Discover the essential craft beers that have put Asheville on the map as Beer City USA. From Hillman Beer’s award-winning ESB to other local favorites, this guide showcases the must-try brews during your next Asheville beer tour.
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Asheville’s Most Iconic Craft Beers: 10 Must-Try Brews on Your Beer City Tour

Asheville has earned its reputation as “Beer City USA” through years of brewing innovation and excellence. With more breweries per capita than almost anywhere else in the country, the city offers an incredible variety of craft beers to sample. Whether you’re a dedicated beer enthusiast or just beginning to explore craft brewing, these 10 iconic Asheville beers represent the best of what our thriving beer scene has to offer. From award-winning classics to innovative new creations, these brews showcase why Asheville has become a pilgrimage destination for beer lovers nationwide.

Asheville’s Must-Try Craft Beers

1. Hillman Beer ESB (Extra Special Bitter)

We’d be remiss not to start with Hillman Beer’s award-winning ESB, which captured Silver at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival and followed it with Gold in 2019. This perfectly balanced British-style ale offers notes of caramel and biscuit with a subtle hop character that makes it both approachable and complex. Even if you don’t typically gravitate toward bitter beers, this expertly crafted brew showcases why traditional European styles, when executed with precision, can be truly exceptional.

2. Hillman Beer Four Fat Baby (Belgian Quad)

Another award-winner from our brewery, Four Fat Baby earned Bronze at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival. This Belgian Quadrupel delivers rich flavors of dark fruits, caramel, and subtle spice with a warming finish that belies its considerable strength. It’s a perfect example of Hillman’s brewing philosophy: creating approachable, well-balanced beers that honor traditional styles while remaining distinctly drinkable.

3. Highland Gaelic Ale

No Asheville beer tour would be complete without Highland Brewing’s flagship amber ale. As Asheville’s first craft brewery, Highland helped pioneer the city’s beer movement, and their Gaelic Ale represents the perfect balance of malt sweetness and hop character that has appealed to beer drinkers for decades.

4. Green Man ESB

Another excellent example of the English-style bitter, Green Man’s ESB has been a staple of Asheville’s beer scene since the brewery’s founding in 1997. With its copper color and perfect balance between malt and hops, it’s a classic that demonstrates why traditional styles endure.

5. Burial Surf Wax IPA

For hop lovers, Burial’s Surf Wax represents Asheville’s ability to master modern American craft styles. This IPA features bright tropical fruit notes with a resinous pine character and clean finish that keeps it refreshing despite its bold hop profile.

6. Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA

Another standout in the IPA category, Pernicious has won multiple awards for its perfect execution of the American IPA style. With prominent citrus and tropical fruit notes balanced against a solid malt backbone, it demonstrates why Wicked Weed gained national attention.

7. Hi-Wire Lager

Sometimes the simplest beers are the most difficult to perfect. Hi-Wire’s flagship lager proves that Asheville brewers excel not just at bold flavors but also at clean, crisp styles that showcase technical brewing skill and attention to detail.

8. Bhramari Molly’s Lips

This blackberry gose represents Asheville’s innovative side, blending traditional sour brewing techniques with local ingredients. The combination of tart blackberries with the style’s characteristic saltiness creates a refreshing, complex beer that’s perfect for summer.

9. Zillicoah River Beer Kellerbier

Showcasing Asheville’s growing appreciation for traditional German styles, this unfiltered lager offers bready malt flavors with subtle noble hop character in a supremely drinkable package that demonstrates brewing restraint and technical expertise.

10. Hillman Beer IPA

Rounding out our list is Hillman’s take on America’s favorite craft style. Rather than pushing the boundaries with extreme bitterness or experimental hops, our IPA embodies our brewing philosophy: balanced, approachable, and crafted with integrity. Featuring classic American hop varieties that provide notes of pine and citrus without overwhelming the palate, it’s a beer that invites you to have another – the highest compliment any brewer can receive.

Experience Asheville’s Beer Culture at Hillman

After exploring Asheville’s incredible beer landscape, we invite you to join us at either our original Asheville taproom near Historic Biltmore Village or our spacious Old Fort location. Both venues offer the perfect setting to enjoy our award-winning beers alongside our elevated pub food made with locally-sourced ingredients. Our family-owned brewery was founded on bringing the traditional pub experience back to craft beer – creating spaces where quality, service, comfort, and community come together.

We’ve saved a seat for you at our table. Come taste the beers that have helped put Asheville on the map as America’s Beer City, and discover why Hillman Beer has become a beloved part of Western North Carolina’s craft brewing tradition.