Some cities are simply made for beer. In Asheville, everything has aligned perfectly, including the beautiful mountain backdrop, a well-established beer culture, and fresh local ingredients to rely upon.
There’s now no shortage of breweries either, with around 30 different breweries within the city limits and more than 50 if you include the surrounding areas. With so many breweries to choose from, there’s no end to the variation, including different styles of beer and many unique brews.
Burial Beer Co. and Sierra Nevada Brewery often top the list of the best breweries in Asheville, even though Sierra Nevada isn’t technically within the city limits. Other exciting breweries to consider include DSSOLVR, Wicked Weed, and Zillicoah, all of which get exceptional reviews.
Of course, there’s more to it than just listing the popular breweries. We must also consider their distinguishing features, like the types of beer they offer, their food, and their atmosphere. These features help you work out the best brewery for your needs. So let’s dive in!
P.S. For more beer ideas, check out the best breweries in Denver, San Diego, and Austin.
Best Breweries in Asheville, NC
Burial
Burial Beer Company is one of Asheville’s most famous and widely recommended breweries. It’s the one that gets consistently raved about, with visitors returning time and time again.
There are two main locations to consider, each with its own unique features.
The first is the Burial biergarten on the South Slope. This offers a considerable outdoor area, plus an in-house kitchen dishing up top-notch bites.
The biergarten is delightfully unique, complete with old cars (not surprising, given that the brewery started in a renovated transmission shop). There’s even an indoor and outdoor beer menu, giving you plenty of options.
The South Slope location is easy to visit, as it is open seven days of the week, typically from 12pm to 11pm.
Then there’s the Forestry Camp, which is the venue that has everyone buzzing. This is where Burial’s beer is currently produced (while the South Slope location was the company’s original brewery).
The Forestry Camp is indeed located in a former forestry camp, one once housed Civilian Conservation Corps Workers. The buildings and surrounding environment provide a unique experience, while there’s also plenty of delicious food and many places to sit.
Opening hours are more constrained here, as they’re closed on Monday and only open from 4pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Still, the venue opens earlier on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so you still have plenty of time to check it out.
Zillicoah
Zillicoah Beer Company doesn’t have its own kitchen, but they do have an on-site food truck that features delicious Filipino dishes. The brewery is a little different than most Asheville offerings in that they focus on farmhouse beers and open fermented lagers. Doing so gives them a narrower focus than normal, while also helping them to stand out.
The brewery is now open to all ages, every day of the week, making it great for families. Many other breweries do this too, but it’s a new approach for Zillicoah who previously required guests to be at least 21, except on Sundays.
Zillicoah’s brewery can be found on 870 Riverside Drive, right next to the French Broad River. It’s technically in Woodfin, but is generally classified as one of the Asheville breweries, so we’re including it in our selection.
The brewery opens from 2pm to 10pm Monday through Thursday, then from noon on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This isn’t the place for a late one though, as they close at 10pm, even on a Friday night.
DSSOLVR
Located in downtown Asheville, DSSOLVR is an easy to access and exceptional brewery. Despite being small, DSSOLVR manages to have a large selection of beer styles, including sours, Kolsch, and plenty of others.
While DSSOLVR looks innocent from the outside, it isn’t your traditional taproom at all. DSSOLVR focuses on the surreal and edgy, creating a distinctive vibe that many love and some may find unsettling. Still, this is a great place to experiment, as the brews include both traditional and innovative styles.
Unfortunately, DSSOLVR offers full pours only. You can’t even sample beers, so you won’t know what to expect until you get back to your seat. That should be fine if you’re willing to experiment. But, if you have particular tastes, DISSOLVR mightn’t be the right location.
Green Man
Green Man Brewery is one of the oldest in Asheville, having operated since 1997. It’s also an iconic brewery, offering high-quality beers that everyone can enjoy.
Green Man isn’t extremely experimental, unlike some of the breweries we’ve discussed. Instead, there’s a strong focus on traditional English styles, particularly ales. Still, a few more modern creations sneak in. In 2022, the brewery even bought back some of their classic brews and revitalized them for modern audiences.
There are two taprooms to choose between – Dirty Jack’s and the Green Mansion. The Green Mansion is a three-story building that includes a ‘brewtique’ store where you can buy beer or merchandise and an 18-tap tasting room with a view of the production floor.
Dirty Jack’s is the main brewery, where all taproom-exclusive and specialty beers are brewed. The bar is actually a part of the brewery, so you get to see their processes first hand. You can even bring along the family, as kids and dogs are welcome.
The Green Mansion opens at noon every day, then closes at 9pm most nights and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Dirty Jack’s is more limited, opening from 2pm to 9m on Monday through to Thursday, then at noon for the rest of the week. There’s an in-house kitchen too, but they’re closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Cursus Keme
You could easily miss Cursus Keme if you didn’t know to look for it. That’s because the small brewery is hidden behind an ivy-covered gate in an industrial-looking part of the city without much else going on.
The brewery takes advantage of this industrial theme, providing a unique balance of industry and nature. It’s an unconventional idea, yet the whole thing comes together well. Seriously, the taproom is surprisingly beautiful, and the outdoor areas are excellent on a sunny day.
Even the brewery’s website plays into the hidden nature, as it just provides the address, contact details, and opening hours. That’s it. You’ll have to discover the rest for yourself.
