Sierra Nevada Brewery

We went on the free tour here and were really impressed.
Now, make sure you book well in advance. It is a free tour and it books very far out, I think we grabbed our spots a month out.
Once on the property, you drive a bit on adorable roads. The attention to detail is apparent even on this drive. There are hops shapes in the gates. Seriously, it’s like the Disney World of Craft beer. You sense you are nearing the end of the drive and climb up a small hill, and are greeted with a truly stunning visual of this brewery. The architecture is true to the region, and stunningly beautiful.
Upon checking in, we were given badges for the tour. Our guide poured each of us a beer while we watched some really great videos on the history of the company. Then our tour began. I don’t remember all the specifics, but we were incredibly impressed by the equipment, technology and beauty of this place. The wood paneling made from indigenous trees that were once on the property, water filtering to the extreme before putting back into the environment. Every thing they do has an eye on their footprint and it was refreshing to see a company taking care of the earth while producing a great product.
At the end of the tour we arrived at a tasting room (not the public one) and were treated to seven or eight pours of their beers. Really terrific stuff.
I highly recommend going on this tour if you’re a fan of beer, macro or micro brew. It’s informative and inspiring. Well done.

The brewery is incredible. But then again, it should be considering they spent over $ 100 million on it. They clearly invested in the visitor experience as well as the beer production side of things. We were there on a busy holiday weekend, but there was plenty of room to sit outside on the lawn and enjoy the live polka music. You can see plenty on the self-​guided tour, which is great because the guided brewery tours were completely booked way in advance. It’s a from downtown Asheville, but there’s plenty of beer, food, and entertainment to make it worthwhile.
Edited because I just remembered that we couldn’t order flights outside. That’s disappointing just because I would have liked to try more beers, but at least it’s an option inside if you’re willing to wait in super long lines.

Wow! Wow! Wow! Not only is this place impressive on the outside, but also on the inside! I didn’t do a tour, but I did take a self tour which was really cool! This place is so amazing! I sat at the bar after I walked around. Had 2 apps, 2 «entrees» and 2 desserts! Not badly priced at all! Was surprised when I got my bill! Everything was 5 star restaurant and the service was awesome! I will be back in a couple of weeks! Thanks Sierra Nevada!

WOW!!! What a place! Didn’t know the guided tours were by reservation and were booked about 5 – 6 weeks in advance. (I really should read Unilocal more. LOL) so we did the self-​guided. The copper and stone and the detail in everything is just amazing. What we were really blown away by is the speed and the amount of bottles flowing down the conveyer belts, the timing of filling, labeling, packaging is just astonishing. And all this with just a couple handfuls of employees. A couple of packers here and there, a couple at the huge computers that run the entire operation and a couple of maintenance people. The restaurant/​taproom is just awesome, but due to a lack of time and another appointment, we had to go but we will definitely be back again and again.

I love Sierra Nevada in Asheville! Such a cool place. Good food great beer… Just frickin amazing! It’s an adults Disneyland!

What an impressive place! My husband and I had been driving out to see some falls and passed signs to this on the way. We decided we should stop and pulled off the road. I think we were expecting something much smaller.
The build out is impeccably done and has a little space for everyone with a fire pit, garden, patio, and traditional bar.
We sampled a few beers, and they were pretty good. Obviously, Sierra Nevada is a nationally renowned beer company so they should be quality.
The food options were very diverse and extremely reasonably priced. We tried a cheese plate. It was tasty, but it lacked a soft spreadable cheese and also needed some more accoutrements.

Love this location and the service. It seems like most people do. My family arrived before the restaurant opened and there were numerous families and couples waiting.
It is a small plate restaurant, which isn’t always my style, but I liked this particular menu. The service was amazing, AND live music. I absolutely will be back!!!

This place is beautiful! The shortest tour is 90 minutes. Our guide was very knowledgable, get there early, the crowds get this between 12 – 3. Beautiful outdoor area as well.

