Did you know?
Asheville, North Carolina has the most breweries per capita above every other city in the United States? Take that Denver! Just keep in mind what per capita actually means…Asheville is small.
Can’t say that I absolutely LOVE beer…I am definitely more of cider person; which my boyfriend claims is not beer. Alcohol is alcohol to me, doesn’t matter what the fuck you call it.
I really wanted to take our camper (which is 90% complete) to explore a new destination! Somewhere closer to home so we could enjoy more of the weekend rather than spending an entire Sunday afternoon driving. Asheville had been on my list for quite some time; so we packed up and hit the road. We never actually planned on hitting so many breweries while there, but does anyone actually plan to visit 7 in a day? My goal was to see the city while simultaneously drowning myself in alcohol. Here’s the Bonvoyage Babes self-made Brew Tour through Asheville!
Twin Leaf Brewery
144 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
The first stop on our Brewery Tour was Twin Leaf! A beautiful Saturday afternoon and you would have thought this place would be packed already! I mean, it had just opened and we seemed to be one of few degenerates ready to drink our life away, but this place was gorgeous! If breweries are meant to be gorgeous.
The industrial mixed with backyard charm, exposed wood and lots of games makes this place the perfect hangout spot. Twin Leaf is known for their house draft beers and laid back vibe. Oh, and their local beef jerky is FIRE!
My not to miss beer: Urban Orchard Cider
Beer lovers not to miss beer: Double Helix Golden Ale
Worth the “flight”?: Absolutely! You can choose 5 for $10 and share with a friend 🙂
Wicked Weed Funkatorium
91 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Just a short stumble from Twin Leaf is the oh so popular Wicked Weed. I am definitely gonna get some backlash from this but it was probably my LEAST favorite brewery. I am sweet like sugar (my devil horns hold up the halo) but I do not like my beer sour. Low and behold, neither did my boyfriend. It’s not say this spot wasn’t really cool. Almost like a medieval place to drink with the huge wooden tables and wrought iron chandeliers.
This brewery looked fit for a king! Too bad we played the Joker and hated every beer here. It’s pretty cool to see how they combine the flavors of beer, wine, and spices to curate a VERY different taste! To each, their own though…try out some sour beer if you dare!
My not to miss beer: uhhh….
Beer lovers not to miss beer: Recurrant (sour red ale aged in Cabernet barrels & black currants)
Worth the “flight”?: To me? I’ll pass.
Burial Beer Co.
40 Collier Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Another hop and a skip away was Burial..and by the name, I am sure you can imagine what type of place this would be. We didn’t choose any breweries because of names or ratings. Just simply how fast we could walk to each one haha. Burial turned out to be a small, yet awesome brewery with again, the in and out open-air feel.
The Saturday we picked seemed to be the best day for brewery hopping. HA get it?? Hopping…like hops that are in beer. We were starting to get hungry at this point but decided to buy a flight of some notoriously good beer to fill our stomachs before!
Burial took my coffee beer virginity! Since I love chocolate AND coffee, I had always wanted to try a nice milky stout. MMMMM was it good! With them menu ever-changing though it is hard to pinpoint the favorites, but these guys aren’t afraid to stray from the norm with their brews. What stood out to me here however was all the packaging and names reflected Burial as a whole. Skulls, crossbones, and super intense beer names…I loved it all!
My not to miss beer: Tin Cup Camp Stout
Beer lovers not to miss beer: A Most Fitting Death (see what I mean about the names?)
Worth the “flight”?: For Sure!
Catawaba
32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
So, I feel bad for saying this but we never would have gone here if the restaurant we wanted to eat right next door wasn’t so packed. Honestly, by this point, we were pretty tipsy and hungry. Can’t say anything really stood out to me here except it was ALSO very very busy.
I think only because people would come to wait here, and grab a beer while they waited for the BBQ place next door. Sorry ’bout it. ANYWHO, we once again bought a flight, because why the fuck not. I will say though that the staff was super friendly and oh so helpful when we just couldn’t decide on what beer to inhale. This quick pit stop wasn’t much to write home about, and the beer was sub-par.
My not to miss beer: Urban Orchard Cider but BLACKBERRY this time!
Beer lovers not to miss beer: Mother Trucker Pale Ale
Worth the “flight”?: Wouldn’t say yes, wouldn’t say no.
Lexington Ave.
