Beer Guy roasted and saluted in rare gathering of Asheville’s beer kings

Jason Sandford

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

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Asheville’s beer elite came together in a rare meeting to salute a local character who’s done as much as anyone to promote Asheville’s amazing beer culture.

Tony Kiss, the long-time entertainment editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times and the newspaper’s weekly Beer Guy columnist, was the honoree Tuesday night during a beer dinner at the Lexington Avenue Brewery. All but one or two of Asheville’s brewers and brewery owners attended – a rare gathering of nearly every brewery owner and brewmeister in town. (So rare that there were several first introductions made, if you can imagine that.)

In an event that was part tribute and part roast, the group lauded Kiss’s work. The group even presented him with a little plaque to commemorate the event.

Kiss started writing about beer in Asheville long before everyone started jumping on the bandwagon. His column debuted in 2001, and appeared on the newspaper’s weekly food page. Today, Kiss’s column appears every Wednesday in the newspaper’s features section, and you can find a weekly beer pick of his every Friday in the Take5 section.

I think it’s safe to say that Asheville wouldn’t have the beer scene it has today (we’re Beer bygod City USA, btw) without Tony spotlighting the craft here. Cheers to you, partner.

Follow the Beer Guy on Twitter @avlbeerguy

Tony’s blog, Kiss & Tell