Look, we all know Asheville is one of the premier beer cities in America. Breweries, both large and small, are found absolutely everywhere. White Labs has a yeast production facility (and kitchen) there. They even have a local malting facility, in Riverbend Malt House. Then, of course, there are the many bars and bottle shops serving up some of the best beers around.
Hi-Wire Brewing’s smaller original location downtown (pictured) couldn’t hold all its glorious brews, so another location was added.
Many of us also understand that Asheville is a hell of a vacation destination. Between the Blue Ridge Mountains, Grove Park Inn, Biltmore Estate, Pisgah National Park, artist communities, award-winning local restaurants and more, this is a place that makes it pretty impossible to be bored.
Now sure, you can easily walk between a number of these spots. And you can also very quickly drive to a few others. But there’s another option. Grab a bike. But not just any bike. Hop on an electric bike from The Flying Bike, a local company offering up fantastic tours of Asheville on super fun vehicles that allow the riders to relax and see the sights using as little effort as they’d like.
Torin, The Flying Bike’s owner, custom crafted a 12 mile tour for our group that perfectly combined general Asheville History with Asheville Beer History. He even brought on board Brent Manning, from Riverbend Malt House, to ride with us and pass on his encyclopedic knowledge of the Asheville beer scene, from its beginnings in a basement on Biltmore Avenue to the (still charming) behemoth it is now, including insider information and key local recommendations. And we got to ride to it all. And, beyond just the beer, we saw a ton of stunning Asheville neighborhoods and sites, from South Slope to Grove Park to the Arts District, and learned a ton along the way.
The Flying Bike — a beautifully customer-focused tour company, who showed us the best of Asheville and its beer history…on electric bikes!
The Flying Bike is conveniently located right at the bottom of Coxe Avenue in South Slope so, when done exploring, riders are literally just steps away from all these fine spots: Burial Beer Co., Green Man Brewery, Bhramari Brewing Co., Catawba Brewing Co., Hi-Wire Brewing’s original location, Asheville Brewing Co., Twin Leaf Brewery, Wicked Weed Brewing Pub and The Funkatorium. For real — you can easily walk between every single one of these in minutes. What better way to finish up a 12 mile electric bike exploration of Asheville and its beer culture than with a brewery crawl between a mere 9 of the best spots in the south?
That question was rhetorical.