We were in the area visiting with family, and they put together a tour for us at Sierra Nevada Brewery. Now, I’m from California, and we’re in Ashville… so I was pretty much «WTH?». And I was wrong.
The facility is very modern, very styling, and has quite a few cool touches (see pix for examples).
The guided tour started with the whole reason that SN expanded beyond CA — and it actually made some sense. We then went on a walking tour of the entire facility (well, the public parts) including the hops room… where we could actually get down and dirty with hops. I hadn’t seen this before on other tours… definitely different. The guide (a very smooth guy… definitely found the right job for him) led us under the fermentation tanks (the HUGE tanks you see outside the facility), and ended the tour in the tap room, where we tried several different varieties of their offerings.
In full disclosure, I totally despise what most American’s call beer… very much a Bavarian-​oriented guy… so some of the cute games that SN plays with their beer doesn’t really work for me. BUT, they do have a reasonable ale (for an American brewery), as well as a whole bunch of stuff that I wasn’t much into. The rest of the fam enjoyed various offerings (and didn’t enjoy others… it was a broad mix).
We ended the overall tour with lunch in the on-​site restaurant (separate review)…but overall, a definitely well done tour in a VERY VERY modern brewery.

Awesome! Beautiful, great food, live music, interesting tours, and of course, good beer! Just go and see for yourself!

Gorgeous place! The facility is top notch and very open so you can see the whole process even without the tour.
The flights are $ 6, it’s only half a beer, but it’s great to try so many new kinds that you won’t drink a pint of.
There are gorgeous outdoor gardens and tons of games. Bean bags and bocce ball most notably. It’s worth the view alone.
Food was absolutely delicious.
A little pricey but well worth it because of freshness and flavor.
Lots of various meats, rabbit, bison, muscles etc. All across the board, fun to try things you don’t have the opportunity to order everywhere.
Staff seemed friendly and attentive.
I did notice a lot of kids though, I think that’s becoming more and more common at breweries at this day and age, which can definitely be a nuisance when they are running around screaming. I really think it’s disrespectful to people without kids We just want to go grab a beer and relax, and to have to hear other people’s screeching kids is totally not relaxing or event slightly pleasant. I understand you’re trying to get a break too, but please please be mindful. Maybe take them farther away from the bar area where they can run around — away from people walking with full beer glasses.

Children.
Children. Children. Children. Children. Children.
So many, many children. It was like a daycare run by drunk parents who didn’t care how bored their kids would be at a damn brewery. All inside of a cold, sterile, Disney like environment in which every aspect of the poorly and under decorated setting is made up of cheap, prefabricated junk laid out so as to push the multitudes of tourists through like cattle with money.
I didn’t even eat the food. How could I? It was like a carnival of lost patrons, unsure of where to go or what to do with themselves. Awkwardly shuffling from spot to spot so as to allow others to pass while not knowing where to stand or what to do. Milling about nervously and hoping they could get a table soon so they wouldn’t be out in the open, exposed and afraid in a brightly lit room utterly devoid of comfort and inviting ambiance. There’s no flow. Nothing to pull you into the room. It’s like trying to get a meal and a beer in the shoe department at Wal-​Mart.
I didn’t even get a drink. How could I? The bar is in the absolute worst place in the room, right in front, dividing the main thoroughfare and closing off the tight walkways making them even more cramped and awkward. I hate to sound like I’m ranting but it’s as though rudimentary hospitality science was thrown out the window to make the place feel like an even more boring Busch Gardens or a brightly lit Outback Steakhouse.
The patio area out back was just as bad but with even more screaming, squalling, unsupervised children.
Just admit that you’re a grown up who chose to have kids and therefore isn’t cool anymore. Take your spawn to Burger King so that the rest of us can have a beer in peace.
From the gate to the front door, nothing feels like North Carolina. They somehow managed to take the beautiful setting of my beloved Appalachian mountains and give the whole place the stark, barren feel of a resort in the actual Sierra Nevadas. Why would you build something so out of place? It’s like a Starbucks kiosk in a Dunkin Donuts. They’re kind of the same but not interchangeable. I came back here to get away from that cheap, corporate, California lifestyle and they brought it here to pollute these hills with it.
I gave it two stars instead of one because Sierra Nevada makes ok beer. Not great. Ok. Like, if I had to choose between Sierra Nevada and Budweiser, I’d choose the Sierra Nevada. That’s not really a compliment. If I had to choose between Budweiser and a bucket of steaming hot urine, I’d choose the Budweiser but it’d be real close.