39 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Don’t worry about my alcoholism…we subsided the drinking to hit up some famous landmarks and stroll around town before we got here. You’re so judgmental. By this time our stomachs were full and our buzzed feeling was wearing off. Couldn’t let that happen, so we found Lexington. Contrary to reviews online, this place was great! The ambiance wasn’t all that, but their indoor/outdoor space made it perfect for people watching. My favorite hobby while on vacation. As full as we were, I had to get some truffle fries with my beer!
My not to miss beer: Thumper!!!
Beer lovers not to miss beer: Green Thumb
Worth the “flight”?: Totally! But get the truffle fries too 😉
One World Brewing
10 Patton Ave #002, Asheville, NC 28801
By this time, all the breweries started to merge together. We stumbled upon this brewpub by simply walking down the street. Don’t be fooled though…you have to FIND this place. Down a flight of steps and into what looks like a dungeon. Once inside though, it’s an awesome hangout place reminding me of my college days equipped with shuffleboard, darts, and other activities.
This quaint basement bar down a sketchy alley will surprise the shit out of you with their beer, cider and mead selection! A fun place to escape to for a cold one!
My not to miss beer: Fox Hill Mead
Beer lovers not to miss beer: Saison of Love
Worth the “flight”?: Do It!!!
Urban Orchard Cidery
210 Haywood Road, Asheville NC 28806
FINALLY!! My favorite place we went all day long because of its cider and not actual beer. IDGAF what anyone says…Cider can be a “pussy” drink all it wants but I love it and that’s that. I have been to a cidery in Atlanta before and hated it, so I was super stoked to really enjoy this place.
A little out-of-the-way, not in walking distance like most of the other ones but definitely worth checking out if you love sweet stuff like me! To our dismay, the service was not that good though. It literally took 35 minutes for a meat & cheese plate to come out. They were nice about it though and comped it off our bill, but still a blow to their 5-star rating I wanted to give. Nonetheless, the ciders were everything I had imagined and that’s all that matters 🙂
My not to miss beer: Umm, all of them but I personally liked Black Hole
Beer lovers not to miss beer: Blue Moon Rizin’
Worth the “flight”?: YES!!
Hopefully, you aren’t seeing double after following along on our Asheville breweries tour. The very best advice I can give is to take your time, stay hydrated and let your taste buds do the pickin’! Only you know what YOU like, but have fun and be adventurous! I usually go by which name sounds the best, or by reading which one is the sweetest. Regardless of what you choose, make it a good one!
Have you ever been to Asheville? I know I missed some breweries this time around but damn, wasn’t trying to be wasted the whole weekend. Let me know which ones I shouldn’t miss next time and if you are really loving this…check out my latest YouTube video on our entire Asheville vacation!
Check out my youtube video for our ASHEVILLE TRIP …But until then…
Finally a beer blog! 😍 You’re hilarious! Sour beer is definitely an acquired taste. You should try mead since your not a beer gal it’s a honey wine and SUPER high in alcohol and supaaaaa sweet!
haha awe thanks angel!! Yeah I was NOT a fan of it what so ever!! I did try a mead at one of them…definitely a good combination!!! Now I just wanna go to all of them haha.
I am a cider person myself too. Mostly because I can’t drink beer because I’m allergic to it. I like that many craft places have cider on tap as well. Too bad the service was so bad at Urban Orchard.
Yeah I just love cider so much more. I hated that the service sucked but they were super nice about it so I would totally go back!
Oh my gosh so much beer! Looks like such an epic fun day! I love taste testing beers will definitely remember this if i visit!
ahhhh I know, not sure how I even remembered half the day haha.
Wicked Weed makes good beer, but they’ve just sold out to Anheuser-Busch. Good for the owners for making big bank, but the soul of the place is now gone. Excellent other choices though…Asheville is definitely an up and coming city on the beer scene!
ahhhh makes a lot of sense now! I guess when you sell out to a big company it changes things. Totally agree though, such a cute up and coming city.
I mean, it sounds like you had an awesome day! I often struggle with breweries as I prefer cider too… but you’ve filled me with inspriation!
I mean its fun to try all the fruity craft beers or just random stuff…you never know what you might like! I just usually like cider haha
1. Can we be best friends?
2. I love this post.
3. Now I NEED a beer.
4. I think it’s time to plan a roadtrip to Asheville!
1. UM YES, i have like 3 friends haha.
2. thank you!!
