Which breweries to visit?
One of my fondest summer, beer weekend memories of every year has to be Homebrew Con. Not one specifically but the many I have had the pleasure of attending since my first, Baltimore of 2016. Covid turned the process on its head like it did many, many things. But we finally made it back this year, 2026 to Asheville NC.
And yes, like I said, the conference is awesome.
But that isn’t what I want to tell you about. Once you have been homebrewing for a few years it isn’t always just about the presentations. Yes, there are those speakers you HAVE to see, or those one or two talks that you CANNOT miss. But the pure joy and wonder of running back and forth from some random convention center to the local breweries trying to see what the town has to offer in between talks and trips to the expo with homebrew friends both new and old is an experience I was so happy to get to relived this summer!
When we started planning the trip I thought we would have a few NYC friends along for the ride, unfortunately weekends and prices were just not in alignment. It ended up being just me and my partner Jon from our local NYC clubs going. That’s ok, the two of us know how to have fun, plus less planning for a large group I guess!
Let me tell you, never have I felt more like a part of a group than I did on this trip. We were friends with everyone somehow, and it felt amazing.
Yes, we did know a few folks somewhat or tangentially. We had the Jersey guys, a former club member who now lives in Florida, Connecticut folks were there too. We see all of these beer lovers around the scene in the tristate, so we were never really alone.
But even beyond that we made new friends from Arizona to Louisiana too. The joy of being back at a conference we all love, combined with it being small and intimate in a city that was both welcoming and cozy provided the perfect storm for a really amazing time.
We managed to make it to thirteen breweries in five days, not as good as I used to do in the heyday of my youth but let me tell you about um so next time you’re in Asheville you can check them out yourself!
I have created an arbitrary rating system. These are my opinions and my opinions only!
- ⭐⭐⭐ Cannot Miss! These are places you would be making a mistake if you didn’t make an effort to go to.
- ⭐⭐ Great to See! You should go to these spots, they were great!
- ⭐ Had Fun! We had a great time here!
There was not a terrible visit in the bunch but to help you out while you are visiting these are my opinions! I hope it helps, Cheers!
Day 1, Wednesday
It took forever to get from the airport to town, mostly because of construction but our driver said that was finishing up in the next few months. Also a little bit because we are New Yorkers and we were not prepared for the amount of time we would have to wait for a taxi, 18mins!? What? How?
- Dssolvr⭐
Our first brewery stop was a short walk from our hotel.
We wandered over after we dropped our shit and we were READY for a beer. The place was very punk, pinball and loud music. It wasn’t very full at the time but we were there on a Wednesday, early evening.
I, of course, ordered the Italian Pilsner, one of my favorite styles currently while Jon grabbed a Czech dark lager. He did try to order a beer off the cask engine and I was immediately alarmed when the person behind the bar did not know what that meant. “You do work at this brewery correct?” Come to find out she was covering a shift for someone else… But maybe prepare them a little better? You do have a herd of homebrewers in town and not all of them have worked in the service industry before and would have laughed off that reply. Yikes.
After finding an outdoor seat, I came to find out my Italian Pilsner was exceedingly fruity. Whether it was the hops or yeast became a bit of a discussion point, but hops might have won the conversation. The dark lager was much closer to style and the American light lager that was ordered next was clean as well so then we were convinced. Decent fermentation just an odd choice in the style of hops.
Three was all we could fit in here because we had dinner to get to!
- The Bier Garden⭐
Not too far down the way was our next stop and dinner, BBQ! The BJCP was hosting a dinner for members, and it included beer of course! The space was full but I was expecting that. A bunch of hungry beer judges and a world cup match on? Full bar.
I made my way to the lower bar and to my great joy found they had a Rauchbier in cans! It was a bit meaty but did I love it? Yes, I did! Jon had a red lager which was perfectly pleasant as well. And I loved them both paired with their BBQ food.
There were a few other pints we had throughout the evening here. I enjoyed the English pub ale and the Czech table lager. The hoppy amber ale was a bit heavy and the East Coast IPA poured at the top bar had some major diacetyl issues so it was a mixed bag as was the service. A few really nice folks and a few really annoyed bartenders.
After a long day of travel and an overwhelming amount of people at the second location I needed one more to top off the evening and to cool down.
- Twin Leaf⭐
Next we headed a bit out of the way, had to walk off that BBQ after all.
Twin Leaf was for sure a quieter spot on a Wednesday evening. They were also close to closing time and most folks were sitting on their back patio.
Having had a few heavier beers at the last spot we both opted for lighter and more refreshing to finish our first day in North Carolina. I went with their gose while Jon tried out the Mexican lager. Mine hit the mark, tart with stone fruit, although I found it lacked some coriander notes. The lager on the other hand was heavy, corny and sweet not what we expected.
