Mountain Spirits: Weekend Wine and Beer tastings

June 3 Friday Winedown at Table Wine, 1550 Hendersonville Road, Suite 102 in the Fugazy Center, Asheville NC. 3 - 6 PM French Wines - From East to West. Taste 6 wines - $5 per person - "Grape Nuts"June 4 beginning at 2 PM FREE wine tasting. Don't Pay!!!

June 2-4  Calaboose Wine Cellars  565 Aquone Road in Andrews NC . The tasting room has resumed open hours for the summer, noon to 5 PM every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

June 3  Heinzelmannachen Brewery,  545 Mill Street in Sylva NC. First Friday from 5-8 PM enjoy food samples from Half Past - home cooking to go … on the go.  Although they don't carry any alcohol we wanted to help promote this new business owned by Ernie and Joan Sipler.  We'll introduce you to samples of their home cooking and help you decide what to pair with that next growler fill for your stop at the brewery then Half Past!

June 3  Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Ste 100 in Asheville NC. FREE beer tasting with three refreshing brews made for summer: Dogfish Festina Peche, Bell's Oarsman and Brooklyn Summer Al. June 4 free wine tasting includes Wines from Marlborough, New Zealand: Ponga Sauvignon Blanc, Ponga Pinot Noir 2010, Yealands Pinot Noir 2009.

June 4  RagApple Lassie Vineyards, 3724 Ragapple Lassie Lane in Boonville NC. The RagApple Lassie tasting bars will be open for tasting our award winning wines - Noon to Six. Live music with Lisa Woods and The Back Door Café will be open - noon to 4 PM offering light lunch fare. This weekend is the debut of the soon-to-be-famous, RagApple Lassie version of a Peach Bellini.  June 5  the first of the Yadkin River Valley Wine Trail Mini-Festivals from noon to 4PM.  Tickets are $10.00 per person and include a souvenir wine glass, opportunity to taste the wines of all five Yadkin River Wine Trail Wineries, and live music by the popular band, Mood SwingZ. Also available for your indulgence will be tickets for a wonderful summer grazing buffet. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and spend a lazy summer afternoon with us.

June 4  Appalachian Vintner, 2-B Huntsman Place in Asheville NC. "Asheville's Best Free Wine & Beer Tasting" from 4 - 7 PM : Martin CodaxAlbariño, Martin Codax ERGO Rioja, Bodega del Palacio de los Frontaura y Victoria Frontaura Crianza, plus Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils and Newcastle Brown Ale.

Mountain Brews News: Old Hickory Brewery Tasting Tonight

April 29 at 5 PM at Appalachian Vintner 2011 Irish Walker Barleywine RELEASE Party.   Olde Hickory Brewery has been hand crafting artisanal malt beverages since 1994,  making them one of the oldest breweries in the state. Years of brewing experience allow OHB to be among  the most well made and exciting bottlings made in the Carolina's. Many believe their Irish Walker could be one of the most dynamic English Style Barleywinesin the country. Its the tawny port of brews, and ages like one too. Add that to a well hidden abv, vintage dated, waxed finished bottle and you have a beer geeks dream.

In addition to the 2011 Appalachian Vintner will be re-releasing a few select bottles of 2010 Irish Walker, signed by the brewmaster Steven Lyerly and tapping a ¼ barrel of 2010 as well. Steve, Joe and the gang will also have a few of their other beers on hand to sample too!

Appalachian Vintner is located at 2-B Huntsman Place in Asheville NC.

Mountain Brews News: Heinzelmannchen Brewery Food Pairing in Sylva

.May 6 from 5 PM - 8 PM Food & Beer Pairing with City Lights Cafe in downtown Sylva NC. Heinzelmannchen Brewery welcomes the latest addition to downtown Sylva's array of terrific eating establishments, City Lights Cafe. The Cafe is located in the City Lights Bookstore at3 east Jackson Street.

Stop by the Brewery  in downtown Sylva for a pairing of Cafe appetizers with Heinzelmannchen beer samples and then take a stroll around town at Sylva After Dark.   Enjoy a night of arts, dining, music, refreshments, shopping and more the first First Friday of each month, May-December from 6:00 PM -9:00 PM. 

Heinzelmannchen Brewery Celebrates 7 Years

Heinzelmannchen Brewery has announced its Magical Year of Beer Special in celebration of seven years in business in downtown Sylva NC.  With seven believed to be a magical number, the Brewers will be offering seven specials April 11-17th as a special thank-you to their customers:

Root Beer or Birch Beer Floats $2.77 

Lusty Monk Mustard $5.77 

Wickles (16 oz jars) $4.77 

Dips $2.77 

T-shirts $14.77 

Cooler Bags $7.77 

Your Gnometown Cookbook $17.77

And as always Wunderbar Wednesdays get your growlers filled with any Traditional flavors on tap for $7.00!

Heinzelmannchen Brewery was opened in 2004 by German-born Dieter Kuhnand his wife Sheryl Rudd. Dieter's childhood and family experiences growing up in Heidelsheim near the Black Forest of Germany lead to his interest to becoming a brewer. The Brewery is not a Brewpub but focuses solely on providing ales for take-home growler glass containers or kegs. A variety of tastings, pairings and community events offer samples to the public.

