News

6/30/2008 - Asheville Adds Another Brewery to Its Already Vibrant Scene

It was just a few weeks ago that Asheville’s latest microbrewery — The Wedge Brewing Co. — opened down on the French Broad River waterfront. Now, yet another brewery is under construction downtown.

Craggie Brewing Co. (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) is on Hilliard Avenue, in what has become Asheville’s unofficial brewing district. Asheville Brewing Co. is just around the corner on Coxe Avenue, and Green Man Brewing is down the hill on Buxton Street.

For those who are keeping count, Craggie is the seventh brewing company (and eighth brewery) in Buncombe County. The others are Highland, French Broad, Pisgah, Green Man, Asheville Pizza and Brewing and its sister Asheville Brewing and The Wedge.

The masterminds behind Craggie are Bill Drew and Jonathan Cort, who both previously worked for Highland Brewing and have a true passion for beer. Last weekend, they hosted an invitation-only drop-in party, where they sampled homebrew versions of their hefeweizen, dunkel, Belgian amber ale and golden ale. They were delicious, well-crafted, and were mostly true “sessions” beers, flavorful, but light enough alcohol to enjoy several in a sitting.

Building a brewery takes time — Drew and Cort hope to get open before the year is done. Meanwhile, raise a toast to this new microbrewery and the booming local beer scene.

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