Altamont Brewing Co. opens on Haywood Road in Asheville

Jason Sandford March 18, 2011

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

The Altamont Brewing Co. had a great opening Thursday, despite the fact that there’s no actual brewing happening at the bar.

The joint is wide open, with a big garage door opening up to Haywood Road and offering a fine view of the punks across the street at The Get Down. There’s a great wooden bar, ~~pool~~ ping-pong table, foosball table and flat screen TVs. The plan is to eventually get the equipment in to brew their own beer. But for now, The Altamont offers a solid selection of other locally made craft brews. Still, at least a third of the hipster crowd that came out for opening night to celebrate the opening had a PBR in their hand.

The Freight Hoppers provided the tunes. Sure do love their sound. All in all, a good night for the Altamont. Stop by and welcome them.

Background from the Beer Guy.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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13 Comments

Sean March 25, 2011

"Intimidated" isn't quite the word…..

Nice to see that your sunny disposition hasn't dimmed. More of that "Asheville tolerance" that I hear so much about.

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Melba March 23, 2011

Sean, we prefer to think of our beards as ostentatious. However, this bar is probably not recommended for anyone easily intimidated by facial hair of any persuasion.

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Matt March 22, 2011

I've been following the progress of Altamont and love the DIY nature of the thing. Nothing like a bar built with blood, sweat, and tears rather than loans, suits, and loafers.

I will corroborate the assertions that 100% of the cover goes to the band and that the other places around also charge the same. Jack of the Wood and Westville Pub come by and ask you for $5 if you're already in the bar but are going to stay. Two days already, they've thrown a tip jar on stage and put out an open call to musicians to come take the stage, which is rad.

I am poor and have been unemployed for months, but am starting work again soon and looking forward to getting over there and having a good time!

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Chris March 22, 2011

The cover charge for the bands goes to the bands.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=190655034306596&id=175609402477826

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Joseph March 22, 2011

Hey from Flagstaff, just thought I would write in to say congrats to two friends who are making a dream a reality. Don't ya'll worry, once they start brewing I think you will be really happy with the product. Gordon and Ben, I'm proud of you guys. Not everything comes with a button that make it do so kick start that thing in the mean time!!!

Joseph

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beerlover March 22, 2011

they are working on getting the brewing equipment. until then they are trying to get some local tank space to brew and keg off some of their recipes. Be patient. These guys had NO bank loan, NO family loan, NO rich friends to help and did the majority of the work themselves. They bought everything in the place locally (except the hanging lights). As for the cover, %100 of that goes to the band (which is rare in Asheville), not in their pockets. If you think you can go to most places on a friday or saturday night and hear quality live music without a cover you are sorely mistaken. If you cant pay $5 bucks to support local musicians maybe you shouldnt be going out drinking. Give those guys a chance, go see them, hear their story and be patient….the brewing will happen.

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Thor March 22, 2011

Yeah, bro…

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Sean March 20, 2011

Wow, Melba. What a glowing endorsement. If I were considering visiting The Altamont Brewing Co. and found it to be full of friendly people such as yourself, I believe that the visit would be short-lived.

Maybe instead of "hipster", we should use the term "smug bearded ones". Is that more accurate?

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Chill March 20, 2011

Sounds like Melba is a whiny hipster…

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Melba March 20, 2011

WTF are you guys talking about? Ben (the owner), the Freight Hoppers, and half the crowd are people I worked with in the Nantahala Gorge. THey're a bunch of kayaker outdoorsy kids, who are barely even cognizant of the existence of hipsters. The rest of the crowd was older folks. Is hipster just the generic moniker for all young people, or is drinking PBR the sole qualifier for that label.
I suspect .you all just love the word so much you throw it around every chance you get, rendering it completely meaningless.
Shut the fuck up about hipster already

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Chill March 20, 2011

If they're not brewing within a year, you'd have a point, but I think you'll see brewing going on there soon enough. No point in re-registering a different name once they get equipment.

I met Gordon and Ben recently and they seemed like really great dudes. They're going about it the smart way, if you ask me. Not every one who has the dream of opening a brewery has the instant start-up cash to pay 100k for a system right off the bat. If I were to open a brewery/bar on a limited budget, I would've gone the same route. I don't like that they're charging covers for bands you can see for free most other places around town, but it should help them gather the funds they're going to need for the next step.

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hater March 20, 2011

i think if you call yourself a brewing company then you should brew your own beer, otherwise just call yourself the Altamont bar…

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DocJ March 19, 2011

Hipsters suck. No excuse for drinking PBR when there are such good local beers offered. Way to support the community hipsters. They probably shop at Walmart and eat McDonalds too.

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