PODCAST: Can Asheville’s Growing N/A Movement Tap Into Its Craft Brewing Success?

Wanting to find out how Asheville’s leadership in craft beer extended into NA, a N/ATION road trip was in order.

Asheville, North Carolina. As one of our guests in this double (IPA) episode put it, tourists come to this town tucked into the Blue Ridge mountains for three reasons. One, to go for a hike in the beautiful, surrounding Pisgah Forest and Blue Ridge Parkway. Two, to tour the historic Biltmore Estate, built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, who in many ways kick-started tourism to the region. And lastly? They come for the beer. Craft beer, made by over 50 breweries that call the region home. Asheville is the town that beer built (well, maybe the Vanderbilts' sort of did, but you get my point).

So a town that loves its beer, with an existing bent toward health and wellness and being outdoors has to be a mecca for non-alcoholic beer, right? Well, that answer is a bit more complicated. On a personal note, with the city being just over a three-hour drive from our home base in Atlanta, we've been visiting Asheville for years to enjoy the many great hiking trails, as well as the breweries, of course. We wanted to come back to see what the N/A movement looked like here.

To kick things off, we headed straight for the River Arts District, home to the city's amazing local arts scene. It's also the location of the Southeast's first non-alcoholic bottle shop, NoLo, which initially opened its doors in 2021. The store is a little unorthodox, being located in an artisan marketplace called the Marquee, surrounded by art, jewelry, vintage clothing and more. The bottle shop is also unattended, with patrons able to pick up their selections and pay for them at any of the general cashier stands. 

NoLo was opened in 2021 by Jason Pedrick, with a curated selection of non-alcoholic spirits, wines, and of course, beer. As we walked around on a Saturday afternoon, the place was just buzzing. We walked through aisles of incredible artisan finds while music provided a perfect backdrop to the whole experience, with just a festive, chill vibe. Jason's store is in a great, high-traffic spot near the entrance, and offers chilled N/A bevs to drink and consume while you walk around, as does a separate small bar across the way that has both alcoholic and N/A options for on-premise consumption. 

What was interesting about NoLo is that other than when he's there on Fridays for restocks or sampling events, the store is unattended, meaning there's no one there to answer potential questions, or direct people on what to buy. You might think that non-alcoholic beverages are so new that people might not get it, but most people we observed seemed like they did. We saw people gesturing toward the selection, picking up a bottle or two to browse, with some making a purchase. It's perhaps a testament to how far the N/A movement has come already that a place like this can exist in this form, where people shop for N/A just like they would buying beer at the local convenience store. 

We sat down with Jason to find out how things were going, what role he sees his non-alcoholic store playing in the community for the long-term, and whether he thinks Asheville will eventually be a major player in the N/A beer space. “It’s been a very fulfilling journey for me to provide something purpose-driven to the community of Asheville,” said Jason. “We still have so much growth (ahead), and so many additional people still to reach.”

Next, we headed for the South Slope, the ancestral home of the Asheville brewery scene. We'd been excited to find out last year that Burial Beer was the first locally-based brewery to produce an N/A beer, and while bi-coastal Sierra Nevada recently launched its Trail Pass series, Burial is still the only local Asheville brewery to produce an N/A, and they typically have two available. Chaosmachine is their N/A IPA, which is available year-round, complemented by a rotating lighter offering, which at present is a tart Wheat Ale called Through The Prism of Favor.

After a quick tour of their new music space adjacent to the original brewery location called Eulogy, we had a chance to interview Doug Reiser, COO and Co-Founder of Burial. We wanted to get his thoughts on why they made brewing an N/A beer a priority, whether it's surprising no other local breweries have followed, and where he sees traditional brewers like Burial fitting into the N/A beer category for the long-term. “We try to have things here that speak to the craft, whether it’s barley and hops, or coffee, or something else that people can enjoy without it always being a beverage that’s intoxicating,” said Doug. “For us we wanted to have a couple of dedicated N/As on tap, and we haven’t regretted that decision at all.”

For full interview, see embedded episode above, or find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to listen.

And if you decide to head to Asheville on a non-alcoholic beer tour (which we highly encourage!), here are some of our recommendations to plan out your day:

NoLo - located inside The Marquee, 36 Foundy Street, Asheville, NC

The Southeast's first AF bottle shop, you can grab a few singles from their cooler and have some sips while checking out a lot of great art. Without the alcohol, you may not be as tempted to buy that sweet, vintage 80s leather jacket as you otherwise would've been.

Burial Beer - original location in South Slope, 40 Collier Avenue, Asheville, NC

Visit Burial's OG location in the famed South Slope, which is also where they brew their NA beers. Typically you'll find one each at both the front and back bars to maximize your experience.

Sierra Nevada - Mills River Taproom, 100 Sierra Nevada Way, Mills River, NC

Called 'Malt Disney' by some (P.S. Not by us), you can order NA beers from their Trail Pass series inside the taproom.

The Whale Collective - West Asheville, 507 Haywood Rd., Asheville, NC

Stop by this popular West Asheville beer bar with a nice rotating selection of NA beers in cans.

Eulogy @ Burial Beer - 10 Buxton Avenue, Asheville, NC

After an afternoon of NA day drinking, take in a music show at Asheville's hottest new music spot, where you can order Burial's NAs right from the bar.