23 Buxton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
828-252-5502
E-mail: beerisgood@greenmanbrewery.com
Website: http://www.greenmanbrewery.com
Hours: Daily, 4 P.M.–9 P.M.
Tours: Part of Brews Cruise walking tour (brewscruise.com/inc/)
Owner: Dennis Thies
Brewmaster: John Stuart
Opened: 1997
Regular beer lineup: ESB, Pale, IPA, Porter
Seasonals: Rainmaker Double IPA, Easy Rider Summer Wheat, Oktoberfest, Stout, The Dweller
Green Man is Asheville’s second-oldest brewery, having opened just a couple years after Highland. The brewery has been through an enormous amount of change and today is beginning to see the same growth that much of the rest of Asheville’s brewing community enjoys.
For years, Green Man was part of Jack of the Wood, a downtown tavern and launch point for some of Asheville’s most successful breweries. Brewers from Jack of the Wood have gone on to work at—or start—French Broad Brewing Co., Lexington Avenue Brewery, and Wedge Brewing Company.
Green Man Brewery in Asheville PHOTO COURTESY OF MIA BAYLOR STRAUSS
In 2010, Green Man was bought by Dennis Thies, a beer industry veteran. Under Thies, Green Man found new independence from Jack of the Wood and has started expanding operations, though it still brews beer for the pub. In the time it took to re-license the brewery, Thies and the team at Green Man remodeled. They also worked through the entire beer lineup with Green Man’s original brewer, John Stuart, with an eye on quality and consistency, taking beers that were already great and fine-tuning them for excellence.
By the end of 2010, Thies had doubled Green Man’s capacity and opened its tasting room, Dirty Jack’s, which provides a relaxed atmosphere for enjoying Green Man beer and whatever soccer game is on television. He also started Next Generation Beer Company, an accompanying distributor that is in charge of getting Green Man beers—as well as a host of others from around the country—out on the market.
Future plans for Green Man include statewide distribution and packaging in both six-packs and 750-milliliter bottles.
Green Man Brewery growlers PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE BECKER