After countless debates about where to go on our annual summer vacation, my wife and I decided on Asheville, North Carolina. We each had our reasons for choosing it as an option. My wife wanted to check out the mountains and the Biltmore estate. I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about after having numerous hippie friends live there or pass through and speak to it as an artist’s city. With our flights booked (connecting in Atlanta because the Asheville airport is tiny), we were off for a summer vacation in the Appalachian.
I booked a hotel right downtown, at College and Broadway. Every neighboring store and restaurant looked interesting. There were countless pastry and chocolate shops, coffee galore, and many restaurants and shops with weird names and descriptions. Before we even arrived, the locale was living up to its bizarre reputation. As usual, we made a quick stop at Target upon landing for the essentials we forgot or just wanted for the room, i.e., mouthwash, La Croix, trading cards, and (thankfully) some NA beers from Athletic Brewing.
Party of Two – Checking in!
We arrived early, dropped off our bags, and ate at White Duck Taco Shop. They had a couple of vegetarian options for the Mrs., and I could always eat a taco or five, so it was a good choice. With its informality of ordering at a counter and getting your own soda, I was surprised to see they also had a large selection of alcoholic drinks. When I asked the cashier what NA beers they had, she looked baffled, and my wife chimed in, “Yes, it’s a thing.” I wrote off the cashier’s dismissal to her young age and continued on with my soda water and plateful of tacos.
Dining in Asheville
For dinner, we chose a spot a block away called Twisted Laurel. Their NA selection was Kalibur (gross NA piss from Guinness they made for decades before they made NA Guinness). Thankfully, they also had Lagunita’s Hoppy Refresher Hop Water on the menu, so I was quickly obliged with a couple of rounds of this hoppy sparkling treat. After a fantastic dinner (2nd best arancini in the city), we walked around to the local shops, and I was happy to see the same Athletic Brewing selection (Run Wild IPA and Free Wave Hazy IPA) that Target had at a small general store across the street from our hotel. I should note this was a bonus because in our hotel’s vast lobby marketplace full of liquor bottles and beers and wine, all to take up to your room, there were no NA selections.
Tourist Activities in Asheville
The next day, we went to the Asheville Art Museum. This is a recommendation, with all of the amazing exhibits and beautiful artwork, including a surprising amount of original Warhols. After we did the whole museum, we went upstairs to the rooftop café to look out over the city and enjoy a midday coffee. Being sober, I probably wouldn’t have noticed, but my wife pointed out that the museum café had alcohol. I don’t think I’ve seen that before in all of my museum visits around the country. There’s also a level of irony to offering alcohol to people you want not to touch or break stuff in rooms made up of fragile ceramics and glass.
That night, we had one of our dinner reservations at a little Italian place in the neighborhood called Strada (1st best arancini in the city). When I asked what NA beers they had (because, again, they were not even on the menu), they told me Kalibur, as well. Disappointed and curious, I commented that I hadn’t seen much of an NA beer selection in Asheville. The waitress laughed and responded, “That’s because of all of our good beer!” implying that NA beer is not a good beer. The dinner was absolutely amazing, but I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated at this lack of NA options.
What’s the NA deal?
That night, I went online and began researching, checking on menus of local restaurants and bars, and seeing their NA options. Sure, there were mocktails (essentially sugar syrup and a splash of soda), but there were zero NA beers. I was also getting frustrated at some restaurants for not having good vegetarian options for my wife. Still, she quickly nixed that thought by exclaiming how many unique vegetarian options there were. Fine, it was just me and my desire for an NA beer that was not being satiated.
Countless restaurants, and every brewery, failed to offer an NA beer option, and if they did, it was some backroom garbage like Kalibur or St. Pauli Girl. Bummed out that I didn’t have any good options for chilling at local bars and people-watching with a nice alcohol-free IPA, I was fed up with Asheville. Then, I was pleasantly surprised at the local minor league ballpark, of all places. The Asheville Tourists, the minor league team with a stadium on the south side of downtown, served both of Athletic Brewing’s offerings that I could get at the market and Target. Even though I couldn’t get an NA beer to save my life at any bars, restaurants, or museums, I could watch an entire baseball game and pound back a few Free Wave Hazy IPAs, which was a nice reprieve.
Last Call for Asheville
On our final evening, we went to a Mexican place called Mountain Madre (a fun play on words of the lyrics to John Denver’s Country Roads). They had Lagunita’s NIPA on their menu and both previously mentioned brews from Athletic Brewing. I was pumped. Finally, on the last day, I ate at a place that thought about me! When I went to order the Lagunitas NIPA, she explained they were out of it and offered the Athletic option, which I agreed to, slightly disappointed. Complete disappointment set in when the server returned with the news that they were out of both because they had been switching back and forth between carrying the two.
Overall, Asheville was cool and very Liberal-Alt: artists, hippies, and lots of tattoos. However, for a city that prides itself on being inclusive, I felt very unwelcome. Everyone I asked about NA beers acted almost shocked and talked about all the good beers they had in town as if the two were mutually exclusive. I know, first-hand, the amount of substance use issues that happen in a “beer city,” and it’s really disappointing that in a city that wants to be representative of everyone and accepting of everyone, you can’t be accommodated at about 90% of the establishments, despite the NA beer options simply being a check box on their normal beer order. So, is it worth checking out? Absolutely, but BYO(NA)B if you’re going to Asheville.
HAPPY EVERY HOUR:
Sober Curator Justin Lamb is dedicated to tasting great (and sometimes not so great) NA beers and showcasing his amazing collection of memorabilia from the ’80s & ’90s. His beer mug is full, there’s just no booze in it. TRIGGER WARNING: People in early sobriety may want to proceed with caution. Always read labels. Please hydrate responsibly … because drunk never looks good.
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
