Asheville Breweries Part 1

Cider from Noble Cider

After we arrived in Asheville our friends took us straight downtown to start experiencing the wonderfulness of Asheville. We started by getting a brew from the tasting room of Wicked Weed. The world cup was on so we got to watch a match while trying some great beers.

Soon the kids were hungry so we decided to get some pizza from Asheville Brewing Company. It is a great place to take the kiddos. The outdoor area comes equipped with lots of activities to keep the little ones occupied while you are trying to eat and sip your beer. The boys I visited with had fun playing there.
Look at this guy. Isn’t he adorable!

Then we went back a couple days later to check out the breweries in Asheville’s South Slope district. There we started with a visit to Green Man Brewery.

Our visit once again coincided with the world cup. We got to watch soccer while we sipped beers.

I really liked Green Man’s selections but my favorite was the ESB. It was easy to drink and full of flavor. We brought home a 6 pack of 2 ESB, 2 IPAs and 2 Porters. I really wish we would have brought home some more ESB.

It was a fun place to hangout in a warehouse type building.

After Green Man we walked over to one of the newer breweries in town Twin Leaf Brewery.

We tried a number of their regular offerings and seasonal beers. A standout was the Luminosity.

The tasting room has adopted the rustic look that is very popular now with tasting rooms and farm to table restaurants. It was very welcoming as was the friendly beer-tender. The only complaint is it got quite warm inside. They tried to offset it a bit with fans. Should be very comfortable to visit in cooler months. We were told there plans to open it up a bit to let more of a cross breeze in. Even as is I would visit again. I liked it there.

Because we were old it was time to go. Luckily we had one more day in the city to try a couple more breweries.

Happy Halloween – Pumpkin Beers

This year’s pumpkin beer stash….

UK Food and Fun: Edinburgh

A couple of months ago I spent a couple days in Edinburgh.
We spent much our time eating and drinking around town.
Many of our days started with a hearty gourmet breakfast at our bed and breakfast.

And on the day we couldn’t make breakfast, we were given this breakfast to go. It made our entire tour van jealous.

I got to try my first cream tea at Clarinda’s Tea Room. It was a delightful experience.

One day we took part in the touristy Scotch Whisky Experience. The highlights of the experience is the whisky tasting and entrance to the largest Scotch Whisky collection in the world.

We got to see some interesting looking whisky bottles.

The evening is complete with a nice dinner made with fresh ingredients. We had a great meal at The Outsider and it was completed with a dessert platter and a sherry.

Edinburgh: Whisky Distillery and Pub Grub

We took a lovely day tour of Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond and a Whisky distillery with Heart of Scotland tours. More about Stirling castle and the Loch Lomond later but below are some pictures from the Glengoyne Distillery we visited during our tour. We got to sample some of their 12 year old single malt scotch whisky after our tour. No photos were allowed during our tour inside (something about the camera clicking can cause a spark and set the place on fire!). Here are some photos from the grounds.

Pub Talk

Other days in Edinburgh, we tried to get some pub grub at some historic pubs. This started the tour of disappointing “chain” pubs. In the US, we romanticize about getting a beer at an old pub with some home cooked comfort food. Big companies in the UK have capitalized on this and bought out many of the historic pubs. Many of the names are unchanged but their menu and beer selection is carefully duplicated at many pubs of different names. Most tourists probably wouldn’t notice this but we did. We saw this the most while in London but our first experience with it was at Greyfriars Bobby’s Bar, a bar that capitalizes on its proximity to a beloved statue of a loyal dog. We ate at this bar but discovered to see the same beer selections and menu duplicated at bars in London.

Sweet potato pie over peas and potatoes.

Other pub fun

UK Pubs: Edinburgh

Last March my husband and I took a fabulous trip to the UK. We did some hiking, some sightseeing, and some pub time.
During the Edinburgh part of our trip we visited some fun pubs and tried some fantastic whiskies.

Our evenings would sometimes start with a dram of whisky or glass of wine from the honor bar at our bed and breakfast.

http://www.94dr.com/