Asheville has repeatedly been ranked Beer City USA and is a cute little beer-centric town in the middle of the mountains.
AVL Tips:
Wear layers! The weather here fluctuates quite a bit with the elevation so be prepared to be hot one minute and chilly the next.
The downtown area can get quickly overwhelmed with tourists and bachelor/bachelorette parties. Be sure to get out of ‘South Slope’ and see more of the city, you won’t regret it.
Hiking isn’t as close as you would initially expect, you’ll need to drive a bit to hit the trails even though the city is nestled in the mountains
Check out my 2 day Asheville itinerary here!
Asheville is unique in that there are ~30 breweries, but there are multiple outposts of some breweries that make that number as high as it is. Burial, Hi-Wire, Wedge, Wicked Weed, Green Man, Asheville Pizza & Brewing, Thirsty Monk, One World, and Catawba each have more than one location all within five or so miles, something that is not common in other cities. I would definitely recommend checking out each location individually if you have time because each atmosphere can be very different!
Check out my blog on The Best Breweries in Asheville here!
Looking for more of a small town vibe? Hendersonville is a cute area just south of Asheville.
Check out my Hendersonville, NC guide here!
Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations:
Burial Beer: The mecca of Asheville beer! This is a MUST. Expect it to be busy as a result of how fantastic the beers are, so try to visit on a weekday if you can. They are constantly changing things up but 100% of what they make is fantastic, especially their IPAs. Their original taproom is in South Slope with patio seating and a small food menu.
Forestry Camp is their second venture in the city. It is in the Biltmore Village neighborhood a bit south of downtown. They’ve got a food menu, cocktails and wine, guest taps, a rooftop patio, and chill vibes.
Eulogy is their music venue next to the South Slope taprooms. On Saturday afternoons it is open as a beer hall. The space has Burial beers, occasional guest beers, cocktails, Visuals wine, and Good Hot Fish inside.
Cellarest Beer Project: A great brewery in West Asheville. They are particularly focused on Farmhouse Ales and Lagers. Cassia is their onsite food truck with incredibly delicious Asian eats.
Lookout Mountain & Rattlesnake Mountain: Most of the hiking near Asheville is a solid hour drive from the city, but these trails are just 25 minutes away in Black Mountain, NC. Lookout is crowded and there are a lot of manmade steps, but the views are good from the top. I would highly recommend going over the back end of Lookout and continuing up to Rattlesnake where there is generally no one else on the trail and the views are even better.
Dssolvr: A killer brewery with delicious beers. They are located right downtown and you can get food delivered from nearby restaurants as well.
The Whale: An awesome craft beer bar with a variety of taps, cans and bottles. They also have locations in Greenville, SC and Charleston, SC.
Taco Boy is located next door and a great spot for tacos and cocktails! They also have a location in Biltmore Park.
TRVE Brewing: A metal-themed brewery coming out of Denver with solid beers.
Dssolvr
Summit Coffee: An extremely cute coffee shop located in The Foundation, a complex covered in 14 acres of street art that is super trendy. Get the lavender latte & don’t look back!
Walk across the street to Wedge Brewing’s Foundation outpost once you’re ready to transition from coffee to beer. They also have a BBQ restaurant, 12 Bones Smokehouse, attached for your food needs.
Zillicoah Beer: Located right on the French Broad River, this is the perfect spot north of town to relax on a beautiful day. It’s super chill, family friendly, and dog friendly outside. They specialize in fantastic Lagers.
Sunny Point Café: A delicious spot for brunch every day of the week! This spot is incredibly popular so expect a wait and try to avoid it on Sundays. They are also open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Located in West Asheville.
New Origin Brewing: A small brewery with a large variety of beers that are all great. They have a nice patio space and 900 Degreez food truck onsite for pizza.
Cursus Keme: The “secret brewery” in Asheville that’s not quite a secret anymore. This spot used to be a tractor trailer repair shop and is now a large bright and airy taproom. The outside seating near the river is lovely as well. They have a limited number of beers on tap that are usually quite unique and delicious. Located a block past New Origin at the end of the road.
Catawba Falls: Another great spot to hike just 30 minutes from downtown. This is very family friendly and relatively flat to the falls. If you’re feeling adventurous you can climb up the falls via a rope on the right-hand side. The trail is short and sweet but still provides great views!
Taco Billy: Delicious tacos! Highly recommend their breakfast tacos but they’ve also got beers if you go for lunch or dinner. You can order online to avoid a line as well.
Summit Coffee Asheville
The Classic Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting:
Blue Ridge Parkway: An amazing scenic drive with viewpoints to pull over and admire from. Bring snacks, take your time, and enjoy!
