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Noblebrau Brewing. DAVID SIMCHOCK PHOTO
Refining their craft START-UPS KEEP BEER SCENE LIVELY
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ith around 75 independent establishments in Asheville and Western North Carolina, the craft beer industry is booming in these parts. Now known a “Beer City,” Asheville has become the epicenter for a beverage movement unseen in not only the industry, but also the nation as a whole. It all started for Asheville in 1994 when Oscar Wong started Highland Brewing — the city’s first legal brewery since Prohibition — and tapped into the region’s craft beer potential. Fast forward 20 years to 2014, and craft beer pioneer and industry leader Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, California) opened its $200 million, 217-acre East Coast production facility in Mills River, right outside Asheville.
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“The community around Asheville attracts such an artistic and eclectic mix of people, a very similar mix of people like Chico,” said Ken Grossman, founder/owner of Sierra Nevada. “The outdoors is something I try to do on a regular basis — get outside and hike. We’re near mountains, streams, and places to recreate in Chico, and Asheville is just like that.” An embracing, all-are-welcome attitude is perhaps one of the reasons Asheville’s brew scene has exploded. Competing brewers exhibit camaraderie toward each other, with seasoned big-hitters lending help to upstart companies. Alongside Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, industry giants New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, Colorado) and Oskar Blues Brewery both opened East Coast headquarters in Western North Carolina. In recent years, Oskar Blues opened an enormous nine-acre $10 million east coast facility in Brevard and New Belgium fired up its $140 million facility in the River Arts District of Asheville, a property that has become a beacon of economic and cultural significance for the city. New Belgium and Oskar Blues have since been bought out by