This has got to be the largest and prettiest brewery I’ve ever visited. I didn’t get a chance to take a tour, but I did get to grab a beer and sit down in the gorgeous backyard area. There’s a firepit, y’all, with a huge, roaring fire. It was the perfect setting for a breezy, sunny Saturday afternoon. We sat on the patio for a while and just soaked in the view — mountains, hipsters in ski vests and parkas, adorable puppies, cute cuddly babies. I almost felt like I was in Colorado instead of the outskirts of Asheville. I’m not a huge beer fan, but I’d definitely return to go enjoy the outside patio for some day drinking.

Very cool, fun place. Definitely worth checking out. As soon as you drive up and see the building, open the windows of your car and breathe in that wonderful smell. Seriously.
Then go in, and commence the sad expressions when you learn how long the wait is. I highly recommend sitting at the bar though — we ended up sitting by the pizza oven, so I got to watch guys make pizza and melt beer cheese while I ate, which I found to be perfect.
The only drawback is prices were a little steep for me. The food is mostly a tapas type deal — o at $ 7−15/plate, plus beer, two of us spent ~$ 60. The service was a little slow, but once we ordered, the food was out real fast. And thank God, because I couldn’t wait any longer to put beer cheese in my belly.
So I had beer pimento cheese and pretzels, and NC Bison sliders. The beer cheese was everything, and if you don’t get it, you’ll regret it. It’s melted in a teeny cast iron pot and the pretzels are all warm from the wood-​fired oven. I had to physically stop my boyfriend from scraping every bite of cheese from the bowl, once we’d finished the pretzels. The bison sliders were also fabulous, although I won’t advocate for them quite so violently. BEER CHEESE.
Heard many many good things about the duck fat fries from friends, but I didn’t feel inclined to give myself a heart attack with beer cheese and duck fat fries… so I guess I’ll be going back!
Atmosphere wise, it was great. Bustling and lively and since it’s brand spanking new, it’s a cool building/​design inside is very cool. Tons of windows and heaps of natural light, which I love. Worked out perfectly for us, as we were on our way back to Asheville from hiking near Brevard. Overall, it was a great experience with delicious and mouth-​watering food and a great environment.
But please don’t forget the beer cheese.

Not a whole lot to see here to be honest. We toured the brewery while we waited for lunch next door at the taproom. Start to finish of the self-​guided tour last about 20 minutes.
There were plenty of antique-​y type displays set up. There were taps, bottles, Lucky Strike related items, and plenty of other items. There was even an original «Captain Marvel Fights the Astonishing Yeast Menace.» Kinda cool to see that behind the case.
Other than that though there isn’t a whole lot to the tour. You look down into the brewery through glass windows and then you’re done. If you pay and take a guided tour I believe you also get a beer. Meh.
The brewery was exceptionally clean and in a very scenic area so I guess it has that going for it. All-​in-​all not worth your time unless you’re waiting to eat lunch next door.

This brewery is pretty massive and being somewhat brand spanking new (I think less than a year old) has a very modern feel to it. They have a number of beers on tap as you’d expect including some experimental ones. I was a bit surprised, pleasantly so by the number of higher abv beers they had in addition to many other lower abv ones.
Service overall was good. Their back patio and games area was fun and comfortable. I did not try any of the food here so can’t speak on that. If memory serves, they seem to be dog friendly. There is a lot to do and see while visiting Asheville and I can’t say this is an absolute must stop (my cousin from Chicago who visited and loved it here would disagree), but it is worth a stop.
*Tip: If you are at one side of the bar trying to get a beer and it’s packed, try hopping over to the other side which may very well be more open.

6 adults, 3 kids, 3 flights of beers on a rainy evening
Overall, I think the high ratings are from the brewery tour and from the beer, not the food. Food was pretty average bar food and a bit on the pricey side for this area considering that you can get so much amazing food in this town for lower prices.
1. Wood roasted Brussels — the Brussels were good but filled with way too much pork fat
2. Duck fat fries — I don’t know why the duck fat fries were so highly touted– they were greasy, not crispy, and not flavorful. If you are ever in LA and want yummy duck fat fries– go to beer belly in ktown!
3. Sausage and sprouts on toast — decent appetizer– more like a grey-​ish mush on toast
4. Chicken wings — the winner of the evening since the kids ordered two plates and the wings were small bite sized
5. Rabbit pot pie — also a nice surprise since they split the pot pie into four mini biscuits
6. Wood grilled steak du jour– cold! I had to send this one back :/​
7. The burger — average, nothing to write home about
8. Three cheese pizzas for the kids — average as well — kids just peeled off the cheese
Service was a bit slow — our server didn’t bring out the French onion toast or the Diet Pepsi until we asked but was friendly about everything.
All in all, come here for the drinks– not the food!

