Fall Beer Releases & Festivals

One of the best aspects of Asheville's beer scene is that brewmasters are constantly experimenting with new recipes and methods-whether it's aging classic pours in bourbon barrels, infusing unique flavors like cinnamon, pumpkin, and coffee beans, or revitalizing ancient techniques that spark spontaneous fermentation by inviting airborne microorganisms to the party, there's no end to the ideas, techniques, or complex flavors in the world of beer.

While everyone loves a good flagship pour, there's always anticipation for the special releases and seasonal staples that usher in the different seasons. For many (including us), Asheville's fall season rules over all the others with a cornucopia of pumpkin Ales, coffee Porters, Imperial Stouts, and crisp Marzens. Below, you'll find Asheville's biggest and most beloved fall beer festivals and release parties:  

• September 11, 2021: Hi Wire Oktoberfest at Big Top - this free & family-friendly (no dogs) annual event will be held at Hi Wire's Big Top location from 12-4. Come enjoy live music, liter specials, German fare from Foothills, a costume contest, and several games including Bavarian Bingo, Stein Hoist, Donut on a String, and Grain Sack Toss!
• September 19, 2021: Catawba Brewing is kicking off the Oktoberfest season with an Oktoberfest-themed outdoor artisan market hosted by Kiki Earrings! There will be live Polka music by Lager Hosen on their outdoor stage from 2-6 pm. Blunt Pretzels will be there serving up some delicious soft pretzels from 2-6 pm, and there will be plenty of their Festbier or Marzen to enjoy in a giant stein. Prost y'all!
• October 2: The 12th Annual Asheville Oktoberfest in Pack Square Park will feature a variety of beer, wine, cider, and spirit samples from 20 breweries as well as a variety of games, Polka music, and German staples like bratwurst, pretzels, and traditional sides. 
• October 9: The Burnpile Harvest Festival, hosted by Burial Beer Co. at their Forestry Camp location, will return to the original format that includes a tasting experience featuring beer from 50+ breweries and a full day filled with concert performances by Expo Seventy, Deserta, and Grip, and guest artist, Queendom. A limited number of VIP tickets will be available, as well as General Admission and Concert Goer tickets.
  
• October 16: The 1st Annual Cellar-Fest will feature a delicious Oktoberfest-inspired food menu by Kinfolk, live music by King Garbage (and more), and original paintings by Jordan Zoscak that you can browse while sipping a cold pint in Cellarest’s open-air taproom. 
• October 17: Archetype's Oktoberfest & Festbier Release will feature their Festbier Vienna Lager, host Wicked Good Pretzels Food Truck to pair with the beer, have live music from local AVL artist, Stephen Evans, and have fun activities and giveaways of Oktoberfest beer steins. Celebrate the arrival of fall color and crisp weather by eating, drinking, and being merry at this annual event.
• November 11-15: Highland Brewing’s Cold Mountain Release Celebration will celebrate 25 years as a cherished tradition in Asheville and the surrounding region. Spanning over a long weekend and chock full of activities at their brewery and downtown taprooms, this special silver anniversary will include release events, special Cold Mountain variants, and Cold Mountain packaged beer available for pre-order. 

MORE FALL BEER RELEASES:

• Hillman Brewing releases not 1, BUT 2 delicious fall pours that come in a gorgeous traditional stein. Their Festbier combines a malt biscuit bent with some additional toasted malt flavors that embody the spirit of a traditional German Oktoberfest while their IFFY Imperial Red Ale brewed with local heirloom longpie pumpkins from Rayburn Farms is full of spice and everything nice to help you fully embrace the autumn season.
• Catawba Brewing releases their beloved King Don's Pumpkin Ale, named for one of the original North Carolina brewers who lent his pumpkin prowess to this great collaboration in 2001. This complex beer uses five separate barley styles, an artistic touch of hops, baking spices, and fresh pumpkin to round out the flavors. Wonderfully smooth and orange-hued, this beer garners the same amount of hype as the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
• Highland Brewing releases Thunderstruck Coffee Porter every year for a limited time around the fall season. It's brewed with organic fair trade coffee from Dynamite Coffee Roasters, a local Asheville favorite, and is best enjoyed gathered around a warm fire or camping under the stars.
• Burial Beer releases a couple of beers during their Burnpile Harvest Fest noted above. In 2021, they are slotted to release a triptych box set of 3 stouts: The World the Mortals Returned (500ml/$20. 15%) is an Imperial Stout filled with Tanzanian and Philippine cocoa nibs, aged with a record amount of Spice Walla Mexican and Madagascar vanilla beans, and topped with Burial's house-roasted Southern pecans. It tastes like a buffet of Orleansian praline, nutty fudge, and vanilla cream-streaked chocolate ganache. A Place of Calm Abiding (500ml/$22. 14%) is a Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with wafts of Ronny Zacapa Old Fashioned, fig cake with vanilla bean anglaise, and creme de cacao over the big cubes. The Space Where the Supernatural Roam (500ml/$20. 15%) is an Imperial Stout aged with Onyx Coffee Lab's AA Lot of Kenya Kamwangi, AKA one of the most prized coffees in the world, house-toasted coconut, Spice Walla cinnamon, French Broad Chocolate cocoa butter, and a gaggle of Tahitian vanilla bean. It tastes like slices of chocolate coconut coffee cake drizzled with a cinnamon vanilla glaze.
• Wicked Weed Brewing is notorious for keeping the funky and experimental beers flowing. This year, they're releasing an Imperial Stout variety pack called Guilty Pleasures. Weed Brownie combines hemp-like flavors with rich chocolate, Milk & Cookies combines notes of golden raisins and vanilla, S’mores combines notes of chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon, and the German Chocolate Cake combines decadent chocolate and coconut. For sour lovers, Wicked Weed's Pompoen is a sour red ale brewed with pumpkin and aged for over a year in rum barrels. Finished with charred ginger, the subtle spice gives depth and smokiness to this truly divine autumnal sour ale. 

While 2021's releases were delicious, we're already looking forward to what next year has in store. Be sure to check back here as the Fall 2022 season draws closer for exclusive insight into beer releases and event dates!