We continue on our saga of Asheville breweries with our third installment in the four-and-a-half part series. We’ve already seen Wicked Weed and Wedge. This week we move on to Green Man.
The first step is admitting a problem. I don’t know what the rest of the steps are, but I’ve always heard that first one. In this instance, my problem is collecting beer-aphernalia wherever I go. T-shirts, hats, glasses … I feel like I’m failing if I don’t collect something. Now, to be fair, I didn’t go crazy overboard in Asheville, but I couldn’t not get something from Green Man. First, the logo was cool, and second, the beer was stellar and I wanted to remember it. I mean – tell me this logo doesn’t have awesomeness attached to it … For the record, I went with the shirt to the right. This picture is on their website, and I am VERY disappointed that the trophy-flagon did not come with the purchase.
Now … on to the beer. Green Man offered one of my favorite beer choices ever. No, not Belgian, or Abbey, or pale ale … it’s the concept of the flight. We have already discussed my love affair with the mix-a-six-pack concept, and this is obviously the drink-IN version of that take-home idea. For my four choices, I went with Porter, Harvester, Forester and the IPA. And that’s the order I’d rank them in. The Porter was so very smooth and drinkable, had we stayed longer I would have ordered a full pour. It’s rich without being thick and has some chocolate going on in there. Overall very smooth and enjoyable, if you like the darker stuff. Harvester is a Marzen-style beer (think Oktoberfest-esque beers.) Crisp and light, this one had a lot more amber color to it than most Marzens I’ve had. Quite good. Forester is a stout and is better when the weather turns colder. (And it was warm while we were there.) Again, it had some chocolatey goodness, but I didn’t think the flavors balanced out as well as the Porter. I had to try the IPA, even though they don’t usually work for me. It was an IPA – on the bitter side if you ask me. If you’re into IPAs, you’ll probably love it, but that just ain’t me!
And I still love the shirt. Tune back in next week for the 4th brewery tour. I hope you’re enjoying the vicarious trip to Asheville!
PS – I’m getting political now. Asheville has a thriving and vibrant beer scene, partially because of a great legal environment there. Their laws regarding breweries allow for many things we don’t have in Georgia. There is currently a bill in the Georgia Senate that will get us closer to that same environment. SB63. Call your Senator. Call Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle. Let’s get this thing on the floor and get it voted through!