The Brewery's ales include Ancient Days Honey Blonde Ale, Gopher Ale, Middleworld Brown Ale and Black Forest Stout and are sold in 2-liter take-home growler glass containers, and 5-gallon or 15-gallon kegs. In addition to the ales Heinzelmannchen brews old-fashioned Root Beer and Autumn Red Birch Beer. The ales are also available on tap at a select restaurants and pubs close-by in Sylva, Dillsboro, Franklin and Waynesville. As well as in Robbinsville, Fontana Dam, Maggie Valley, Sapphire Valley, Hendersonville and the Asheville area.

Heinzelmannchen Brewery is located at 545 Mill Street in Downtown Sylva NC.

Mountain Brews News

North Carolina boasts the largest number of craft breweries in the American South, with more than 20 brewpubs and 20 packaging breweries  The North Carolina Brewer's Guild  (NCBG) is a not-for-profit organization comprised of brewers, vendors, retailers, and craft beer enthusiasts focused on promoting North Carolina beer. Members of the NCBG offer a variety of tastings, pairings and community events  including:

Oct 1 from 5 PM - 8 PM Heinzelmannchen Brewery will be offering delicious samples from Day by Day Cafe at their brewery on the back street of downtown Sylva NC. Heinzelmannchen brews light and refreshing German beer made with wholesome grains, fresh hops & no preservatives. All beers are keg conditioned and non-filtered, making them smooth and lighter in body.

Oct 2  from 5 PM - 8 PM Local Microbreweriers join forces to support the Arts at the  The Bascom  in Highlands NC. Breweries participating in the art and music celebrating are Heinzelmannchen Brewery, Craggie Brewing Co, French Broad Brewery and Nantahala Brewing Co.  Celebrate the arts while enjoying great hand crafted beers!

Sept 30 from 5 PM - 7 PM Brusin' Ales Thusday Tasting. Sampling Abita Brewing Co. beers with Arnaldo and Ralph from Abita on-hand to answer questions. We're drinking to Save Our Shore this week.  ABITA "Save Our Shore" Imperial Pilsner: "This Abita Beer is a message in a bottle...a distress signal for the troubled waters of our Gulf Coast. For every bottle sold Abita will donate 75¢ to the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive this disastrous oil spill. 

Asheville Wins Beer TItle

Asheville North Carolina takes the top honors in BeerCity USA 2010 poll. The votes are in and counted and Asheville emerged as the clear winner with 7389, 38.8% of  the 19,040 votes cast. Last year's tie with rival Portland Oregon is now a thing of the past thanks to the spirit of local beer enthusiasts.  The BeerCity USA poll coincided with American Craft Beer Week and ended with an outpouring of votes for the relatively smaller city of Asheville North Carolina. Read more about the BeerCity USA Poll...

There are 9 breweries in Asheville, NC according to the Brewers Association’s directory of U.S. Breweries.

• Asheville Brewing Co, 77 Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC 28801 Microbrewery
• Asheville Pizza and Brewing, 675 Merrimon, Asheville, NC 28804, Brewpub
• Craggie Brewing Co., 197 Hilliard Avenue, Ashville, NC Microbrewery
• French Broad Brewing Co., 101-D Fairview Rd., Ashville, NC Microbrewery
• Green Man Brewing Co 23 Buxton Ave., Asheville, NC 28801 Microbrewery
• Highland Brewing Co 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste H, Asheville, NC 28801 Regional brewery
• Lexington Avenue Brewing - The LAB PO Box 7303, Asheville, NC 28802 Brewpub
• Oyster House Brewing Co./Lobster Trap Restaurant, 35 Patton St., Asheville, NC 28801 Brewpub
• Wedge Brewing Co., 129-B Roberts St., Ashville, NC Microbrewery

Happy Birthday Heinzelmannchen!

April 24, 10AM - 5PM, Heinzelmannchen Brewery, 545 Mill Street, downtown Sylva North Carolina. Celebrate the Brewery's 6th anniversary with samples of beer and soda and "Your Gnometown Cookbook" taste treats - plus a Prize Drawing. http://www.yourgnometownbrewery.com/

Mountain Lovers, Art Lovers and now Beer Lovers?

Asheville North Carolina is many things to many people. It has always been a special place for those who love the mountains. A continually growing art community has Asheville ranked 13th in the nation for number of Art Galleries per capita. And in the last few years Asheville has been brewing up yet another speciality appreciated by locals and visitors alike. On February 26 Galding.com, a national travel Blog, cited the "24 greatest cities in the world for drinking beer". And right there among brew giants like Dublin Ireland and Munich Germany was Asheville North Carolina! In 2009 Asheville edged out Portland Oregon for the "Beer City USA" title. Asheville now has one brewery for every 10,000 residents and hosts a variety of sudsey events including the annual Brewgrass Festival, Asheville Octoberfest,  and Winter Warmer.  Read more about Asheville area breweries....