Asheville Part 2: "Zeptemberfest" at Barley's

For lunch yesterday, we hit Barley's Taproom. There is actually a Barley's in Greenville, SC that we used to go to while we were at Clemson, but the original location is the one in Asheville. And, as we learned later, the first location of Highland Brewing Co. was in the basement of Barley's.

As one would expect, the place was slightly dark inside, with walls covered in beer signs and a long bar with a plethora of taps. The beer selection was impressive, but I was only interested in local beer. I was tempted by a sampler of local beers, but I was intrigued by French Broad Brewing Co.'s "Zeptemberfest" - an ale inspired apparently by Led Zeppelin and the upcoming beer festivals of Fall.




French Broad Brewing - Zeptemberfest
6.1% ABV

This was a fairly big beer with a strong hop presence and malty body. It was pretty well-balanced but flavorful nonetheless. I'm calling this a pale ale, though the hop bitterness was a bit on the strong side for a pale ale. The hop flavors were less piney than many craft beers; I'm not sure where the hops for this one were grown. The description mentioned that the yeast was chosen to combine the smoothness of a lager with the estery characteristics of ale, but I didn't really pick up on any lager characteristics. This was an enjoyable and flavorful beer nonetheless.




As I've mentioned before, beer with a strong hop presence pairs well with sharp cheeses; our Greek pizza with feta cheese, spinach, onions, black olives, and sun-dried tomatoes was a great mate to the Zeptemberfest. The bitterness of the hops brought out the sharp flavors of the feta as well as contrasting with the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes. Not a bad lunch and stop at a cornerstone of the craft brew scene of Asheville.

"There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rusting,
Not trying to fight it.
You really don't care if they're coming
I know that it's all a state of mind."