Sierra Nevada Brewery is a must visit if you are in the area.
Pulled up and WOW, this place is huge and beautiful! Unfortunately since Boyfriend and I planned an impromptu trip to Asheville we were unable to book a tour, make sure you book at least a month out. So, we did a self-​guided tour of the upstairs corridor. It was amazing what we got to see, I will definitely try to do the tour on my next visit!

Wow, what an amazing brewery. This place features both a restaurant and a full production brewery.
Their tours book up fast and the only way to take a tour is to book online. This brewery is breathtaking… from the driveway to the tasting room. It is evident that no expense was spared when building the place. The tour is 90 minutes long. It begins with a short movie telling the history of the 2 men who started the brewery. Then we toured the facility — everything form the kettles to the bottling room. The tour ends at the tasting room where we were able to taste 7 beers.
The tap room /​restaurant has unique and delicious shared plates. We ordered the Bavarian pretzels with beer cheese and the duck fries. The duck fries are cooked in duck fat and layered with a sauce and shredded duck meat. Amazing!
For those with kids they feature a reasonably priced kids menu. My son enjoyed his kettle chips and grilled cheese.
Beer-​wise you can order flights of four in the tap room or glasses of beer of varying size. They had a large variety of beer on tap, many of which you cannot easily find outside of the brewery.
I would definitely recommend a tour and dinner here. An awesome experience that is also kid-​friendly. Loved it!

If you went to UCSB, at freshman orientation, you were given a pop quiz with one question:
It’s Friday night on Del Playa, you have a choice of three parties with three types of kegs, which party do you choose?
A. The house with Coors Light
B. The house with Natty Light
C. The house with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Any true Gaucho picks C. If you’re gonna gain the freshman 15 or get roofied at least do it with beer with some flavor. This means that I have been a raging beer snob since I was 18 basically (21, if my parents are reading this), thanks to my education. I guess my taste for Sierra Nevada stuck around all these years, and when I saw the highway signs for Sierra Nevada Brewery on a NC highway on my birthday of all days, I nearly lost my mind.
I’m pretty used to the brewery being up in Chico but I never expected an EAST COAST BREWERY!!! So apparently, this brewery adds much needed capacity for Sierra Nevada, and will allow for the quick shipment of fresh beer to consumers in the east. This facility holds 300,000 barrels and it is massive in size. We did a tour on our own, because basically our trip was unplanned and involved me nearly jumping out a car window when I saw the roadway direction signs. The place is basically a beer museum with chandeliers made out of beer bottles and walls covered in hops. I strongly encourage everyone else to book a tour, I was impressed on our self guided tour, imagine what you could learn on an legit tour.
The brewery itself has a relatively newly opened brewhouse, with 20 barrels supplying rotating drafts that are exclusive to the restaurant. You must stop in. The food here is outstanding. We ordered the following as light appetizers as we made our way through two flights of beer:
Pork belly rillettes ($ 10) pork belly with crackers made from grits.
Pancetta smear ($ 9) house pancetta smear, gruyère, sweet and spicy tomato jam,
micro arugula. By far the best appetizer.
Pretzels & pimento beer cheese ($ 8)
I want to say I remembered what beer I drank but I don’t. It was my birthday and their Witbier with Grapefruit has an 8.2 ABV and they brought me a lot of that one. I did take pics of the beer menu though so there’s that.
The outdoor stage, back bar and gardens are a must see too. A fun place to pay a game of cornhole while enjoying brews.
Sadly there is one regional difference to this brewery, don’t expect the CA regional favorites to be here (eg. Old Chico) this brewery is for larger volume beers (ie. year round and seasonal ales), but they will brew exclusive NC brews!
I can’t wait to go back.