Archive for category: General

Plans are currently in the works for West Jefferson to be home to a brewery by the end of the year. Frasers Restaurant and Pub is now under new ownership and will soon become Boondocks Brewing Tap Room and Restaurant. New owner Gary Brown hails from Rocky Mount but has owned a home in Creston since the early 1990s. Brown’s vision is to bring a high-quality brewery/brewpub to the Ashe County area, according to Brown’s website. Over the next couple of months, Frasers will continue restaurant and pub operations as it makes the change to Boondocks Cannon said he and Brown are also looking to incorporate local ingredients to the menu, in addition to brewing unique, high-quality beers using North Carolina-grown natural ingredients. According to its website, the new brewery’s plans are to be able to accommodate upwards of 50 taps. They plan to set aside no less than 10 taps for N.C. brewed beers and three to five taps to be used by aspiring brewers, to include home brewers. Other tentative plans include a taproom in the large dining room, an outside patio area, bike parking and a pet-friendly area. The new name and logo will be unveiled soon, while the other changes will be gradual, with the full-scale launch aimed at spring 2013.

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Sugar Mountain Resort’s SugarBrew is just around the corner. The summer, mountain festival begins at 11 am and winds down at 6 pm on Saturday, August 4th. General admission and parking are free. The main attraction will be the sampling of domestic craft and import beers from local favorites to famous foreigners. Some of the beers you’ll find on tap include Sweetwater Brewing from Atlanta, GA, Olde Hickory Brewery just down the road in Hickory, NC, Kind Beers from Charlotte, NC, French Broad Brewing and Highland Brewing Company from Asheville, NC, Thomas Creek Brewery from Greenville, SC, Abita Brewing from Abita Springs, LA and Front Street Brewery from Wilmington, NC. Franziskaner Weissbier comes all the way from Munich, Germany and Staropramen Lager comes from Prague, Czechoslovakia. A few Yankee brews like Brooklyn Brewery from Brooklyn, New York, Sam Adams from Boston, MA, Southern Tier from Lakewood, NY, Narragansett Beer from Providence, RI and Blue Point Brewing Company from Long Island, New York will make their way South for the first annual SugarBrew. Of course, local brewer Blowing Rock Ale will be on tap and the resort will be proud to be the stage for local company Blind Squirrel Brewery as they launch their brand new brews. That’s not all. For a complete list of breweries please visit www.sugarbrew.com/breweries.

Grandfather Mountain offers one of the most beautiful scenic trails in Western NC. It has a couple of trails that can reach about 1000 feet over the mile high swinging bridge. If you like a long hike and still take you to the top of Grandfather Mountain you can take the profile trail. The profile trail starts off the road at NC 105. The trail length is 3.1 miles long, It starts with rolling pathway through seasonal wildflowers then crosses the Watauga river, the lower part is considered fairly easy. The Upper part of the trail gets steeper but with rest stops with stone and log benches on the way up, the trail is strenuous but comes with a great price with the wonderful views. The profile trail ends when you arrive at the Calloway gap trail. At the top of Calloway gap there is two different ways to get to the very top of the mountain. These trails can have hard obstacles to overcome to get to the top. For example there are 4 or 5 different ladders and cables to climb sheer cliff faces. You do have to pay a hiking fee if you plan on going to the very top, but if you just want to hike the profile trail then hike down there is no fee. If you have not experienced these trails and you love the outdoors then you need to give Grandfather Mountain a visit.