Asheville Brewing Company By Anne Fitten Glenn
Asheville Brewing Company’s mash-up of excellent in-house brewed craft beers, yummy pizza pies, and family-friendly indoor and outdoor spaces has made it one of the city’s most popular and beloved watering holes.
One of local beer lovers’ favorite beers, the citrusy Shiva IPA, is now distributed regionally in cans and on draft—although, in my opinion, it’s best quaffed sitting at one of the bars or on the big covered patio at the 77 Coxe Avenue production and packaging facility. The original seven-barrel brewery at 675 Merrimon Avenue, which opened in 1997 as Asheville’s third craft brewery, offers a second-run movie theater and a big screen in the game room for special television shows and sporting events (think Walking Dead and Tarheels nation).
“Working with creative and beer-obsessed people is a dream for any brewer and I’m grateful to share that with all the ABC family,” says Pete Langheinrich, who shares the head brewer title with Doug Riley. “Our brewery is constantly evolving and coming up with ideas for new beers and improving our brewing process.” Riley, a co-owner of ABC, has been with the operation since day one.
While Asheville Brewing Company’s regular lineup of brews are well-loved and always on tap at the brewpubs, the brew team also produces lots of fun specialty brews, including several variants of the Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner, Ninja Porter. Brews in this series include Ninja Bread Man, Evil Ninja, Love Ninja, and Holy Ninja, a recent collaboration with Holy City brewing featuring fresh oysters.
Both ABC locations are open 11 a.m. until midnight (or later) daily. With your pizza, you can have cans or growlers delivered to your doorstep (or hotel room). I recommend a Sheer Delight pie with a sixer of the Ninja Porter. Now I’m hungry.
Asheville Brewing Co.
77 Coxe Ave
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 255-4077
ashevillebrewing.com