Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Beer City Guide is a local website devoted to chronicling the Asheville-area beer scene. Beer writer Laura shares an in-depth review of the East Asheville brewery and live music venue, overcoming her prejudice against its limited hours and weird location to recognize that great seasonal beer conquers all.
The lowdown:
- Crowd: Locals
- Night to go if you like people: Friday or Saturday
- Night to go if you don’t: Thursday
- Most popular beer: Gaelic Ale
- Our fave: The Seasonals! There’s Little Hump, Clawhammer and, of course, Cold Mountain – among others.
The drawbacks:
- Limited hours. Highland is only open from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
- Unusual location. Highland is not walking distance from, well, anything, and therefore you really need to make arrangements for drinking there. Either drink less or take a cab.
“Now for what I love, and there’s a lot:”
- Best seasonal beers in town. I love Highland for its seasonal offerings. This year featured a fantastic spring beer, Little Hump. In the fall you can get your fill of Clawhammer Oktoberfest, and in the winter drink as much of the Cold Mountain Winter Warmer as you can. It sells out fast, and when the season is over you have to wait almost an entire year to get it again.
- Great venue (in spite of the strange location). Highland is located in an industrial park off the beaten path in east Asheville. But while that can be concerning, the actual space is really neat. Natural wood tables and benches line the large warehouse area. There is room for corn hole games and lots of milling about.
- Great music. Friday and Saturday nights, whenever there isn’t a private event, you can find some local and regional artist playing. And since Highland closes earlier than the rest of the bars in town, if you’re an early bird like me it is a great way to see live music without waiting until 10 p.m. assuming you don’t just give up and cash in early.
Read the whole article here: Highland Brewing: An Asheville Institution Is In a Strange Place, But You Can’t Say You’ve Experienced Beer City USA Without It
