A great brewery with great beers. They were installing 2 new fermenters when we were there so not much to see on tour. The tasting room concert hall looked great for a large group.

Visited in July, for the free tour and tastings afterwards. The waiting area is very large and clearly setup for large crowds. Wish we could have seen the bottling line in action, but no dice. They have a room with a where they make small batches so their folks can experiment and play, which I thought was cool. One of the few breweries I’ve been to that gives out free swag at the end of the tour to discourage folks taking ’souvenirs’. They also have a selection of merchandise, if you are so inclined.

Sort of out of the way to get too, but cool once you do. They have a huge stage which looks great for concerts. The beer was pretty good, but I didn’t like that you couldn’t get a flight/taster of whatever you wanted, just a select 3 or 4 plus 1 seasonal.

Cavernous place with the largest ceiling fan I have ever seen in my life. Huge outdoor patio. They had some sort of festival going on when we were there. Beers were nothing special.

Took the brewery tour during the week which is free and gives you five free samples of their year round beers. The tour guide was certainly enthusiastic. The space is located in a warehouse, watch out for the guard shack or you’ll miss it, which also includes a tap room/ music venue. You certainly have to admire Highland’s commitment to the environment from their use of corn plastic cups to using re-purposed storage containers as offices. We even got to see Oscar Wong during our visit.

Totally taken aback with this place. Of course they serve their beers. 6 on tap this past Friday. Ran out of one but plenty to choose from. Big open room with picnic table settings and a band playing. Rawesome tunes and beer. There was a food booth there not sure if part of highland or not so not rating it. But next time back in asheville will be going back.

I was there early in the day, but I could see it being a really cool place at night. The problem with selection was that they had about 7 brews on and 3 were porters. I had an IPA, which was good.

These guys have a wonderful tap room. Free live music indoors during the cold months and in a big open field out back during the warmer months. Always have 1 or 2 brewer reserve beers on tap that are a step up from their regular beers (which I think are pretty disappointing, how can one not make a quality IPA?). Super friendly staff.

October 2011. This is a cavernous, crowd-favoring place off the beaten path. With live music on the weekend, it seems this place fills up, too. With good beers and lots of free shwag, why not drop in here!? As the original place in Asheville, you should feel obliged! (#561)

It’s safe to say that Asheville wouldn’t be the beer mecca it is if not for the pioneer spirit of Highland Brewing Company owner/founder Oscar Wong. The brewery which began in 1994 has expanded its brand and is available in seven states. You can tour the brewery and sample beers like Gaelic Ale, Kashmir IPA and the seasonal offerings in the new tasting room which is open Thursday - Saturday with food and music available Friday and Saturday. The atmosphere is very laid-back so grab a seat at one of the indoor picnic tables under the giant fan and enjoy beers from Asheville’s oldest brewery.