Visit & Tour New Belgium Brewery in Asheville On Your Next Road Trip!

Thanks to New Belgium for sponsoring our visit to your Asheville Brewery! All thoughts are my own.

Asheville's popularity for rising breweries has quickly been noticed in recent years as it's been named Beer City USA four times in the annual Beer City Poll. A unique and exciting history of craft beer has prompted various breweries to establish east coast locations in Asheville for various reasons. Whether it's the fresh mountain air and water or a revitalization and growth of certain areas around Asheville, many breweries now call this wonderful city home.

New Belgium Brewery is no different, calling Asheville home since 2016. This unique craft beer has existed since its inception in 1988, when its co-founders traveled to Belgium on a bike tour, and decided they wanted to bring craft beer back to their home in Fort Collins, CO.

I've traveled to the Fort Collins site, and it's very cool to tour, but I have to say, that I absolutely LOVED visiting New Belgium in Asheville. The entire grounds are amazing and it's obvious that the company has taken a lot of care in creating a special place along the French Broad River.

As many times as I've been to Asheville and have visited other breweries and craft beer locations, New Belgium was never on the list. When I had the opportunity during this trip, I took it!

My sister and I hopped onto the New Belgium 90 minute Classic Brewery Tour and were not disappointed.

This $20.00 tour highlights the unique and exciting history of New Belgium in general combined with the Asheville location history. Sitting on 18 acres of unique Asheville History, New Belgium made sure to work with the local community AND be environmentally conscious as much as possible.

Located right off the French Broad river, the site was once home to a circus performance, an auto salvage shop, and even once a stockyard. Using as many of the wood and steel tresses as much as possible and using brownfield remediation techniques, New Belgium was and still is committed to giving back to the community and being great stewards as much as possible.

The Classic tour highlights this history along with the inception and creation of New Belgium Brewery from the very start, with its original owners Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch. I have to say that our tour took way longer than 90 minutes on our Monday afternoon visit, but with such a small group of participants, we had loads of fun, asked questions, and were able to see some areas that larger groups are unable too because of sizing and accommodations.

It was quite fascinating to see a brewery in progress- and of course, having some fun tasting along the way! The tour's tasting selections highlight specific New Belgium classics along with some fun seasonal rotations, and we got to learn about the history of each type!

New Belgium has had IPA's, or India Pale Ale's, since its start but also has gained traction in recent years with a different Voodoo Ranger Line and most recently, Hard Juices & Seltzers. From discussing the concept of Sour IPA's to the more traditional Fat Tire, this unique tour takes your taste buds on a journey as you get to see production in process!

One of the very cool things about this tour was learning about New Belgium's methods to test all beer before and after it goes out to the public. This means that they are committed to quality control even after it's been out on shelves for several months! If something goes wrong, they have a cold storage container filled to return to and retest based on production date. For me, that is a plus, because that means they are committed to quality and committed to their customer loyalty. They take ownership if something goes wrong or isn't right, and will pull their beer off of consumer shelves rather than selling it knowing something is wrong.

Another wonderful thing we learned on this tour is the way the company takes care of its employees. As I stated above, New Belgium is committed to environmentally protective actions, but they are also committed to caring for those who work for them. Whether it's providing beer for them to take home or providing a 5-year anniversary trip to Belgium (to relive the experiences of the original founders), New Belgium is committed to helping and educating their employees so that they can grow and be passionate about New Belgium products!

Ok, so back to our 90-minute turned 2 hour tour highlights. The tour included:

Overview of the Asheville location and how New Belgium developed relationships with the community
Overview of New Belgium Asheville Production, including the way the grain is mixed with water to eventually create beer
The history of New Belgium, complete with how the founders developed craft beer
The testing line of New Belgium products, complete with taste tests, science, and other methods to make sure each production is on point!
Tasting 3 or 4 different kinds of beers along the way
Learning how the company takes care of their employees
Learning how New Belgium loves its customers too!
A fun slide to get from the upper to lower level that adds a bit of mysterious comedy to the tour!

After taking this tour (or before, if you so desire) be sure to hang out in the New Belgium Tap Room. The tap room provides a wonderful inside and outside venue for families of all ages to hang out. As with most breweries in Asheville, New Belgium is kid-friendly. The Classic Tour does allow kids but no tastings are provided to them, of course!

The Taproom has a lovely indoor area with long tables, a fabulous front bar area where courteous bar tenders are available to help you with selections if you have no clue what you want, and a wide and expansive outdoor area!

On the weekends, New Belgium offers musical selections so grab the entire family and head out for a night of fun!

There is no kitchen at New Belgium, but rather they partner with Asheville based food trucks to have food options on site every day from about noon to closing. Of course, you are welcome to bring your own food if the food truck selection isn't of your choice that day!

I didn't see any games out and about, but it was the middle of the day on a Monday. Never fear though, because there is a green way to walk alongside of, ride bikes, or just run around. Of course, you can bring your own toys for the kiddos to be occupied with, as there is a spacious green center surrounding by chairs and picnic tables.

If hanging out with friends is more your scene, grab a table under the covered awning for beautiful views of the French Broad River!

New Belgium is incredibly pet-friendly, as with most of Asheville. We met several 4 legged friends along the way and noticed that there are plentiful water bowls with fresh water available at all times. Indoors, be sure to purchase locally made dog treats for your 4 legged friends that are made with spent grain from the beer production!

Oh, yea- I forgot to mention that above! New Belgium also gives out their spent grain to local farms for pigs and cattle to feed off of. Don't worry, the animals don't taste the alcohol as it's basically been processed out by that point!

There are a ton of breweries in Asheville, but New Belgium's tour is unique and amazing! There are a few other tours available, like a behind the scenes and even a free option as well! This is a great place to spend some time along the French Broad River for a lazy afternoon of conversation, drinks, and fun! Or a great place to spend an evening out listening to local music!

Be sure to add New Belgium Brewery to your must-visit list when you head to Asheville for your summer or fall road trip. In fact, add October 7 to your calendar because they will be sponsoring the Tour de Fat this year! The Tour de Fat is a full day of bikes, beer, and bemusement at New Belgium Brewery! The day will be filled with a bike parade, live music, beer, and lots of fun!

If you are just hankering to visit the brewery without a big festival, New Belgium is open daily, minus a few exceptions noted on their website for holidays and special events.

Want it? Visit & Drink It!

Visit New Belgium at 21 Craven Street in Asheville, NC. Located off of the French Broad River, New Belgium has lots of parking available in their lots and on the street! Be sure to not park in their production lots as those areas are reserved for employees!

To book a tour at the Asheville location head here. Head inside the Taproom to check in, and the employees will direct you where to meet your guide! Most likely, this will be at the bicycle arches, but be sure to ask just in case!

For upcoming food truck and band schedules to complete your visit, head to the events section of the Asheville New Belgium website.

Find New Belgium in your local grocery, specialty craft beer store, or check out to see if shipping is available in your state!