Atlanta Spring Break, Road trip

Scenery and Beer, but Missed Expectations

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Tuesday April 4, 2023

Road video and map

Today had great scenery, nice weather and beer but was just OK. For some reason Pigeon Forge was packed last night – I saw several motels displaying “No Vacancy” signs which seemed strange for a non-holiday Monday but the crowds were apparent today as I drove east into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There was significant congestion much of the way and it was impossible to find a parking spot at most of the overlooks. Although the weather was sunny it was nowhere near as enjoyable as yesterday’s drive in the rain.

The only scenic overlook where I was able to grab a photo was this view of a group of mountains called Chimney Tops. I was facing into the sun so the contrast is poor and the haze is exaggerated.

There was much less traffic on the North Carolina side of the park but, when I went to turn onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, I found a “Road Closed” sign and had to take a less scenic route to my next stop, Mingo Falls. The falls are on the lands of the US recognized Eastern Cherokee tribe. Tribe members are mainly descendants of the few hundred Cherokee natives who managed to avoid capture and removal in the 1800s and they were allowed to buy back a portion of their land from the US government.

There is a steep path to the falls which are 120 feet (67 m) high but it was well worth the effort.

My favorite nationally available craft beer in the US is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which is brewed in California but, in 2014, they opened an eastern brewery just south of Asheville, NC which is state-of-the-art in terms of brewing science, sustainability and resource conservation. They offer tours so that was my final stop of the day. The place is large but beautiful, unlike many craft breweries that are brewing in old sheds and offer tours as an afterthought or the giant breweries that look like industrial parks.

This is the hallway running alongside the fermentation tanks that can be seen in the background below.
All outdoor hard surfaces are porous to let rain water soak back into the ground and much of the energy they use is generated by solar panels on the roof and in the surrounding gardens.

The 45 minute tour was pretty standard – describing the raw ingredients, how each affects the final product, preparation of the wort, ales vs lagers, the importance of hops and the fermentation, filtering and bottling processes – ending with four, 2 ounce pours for tasting. They also offer 20 minute tastings up to a 3 hour “geek” tour.

The science and sustainability of each step was emphasized and the building is LEED Platinum (The highest rating of the US standard for classifying building energy efficiency, water usage, waste and indoor environment quality etc.). Although there were plenty of cars outside there seemed to be relatively few employees or visitors and the place seemed somewhat empty.

This is about one third of the packaging area and only 8 people were inside manually packaging bottles to make sampler boxes. The bottling plant was not running at all.

Many reviewers rave about the Tap Room and energy of their dining spaces but the main dining room is closed on Tuesdays and the huge Tap Room was almost empty while I was there. Since I already had some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the trunk of my car I did not indulge further at the brewery before driving to my hotel in Asheville. Cheers!

6 thoughts on “Scenery and Beer, but Missed Expectations”

  1. I love the sound of that waterfall! And Uday would have loved that brewery 😉

    Love,
    Kusum

    1. The brewery was very impressive but the waterfall was the most relaxing part of the day.

  2. Asheville is beer city. So many great breweries there. My fave is Wicked Weed. They have so many good restaurants too and downtown is very walkable.

    1. The brewing traditions of Asheville are legendary. Downtown looks good but I’m an scenery seeker so just one night.

  3. Also my favourite USA craft beer – unfortunately harder to find these days in Hertfordshire , even in bottles!

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