News

Thirsty? Use our unofficial guide to beer, cider and wine

Southern Appalachian Brewing Co. is popular a spot for local patrons fleeing the crowds on Main Street.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 3, 2017

The N.C. Apple Festival offers dozens of food and beverage booths serving everything from lemonade to apple slushies to the McMurray family’s piping hot fresh cut French fries. Try as you might, you won’t find any Apple Festival-sanctioned beer or wine. But if you’re thirsty for a cold beer, glass of hard cider or sip of wine, Hendersonville and the surrounding area have plenty of options.

Besides the taprooms and wineries, nearly all restaurants downtown serve beer and wine and several serve mixed drinks. Here’s the Lightning’s unofficial guide to the options for locally brewed craft beer, hard cider, wine and spirits.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

100 Sierra Nevada Way
Mills River, NC 28732
828-681-5300
sierranevada.com
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.-9 p.m.
Vibe: Combine a brewery tour with an afternoon or evening at the Taproom and you’ve got a beer experience that has drawn locals and tens of thousands of tourists. The outdoor space is casual and relaxing and the Taproom offers a fresh and mostly locally sourced menu of creative and shareable munchies. Brewery tours are tough to reserve on a holiday weekend and unfortunately they’re already sold out for Labor Day weekend. If you’re from out of town, visit the Taproom and you’ll probably want to mark your calendar to return for the tour.

Blue Ghost Brewing Co.

125 Underwood Road
Fletcher, NC 28732
828-376-0159
blueghostbrewing.com
Summer hours: Wednesday and Thursday 4 p.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 2 p.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.-8 p.m.
Vibe: Named for the rare Blue Ghost fireflies that fly in DuPont State Forest, this kid-friendly pub is run by two friends and their families. It’s a great indoor-outdoor space with a sandbox for kids and picnic tables for all under a majestic ancient oak tree.

Bold Rock Hard Cider

72 School House Road
Mills River, NC 28759
828-595-9940
boldrock.com
Hours: 12 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 12 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 12 p.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 12 p.m.-7p.m. Sunday.

Vibe: Founded in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Bold Rock added its second plant and taproom in Mills River in part because of the quality and quantity of the raw material — apples — in our neck of the Blue Ridge range. Bold Rock’s large tasting room has a cool, warehouse-like ambience, and guests can look through a glass wall to observe the bottling line while sipping specialties like Carolina Apple, Carolina Draft and even in IPA — in this case India Pressed Apple. The Bold Rock Food Trailer serves barbecue and Southern fixins’ Tuesday through Sunday.

Southern Appalachian Brewery

822 Locust Street
Hendersonville, NC
828-684-1235
sabrewery.com
Hours: Wednesday 4 p.m.-9 p.m., Thursday 4 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday 5 p.m-11 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.-9 p.m.

Vibe: The pioneer of Hendersonville’s brewery scene, Southern Appalachian is a popular destination for locals. It’s busy during the Apple Festival, mostly with locals seeking refuge from the crush and kitsch of Main Street. It’s not far from the madding crowd but on Labor Day weekend it seems like a world away. Brewer Andy Cubbin delivers a signature Cooperhead Ale, plus a good IPA and lots of other flavors.

Basic Brewing Co.

131 3rd Avenue West
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-513-5030
basicbrewery.com
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 3 p.m.-9 p.m., Friday 3 p.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.-6 p.m.

Vibe: When Richard Wenger started his small brewpub downtown, trademark issues prevented him from using his first choice — Hendersonville Publick House. His fallback worked just fine. “It’s just gonna be a basic brewery,” he said, and thus Basic Brewery came to be. Besides free popcorn, the friendly bar with separate seating areas offers its own brews plus guest flavors. “Beer was great and although it's tucked around the corner off of Main St, we spotted it and decided to give it a try,” a TripAdvisor reviewer wrote. “I had a lighter beer and my husband had a red ale. Both were very good. It's a great hang out and we will definitely be back.”

Flat Rock Ciderworks

305 North Main Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-692-2001
flatrockciderworks.com
Hours: Thursday-Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m.
Vibe: One of three downtown taprooms, Flat Rock Ciderworks is the only one you can visit without leaving the liveliest avenue of Apple Festival action. The locally owned cidery serves a variety of hard ciders made from local berries and fruits, including Blackberry Gold, Ginger, Strawberry, Peach, and Blueberry. Professional golfer and woodworker Tommy Tolles styled the décor from apple pallets and apple bins. For the beer purists, the pub also pours a couple of varieties of guest craft brews.

Sanctuary Brewing Co.

147 1st Avenue East
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-595-9956
sanctuarybrewco.com
Hours: Monday-Thursday 4 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.-10 p.m.

Vibe: One of the most unique taprooms in the Hendersonville and Asheville areas, Sanctuary is part brewery, part music venue and all the time animal friendly. An animal rescuer first, Lisa McDonald is a front-of-the-house manager of the downtown brewpub that pours partner Joe Dinan’s flavorful beers. The Apple Festival prohibits dogs but don’t be surprised to brush by “leashed and friendly” four-legged patrons. On Saturday, Sanctuary hosts “Yoga with Kittens” and even pot-bellied pigs have been known to roam the floor. Joe brews everything from a double IPA to lots of creative fruit-based selections and usually offers a couple of guest taps.

Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards

588 Chestnut Gap Road
Hendersonville, NC
828-685-4002
saintpaulmountainvineyards.com
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

Vibe: Owner Alan Ward’s roots in the community run deep, extending back to a 1700s land grant. You can taste the commitment in the products he serves and the boundless enthusiasm for farm-to-glass products. After starting Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards in 2012, Ward soon added hard cider and now brandy and French pommeau, a blend of Calvados brandy and hard cider, at the new Appalachian Ridge cidery across the road. Once he’s growing his own apples from 14 varieties he bought in France, Ward hopes to transform his orchard and tasting room into “the Normandy of North America.”

Burntshirt Vineyards

2695 Sugarloaf Road
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-685-2402
burntshirtvineyards.com
Hours: Tastings Sunday-Thursday 12 p.m.-6 p.m., Friday-Saturday 12 p.m.-7 p.m.

Vibe: Burntshirt has a similar story to Saint Paul’s. Owners Lemuel and Sandra Oates are natives with deep roots in the community. They’re business owners who branched out into grape-growing and wine-making. An estate winery on 28 acres, Burntshirt features tasting of its award-winning wines and a nice view from the front porch of the vineyard across Sugarloaf Road. Burntshirt’s annual Grape Stomp is 1-6 p.m. Saturday. Gourmet box lunches are available with 24 hours’ notice.