The space was light and airy, big and open. A bunch of table top games to keep you occupied and plenty to look at. A really nice welcoming space, I could see myself chillin’ for a few on a weekend. But they were closing up and so were my eyes at this point!
Day 2, Thursday
Day two in Asheville we spent most of the early day judging beer. Yeah that is right, not only did we go down there for a beer conference but we also volunteered to judge a beer competition on top of it. Feel free to judge me accordingly.
After that wrapped up, what did I want? More beer of course!
- Zebulon⭐⭐⭐
But those pesky cabs again… We finally made it the fifteen minutes out of town to Zebulon brewing. It isn’t usually open on Thursdays but they knew some nerds were in town and made an exception this week! And damn I am glad they did, this one is in my top three no doubt!
Of course I ordered the Italian Pilsner first! I had a theme to stick to after all! It was clean, crisp, refreshing and herbal in the hop character! Just what I wanted and expected! Jon had their Brett IPA 1840 a special release, from what I recall it was pretty amazing. There was also a historical porter that knocked our socks off.
We decided at this brewery that we were gonna bite the bullet and check a bag on the way home, so that tells you what we thought of their products. All of this out of a cute and modest little space. Brewing with what had to be multiple strains of yeast, some clean, some funky. Really impressive work!
- Wicked Weed⭐⭐
A trip to Asheville would not be complete without checking out Wicked Weed. But of course being the beer nerds we are we wanted to keep it interesting so we hit up the Funkatorium. This spot features the mixed culture beers this brand is known for.
I went for the Boysenberry Morte, a barrel aged blended sour. Not your usual faire. And despite whoever their corporate overlords are, it was pretty good. Sticking with the berry theme I also tried out the Angel of Darkness. Even more berries starting with a B (boysen, and blackberry) along with cherries and raspberries all aged in a bourbon barrel. Also quite delicious.
After all that I had to finish with something clean. I tried the Coolcucumber, bright and refreshing, as expected. We also had dinner here. Portions were large and pizza was cheesy. I especially enjoyed the fried burrata balls with vodka sauce. (Hey, I like cheese!)
That was it for me for day two, recall I did start drinking at 9am, for a good reason, but still.
Day 3, Friday
Day three the conference finally kicked off! And man was it a long day.
I was also presenting at the conference (ok now I am a triple nerd) and this was my morning. It was my first time presenting at Homebrew Con and I was a tad nervous. But don’t you worry it went over very well! Fingers crossed next year I can top it! That being said, we only made it to one brewery on Friday! I am shocked and almost embarrassed to share! But it was a delight!
- Zillacoa⭐⭐⭐
Another short taxi ride away, (this car came a lot quicker). This was a beautiful spot to visit. Wide open to the outdoors, right next to a river and; this was key because it was lunch time; a food truck!
I took one look at the beer menu and knew exactly what I wanted. The smoked Dunkle! I am a sucker for smoked beers. (Yes, I also love mezcal and scotch). What can I say? I am an easy lady to please! It was lightly smoked which is totally correct, but I do love a bit of a heavy hand when I can find it.
It was lagered well, and very well made overall. As was the Dortmunder export that my partner had. We also had time for an East Coast IPA and a small pour of the open fermented dunkle. Both were also excellent.
The food truck was top notch. We got the sampler, because why not? And devoured it! Filipino style BBQ, something I didn’t know I was missing. Love finding gems like this.
But like I said this was our only brewery stop that day… We did sneak off to a speakeasy style tiki bar for a little end of day treat, what can I say even The Beer Coach can get over done on beer sometimes!
Day 4, Saturday
The second day of the conference and we were up and out! By lunch I was ready for a little hair of the dog… Ok, ok I had a few samples at the conference too I didn’t actually wait until noon.
- Asheville Brewing⭐⭐
There was only about an hour between talks and I wanted to get back for the first afternoon presentation so we found a place we could walk back and forth to fairly quickly. The key, they were a brewery AND they had food!
I ordered the witbier which was light and refreshing. Plenty of orange peel and coriander in there. Jon grabbed an East coast style IPA which tasted slightly vegetal to me, most likely heavily dried hopped but clearly filtered, no pun intended. I tend to be sensitive to the scallion/garlic notes that come out of dry hopping. Both beers were clean and well made.
And the pizza was awesome! Very creative recipes with house made crusts. I ended up filming a short food pairing here as well. That you can check out below if you enjoy that sort of thing!
- Green Man Brewery⭐⭐
After a long afternoon of lectures we were ready to cut loose! It was a bit of a walk from the downtown conference center but it gave us time to shake off the sleepies! And we made it to Green Man.
Live music was already going, making the space very inviting. Clean aesthetics set this place apart from other locations we had been to so far. And great indoor/outdoor seating options.
