In Asheville beer news, Highland Brewing opens tasting room, announces fall seasonals

There’s exciting beer news surrounding Highland Brewing Company, Asheville’s granddaddy on the local craft brew scene.

First and foremost, Highland has opened up its own tasting room. Highland has been a little slow to jump on the bandwagon, with other local craft breweries taking advantage of the tasting room concept to great effect. Pisgah Brewing has perhaps been most successful here, creating a funky Thursday atmosphere around the tasting room it built around its brewing operation in an old industrial complex.

Highland Brewing’s operation has a similar feel, being based in a giant old warehouse complex in east Asheville most notably home to the now defunct Blue Ridge Motion Pictures. I visited the location a couple of months ago and found it to be a great, relaxed hang-out. A local brewing operation doesn’t make much money by selling individual glasses of beer in a tasting room, but I think it builds up great goodwill and a word-of-mouth value that can’t be tallied in dollar figures. Good for Highland.

In other Highland Brewing news: The operation is bringing back the fall seasonal Clawhammer Oktoberfest (5 percent) and, after a long absence, the Tasgall Ale (8 percent). Highland Brewing’s newest release is the Big Butte Smoked Porter (7 percent), which I have yet to sample. Sounds delish.