Asheville's defining beer style: a soft, hazy New England IPA with low bitterness and tropical-fruit hop saturation, pioneered locally by Burial Beer, Hi-Wire, and Wicked Weed.
Where to eat it: 6 restaurants across 1 city.
Asheville earned the title Beer City USA four years running from 2009. The local hazy IPA tradition crystallised around Burial Beer Co (founded 2013) and Hi-Wire (2013), both of which shifted the city's focus from English-style ales to West Coast and then New England IPAs. The annual Burial Spirits beer festival is now a national draw.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Oxygen is the killer for hazy IPA; transferring through closed lines or using a spunding valve is what separates a soft, juicy Asheville hazy from a quickly-oxidised home version that turns muddy and harsh.
Burial Beer Co opened on Collier Avenue in 2013 and is now one of Asheville's defining South Slope breweries.
Tip: The Forestry Camp restaurant on Shelburne Road is the Burial sister project; ride share between South Slope and the Forestry Camp barrel cellar.
Hi-Wire's original South Slope brewhouse on Hilliard Avenue, the first of three Asheville locations. Dedicated to award-winning sours, wild ales and one-off.
Tip: South Slope is the mural-covered art-leaning sour room. Bring your own food; the brewery accepts outside take-out.
Wicked Weed's flagship Brewpub on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville opened in 2012. Hop-forward IPAs and lagers, a full-service restaurant, the original.
Tip: Walk-up bar takes the rotating taps. The downstairs cellar has private booths; reserve through the operator site.
Highland Brewing Company on Old Charlotte Highway in East Asheville opened in 1994 as Asheville's first craft brewery. A 40-acre campus with 18-hole disc.
Tip: Free tours run weekends, check the operator site. The S and W Market downtown taproom is the sister location.
Green Man Brewery opened on Buxton Avenue in 1997 as the first brewery on what became the South Slope. British-style ales out of two adjacent rooms: Dirty.
Tip: Dirty Jack's at 23 Buxton runs the British pub format with darts and football. The Mansion's third-floor patio takes the views.
Archetype Brewing's West Asheville production brewery on Haywood Road runs a 10-barrel brewhouse with a complex, mindful, Belgian-leaning modern lineup.
Tip: Family-friendly taproom. The downtown Tap Lounge at 174 Broadway Street is the sister venue with music nights.
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