by Rich Rabassa

Our adventurous HBA gang decided to take a break from the hectic pace at the shop and kick back with some of our pals in the Smokey Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina this weekend and partake in some excellent brews at the sixth annual Great Smokies Craft Brewers Brewgrass Festival. Hosted each year by the Great Smokies Craft Brewers Association, this event has quickly become one of the most popular beer events in the Southeast.

Although Mothernature was less than cooperative that day, on September 14th of this year, our man Ale and a few of his buddies took the 2.5+ hour drive up from Charlotte to the magical land in the mountains known for it's art, culture, history and hospitality.

This year's festival boast some 30 or so craft brewers from the region and some from as far west as Newport, Oregon and as far north as Portland, Maine.

The pouring rain throughout most of the day didn't stop the beer enthusiasts from showing up in the hundreds (if not thousands), filling Pack Square, in the center of downtown Asheville, to capacity.

Ale and his crew arrived in Asheville with a couple of hours to spare before the festivities started. So how to kill an hour or two in Asheville while waiting for a beer festival to start? Well, Ale was the man with the plan. He suggested stopping in one of his favorite watering holes, Barley's for a pre-festival pint.


The crew stopped into this regional favorite for a slice and a pint of Brooklyn Oktoberfest and Brown, with a Pennant Ale chaser. We were happy to hear (and taste) that this North Eastern favorite is slowly but surely making it's way south.

Throughout the day, our HBA spokesperson, Ale, was spotted sharing a pint or two with some of this country's best brewers (as seen in our mini-photo gallery to the right).

Some of the surprise tasting hits of the day included the French Broad River Brewery (from Asheville, NC) which poured some of their French Broad ESB Pale Ale, French Broad Goldenrod Lager, French Broad Oktoberfest Marz.

Also, Highland Brewing Company (from Asheville, NC) the pride of the Carolinas, pouring their Gaelic Ale, Oatmeal Porter, and Kashmir IPA among others. John Lyda from the brewery was most hospitable even though he would not share any recipes with us.

Ham's (from Greenville, NC) was spotted pouring a fine IPA and Amber Ale made exclusively at their restaurant in their 7 barrel system.

Our pal from the Charlotte area, Don Richardson, from Carolina Beer and Beverage was on hand with the Carolina Blond-mobile pouring samples of his Pumpkin Ale, Cottonwood Endo and Brown, among other thirst quenching libations.

Other surprise hits included Allagash from Portland, Maine with a stellar Dubbel and the Rocky River Brewery from Sevierville, TN with their Heidelberg Hefeweizen. This traditional unfiltered German-style wheat beer with the 50/50 blend of choice 2-row and German wheat malt, plus German Hallertauer hops makes this beer truly representative of the style. We had to sample this one a few times to be sure...

As the night went on, so did the entertainment with a great musical line up which included High Windy, Blue Rooster, Tony Trischka, Kruger Brothers, and Steep Canyon Rangers

By 8 PM, things began winding down at the festival and the HBA gang headed back to Barley's for some fun and games. Ale invited some of the locals to a game or two of fussball. Little did he know that the true foosball hustlers were just letting Ale warm up until he started playing for pints.

All in all, despite the rain, this year's Brewgrass festival was tasty and memorable. See you next year. Same time, better weather (hopefully).


For the latest festival info, get on the mailing list for next year: info@brewgrassfestival.com