E-Malt.com News article: USA, NC: Brevard Brewing Co. to open in North Carolina

Brevard Brewing Co. is set to tap into the community's thirst for craft beer when it opens its downtown doors at the beginning of next week, BlueRidgeNow.com reported on April, 18.

Owner and brewer Kyle Williams is putting off the final touches on his new establishment — more artwork, additional seating, live music — so he can open as soon as possible and start pouring the beer.

"People are excited — they've been waiting for months, and they want me to open as much as I want to open," said Williams, who added that Brevard Mayor Jimmy Harris called him offering support. "Everybody from bar and restaurant owners, they can't wait to get a keg for their place, and the local people want to come here to drink. Everybody is excited."

BBC's arrival as the county's first brewery comes at a time when craft beer is abuzz in Western North Carolina. Hendersonville's first brewery, Southern Appalachian — which was required by a previous law to open as a private club last year — has more than 5,000 members as it approaches its first anniversary celebration next weekend.

Asheville, meanwhile, has been voted "Beer City USA" three years running in an online poll, and two of the three largest microbreweries in the country — Sierra Nevada and New Belgium — have chosen Western North Carolina for their respective East coast expansions.

"For an area that's surrounded by craft beer, and the fact that you have two major companies coming here, it's nice that Brevard can now be a part of that," said Madrid Zimmerman, executive director of Heart of Brevard, which focuses on downtown economic development.

Williams, a former brewer at Pisgah Brewing Co. in Black Mountain, said he envisions a laid-back atmosphere at the tasting room — "someplace you can come after work and unwind."

There will be five beers on draft — an American IPA, American red ale, American premium lager, Munich dunkel and BBC's flagship, Bohemian pilsner, a lower-alcohol brew that reflects Williams' passion for European-style lagers.

"It's my favorite beer," he said. "It's a good session lager — it's light enough to drink all day long but it's got a ton of flavor in it, so it's a very well-rounded beer in that respect."

"I'm trying to get something good and drinkable and tasty, but also nice and light," he said, "and the best way to do that is to make German-style lagers."


20 April, 2012