Asheville runs on beer the way other towns run on coffee. This small mountain city packs in more breweries per person than any other city in the United States.
The wider Asheville area counts more than 50 breweries. Hundreds of local beers pour on any given day, from crisp lagers to barrel-aged sours.
This guide sorts the scene by neighborhood, so you can crawl the South Slope on foot and save the big brewery campuses for day two.
Pair it with our roundup of things to do in Asheville, NC and the rest of your weekend falls into place.
Asheville breweries at a glance
- Breweries: more than 50 across the Asheville area
- Best crawl: the South Slope, with five breweries in a few walkable blocks
- Oldest brewery: Highland Brewing, pouring since 1994
- Biggest day out: Sierra Nevada in Mills River, about 20 miles south
- Tours: Sierra Nevada and New Belgium run guided tours, and weekend spots go fast
- Getting around: walk downtown and the South Slope, rideshare to the rest
How Asheville Became Beer City USA
The story starts in 1994. Retired engineer Oscar Wong set up refurbished dairy equipment in the basement of Barley’s Taproom and started brewing downtown.
His Highland Brewing became the first legal brewery in Asheville since Prohibition. Its Gaelic Ale was the first craft beer brewed in the city.
Green Man followed in 1997 and Asheville Brewing in 1998. Through the 2000s, new taprooms kept opening, and beer became part of the city’s identity.
In 2009, beer writer Charlie Papazian ran his first Beer City USA poll. Asheville tied Portland, Oregon, a city several times its size.
Asheville then won or tied the poll for three more years running. The poll retired in 2014, but the nickname stuck for good.
National players noticed. Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and Oskar Blues all built East Coast breweries in or near Asheville during the 2010s.
Beer is now a headline act here. It sits alongside the music, the food, and the mountain views on any list of what Asheville is known for.
Highland Brewing, Where It All Started
Highland outgrew the Barley’s basement long ago. Since 2006, it has run a 40-acre campus in East Asheville at 12 Old Charlotte Highway.
The campus feels like a park built around a brewery. Visitors spread out between the taproom, the Meadow lawn, and a rooftop bar with mountain views.
There is more to do than drink:
- Sip the flagship Gaelic Ale or the cult seasonal Cold Mountain Winter Ale
- Catch live music, which plays four nights a week
- Play the 18-hole disc golf course or the sand volleyball courts
- Grab dinner from the daily food trucks
Highland remains independent and family owned, led by Wong’s daughter, Leah Wong Ashburn. Wong died in 2025, and tributes poured in from across the beer world.
The taproom runs from midday into the evening every day, with earlier starts on weekends. Big event nights fill the campus, so check the calendar first.
The South Slope, Asheville’s Brewery District
Just south of downtown, a few sloping blocks hold the densest cluster of taprooms in the city. Locals call it the South Slope.
The district grew out of old warehouses and auto shops around Coxe Avenue, Buxton Avenue, and Collier Avenue. Breweries moved in first, then came restaurants and bars.
Everything sits within a short walk of everything else. The South Slope is the one part of Asheville where a brewery crawl needs no car at all.
Five breweries anchor the crawl:
- Green Man Brewery, the district’s old soul, on Buxton Avenue
- Burial Beer Co., the small-batch favorite on Collier Avenue
- The Funkatorium, Wicked Weed’s sour beer taproom on Coxe Avenue
- Hi-Wire Brewing, the circus-themed original on Hilliard Avenue
- Asheville Brewing Company, the pizza and production brewpub on Coxe Avenue
Green Man Brewery
Green Man started brewing in 1997 inside the Jack of the Wood pub downtown. It was Asheville’s second brewery, and it still brews in an English accent.
In 2005, Green Man moved to Buxton Avenue. Its cozy taproom, nicknamed Dirty Jack’s, pours beside the brewhouse and shows soccer on the TV.
Next door, the three-story Green Mansion opened in 2016. It holds the production brewery, a packaging hall, and tasting rooms stacked up to a top-floor loft.
Order the ESB for tradition or the IPA for the modern side. The top floor looks out over the South Slope rooftops toward the mountains.
Burial Beer Co.
Burial opened in June 2013 on a one-barrel system squeezed into a former industrial space. Farm tools serve as tap handles, and the mood stays rustic.
Founders Doug and Jess Reiser named the brewery after the funeral processions of New Orleans. The name sounds dark, but the beer garden feels anything but.
Burial built its name on range. Belgian-inspired ales share the tap list with bold American styles, and small batches rotate through every week.
