French Broad Brewing Company

Great location. Pretty blue barn storefront, dedicated parking, pizzeria outpost on the side, BBQ & fancy food down the hill. Across the street from Hillman & Catawba. Big open warehouse that used to house an acrobatic theater troupe. They kicked them out once the OG tap room next door became too small. Many locals still resent them for this. Anyway, some scattered tables, random chairs of all sizes, bathrooms & swag to the left, bar to the right, stage by the door for projection & angst-y country music. It's almost never busy. 12 house taps, 3 guest taps that are usually 1 hard seltzer or soda & two ciders. Usually some small batch stuff from Urban Orchard or Botanist. This is why I come here. Most house beers are meh to okay. Very few new beers, if any. One beer a week is locked in for $3 pours. Scotch is doable, Kolsh is inoffensive. They fill growlers, but give you a hard time if it isn't 64oz, because that's what the computer charges. Math. Very barebones staff since covid. Sometimes just one bartender all alone. Pizzeria outside is a mixed blessing. Crust is wonky homemade stuff, but the toppings can be pretty good. Salad's aren't Greek, rolls are hearty. You can take them inside the warehouse. Ask for mucho fresh garlic on your pizza. Better this than another Starbucks.

Friendly and accommodating service. A small selection of taps, nice variety among them but average in quality. Overall a nice spot worth visiting.

Another brewery in Asheville worth checking out. The staff is awesome and the beer selection is solid. No food, but come on through anyway; you won’t be disappointed, and the Catawba Valley Taproom is a short walking distance away.

I remembered French Broad from a previous visit as a small brewery with an even smaller bar and a tiny space in front of the fermenters where a band had set up. It didn’t appear to have changed much although the glitter ball may be a new addition. It’s a very friendly place with a good atmosphere - well worth a visit. (Last visited 7 February 2014 on the RBWG bus tour).

> Lower quality, drab tasting room with forgettable beer

>> Another hidden local tasting room with small stage for music gigs- like a mini Pisgah setup. Cramped interior with small bar and few seats. Tap list was smaller, about 8 or so house beers. Quality of these was fairly low- all were quite watery and papery. Staff was friendly. Tasting room is open to the brewhouse. Decor is sort of falling apart, drab. Prices here were insanely low though, like $3 pints.

One of the smaller taprooms in Asheville. A couple of tables near a small bar. 8 beers available during our visit (samper tray offered). Beers were pretty decent. A nice small taproom worth checking out.

Visited during RBWG 2014. A smaller area just cordoned off from the rest of the brewery. There were 8 beers available on our visit and you could have a sampler. Brewer was around to talk beer and staff was helpful. Prices were great and enjoyed the visit overall.

French Broad is in Biltmore Village, a little outside of downtown Asheville. There’s a little wood-paneled tasting room in an aluminum shell building, with a patio outside the front door. It’s not much, but it’s cozy and friendly. I think there were 8 or so house taps when we visited, and the service was super friendly. There’s a little stage off to the side for bands. The beer is decent. No food for purchase, but plenty of food places nearby. Good place, worth a visit.

Stopped in during the RBWG and was quite happy to find some of the folks there are from very near to where I am from. They welcomed our group with open arms and that was very much appreciated. Great customer relations! This brewery has the most beautiful tanks I have ever seen. They are not a big facility at all but do those tanks are quite large. A small tasting area from which I got a nice barleywine. They bottle their beer and I bought a couple of everything they had. Their preferred style seems to be classic English varieties. Their beers have been quite tasty. On my next trip to Asheville this brewery will definitely be on my to-do list.

Visited during RBWG 2014. Nice small tasting room, a few tables facing the brewery. A disco ball above the tanks! Friendly service and good beer.