Innovation Brewery is brewing up some community fun

Innovation Brewery invites the whole community to come eat, drink, throw axes, and play at their 10-year anniversary party at Bridge Park in Sylva from noon to 6 p.m. on Sept. 16. Innovation’s marketing director Skylar Ballew said the brewery wants the celebration to be accessible to the entire local community as well as those […]

What’s brewing on WCU’s campus?

Western Carolina students are crafting happy hour into the hoppy semester with the evaluation and experimentation of homebrewing in class. Sean O’Connell, microbiology professor and mentor at WCU for 21 years, is teaching students the process of crafting their own beers, ales, malts, and more. Students were put to the test by crafting their own […]

Nantahala joins Sylva’s craft beer scene

Originally published in The Sylva Herald by Gavin Stewart. Jackson County residents were abuzz on Facebook after finding out the brewery that makes some of their favorite beers, such as Dirty Girl Blonde and Bryson City Brown, plans to open a taproom and brewery in downtown Sylva this year. Joe Rowland, owner of Nantahala Brewing […]

Blackrock Outdoor Company settles in at WCU

Article co-written with Haley Smith Blackrock Outdoor Company is a locally owned and operated outdoor gear shop well-known for it’s location in downtown Sylva. The thriving business opened its second location in WCU’s Noble Hall on Feb. 27 and it has sparked the interest of many students and faculty. The addition of the store along with Subway, […]

Local brew means big business in WNC

Brewing business is seeing a boom in industry, especially in the area of Western North Carolina. Twenty years ago, it was merely a hiccup in the draft market and today, according to The Asheville Citizen Times, it is a multi-million dollar business. The NC Brewers Guild estimates that there are around 100 breweries and brewpubs — […]

Sylva Heinzelmannchen Brewery turns nine

by Randy Conn and Kathleen Kiser Heinzelmannchen Brewery turned it’s ninth birthday on Saturday and for that occasion they provided a dry and tasty place during the rainy Greening Up the Mountains 2013 Festival in Sylva. See the video story we’ve prepared and read some more information about it’s owner and the brew he makes. […]