David Bailey & Tashia Hippler, from Fayetteville West Virginia who got engaged at the Thirsty Monk last night. David wanted to propose to Tashia at his favorite bar! (The picture was taken right after the happy moment!)

Join us as we celebrate Sierra Nevada’s 30th Anniversary! Exactly thirty years ago on November 15, the first batch of Sierra Nevada beer made it through their brewhouse, and the craft beer revolution had begun!
Sierra Nevada have been celebrating this milestone all year by releasing limited 30th Anniversary beers celebrating the the trailblazing brewers who helped transform America into the world’s most exciting brewing nation.
We wi…ll feature all four Anniversary beers on draft, plus some other surprises. And of course there will be cake, then what would a birthday party be without cake?
From their website:
“Sierra Nevada teamed up with the founders of the movement in a series of collaborative projects with America’s craft-brewing pioneers: Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing; Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewery; and authors, homebrewers, and beer advocates Fred Eckhardt, and Charlie Papazian. Together, this group is credited as ‘the men who launched a thousand breweries;’ and without them, our current day craft-beer-renaissance might never have happened.
When Sierra Nevada first opened its doors, there were less than 50 breweries in the United States. Today, there are more than 1,500 craft breweries in operation, and American brewers lead the world in variety of styles, innovation, experimentation, and quality.” (http://www.sierranevada.com/about/news.html)

Members from MALT (Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters, a homebrewing club located in Asheville) will also be on hand to answer questions and sign-up new members.

On October 14th, around 6 o’clock, the Thirsty Monk will be tapping a cask of Autumn Maple from the Bruery.  I am not alone in being very excited to get a taste of this delicious “brue.”  Autumn Maple is the Bruery’s interpretation of Pumpkin Beers.  Instead of the traditional pumpkin, they use yams (quite a lot of them, to be imprecise.)  And, of course, they throw in cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, yadda, yadda, yadda, and maple syrup and molasses.  Fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, the result is nothing short of fantastically delicious.  Just the sort of beer you would imagine if you could combine your entire Thanksgiving dinner into one blended beverage (heavy on the sweet potato pie, please.)  And Thanksgiving is the key here.  This is a dark, sweet and spicy beer, but it aint’ no Christmas beer.  Granted, Thanksgiving won’t be along for a month or two, but Autumn is here and now.  So, join me in the tapping of Autumn Maple next week.

Hobgoblin, from  Wychwood Brewery located in Oxfordshire England, is a deliciously dark and rich brew. Hobgoblin is wonderfully well balanced blend of smooth, rich & satisfying flavors from chocolate & crystal malts combined with a crisp, refreshing bitterness from Styrian, Goldings and Fuggles hops.

So, what is a Hobgoblin? According to Wychwood Brewery, “Hobgoblins in legends are known to be large version of their cousins the goblins. Versions of the legend can be found in Britain, Spain and in France.

Hobgoblins are sometimes known as “guardian” fairies. They are usually depicted in legend and folklore along the lines of a small, solitary, shaggy-haired domestic spirits. They are said to do housework and odd jobs about the home. They will become attached to particular families or places. Though naturally helpful, these Hobgoblins are thought to become malicious if they are offended.

In Folklore there are also references to Hogboons, a guardian spirit of the farms. Shadowy figures who lived in nearly every big mound and protected domestic animals from the Trows (a sort of troll/bogeyman type figure), and would also mend household articles left out for repair. As a reward people would pour ale and milk on mounds where he lived.

Hobgoblins were also guardians of breweries, who in days gone by would offer them copious amounts of beer before starting to brew. In exchange the Hobgoblin would ensure that the ale produced had a bouquet and bitterness second to none.

By tradition, the best times for seeing Hobgoblins and other fairy creatures and forest dwellers are twilight and midnight when the moon is full.

We only have a limited supply of these cups. The cost will be $ 15, for the cup filled with  16 oz of beer.

Philadelphia has Philly Beer Week, Denver has Denver Beer Fest, even Charlotte and Raleigh have week-long events celebrating beer.So why doesn’t Asheville throw a week-long event the week leading up to Brewgrass?

Imagine if the week before Brewgrass was  a celebration with several tastings, dinners and special events all throughout Asheville.  We have decided to do something special each day next week, and we would like to challenge all other beer centric places to do the same. Know this year is not an ideal time for a beer week considering Brewgrass coincides with GABF, but we have a year to plan. Maybe 2011 can be Asheville’s first official beer week.

The events which we have planned at the Monk:

Monday – We will tap a keg of Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse. The first 12 people will get to keep the logo glassware!
Tuesday …- We will tap a keg of BFM l’Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2009. This keg is extremely rare, only nine kegs made it to the country!
Wednesday – Victory Braumeister keg tapping & Victory pint night. Buy the beer, keep the glass.
Thursday – We will tap a cask of Arrogant Bastard @ 6PM
Friday – We will tap a keg of Victory Saison du Buff
Saturday – E.Dupont Pommeau Cider 5l gravity cask will be tapped
Sunday – A special bottle release of Bell’s Oracle @ 4 pm. (We only got one case & want to share it with you!)

We will tap this cask on Thursday September 16 @ 6PM. Other great kegs arriving for Brerwgrass are Founders Breakfast Stout, Bell’s Oktoberfest, Victory Braumeister Pils etc

•Stone 14th Anniversary Ale

• Hitachino Nest Ancient Nipponia
• New Belgium Imperial Berliner Style Weisse
• Del Ducato Sally Brown Barraco
• Oskar Blues Old Double Bagger Barleywine
• Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
• Oskar Blues Spiced Mama’s Little Yella Pils Cask Conditioned
• Highland Cask Condition Aged Sour Seven Sisters
• Mother Earth Bourbon Barrel Aged Belgian Tripel
• Rogue Old Crustacean 2006 or 2007
• Rogue 21

• Allagash Blonde

Beers may be subject to change, due to shipping or events uncontrollable by us.
We will update this list as soon as more info becomes available.

Monday July 19th we will host an event featuring Sean Lilly Wilson of “Pop the Cap” & Fullsteam Brewing fame. We will be serving the plow to pint series (Fullsteam’s radical Southern brewing) together with a Four Course Dinner featuring “farm to table” food prepared by nationally recognized Chef Mark Rosenstein.
The common theme? Plow-to-pint beers are crafted with Southern farmed ingredients…going local, seasonal, and organic whenever possible.
Chef Rosenstein’s is a pioneer of the Slow food movement in Asheville, promoting local products and helping to build a local agricultural community.
Tickets are $30 (including tax & gratuity) & space for the dinner is limited to 30 people
Reservations are required. …. Call the Thirsty Monk @ (828) 254-5470, to reserve your ticket.