No. 1

First post! First one!

Seriously though, this blog's intent is to relay the Asheville brewer's thoughts and ramblings to you the people so that you get a better idea of who we are and what we are about. Asheville is truly blessed with a number of great breweries making world-class award winning beer. We are also fortunate to have a strong homebrewer presence that make equally great beer! While this blog will not include the homebrew side of the community (check out MALT's website for that) we will occasionally include some homebrewer's activities from a professional perspective.. think ProAm competition.

Asheville is quickly becoming the Southeast's mecca for brewing, with 6 established breweries and two more on the way, each one of us finding our own niche and brewing exceptional beers. The secret is in the water. Our water is well suited for making just about any style of beer from delicate Pilsners to in your face Imperial quadruple IPA's. Actually the last one doesn't exist but would make an interesting experiment (hint hint Doug). As Oscar (HBC's founder) is so fond of saying "we get first crack at the water". The fountainheads are here deep in the mountains and valleys tumbling and cascading over rocks worn smooth. Crisp and clean water that we as brewers absolutely love to work with when creating our masterpieces.

We also have educated and informed beer drinkers, without which none of this would be possible. Asheville has also become a beer destination for the discerning beer drinker. We have many opportunities for one to learn about beer and try new beer, not just locally brewed beer but beer brewed around the world. We have a world class beer outlet, Brusin' Ales, where one can find just about any style from just about anywhere. We also have Brews Cruise where you hop on a bus and Mark or one of his very knowledgeable guys will take you on a tour of local breweries so you don't have to worry about the driving part.

As I said before, we are truly blessed here in the mountains.. good water, good beer, good scenery and more importantly good friends.
JLyda