I'm envious of all you west coast guys ... I'm sure the general level of microbrews available in a place like Seattle or Portland is pretty amazing.
Asheville has developed a pretty solid beer scene over the last decade.
Highland
Brewery is the oldest in town, since 1994. Their Gaelic Ale is a robust amber ale that is a standby in Asheville bars and restaurants. It's yummy, but a little heavier than I usually like my ales. My favorite of theirs is the St. Teresa's Pale Ale, a tasty hoppy mouthful. Honestly I can say that every one of
their beers is quite good, including their Oatmeal Porter and Mocha Stout.
Highland got their start in the basement of
Barley's in downtown Asheville. Barley's has good pizza, a fantastic beer selection, and pool and darts upstairs.
Green Man was the second brewery in Asheville. They opened their doors with the opening of Jack of the Wood, a recommended brew-pub with traditional Irish/English pub vibe, good music on weekend nights that showcases Western NC's burgeoning Celtic / Bluegrass / Ragtime scene. Green Man Ales are also on tap at Dirty Jacks, which is a small pub in the front of their brewery on Buxton downtown. Very cool scene and vibe there. Green Man often has cask ales available which are highly praised.
I always at least like Green Man Ales, but they are a little uneven at times, so they've dropped to the bottom of my local rankings.
Two more breweries challenge Highland for top dog spot. French Broad
Brewery is probably my personal favorite. Their Goldenrod Pilsner is a perfect summer beer, light, but crisp and refreshing. Only occasional dips in quality keep it from taking my favorite local brew ranking away from St. Teresa's. Their Wee Heavy and related Wee Heavy-er are fantastic Scotch lowland ales that are perfect in the winter, and they have a solid IPA as well.
Other's, whose opinions I respect, rate
Asheville Pizza and Brewery as the best. APB evolved from the Two Moons Brewery, which an aquaintance of mine opened up in the mid-late 90s in an old movie duplex. $1 movies and tasty beer made the place an instant hit, but being underfunded and underorganized meant that their time was limited. They were bought out by then Asheville Pizza Company, which has now opened another downtown location. Good grub, $2 second run movies, and delicious beer make the North Asheville original location an ongoing hit with the locals.
Their beers are consistent and delicious. I'd say their specialty are their hoppy pale ales, including IPA, ESB, and other variants.
If you are looking for a weekend beer oriented getaway, Asheville in the fall for the
Brewgrass Festival is a good pick. All the local breweries usually participate, as well as regional, national, and international entries. It's great just for the beer, but if you appreciate bluegrass music, then it's quite fabulous.