It’s on: Asheville to defend its title in third Beer City USA online polling that starts May 2

Share
Jason Sandford

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

  • 1

All bottled up

From Tony Kiss, aka the Beer Guy at the Asheville Citizen-Times:

Will Asheville wind up as three-time champ of the Beer Cith USA online poll? Beer authority Charlie Papazian will conduct the third annual online competition May 2-8.

Asheville is automatically on the ballot as winner of last year’s voting, as are Portland, Ore., which finished second and other cities that received more than 100 votes last year. Other cities may be nominated at www.examiner.com

Asheville and Portland tied for the championship two years ago, with Asheville winning the online voting last year. While the poll is unscientific, it gave Asheville more national press as an national brewing destination.

Lots of folks have disparaged the unofficial online poll and resulting title as meaningless, but the fact is that the designation has helped put the Asheville beer scene on the national map. It’s led to big-time tourism mentions, and there’s now an official Beer City USA brew fest in Asheville.

Look for the beer poll at examiner.com starting May 2. 

Jason Sandford

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

  • 1

7 Comments

  1. mark from Weaverville April 20, 2011

    Whoa, some people take things way to seriously. Just frigging enjoy the poll, enjoy watching the tallies, enjoy Asheville winning again (!!!), and most importantly enjoy the efforts of our local brewers and breweries. Good, mediocre, or bad, I love that in Asheville I can go to a brewery/bar/restaurant and pretty much every time try a beer that is new to me. Even when they aren't that great (which is pretty rare, imo) it beats choosing between a handful of domestics which are always awful and always taste the same. The brewery scene in asheville is a benefit for the entire Asheville area, well outside downtown. We've got some fantastic breweries, and a fantastic crowd of people to enjoy them.

    Reply
  2. Ash April 20, 2011

    i hear you guys. thanks for your post, Isle.

    Reply
  3. Isle of Man April 19, 2011

    There's a reason people "disparage" the pole, Ash.

    I enjoy many of the local brews, but I think a lot of people forget that the beer culture here is very much a localized, downtown sort of phenomenon that, at least in my mind, is built upon a laughably myopic, arrogant "In Crowd" state of mind. The vast majority of people living in and around Buncombe County have no idea nor care about the comings and goings of the local beer scene, this pole or why some of us think it should matter. It's become more of a vanity business, and this pole just amplifies that.

    To make things worse, rather than having actual journalism on a subject that is apparently so important to our local media outlets, what we have now instead is a growing Twitter-azi of self-promoting, self-important media hacks who enjoy cuddling up to those behind the scenes in exchange for free beer and feeling like they're "part of something." All while shirking their duties as self-appointed beer experts and never once being honest (at least not in print) about the fact that there is some really sub-par beer coming out of some of our breweries here in Asheville. But wait, we're Beer City USA! Right? Meanwhile, drive anywhere outside of downtown and I bet you 7 out of 10 people cannot name more than one brewery in business here, much less care about some silly online pole that is beyond unscientific.

    Mention this pole to anyone in Portland and you will most likely be treated to a big, hearty laugh.They'll be too busy making some of the (legitimately) best beer in the country to bother refreshing their browser 50 times per day to vote again and again.

    /end rant

    Reply
  4. PortlandDweller April 19, 2011

    I agree! Yea, it's a stupid poll. Everyone in Asheville should not participate. It's silly. Don't take the 1/2 sec to click a link. I'm so sick of it bogus stupid-head paper poll Asheville pride fat bellied beer hype contest. Yea! Don't vote!

    Reply
  5. In the 28806 April 19, 2011

    Well stated. This "beer city" stuff is such total c-r-a-p. A fake online poll means nothing. The bragging rights and pr are false. It makes me sick to see such petty, childish stuff in the paper. We have a lot more to hype and be proud of here than some fat bellied beer addicts who sit at a computer and vote in a bogus poll. I'm sick of this.

    Reply
  6. Asheville Dweller April 19, 2011

    Thank you Beth, I have been screaming this for 2 years now 3, If this town spent as much energy winning a worthless online poll as they do other things we could get some real jobs in here.

    But I guess winning an unofficial poll that means little to nothing then getting jobs or real results.

    Reply
  7. Beth April 19, 2011

    This is a totally BOGUS online poll. Zero credibility. Only in a small city like Asheville would such a thing even rate mention. Tony Kiss must be really desperate to have something to write about.

    We've got far more here to brag about that some fake online beer poll. Enough of the hype please….it's meaningless and unimportant.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.