Buncombe County alone now boasts seven craft-brewing operations, with two more set to open later this summer. Related businesses have benefited from those operations. Restaurants with dozens of beer taps buzz with locals and tourists alike. The dozen-year-old Brewgrass Festival is one of the toughest tickets in town. Asheville's beer boutiques ship local product nationwide. Another local business leads brewery tours, and farmers in the area are being urged to grow hops as an alternative crop. Even local bakeries and ice-cream shops are getting into the act, incorporating handmade beer into their recipes.
Asheville has more breweries per capita than such standout U.S. beer destinations as Portland — which Asheville tied in a recent online poll conducted by beer guru Charlie Papazian, the founder of the Great American Beer Festival, the American Homebrewers Association and the Association of Brewers. The unscientific poll, which named Asheville the East Coast's "Beer City USA," carries little actual weight. But seeing Asheville hold its own against a city eight times its size did send beer enthusiasts atwitter. And for local beer producers and consumers alike, the designation has become a point of pride and celebration — 15 years after Asheville's sewage pipes were christened with a mediocre batch of handmade brew.
Adapted from the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project website:
The contest is open to everyone!
Entries accepted : June 1 – July 31, 2009. Winner will be notified on August 10, 2009.
Winner's name or company logo will be included on the event poster/website and will have Blue Ridge Pride VIP access privileges during the event and recognition online and in the event program.
Poster contest guidelines in pdf
Poster contest guidelines in doc
Find out more about our sponsorship packages! Check out the sponsorship brochure.
We launch this summer in Mills River, N.C. Terra Summer, a one-of-the-kind interdisciplinary experience for middle-school students that uses the magical world of food-from growing to cooking to eating-to teach children elements of a rigorous academic curriculum while exploring local and global social, environmental, and economic issues.
Terra Summer is a fun, exploratory program designed to accelerate student learning, keep children from falling behind during the summer months, and positively affect character development by connecting children to themselves, others, and the world at large. Through the process of growing food at the school's organic farm, cooking in the school kitchen lab, and eating together, students deepen threads of their school curriculum-from math and geometry to plant science, chemistry, history, geography, economics, and anthropology. Also, we reflect on and discuss a variety of concepts that are central to the Terra School vision: where our food comes from; who grows it and under what circumstances; the empowerment of the individual to make choices; our responsibility towards the earth, communal resources, and other beings; awareness of other lands and peoples; respect for our bodies through nutrition and exercise; how food connects us all, in strife and joy. There is a story-and an impact-behind everything we eat, and we should know what it is.
Terra Summer is inquiry-based, aimed at making children active engines behind their own learning. Our program provides opportunities for meaningful readings, journaling, portfolio projects, reflections and discussions. We take field trips, learn about bugs and worms, make pizza, plant gardens, make art, and run a mobile produce stand called The Veggie Van.
Terra Summer is not a remedial program or an alternative program or a program designed for children with any particular needs. It is simply a program that uses a non-traditional vehicle to link and make sense of the array of wonderful topics that make our world. We seek a diverse group of children ages 11-14 (grades 6 through 8) who like to spend time outdoors and in the kitchen, question things, grow things, and taste and learn about new things. Come make new friends, taste new foods, and look at the world through a new lens.
Terra Summer takes place on a working organic farm located between Hendersonville and Asheville. The 2009 program consists of one four-week session from July 20 through August 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 4 pm Monday through Friday (early drop-off begins at 8:30 am). The total cost is $600; scholarships, full and partial, are available. Because Terra Summer is an academic enrichment program, students are encouraged to attend the full session. TRANSPORTATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE! ENROLLMENT IS STILL OPEN!!!
The Terra School believes that all activities should foster care, compassion, respect, and a sense of global awareness and responsibility.
For more information visit www.terraschool.org or call Sybil at 828-782-7842.
See Photos of Terra Summer on the Original Post at AshevilleNow.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Julie Atallah, Bruisin’ Ales, 828-252-8999
julie@bruisin-ales.com
June 5, 2009
“Beer City Bash” to be held at The Orange Peel on June 26
ASHEVILLE, NC—Bruisin’ Ales, The Orange Peel, and The Mountain XPress are sponsoring the “Beer City Bash” on Friday, June 26. The bash is a celebration of all things beer in Asheville. The event is a victory party for the local beer community, who rallied to win an Examiner.com poll by Charlie Papazian, founder of the Brewers Association, author, and one of the most recognized names in the world of beer and brewing.
The poll was an informal vote for “Beer City, USA” and included other notoriously large beer cities, such as Portland, OR; Denver, CO; and Philadelphia, PA. Asheville was the smallest city by population in the poll. In the end, Asheville tied with Portland, OR—a city five times the size claiming the co-title.
The Orange Peel in downtown Asheville is hosting the “Beer City Bash.” For the event, all draft lines at the venue will feature locally-brewed beer with all area breweries represented. Tickets are $10 per person (ages 21 and over), including two 9 oz. craft beers of your choice, a raffle ticket for giveaways, and live music. The music line-up features the bands Rat Jackson, Wilsin and Floating Action. The bash starts at 8:00 p.m. Doors at 7:30 p.m.
Proceeds from the event will go to the newly-formed Asheville Brewers Alliance and Arts2People, both non-profits that benefit the local community.
Tickets are available through www.ticketweb.com, 866-468-3399.
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With each passing week, we grow closer to the much anticipated opening of the Lexington Avenue Brewery (the LAB) and Sweet Peas Hostel. Located in the TS Morrison Building on North Lexington Avenue, these two businesses, covering a total of 12,000 sq ft of space, stand to reshape the flow of nightlife and travelers in downtown Asheville.
I recently had the pleasure of touring the construction site with Mike Healy, the co-owner of these two businesses. On that day in mid May, Healy had nearly 30 people working hard to try to get the LAB and Sweet Pea's up and running as soon as possible. Healy is shooting for a late July or August launch date.
Located at 39 North Lexington Avenue, the LAB will be a 365 occupancy restaurant, bar, brewery with two music stages. Imagine a front of the house layout similar to the Usual Suspects, with a large serpentine bar topped with reclaimed pine from the roof and fronted with Tupelo gum also salvaged from the building.
Offering a unique blend of Southern and California cuisine, the restaurant will serve full lunch and dinner in a casual dining environment. The dining room and bar area will have a space to accommodate small musical acts.
At the rear of the building behind the brewery on the right and the stylish doorless airport style restrooms on the left, will be a larger music venue with a 99 person occupancy.
Directly behind the bar, will be the brewery operation. The 15 barrel JV Northwest brewing system will stock 3000 gallons of cold storage with a combination of German influenced brews, local favorites and seasonal offerings.
The focus of the brewing operation will be "making beer the way the German's have been for the past 400 years," explains brew master Ben Pierson. Pierson's long list of brewing experience includes training at Kaltenberg Brewery in Furstenfeldbruck, Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington, IN, as well as several years as both brewer and brewmaster at Asheville's Green Man Brewing Company.
Pierson explained that the brewing at the LAB will utilize "infusion mashing" to produce 30 kegs per batch. The goal is "clean and balanced" beer that provides true "drinkability." "I want to make something that, besides its balance, is easy to drink and makes you think the entire time that you are drinking it."
Beer style lineup provided by Pierson:
Winter Seasonals:
Continue reading to learn about Sweet Peas Hostel and to see more photos...
