Asheville Beer: An Intoxicating History of Mountain Brewing

by Anne Fitten Glenn, Zane Lamprey (Foreword)

Asheville, North Carolina has a long history with beer, one that is still easily seen in this city today, from moonshine to craft beers and breweries. Drinking local harks back to the founding of Asheville in 1798. Whether it be moonshine or craft beer, the culture of local hooch is deeply ingrained in the mountain dwellers of Western North Carolina. Both residents and visitors alike enjoy Asheville's wealth of breweries, brewpubs, beer festivals and dedicated retailers. That enthusiasm earned the city the coveted Beer City, USA title year after year and prompted West Coast beer giants Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Oskar Blues to establish production facilities here. Beer writer and educator Anne Fitten Glenn recounts this intoxicating history, from the suds-soaked saloons of ""Hell's Half Acre"" to the region's explosion into a beer Mecca.

Genres: Beer, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2012

About the author

Award-winning journalist and author Anne Fitten Glenn lives and works in Asheville. She's written two history books: "Western North Carolina Beer: A Mountain Brew History" and "Asheville Beer: An Intoxicating History of Mountain Brewing." She hosted a radio show and podcast on the beverage business called "Imbibe Asheville." Her novel "Storm Mountain," published as a paperback in 2001, is now available as a Kindle ebook.

Glenn has been published in a myriad of media outlets, including SevenFifty Daily, Vanity Fair, Craft Beer, All About Beer, Edible Asheville, WNC Magazine, Edible Aspen, Charleston Magazine, Asheville Citizen-Times, Mountain Xpress, and The Virginian Pilot.

Reviews

[William Graney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second regional history of brewing I've read this year (the other region being New England). As someone who appreciates craft beer, and is an avid home brewer, this is easy subject matter for me to like but when you add in the unfortunately influences of Prohibition and it's regional affects, the historical sagas take on an interesting perspective that I think even non-beer lovers can appreciate.
I picked this book up in Asheville so it was very interesting to read about some of the places I had just visited. I was aware of Asheville's Best Beer City in America awards but as a west coaster I'd always scoffed at the notion that there could be better beer cities than San Diego or Portland. My trip to Asheville convinced me otherwise. Without a doubt my favorite city for beer that I've been to (and very high on my list overall). There isn't a close second.
Well done by the author.

[George Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, good basic information. Ashville seems to be a magnet for craft breweries. I enjoyed the history and would look forward to an updated edition.

[Ben Kavanaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a nice snapshot on the beer scene in Asheville and how it got to be that way. Even though I've been to Asheville 10-11 times over the last 6 years and have visited most of the places mentioned in the book, I still learned a lot of new information. Well done!

[Anne Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I wrote this book, so I'm not unbiased. I think it's a great read! Let me know how y'all like it.
Cheers!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining read. Such is the beer culture in WNC, four years after publication, a second edition is already needed.

[Don Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting history, especially having been to Asheville and enjoyed some of this beer.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great read on the history of beer in WNC.