3. I’m down to get a beer, or 5 with you!
4. You totally should! Such a cute town. xoxoxoxox
I don’t drink, but I love seeing the different types of characters that breweries have. Plus, the whole process is super interesting! Whenever you want to do this in SLC, let me know and I’ll be your DD!
No way really??? I will be passing through Salt Lake City on my road trip in a couple weeks!! We should totally get together, not just because you offered to be a DD haha.
You visited 7 breweries in 1 day in Asheville? I’m surprised some of your pictures are not blurry! My brother is also a cider fan and drinker and we all make fun of him for drinking this fruity drink, although it is a lot stronger than beer! If I was to visit just one of the breweries you went to I would choose the Burial Brewery, I’m interested in the chocolate!
hahah right?? I mean thank god we ate some BBQ in between otherwise I would have been all blurred haha. Yeah they all had something wonderful for the most part!
I’m also more of a cider person haha but seeing these breweries this is definitely an experience more than just beer! 🙂 Loved it!
yes exactly!!
I had no idea that there were so many great breweries in Asheville! I’m definitely not a fan of sour beer either so would probably skip the Wicked Weed, but the Mother Trucker Pale Ale sounds fab!
Soooo many!!! Yeah next time I will try all the others I missed!
I certainly know a few people for whom that would be a dream trip!
Sadly, I can’t have alcohol in any quantity so I would have to miss out. For me, it would have to be about finding that one extra-special beer so the suggestions you’ve made for each brewery would be really helpful. I do the same with coffee – I can’t have a lot of caffeine so I seek out the best coffee. No point ‘wasting’ what I can have on something sub-standard!
Completely agree!! I meannnnn, I love coffee too so I need to start coffee shop hopping if my heart would allow it hah.
I was just in Asheville a few months ago and visited a few of these breweries! Wicked Weed was a great one!
Really!! ahhh we definitely need to meet up one day for a girls trip!!
You sure did have a truly unique weekend! I’m not a huge beer fan myself, and I think having one or two glass will be enough for a day for me. LOL. Glad that you enjoyed it! 😀
haha maybe I should go winery hopping instead next time!
This looks like the ultimate drinking tour in Asheville! Can’t wait to visit these places once I turn 21 haha thanks for such a great post 🙂
ahhhh yes!! Totally do it 🙂
That’s a lot of beer. I enjoyed Asheville, fun little town.
haha yes a lotttttt of beer!
I think microbreweries are quite cool to visit nowadays, I recently visited my first one in Spain where cider and especially wine is the preferred choice for these styles of experiences. Not being a beer fan myself, I was pleasantly surprised at how different it was from your standard beer. You can taste different flavours and it really highlights the care taken in the preparation. Great post.
No way really?! I would love to check out the one you said!! Cider is definitely my go to, but wine/champagne are in close second.
I’m not the biggest fan of beer, but this seems like such a lovely way to spend a weekend. I’d be down to try out the ciders, shame about the service but at least they comped your bill 🙂
hahaha and by lovely you mean like a degenerate hahah. Thanks doll!
I also prefer cider to beer, but I love the brewery atmosphere. It just feels so much cooler and hipper than a winery. Plus, I feel much more at home in my jeans 🙂
Ha completely agree!! Love the vibes and aren’t so snooty like a winery.
First thing, I love your sense of humor lol. Also, I hate beer and definitely prefer cider so thanks for including those options at each place 😉 I’m bookmarking this for whenever I visit Asheville (hopefully soon!) and need something to do.
Thanks girl!! Yeah cider is where its at! You should totally visit its such a cool little city!
I would choose cider over beer any day, but I am not a beer drinker. There seems to be such a amazing variety of breweries in Asheville. I love the aesthetic of Twin Leaf brewery. I am surprised it wasn’t packed as well. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah Twin Leaf was really cool inside but it was also a Saturday morning for all the night owls still hungover from the night before haha.
I’ve been wanting to check out Asheville and the brewery scene. I love breweries! I’ll definitely have to check out some of these when we get around to making the trip. Just wanted to point out though that your beer pick and flight notes for Catawba and Lexington are the exact same.
Yes they are awesome and super laid back! ahhh shit I will change it! I was copying and pasting so all the colors and fonts would be the same and only just skimmed over the end product! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
I agree! I’m more of a wine drinker than beer. But I’ve been to a couple of beer breweries in Europe and its whole new fun experience! Why do Pub Hopping when you can do Brewery hopping??? This would be an awesome thing to do!
Exactly my thinking haha!!