Start with a flagship:
- Skillet Donut Stout, a long-running favorite
- Surf Wax IPA, the hoppy flagship
- Whatever small batch just tapped, since the list changes weekly
Burial’s second act is Forestry Camp in South Asheville. The site pairs a production brewery with a bar set in restored 1930s camp buildings.
Those buildings once housed the young workers who built the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a fitting home for a brewery that loves old things.
Wicked Weed and the Funkatorium
Wicked Weed opened its brewpub in December 2012 at 91 Biltmore Avenue. A full restaurant sits upstairs, and a taproom pours around the original 15-barrel brewery downstairs.
The pub keeps more than 25 of its own beers on tap. Hop-forward ales built the name, with Pernicious IPA and Freak of Nature Double IPA leading.
A year later, Wicked Weed opened the Funkatorium on Coxe Avenue. It was the first taproom on the East Coast devoted only to sour beer.
Barrels line the walls there, and the tap list leans tart and funky. A German-style beer garden and a wood-fired menu round out the space.
Anheuser-Busch bought Wicked Weed in 2017, which stirred debate among craft purists. The brewpub and the Funkatorium still anchor a South Slope evening either way.
Hi-Wire Brewing
Hi-Wire arrived in July 2013, when college roommates Adam Charnack and Chris Frosaker took over a small garage brewery on Hilliard Avenue.
The circus theme runs through everything, from the tightrope walker logo to the bright taproom art. The original taproom now includes the Tiki Easy Bar, a tropical cocktail spot.
Hi-Wire now runs three Asheville taprooms:
- The South Slope original at 197 Hilliard Avenue
- The Big Top production brewery and taproom in Biltmore Village
- The RAD Beer Garden on Lyman Street in the River Arts District
Order a Hi-Pitch IPA, the flagship. Then try whatever seasonal lager or sour the brewers are most excited about that month.
Asheville Brewing Company
Asheville’s third brewery opened in 1998 on Merrimon Avenue, mixing a brewpub with a second-run movie theater. Pizza, films, and pints remain a beloved local combo.
The downtown location at 77 Coxe Avenue opened in 2006. It now houses the production brewery, a big covered patio, and the freshest pours of Shiva IPA.
Shiva is the citrusy flagship, and the Ninja Porter series has a Great American Beer Festival gold medal behind it. A third spot serves South Asheville.
Downtown Detours: DSSOLVR and One World
Two smaller breweries sit right in the downtown core. Both reward a detour between South Slope sessions.
DSSOLVR
DSSOLVR opened in December 2019 inside the 1920s Tyler Building at 63 North Lexington Avenue. Sixteen-foot oak doors announce the place before the tap list does.
Co-founder and brewmaster Vince Tursi ran brewing operations at Burial before striking out on his own. The pedigree shows in the hazy IPAs and lagers.
The taproom pours more than beer. DSSOLVR also makes wine, cider, and mead, all wrapped in wild, surreal can art.
One World Brewing
One World Brewing hides below sidewalk level at 10 Patton Avenue, under the Farm Burger near Pack Square. It opened in 2014 as a tiny nano-brewery.
Ten taps rotate small-batch beers, and live music fills the low-ceilinged room most nights. It feels like a secret, even though locals found it years ago.
The West Asheville location, at 520 Haywood Road, is the bigger sibling. It adds a second floor, a large outdoor area, and its own stage.
Along the River: New Belgium, the Wedge, and Zillicoah
West of downtown, the French Broad River strings together another brewery trail. These stops need a car or rideshare, and each one is worth the short trip.
New Belgium Brewing
Colorado’s New Belgium chose Asheville for its East Coast brewery. The brewery and its Liquid Center tasting room opened in 2016 at 21 Craven Street.
The 18-acre campus sits on a former stockyard site. Bars and tables inside were built from wood salvaged from those old stockyards.
A wide deck hangs over the river greenway, and food trucks park outside. Fat Tire built this brewery, so order one and toast the original.
Guided tours run through the production brewery and include tastings along the way. Book ahead online, because weekend slots disappear quickly.
The Wedge
The Wedge helped start the River Arts District beer scene in 2008, years before the district filled with galleries. Founder Tim Schaller still runs it today.
Its original Wedge Studios taproom, at 37 Paynes Way, pours inside a working artists’ studio building. The outdoor lot fills up fast on sunny afternoons.
Down the hill, Wedge Foundation pours in a former leather tannery at 5 Foundy Street. Order the pilsner, a longtime local favorite.
Zillicoah Beer Co.
Two miles north of downtown, Zillicoah pours on the east bank of the French Broad at 870 Riverside Drive in Woodfin. The brewery opened in 2017.
