150 Eastside Drive
Black Mountain, NC 28711
828-669-0190
E-mail: info@pisgahbrewing.com
Website: http://pisgahbrewing.com
Hours: Monday–Wednesday, 4 P.M.–9 P.M.; Thursday–Saturday, 2 P.M.–midnight; Sunday, 2 P.M.–9 P.M.
Tours: Saturday at 2 P.M. and 3 P.M.
Owner and brewmaster: Jason Caughman
Opened:2005
Regular beer lineup: Pisgah Pale Ale, Summer Ale, India Pale Ale, Pisgah Porter, Nitro Stout, Solstice
Seasonals: Schwarzbier, Roasted Chocolate Stout, Bacon Stout, Apple Jaxx, Vortex I, Valdez
Beers of the past: American Pilsner, Vortex II, Baptista, Hellbender Barleywine, LEAF Amber, Pisgah Equinox, Cosmos, Pisgah Pub Ale, San Francisco Lager, Pisgah Brown Ale, Irish Red Ale, Belgian Amber Ale, The Red Devil, Belgian Pale Ale, Abbey Ale, Reserve, German Pilsner, Saison, Pisgah Oktoberfest, Imperial IPA #1, Abbey, American Hefeweizen, Dancin’ Hobo, Pisgah Château
A sunset (and a beer) at Pisgah Brewing Company PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM WHITE
David Quinn and Jason Caughman, the founders of Pisgah Brewing Company, did not meet in business circumstances, but rather at a potluck dinner held by mutual friends in Charleston, South Carolina, where they were both living. As it happened, Quinn, a longtime brewer, had brought a keg of his pale ale to the party. The two quickly became friends. Soon, their complementary skills—Quinn’s homebrew and Caughman’s graphic design—led them to begin a business together. “It was a pretty typical entrepreneurial start,” says Caughman. “I always wanted my own business, and to do something a little different to flee the corporate world.”
The two found a small industrial space in Black Mountain. Theirs is a unique company that fits perfectly into the Asheville area’s ethos. Most of Pisgah’s beers are certified organic. “Occasionally, we’ll do something that isn’t certified but has all local honey or apples or something,” says Caughman. Even when it isn’t brewing organic, Pisgah still sticks to a strong commitment to buying as many of its supplies and ingredients as possible from local vendors.
Pisgah has also become known as a music venue, hosting local, regional, and national acts like Steel Pulse, Lucinda Williams, and Grace Potter at both indoor and outdoor stages. “The music just came about,” says Caughman. “I’m a music lover, so we just kind of went in that direction. We built a stage instead of buying more tanks.”
The bar at Pisgah Brewing Company PHOTO COURTESY OF Jim White
The brewery is noted for its constantly rotating selection of small-batch beers. At times, a dozen or more beers are on tap in the brewery that can’t be had anywhere else. “We’re pretty small, but we have a tremendous amount of local support,” says Caughman. “We have to continue to make new, exciting, different beers to stay engaged and stimulated. I think our customers appreciate being able to try 20 to 30 unique beers from us each year, too.”
For the uninitiated, Pisgah is not easy to find. It is located in a small warehouse in an industrial park. From the outside, it could be any other office space. Once inside, though, patrons see Pisgah’s true colors. Its brewhouse sits tucked inside its own separate room around the corner from the bar. The rough, black-box space with a short wooden bar is backed by more than two dozen taps. The short stage opposite the bar promises music to patrons on most nights. While seating is absent aside from stools at the bar, the taproom offers plenty of space for patrons to stand and hang out. Pisgah even has some outdoor seating for beautiful western North Carolina evenings.