I went for the rye lager. I haven’t said this one yet, but rye is another one of my weaknesses, I will always order it! And Jon got the English porter. I found my lager to be a touch under attenuated and a touch under carbonated. The end result, it was a bit heavy and the drinkability wasn’t as high as I would have liked.
The porter on the other hand was immaculate, read the style guidelines, drink this beer, it will click. It was good!
We did have to hurry out of that place though, a bus of tourists drove up and dropped a whole group of people off. I know I was in town for a conference, and myself a tourist, but I am not actually a people person! Large crowds, not my thing.
- Burial⭐⭐⭐
I knew I had to get to Burial while I was in Asheville. Last time I was in NC, a different city, it was the brewery EVERYONE mentioned. And with good reason.
The place was slammed. The conference had let out so beer nerds were running around town and it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. But also this place is also that good.
I am going to give you one moment to guess what I ordered….
Yes, the Italian Pilsner! And it was great! Clean, refreshing, herbal and a hint of floral. Perfection.
The bar was packed but the service was efficient and pleasant. We got way overheated and stimulated inside. So we headed into their backyard to find a table. Which was a challenge. We eventually found one, mostly shaded and finally got to find the chill we were looking for.
I also enjoyed a West Coast IPA here. And Jon ordered a VERY nice saison. The saison had a touch of funk but not overdone, rustic and delightful. The last beer was a pilsner, a touch corny but very clean.
Overall one of my favorite stops!
Day 5, Sunday
Last day in NC, lucky for us we got a late flight out so we had ALL day to keep consuming beer! Because obviously we had not had enough yet!
- Diatribe Brewing Company⭐⭐⭐
Still on our list was Diabtribe brewing. And I am so glad we made it there! It was a bit of a trip west of the city, but again an easy cab ride. (As long as you don’t mind waiting 15+ minutes for the cab to pick you up, sigh).
A small but really cozy space. With arm chairs and tables. Plus the art on their cans was gorgeous to look at.
The first beer I went with was a leichtbier, a German light beer, something you are not going to find many places. And they nailed it! Aggressive bite but light and refreshing with a clean finish. Some herbal and floral notes from the style accurate hops. A beer you couldn’t hide an error in and there were no errors!
While waiting for our next cab I had enough time to squeeze in a small pour of their Irish Extra Stout on cask! A gold medal winner from the 2026 World Beer Cup. Yep, it was also pretty damn good too!
- Cellarest⭐⭐⭐
Another short cab ride back towards the airport, since we would have to fly out eventually, got us to the Cellarest Beer Project. Another quaint but awesome spot well worth the trip. The indoor/ outdoor space was inviting and comfortable. There was plenty of shade which my pale northern ass needs the farther south I get!
I had a Dortmunder Export aged on oak which was exceptional. I will say it was probably too heavy on the oak technically… but I loved it! Jon had a farmhouse pale ale that was also delightful. The barrels and lagering tanks in the space added to the ambience for me. Plus food trucks in the outdoor space were keeping people fed.
- Archetype Brewing⭐
Archetype was just under a ten minute walk away from Cellarest and we had to squeeze one more in before heading out of town! Sure we looked a little weird rolling suitcases down the sidewalk… but for beer we will do what we have to do!
This location is in a large industrial space and had couches as well as tables. Everything felt a bit dark overall though. There was also an outside area we didn’t wander into because we were only in for a quick one. We had to order our cab to the airport right away to guarantee we got there in time! (Knowing how these guys have operated all weekend).
I grabbed a Belgian blonde ale. It was appropriately phenolic and ester forward with a touch of honey malt reminding me of a Leffe Blonde. On point for style. I wish I could have given this spot a little more time!
- Sierra Nevada⭐⭐
Ok I lied we didn’t go RIGHT to the airport. We did scoot through Sierra Nevada’s beer mecca they built right outside the airport before hitting TSA. And they did pull out all the stops here.
Let me tell you this place was slammed. We did make the mistake of not connecting the dots that it was fathers day which meant there were a fair amount of families out and about treating father to a beverage. If you want a table here on a busy afternoon, I would highly recommend a reservation.
Lucky for us the dining room and bar do have open seating first come, first serve and we were able to sneak into two seats that had just opened up.
We ordered two of the four things that you can’t get anywhere else. One a barrel aged doppelbock and the other an open fermented vintage ale. The doppelbock was exceptionally smooth. It did not taste like it was 8.5% ABV. The vintage ale had some spunk to it! Zippy and funky.
The taproom and their staff, while quite busy, was also so very friendly. We were greeted as soon as we sat down, and the bartender took the extra time to ask us about where we were from and how our trip was. What a fun way to end our trip to Asheville!
Overall Asheville has earned a spot in the top brewery cities of the US. There were plenty more places I could have gotten to if I had more time! Let me know where I missed and what you would have ranked them! Happy beer travels from The Beer Coach!
The Beer Coach 
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