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Asheville Brews Cruise:

Highland Brewing, French Broad Brewing, and Asheville Brewing Companies

Article and photos by FastFred Ruddock


Mark Lyons

Highland samples

Science of brewing

Tanks at Highland Brewery

Backstage at French Broad

French Broad Brewery

Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.

Mark Lyons the owner of Asheville Brews Cruise took a group of 11 to Highland Brewing Company, French Broad Brewing Company, and finally Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company. We enjoyed fresh beer samples at each brewery we visited.

The first stop on our frothy cruise was the Highland Brewery. Highland has recently moved to a new and much larger facility on the same grounds that house Blue Ridge Motion Pictures. Blue Ridge Motion Pictures also has tours available every Saturday morning. We sampled several brews at Highland Brewing Company including their two most popular brews Gaelic Ale and Oatmeal Porter. We also enjoyed fresh samples of this year’s seasonal brew Cold Mountain. This year’s Cold Mountain beer is different than last years but it is very good. One Highland’s brews gave us a personal tour of the new facility and explained the whole process as well as their new equipment. I look forward to returning to Highland’s brewery again in the future and more of the new equipment is installed and comes online. Highland only makes Ales. Highland Brewing Company is located at 12 Old Charlotte Highway in Asheville.

Our second stop of this foamy tour was the French Broad Brewing Company. French Broad is a same operation but they actually brew lagers which is rare among microbreweries. The folks at French Broad know how to have fun and they have installed a stage and small bar within the modest brewery. In the back of the brewery the employees and friends were conducting a down home cookout. This location is open to the public until 8:00 PM each night; I recommend checking out this venue far from the beaten path. The French Broad Brewing Company is located at 101-D Fairview Road in Asheville.

Our final stop was back to the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company where the tour began. We enjoyed several samples of their finest beers while ordering and eating fine foods. This location at 675 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville is a converted twin cinema. Movies are still shown nightly in one cinema while the other has been converted into a large game room. The staff was very friendly and the food was great. This location of the Asheville Brewing Company has regular specials. I highly recommend this watering hole as a fine place to sample fine beer at reasonable if not low prices.

The tour of local breweries was fun and educational the first stop alone at Highland Brewing Company was worth the cost of the tour. I would like to organize a group of bikers to enjoy the Asheville Brews Cruise this spring. I spoke with mark and he is will to give us a generous group rate. If you are interested in being part of the group this spring contact FastFred.

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