Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company

Ruby's Tap House

This neighborhood bar in the residential Haw Creek area is worth the difficulty in locating it. From downtown Asheville take I-240 East to Exit 7 Tunnel Road. Follow the signs for US 70 East. You want to be in the right of the two left-turn lanes at the second light. At the second light turn left and stay in the center lane (the left lane takes you back onto I-240 West). Go straight at the light. Stay in the left lane.You will need to merge into heavy traffic and immediately get into the left lane. Turn left at the first light andd bear right in about 50 feet at the yield sign onto Haw Creek Road. Go about a mile and watch for Beverly Road on the right which is a y-shaped intersection on a bad curve. Turn right on Beverly and Ruby's Taproom will be immediately on the left.

The rustic atmosphere includes board floors, plywood partitions, and a long bar. Pool tables, video games, and dart boards take up space at the rear. About 15 draft selections include Pisgah, Highland, and French Broad River offerings. The excellent bottle choices include Rogue and other American craft beers, bottle-conditioned English ales, and German wheats. On the horizon are cask ales which should be available soon. Patrons are mostly from the Haw Creek neighborhood and include a variety of folks. The owner and staff are friendly and welcoming. Live music is featured some nights. The food selections includes excellent BBQ and is highly recommended.

From the Westville Pub, head back to the downtown area. At the intersection of Patton Avenue, Broadway and Biltmore Avenue (Route 25)  is Pack Square, in which stands a tall, gray granite shaft called the Vance Monument. This is the starting and finishing point for the foot portion of the crawl. Parking is available in metered (M-S, before 6 p.m.) street spaces and nearby parking decks. From the Vance Monument, walk south on Biltmore Avenue passing the Fine Arts theatre on the left and the Mast General Store across the street on the right. Just a couple doors past the theatre is the entrance to Barley's Taproom.

Barley's Taproom

 From Boudreaux's retrace your steps to Barley's Taproom. An Asheville landmark, Barley's  has over 40 taps divided between upstairs and downstairs bars. All dispense quality brews. No mass-produced ricewater is served here, and the bartenders have been known to roll their eyes or worse when tourists ask the question "What do you have that resembles Budweiser?" Draft offerings include a changing selection of regional brews along with such standards as Anchor Steam, Newcastle, and Guinness. The pizza is excellent, as are the other food choices. Try a Beefalo Wrap with a side of potato salad, washed down with a selection from the "Brewery of the Month." The downstairs restaurant has a long mirrored bar and lots of tables, and is non-smoking before 10 p.m. Children are welcome in this section. Live entertainment is offered on many nights. Upstairs is another room featuring a second bar along with four pool tables and several dart boards. No food is served upstairs, smoking is always permitted, and customers must be at least 21 to enter. Draft selections are not always duplicated on each floor, so the beer aficionado is well-advised to check out both levels. Barley's also sponsors the annual  Brewgrass Festival  which brings in brewers from across the southeast. Underneath Barley's is the  Highland Brewing Company whose excellent brews are available on draft and in bottles at many area restaurants and bars, including Barley's. Be sure to try their Gaelic Ale and the St. Therese's Pale, along with their superb Kashmir IPA.

Hannah Flanagan's Irish Pub

Leave Barley's, cross the street, and turn right. About 75 feet ahead on the left is Hannah Flanagan's, an Irish-theme pub (how'd you guess?) featuring 40 taps and a large bottle selection. Hannah's has a long, narrow room with a bar along one side and booths along the opposite wall, and a second room  toward the back. In season, the large open courtyard features outside seating and often has a live band on warm summer nights. The beer includes several regional products, including those from the  French Broad River Brewing Company of Asheville. The menu offers traditional Irish pub fare at reasonable prices including fish and chips, shepherds pie, bangers and mash, and corned beef and cabbage. A very popular spot and frequently crowded late and on summer weekends.

Hannah Flanagan's Irish Pub
27 Biltmore Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801 
(828) 252-1922

The Mellow Mushroom

Leave Hannah's, turn left, and walk uphill on Biltmore Avenue back through Pack Square, passing several upscale restaurants. Continue walking north on Broadway to the intersection of Walnut Street (Biltmore Avenue becomes Broadway at Pack Square). On the opposite side of the street is the Mellow Mushroom, the local incarnation of an Atlanta-based chain. The decor is funky with lots of 50's memorabilia. This location features over 50 taps making it the Asheville bar with the highest number of draft selections. The 'Shroom also offers outside seating on the front patio in warm weather. The location attracts a varied crowd, including students, professionals and families who bring the kids for the pizza. The atmosphere inside is that of a pizza joint but merits inclusion on this crawl due to the wide choice of beer selections. It's also a very popular spot late at night.

Mellow Mushroom
50 Broadway
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 236-9800

The Bier Garden

Leave the Mellow Mushroom, go back across Broadway, and walk down Walnut Street. Cross Lexington Avenue and climb the hill to Haywood Street. Directly in front of you is the Bier Garden. If a bottled beer is available in this area, the BG probably has it. Over 200 bottle selections are available along with almost thirty draft choices. The bottled beer list is particularly strong in German weissbiers and includes other selections not commonly available in this area. Adjacent space is occupied by pool tables and pinball. The front windows facing Haywood Street open up in warm weather, and a fireplace adds warmth and atmosphere on chilly evenings. The menu has recently been updated to include some more upscale offerings but still includes the pub burgers and appetizers for which the BG is famous. The brass nameplates on the bar recognize customers  who have consumed 125 different beer brands over a 12-month period.

The Bier Garden
46 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC  28801
(828) 285-0002

Jack of the Wood

Leave the Bier Garden by the same door you came in (there are several ways out of the building and you've been to six pubs by now. I don't want you getting lost this close to the finish). Turn right, following Haywood Street across Battery Park Avenue to College Street. Bear right on College and follow it to where it joins Patton Avenue and becomes two-way. On the right just past the traffic lights is  Jack of The Wood. Another Irish-themed pub, this one is about as authentic as it gets and features Celtic or bluegrass music many nights. The bar is completely smoke-free and offers a selection of theor own Green Man Ales on draft along with a choice of malt whiskies. Try the porter. Jack's used to be a brewpub but as the brewery has been relocated to a nearby location the pub technically no longer qualifies for the label though it is still the main outlet for the beers produced. The food is excellent and includes some traditional Irish choices like corned beef and cabbage and shepherds pie. Upstairs under the same ownership is the Laughing Seed, one of the finest vegetarian restaurants in the South (so good that your guide often eats there even though he's not a vegetarian).

Jack of the Wood Brew Pub
95 Patton Ave.
Asheville, NC  28801
(828) 252-5445