Asheville socially-distanced travelog

Special feature by Erin McCoy

I have been a craft beer fan for a while but never had the pleasure of visiting Asheville, North Carolina until very recently. Deciding to visit during the COVID pandemic took some special considerations, but it was still possible to have a great time.

Advance planning important

For people planning a trip to Asheville now, here are some things you need to know. First and foremost masks are required absolutely everywhere, that includes inside a building while not actually eating and drinking (NC imposed rules).  Secondly, it is not the Asheville it was pre-pandemic. They are serious about their social distancing. Most breweries and restaurants are only operating at 50% capacity, which can cause long lines and waits to be served. Many are also operating with modified hours.  Several places will not offer flights as an option and may limit your initial order to one 12 or 16 ounce pour at a time, in an effort to keep lines moving. Once you are seated, however, the “seconds” line is separate and operates much faster. 

In general, outdoor seating is more available, as places try to accommodate their rules regarding capacity, however that means you will have to adapt to changing weather.  Every place we visited had their menus on scannable items, to avoid paper, and only accepted credit cards, so no cash sales.

Some popular brewery taprooms are shut down until sometime in 2021 (Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, for instance) and some popular craft beer retailers have closed entirely (Tasty Beverage bottle shop).  Other places are by reservation only (New Belgium, Wicked Weed Funkatorium, etc.), reservations which must be made in advance, sometimes several hours and possibly even days. For ease of getting a seat and if you do not want to spend a lot of time waiting in line, I would not suggest going on a Saturday at all when the lines are longer. Mid-week, or another non-Saturday combination would probably be a better option if you can swing it. 

Hitting places on a Friday evening

As a birthday present, I went to Asheville over a weekend in October, beginning my visit on a Friday evening by stopping first in several places around the edges of downtown. My first stop was at Thirsty Monk Brewery in the Biltmore Park Town Square.  It was about 5:30 p.m. when we arrived and starting to get a bit busy.  I was able to order a flight and it was lovely, as I sipped and watched people outside.  Food was available and although we did not eat there, the plates we saw looked delicious. 

From there we went to Wedge Brewing Company.  They have two locations, but we went to the one in the River Arts District, also known as Wedge at Wedge Studios.  They had strictly outdoor seating, but a ton of it, and a food truck that was serving up sandwiches and sides.  It was getting dark while we were there, however they are decorated with lots of lighting in their large open space.  After enjoying a pint of their IPA, we moved onto our next stop: White Labs. 

White Labs is yeast production facility and tasting room in a renovated historic tobacco warehouse on the edge of downtown Asheville.  Their Kitchen & Tap section has both indoor and outdoor seating, and the inside space is very open and spaced out. They offered beer flights, so I ordered one and thoroughly enjoyed the four selections I made.  They offer a full food menu, and we opted to order a couple appetizers.  Everything was fantastic.  This is a science themed brewpub and definitely a place you will want to see. 

Our last stop for the evening was Highland Brewing Company. They are located in the Blue Ridge Business Park and is a huge facility a bit away from downtown. It is basically a large warehouse and taproom with so much space. They were offering flights, so I chose four delicious beers for that. They always have their flagship beers, but also have a rotating small-batch brew series in the taproom.  Outside they have a beer garden style front porch with live hops and a place called The Meadow. This green, tree-lined family-friendly space has lots of tables and a large lawn where you can bring your own chairs and sit and relax. We finished the night there and picked up some beer to take with us, as we left.

A very busy Saturday

Saturday began with brunch at a local well-known restaurant called “Early Girl Eatery”, in downtown Asheville.  They offered both indoor and outdoor seating, with tents being lined up out front to accommodate.  Operating at 50% capacity, the waits at downtown breakfast spots are typically quite lengthy on Saturday mornings. It took about an hour and a half to finally get a seat and order some food. So plan accordingly. 

It didn’t take the city long to get busy and full of tourists.  We decided to concentrate our visits in the South Slope district of downtown.

We made Burial Beer Company our first South Slope stop. The line was very long and a bit intimidating but moved fairly quickly. They had beer to go and merchandise out for sale and you could get a can and enjoy it in line, while you wait. The inside was roped off, except for restrooms, but there were two areas once you got to their outside area.  The first area was where you ordered your beer and/or food. They offer a full menu with plenty of food options.  Beers were limited to one pour at a time, or two half pours, for your first order. The second area was for “second” pours and not much of a line at all.  There was plenty of outdoor seating that was spaced out well and you can sit as long as you like and enjoy their beer. It was a very cool spot with tons of great art.  

Next, we stopped in the Wicked Weed Funkatorium, but only to put our name on their reservation list. Seating there was reservation-only and on a two and a half hour wait. With time on our hands, we decided to hit a couple more places, so we went across the street to Twin Leaf Brewery. 

The Twin Leaf Brewery line was also very long, and it took about an hour before we got seated. They also have a lot of outdoor seating, and inside seating that was spaced out well.  Much like other breweries, a lot of their inside space was roped off to accommodate only 50% capacity. The inside was very open and after you got in and ordered your beer, limited to one pour, if you wanted another, there was a “seconds” line that was much shorter. There is not food at Twin Leaf. 

After we finished our beer, we went around the block to Catawba Brewing Company‘s South Slope taproom. The taproom is a very open concept inside that leads to additional outdoor seating. Although we also had to wait, it was only about 20 minutes before we could get our order in. We got a pitcher of Catawba’s delicious mango IPA and enjoyed it under one of the many tents set up out back. As we were finishing our pitcher, our reservation was ready at Wicked Weed Funkatorium, so off we went. 

Wicked Weed Funkatorium was still packed but we were seated in an open space in the front. They did allow flights, so I ordered several different sours to try while we waited on food. There is a full menu there and the food was delicious. They offer outside seating in a newly expanded biergarten and also have a bottle shop inside where you can purchase beer or merchandise.

Dirty Jack’s Pub was our next stop and like many others, there were several tents out front with tables for people to space out on, after you placed your order. This is actually a taproom the Green Man Brewery.

Just down the street is the huge Green Man Mansion Tasting Room that overlooks the brewery production area from the indoor/outdoor top floor taproom.  The architecture and layout are fantastic and definitely a must stop spot.

Our final stop was the Hi-Wire Brewing taproom at the South Slope.  It is another very open area, albeit much smaller than the Hi-Wire Big Top Production Brewery up the road.  The South Slope taproom is dedicated to brewing sour and wild ales and one-off small batch beers.  Decorated with bright colors and art, it is definitely worth a visit.

Just plan ahead

Overall we had a fantastic time. However, if you’re planning an Asheville trip during this pandemic, be sure to check ahead the websites of the places you want to visit. Hours and service details can vary greatly. You may need to make some reservations well ahead of time. By planning carefully you can make the most of your time and end up with a wonderful Asheville trip. Cheers!

All photos by Erin McCoy, unless otherwise noted

HELPFUL LINKS

Explore Asheville Guide
Asheville Beer Guide

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Erin McCoy is co-host of the West Virginia Beer Roads podcast/videocast and a contributor to Brilliant Stream.