PHOTOS Green Man Brewery’s expansion on Asheville’s South Slope

Jason Sandford

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

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Green Man Brewery’s long-awaited expansion on Buxton Avenue is set to open in about a week. It’s an impressive facility that includes a packaging hall, two tap rooms, offices and an upstairs outdoor patio with a great view looking south. As owner Dennis Thies told me Friday, the expansion is Green Man’s play to stay relevant on the fast-changing Asheville beer scene, one that has changed and grown dramatically since Green Man opened on the South Slope in 1997.

The new packaging hall will allow the 19-year-old brewery to separate the beer-making next door from the packaging – namely bottling. (Green Man will soon begin canning beers at Brew Hub, it’s contract beer-maker in Florida.) Green Man has invested in a state-of-the-art KHS bottle-filling system, as well as a keg-wash-fill machine. Both will be located in the packaging hall. A new 10-barrel brewhouse is also on its way.

What makes the new packaging hall work is a loading dock facing South Lexington Avenue, Thies says. The docks will allow the beer to be quickly loaded and transported just a few miles away to its new distribution center.

The Green Man addition features some beautiful artistic touches, including painted murals and a stone mosaic in the shape of the iconic Green Man logo.

Green Man will celebrate the expansion with a grand opening party on St. Patrick’s Day.