Float the river with Zen Tubing! Bring your cooler and speaker and enjoy the relaxing journey along the river.
Sierra Nevada Mills River: This is a HUGE outpost of the California-based brewery with a private drive, full kitchen and taproom, and concert space. The outdoor space is great, with a firepit, game space, dog space, kid space, and all nestled in the forest. Do not miss the pretzels with pimento beer cheese! The staff here is also super friendly and great!
Located right next to the airport so it’s a perfect spot on your way in or out of town if you’re flying! Driving distance from downtown Asheville is about 20 minutes.
Highland Brewing: Asheville’s first brewery! This is a unique spot with shipping containers inside and out, frequent live music, cool artwork, and a meadow onsite. The also have hiking trails on their property and chill vibes all around.
North Carolina Arboretum: A lovely outdoor space with gardens, trails, educational programs and events. It is $16 to enter the parking area.
New Belgium Brewing: Based in Fort Collins, CO., New Belgium calls Asheville its second home. They are located right on the Catawba River and have a fantastic outdoor space. You can also tour the incredibly massive brewery.
LaZoom: Bus comedy tours that share a bit of Asheville history, comedy skits, and a stop at a local brewery. They also offer haunted tours, band tours, and kids tours.
Sierra Nevada
Other ideas:
Pop up to Weaverville, 10 minutes north of town and visit Leveller Brewing Company and Zebulon Artisan Ales. Leveller has a cute patio space and stellar Farmhouse-focused beers. Zebulon has funkier styles in a tucked away taproom a block away.
Trombatore Trail: A solid hike up to a pasture-style view of the surrounding mountains. AllTrails listed it at 4.7 miles but it is actually more like 6 as a heads up.
Hillman Beer Co: Lots of outdoor seating and a full food menu. They’ve also got a location in Old Fort, east of Asheville.
Mountain Madre: A great Mexican restaurant and Agave bar in downtown AVL. Their food and drinks are delicious and their patio is very cute.
Vortex Donuts: A great spot to grab a donut and coffee! If you go close to closing time it’s buy one get one free donuts! Highly recommend the peanut butter chocolate.
Hi-Wire South Slope: A small little taproom with fun vibes and good beers.
White Labs Kitchen and Tap: A production facility, education hub, and brewery based in San Diego with a second location in Asheville. This taproom has a variety of beers on tap and each style has two beers to choose from using different yeasts which is fun! They’ve also got a full food menu with wood fired pizzas that are delicious. Service is mediocre.
One World Brewing: Two taprooms, one in West Asheville and the original is downtown in a basement setting.
Green Man Dirty Jack’s: The historic original Green Man location with semi-grunge vibes (hence the name).
Asheville Pizza and Brewing: 3 locations in town, each with solid pizza and solid beer. Their South Slope location also has a cute little outdoor patio. Their location on the north side of town has a full movie theater!
Wedge Brewing at Wedge Studios: The original Wedge outpost. They have a large outdoor space but a small indoor space. Be sure to ask for peanuts.
Highland Brewing
Hi-Wire Big Top: A really chill spot compared to their South Slope location. This is where their production happens so it is pretty industrial. They’ve got a permanent food truck onsite, Foothills Meats. The 10W-40 Stout series is delicious!
Hungry & don’t love the food truck options? Standard Pizza is a one minute walk away and has great pizza! The slices are huge!
Archetype Brewing: A brewery in West Asheville with average beers. They have a nice rooftop patio and Pizza Mind is located next door for some ‘za.
Biscuit Head: A tasty spot for—you guessed it—biscuits! They have sweet or savory options as well as drinks. There are 3 locations in Asheville: downtown, West Asheville, and Biltmore Park.
Asheville Retrocade: A game bar with craft beer! They’ve got Dance Dance Revolution, Pac-Man, Skee-Ball, and so much more! If you go after 9pm it is 21+
The Brew Pump: A craft beer bar in a gas station! No, really. They’ve got $3 specials and well…gas!
All Sevens Brewing: Another brewery in West Asheville, they’ve got a full food menu, a pool table, and basic beers that you can get pitchers of.
Rattlesnake Lodge Trail: This is a close to town but pretty boring hike that is 4.3 miles long with 882ft of elevation gain and takes 2 hours to complete.
Wicked Weed Funkatorium: Wicked Weed was bought out by Anheuser-Busch so I try to avoid their beers and drink small/craft. The Funkatorium specializes in farmhouse ales and barrel aged sour beers that are small batch.
Thirsty Monk: Overhyped Belgian brewery and seltzery where neither the beer nor the seltzer is good.