Zillicoah specializes in open-fermented farmhouse ales and lagers, styles few American breweries attempt. Up to a dozen taps pour in the airy taproom.
The lawn runs down toward the river, with picnic tables and a fire pit. Dogs are welcome outside, and a food truck parks on site.
Sierra Nevada, the Big Day Out
Save Sierra Nevada for its own afternoon. The Chico, California pioneer built its second brewery in Mills River, about 20 miles south of Asheville.
The brewery opened in 2015 at 100 Sierra Nevada Way, set in more than 200 acres of forest. Solar canopies shade the parking lots.
Inside, the taproom and restaurant pour 23 beers. Wood-fired pizza and small plates use produce from the estate garden out back.
A visit can fill half a day:
- Guided tours run daily, from a 45-minute brewhouse walk to a three-hour deep dive
- The Back Porch beer garden, with fireside seating
- Trails and an amphitheater spread across the grounds
- A gift shop stocked with beer to go
Tours include tastings on most routes, and they sell out on weekends. Reserve on the Sierra Nevada website before you drive down.
Mills River pairs well with a morning at Biltmore Estate, which sits between Asheville and the brewery. Book the house early and the brewery after.
How to Plan a Brewery Day
Most visitors split the scene into two days. One day on foot downtown, one day driving to the campuses.
A classic South Slope crawl, in order:
- Start at Green Man’s Green Mansion for an early ESB
- Take the short walk to Burial for a small-batch flight
- Cross to the Funkatorium for a sour pour
- Finish at Hi-Wire or Asheville Brewing, both of which serve food
Pace matters more than the route. Order half pours and flights, drink water between stops, and eat before the third brewery, not after the fifth.
Want a guide instead? BREW-ed runs downtown walking tours led by Cicerone-certified beer experts, with samples at three breweries over about three hours.
Practical Tips for Asheville Brewery Hopping
- Book tours ahead: Sierra Nevada and New Belgium tours fill on weekends, and both take reservations online
- Sort the ride home: the South Slope is walkable from downtown hotels, but the river stops and Mills River need a sober driver or a rideshare. Our guide to getting around Asheville covers the options
- Eat like you mean it: full kitchens run at the Wicked Weed Brewpub, Asheville Brewing, and Sierra Nevada, while food trucks cover most other taprooms
- Bring the dog: many taprooms welcome leashed dogs on their patios, and Green Man and Zillicoah are both happy to host them
- Kids can tag along: Highland’s playground and lawn, Sierra Nevada’s gardens, and Asheville Brewing’s movie screen make brewery stops easy with family
- Dine beyond the taprooms: for a sit-down dinner after the crawl, see our picks for the best restaurants in Asheville
Asheville Beer After Helene
Hurricane Helene flooded the French Broad River corridor in September 2024. Taprooms along the river took the worst of it, and some closed for months.
The comeback has been steady. Hi-Wire reopened its flooded RAD Beer Garden in May 2025, and Zillicoah rebuilt and reopened that August.
The Wedge Foundation came back in October 2025, in a smaller space inside the same tannery walls. A few breweries, sadly, did not survive the storm years.
Every brewery named in this guide is open and pouring in 2026. For the wider picture, read our report on whether Asheville is back to normal.
Asheville Breweries FAQs
How many breweries are in Asheville?
More than 50 breweries operate across the Asheville area. The city also holds more breweries per 100,000 residents than any other city in the country.
What is the best area for an Asheville brewery crawl?
The South Slope, just south of downtown. Green Man, Burial, the Funkatorium, Hi-Wire, and Asheville Brewing all sit within a few walkable blocks of each other.
What is the oldest brewery in Asheville?
Highland Brewing, founded in 1994 by Oscar Wong. It was the first legal brewery in the city since Prohibition, and its Gaelic Ale still leads the tap list.
Can you tour Sierra Nevada and New Belgium?
Yes. Both run guided tours with tastings, and both take reservations online. Weekend tours sell out, so book before your trip rather than at the door.
Are Asheville breweries family and dog friendly?
Mostly, yes. Many taprooms welcome leashed dogs on patios, and big campuses like Highland and Sierra Nevada give kids lawns, gardens, and room to roam.
When is the best time to visit Asheville for beer?
Fall is hard to beat, with mountain color and harvest-season releases pouring across town. Spring runs a close second, and Asheville Beer Week lands in late May most years.
Beer City earned its nickname one pint at a time, and the scene keeps evolving. Pick a neighborhood, start walking, and leave room for one surprise taproom.
Then trade bar stools for mountain views on a Blue Ridge Parkway road trip the next morning. The breweries will still be pouring when you get back.