New Origin
New Origin Brewing is another brewery that’s easy to miss, but it’s well worth visiting. This one has a bright and clean style, one that makes the entire brewery look fresh and modern.
The beers are often creative, with unique flavors and styles you won’t often find elsewhere.
Whine New Origin doesn’t have their own kitchen, they do host the 900 Degreez Pizza food truck. This impressive food truck creates killer pizzas that are an excellent accompaniment to your beer.
The taproom is open from 4pm to 9pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 3pm to 10pm on Friday, and 12pm to 10pm on Sunday. Pizzas are only available from Wednesday to Sunday, and New Origin doesn’t provide details about the hours.
Cellarest
Cellarest Beer Project is ideal when you want something a little unusual. The name refers to cellar rest, highlighting the idea of barrel aged beer. Their process also relies on wild yeast for fermentation, creating complex flavors you won’t find elsewhere.
The brewery focuses on local ingredients and small batches. This means their offerings change regularly, but there are always delicious fresh flavors on tap.
Food options are limited, as Cellarest only sells bar snacks. However, they do partner with Cassia to offer delicious food on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You’re also welcome to bring outside food, giving you the pick of everything Asheville has to offer.
As for hours, Cellarest is open from 3pm to 9pm Monday through Thursday. Their hours are extended on Friday and Saturday, where they open at 12pm and close at 10pm. Then, on Sunday, they open at 1pm and close at 9pm.
Highland
Founded in 1994, Highland Brewing Company is one of the most well-established Asheville breweries. It has also remained family owned and independent the entire time, which is an impressive feat.
The brewery maintains a casual and enjoyable atmosphere, often hosting three food trucks to help keep visitors well-fed. Their brewery taproom opens from 2pm to 10pm Monday through Thursday, then 12pm to 10pm on Friday, 11am to 10pm on Saturday, and 11am to 7pm on Sunday. So, there are plenty of chances to visit.
If you’re hoping to eat, try to visit on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. These are the days with the most food trucks. Other days often just have a single food truck or occasionally none at all.
There is also a downtown taproom that opens every day except Monday. This is located on Patton Avenue at the S&W Market, but doesn’t have the brewery aspect of the main taproom.
Highland is famous for producing high quality and delicious beers, including familiar and unusual styles. This is a great reason to check them out. Their Gaelic Ale is a popular entry and there are plenty of IPAs and seasonal releases as well. Of course, you might discover your own favorites.
Wedge
Wedge is another brewery that uses food trucks to feed visitors. But, don’t let that dissuade you – the beer is still excellent. Plus, Wedge has recently partnered up with Smokee’s Pizza, who serve their Wedge Studios location from Wednesday through Sunday.
Wedge’s main location is in Wedge Studios, which is a famous triangular building in the River Arts district. Wedge’s brewery is on the ground floor here, along with their exciting tasting room and plenty of outdoor seating.
There’s also the Foundy Street location. This is still in the River Arts district and has a relaxed, easy-going vibe.
Wedge recently opened a third location, this one is in Grove Arcade. This one is a straight taproom rather than a brewery but is still well worth a look. There are no food trucks at this venue. Instead, you can grab food from elsewhere and bring it in to enjoy with your beer.
Wicked Weed
Wicked Weed’s downtown brew pub is where they first started brewing. The site still hosts a 15 barrel brewery, along with a tap room, beer garden, and full restaurant. There are two outdoor patios that you can enjoy with your pets.
This is also a family friendly brewery. Their menu even offers kids meals and on Tuesday kids currently get a free meal for each adult meal purchased after 5pm. What could be better?
There are plenty of options for food and beer at the brewery. If can’t decide, you can order a beer flight to try a variety of different flavors and styles.
We can’t talk about Wicked Weed without mentioning their Funkatorium taproom. This is well-named, as it focuses on sour beers and offers a creative food menu, to create a truly unusual experience. This is the place to go when you want to try something new.
Now, Wicked Weed is controversial because it was recently sold to AB-InBev. Or, as many commentors like to say, the company sold out to AB-InBev. The sale means that Wicked Weed is no longer independent, but is instead owned by one of the largest breweries in the world.
For the moment, the ownership change has had little effect on staff, processes, or the beers being produced. Still… the future remains uncertain and Wicked Weed could become more mainstream as time passes. Beyond that, some drinkers now refuse to visit Wicked Weed on principle.
Where do you stand? Are you excited about unusual and exceptional beers regardless of ownership? Or, would you prefer a truly independent brewery?
Bonus: Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada Brewery is actually located in Mills River, which is a little south of Asheville. Nevertheless, it’s close enough to be included on the list, especially as it is also one of the most popular breweries in the area.
Plus, the location puts Sierra Nevada very close to the Asheville airport, making it the perfect port of call for tourists.
The company started out tiny and has since grown to become one of the largest craft beer companies in the United States. Despite the growth, Sierra Nevada has held onto its roots and remains a family-owned operation to this day.
As for the brewery itself, well, Sierra Nevada is one of the most impressive places you’ll see. It is a huge space, complete with indoor and outdoor seating.
Notably, Sierra Nevada is one of the best breweries for food, offering delicious and refined meals as part of a full restaurant. Or, if you want something more casual, you can order off the back porch menu, while enjoying the grounds around you a little more. This is worth doing, given that the brewery is built on a stunning landscape and offers plenty to see.
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