, and if there's a better free music and arts festival than Bele Chere in downtown Asheville, I would sure like to attend it. My wife and I "discovered" Bele Chere four years ago (it's been around for 31 years) when a band we really liked was slated to perform there. We have went back the last three years for the festival itself no matter who was playing because it's just such a great event. One of the best attributes to Bele Chere is the amazingly cheap beer for sale at different locations throughout the festival. And I am not talking about the cheap-tasting (and usually over-priced) domestic swill served at most outdoor festivals. I am talking about high quality microbrews from local brewers (Asheville boasts seven microbreweries at last count) but also from around the country as well as excellent imports. This year was no exception as I was able to try a bevy of new brews. Here's a breakdown of what I had and where I got it during the festival as well as the great price:

Pyramid Thunderhead IPA - bought at The Winehaus - an independent wine and liquor store in downtown Asheville. They were selling a selection of four different bottled microbrews and imports for $2 each ([see photo above of dead soldiers from The Winehaus) right out of their storefront and you could wander around with your beer inside the festival area (as long as you poured it in a plastic cup). The IPA was great and ice cold. Pyramid is out of Washington (state) and is best known for its Apricot Ale (also available at The Winehaus for $2)

Leinie's Berry Weiss- Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing - My wife chose these bottled fruity summer treat at The Winehaus also for $2. It's from an old Wisconsin family brewery and was infused with honey and blackberry juice. I had a few sips and found it to be pretty darn good especially as a summer brew. From the research I have done, it looks like this one-time independent brewery has been absorbed into the Miller Brewing Company conglomerate

Warsteiner Radler Premium Lemon - this lemon-infused pilsner import from Germany started out at $3 according to the hand-drawn sign where we bought it from a street vendor, but had been reduced to just $1! This wins the prize for cheapest beer ever at Bele Chere. Not my favorite beer in the world by far, but it was cold and again...only $1.

Green Man Ales - Summer Wheat -on tap at The Laughing Seed Restaurant. It comes from the brewpub located downstairs from the restaurant called Jack of the Wood. This was my wife's choice with dinner (photo above) and I liked it from the few sips I had. $3.50/glass.

Green Man Ales - IPA - This was my choice with dinner (naturally) and wins the prize for best beer tried by me at Bele Chere. Excellent body and hoppy aroma/taste. $3.50/glass.

The next day for lunch we sought another of Asheville's great brewpubs just a couple miles from downtown - Asheville Pizza and Brewing (photo below). This quirky little independment establishment has been an Asheville staple for many years. The pizza was delicious as was their brew. I started with their Scottish Ale which was smooth as silk depite a fairly heavy body. Next I tried the Houdini ESP - Extra Special Pale - this was my favorite of the two and although it did not have the super-hoppiness of an IPA that I like, it still had enough aroma and taste to satisfy me, and it went great with the pizza. Yes, they have an IPA here (Shiva) which I have had before at a beer tasting and really liked (that's why we sought out this place while in town).

ChattaBREWga

I was in Chattanooga for the weekend visiting the inlaws and attending a concert and was able to try a good selection of new (to me) beers at three different locations around town.

The first was at the Market Street Grille downtown next to Miller Plaza. I was actually looking for another new place called Deluxe Grill and Tap Room (supposedly 40 beers on tap was what drew me to it) located across the street. It was after lunch and Deluxe wasn't open until dinner, so I was walking back to the car and the meter that I had just pumped a dollar worth of coins into and passed by the window of the Market Street Grille and noticed on the hand-written marker board above the bar saying that they had Highland Cattail Peak on tap. I knew Highland was a great microbrewery over in Asheville, NC, but had never heard of Cattail Peak.


It was a wheat beer. Enough said. Not that great...to me, but not awful. The Market Street Grille was a fine little pub with some decent beer selections, but I decided to move on down the street a few blocks and return my new favorite Chattanooga haunt, The Terminal Brewhouse. These guys brew their own beer in a great little historic building and I had saw on the website recently that they had a new hoppy beer they were brewing called the Magnum PA - a combination they describe as "west coast double IPA meets English IPA." It was delicious. Just a hint of bitterness but great hoppy flavor and finish. I decided to give the beer menu a look for my second pint and landed on their Belgian White. The Belgian style of beer has been documented frequently on here as not being my favorite style of brewing, but it was a hot day and ice cold orange-infused draught sounded pretty good...and it was pretty good. Hats off to The Terminal House for again delivering the good in terms of real craft beer in Chattanooga.


Later that evening my wife, Ashlee, and I strolled downtown to stretch our legs after dinner and when she asked for a destination I asked if she would mind checking out the Deluxe Grill and Tap Room I had tried to visit earlier in the day. She agreed and after a pretty long walk we arrived at the quiet little place (their location is too far away from most of the walkable nightlife in downtown Chattanooga and parking is very minimal - not sure they are going to survive). Their claim at having 40 beers on tap looked pretty close to being the truth. They had a wide selection to choose from including a vast array of Highland Brewing products. I chose St. Terese's Pale Ale which I have had before in a bottle, but never a draught. Very close to perfection. Light and smooth. Perfect for a summer's night. Ashlee ordered the Star Hill Northern Lights IPA and found it to be a bit heavy for her so we switched half-way through our pints because she really liked the lighter St. Terese's. I had also had Northern Lights IPA only from a bottle so it was a real treat to get the enhanced flavor from the draught.

Chattanooga is turning into quite the little beer town. Did I mentioned I filled two growlers at the Chattanooga Beverage Company with two of my favorites, Moccasin Bend Centennial (another small local microbrewer) and French Broad Alt from North Carolina, to take home with me for the following week?