2007

Twain's Billiards and Tap - Decatur, GA

After happy hour at the Brickyard I wanted to try Twain's as they are brewing their own beer. The picture to the left was taken before I walked across the street to go there. I probably should have turned around and gone back to where I was before. Twain's is a big place with lots of pool tables and other games. It looks like a fun place but as I found out the beer wasn't. When I sat at the bar, eventually the bar tender came up to see what I wanted. He was in no big hurry and didn't know their beers too well. There are four beers on at any given time. I tried the Jumping Frog IPA and was disappointed. I wondered if they were brewing in plastic buckets. It was flat and not very hoppy. I spoke with a local next to me and he was drinking a guest beer as were many others at the bar. This could be a clue. I tasted one other beer a "IRA" supposed to be a Red IPA, I guess. It tasted terrible; like nothing I have ever had. A menu was offered but I knew better after the beer. Somehow, I finished my one beer, paid up and headed to one other place I wanted to try.

Barley's Taproom - Asheville, NC

Barley's is Asheville's original taproom. Opened in 1994 with many local beers on tap, they started the good beer scene in Asheville. My first visit was in 1994; all the taps were unknown to me and, unfortunately many are gone. I enjoyed that first visit and continue to in 2007. Some of the original taps didn't even have names; now the locals rule supported by great out of state beers. They still feature many from NC, which is the next great beer happening state, in my opinion. The local organic brewery, Pisgah Brewing, has five taps and makes special beer exclusively for this bar. Highlands Brewing, also local, used to be brewed below the bar until they out grew the space. In fact for several years Barley's almost could have been called a brewpub with Highlands as their house beer. Highlands has several taps also. More than half the taps go to local or NC breweries. For a complete list, see their website, updated monthly. Barley's has great house pizza as well as other pub fare on their menu. I usually find a way to get to Barley's every year when I am in North Carolina. This year, I was visiting with friends and wanted to show them Asheville beer scene. We found a book, in our hotel, that proclaimed Asheville the "Beer Mecca of the East"! I never put it that way but they are right. The Asheville area has about 200,000 residents. There are five breweries and many good beer bars / taprooms in that area. By contrast, in my hometown of Miami, FL, with two million residents, there are no breweries, one brewpub and a few good beer bars! This is partly why I think NC in the hot beer state. This appreciation and enjoyment of good local beers is seen throughout the state. In Florida most convenience stores and gas stations have the big three and a few imports. In NC, I saw great selection in a small gas station store! Clearly the good beer scene has really taken hold in North Carolina. Website: www.barleystaproom.com/

Pisgah Brewing Company - Black Mountain, NC

Pisgah Brewing is the newest brewery of the five in the Asheville area. I found out about them in an article in the Southern Brew News. These guys have brewed many different styles and are on their 250th batch of beer. Everything brewed is all organic and they have a loyal following in the local area. They can count me and my friends as loyal fans after our visit. I knew about where the brewery is located and planned to drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway as far as possible, get off and come around to Black Mountain. It happened to be a Thursday and we had worked our way to Mount Mitchell State Park. It was mid afternoon and we had been to the summit and saw "rime ice" on the trees! It was 30 out and had been 60 at the start of our day in Asheville. We had finished lunch at the "slow service" cafe and I was looking at maps to see how we would return to Asheville. I happened on the above mentioned article and read it looking for their phone number and / or directions. The article states that they are open to the public on Thursdays from 4 - 8 PM. "It's a rustic set up - no tables, chairs or snacks, just a line of beer lovers that snakes past the tanks and sometimes out the door." Since it was almost 4 I said "What are we doing here; we need to get to this brewery and do the right thing - drink some beer!" It took a little over an hour to get there and it turned out to be one of the coolest breweries we have ever been to. It is in an old business park on a back road just west of Black Mountain. On Thursdays a bunch of locals converge on the place and drink good beer, talk about it and just enjoy life in general. We made many friends among the crowd of about 50 people. The owners and brewers all work the open house and are available to promote their beer as well as all good beer in general. They are cool guys and really are on to something, I think. I felt as if I was looking at the begriming of something big. I will return many times, I'm sure and I have a feeling that one day these guys will be one of the most popular regional breweries in western NC. They know their beer and make it well. I had a Harvest Style ale called "Equinox", also a Belgian Triple called Solstice. Both were excellent; both in taste and style accuracy. They give out logo pint glasses to everyone and you can keep it if you want to. There are four beers on any given Thursday; the beers change weekly depending on what they can spare for the tastings. This visit is exactly what I mean when I say that everything leads to good beer. We hit them on the right day at the right time; all unplanned. That is what makes some of the best happenings; spontaneous and unscripted. I will be back and look forward to trying some more of their styles as well as the camaraderie at the brewery. Website: www.pisaghbrewing.com

Jack of the Wood Pub / Greenman Ales - Asheville, NC

Jack of the Wood Pub is the home of Greenman Ales; a brewery located nearby. This is a cool local Celtic style pub that serves authentic pub fare and ales to match. We visited there on a Thursday, which is their Bluegrass jam night. This was another surprise and was appreciated. The jam was on as we came in so we found a table away form the stage as people were standing and enjoying the music and we didn't want to be in the middle of everything. The pub is a cozy place; the bar is in the middle surrounded by long pub tables on either side. The ceiling is low; as you look around it could be an old Colonial pub! The menu has traditional favorites; even though we were late they were still serving. Their beers all were great; I know the styles and they did them justice. One of the great things about brewpubing is that each brewer interprets the styles differently. This makes for some interesting tasting and it is cool to see what each brewer does. The IPA was hoppy but not like the typical American style is now. It still had big flavor; it was a nice change. The Pale Ale also was a fine brew. My friends had the Stout and a Porter which went over well. The stout is nitro so it pours out creamy and black. The food paired well with the beers; the Irish Stew was flavorful and filling. The fish and chips were authentic and fresh. Overall for beer and food we found the right place that night. The bonus was the Bluegrass jam still going on as we ate dinner. There were probably seven or eight guys playing; several with their backs to the audience. The group plays with everyone able to see each other for different musical communications. This is also how a bunch of players would play in any setting. It was really great to see real counrty music; we don't get much in South Florida. Western NC has plenty of Bluegrass and it is popular; I listen to a local station, WNCW and they play plenty of Bluegrass and advertise local concerts and festivals. It was cool to happen to get to see this group in a great setting. The group was winding down, some of the guys left but several played on. It was a good day but time to go. I walked up and stood and listened for while then we headed home to the hotel. Website: www.jackofthewood.com

Update 2018 Under new ownership since 2010, Greenman has grown in many ways. With 2 buildings, 3 taprooms and distribution through out the southeast Greenman has evolved into a well respected brewery with a wide variety of ales available. More at their updated website.