It was a coincidence that I was in Asheville, NC during the
Beer Poll battle between them and Grand Rapids. I set up the vacation several weeks ago. I picked Asheville because they call
themselves Foodtopia, and I had to see
for myself. More on that later.
There are nine breweries with an Asheville address and
others in the surrounding area. My first night in town I drank a Highland
Brewing Co. St. Therese pale ale. It has nice color and body with a citrus
flavor, because it is dry-hopped with Cascadian hops. A woman in the adjacent
table was drinking a Bell’s Oberon! The second beer that I had was at The
Biltmore House. It was from Cedric’s Pale Ale from Biltmore Brewery which did
not appear to be onsite. It was good; more of a beer for the masses. They day
before l left I stopped by the Asheville
Brewing Company to try the Shiva IPA with some non-locally sourced peanuts. The
beer had a beautiful butterscotch color with just the right head. It was crispy
and citrusy. I also had a taste of their Fire Escape Pale Ale. Jalepenos are
blended in post-fermentation. This beer had a distinct scent of jalepenos and a
bit of a hot aftertaste.
While at the Biltmore, I stopped by their winery and farm.
The farm is more like a petting zoo and small kitchen garden. It tried three
whites and a red at the winery. As I compare them to MI wines they were not as
good – drier; tart to me. But, for the price I am sure that they please many
people.
Sure the beer is good in Asheville, but my vote still goes to Grand Rapids. The voting ends at 11:59 on Sunday May 13, 2012. We are still
neck and neck!
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