OHIO CRAFT BREWERIES SUPPORT HURRICANE HELENE RELIEF EFFORTS

Asheville, North Carolina has been hailed as “Beer City USA” and boasts the highest breweries per capita among U.S. cities. Craft beer scions including New Belgium, Oskar Blues and Sierra Nevada have all set up production outposts and taprooms in and around Asheville. Beer lovers of all stripes have made the pilgrimage to sample brews and explore the dozens of breweries nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain town. Many of us in the Ohio craft beer realm have made that trek south and forged friendships with our Asheville beer brethren over the years based on our mutual love of beer and the collaborative nature of our industry.

It is nearly impossible to reconcile the images of the scenic tourist mountain town that so many of us know and love with the scenes of utter destruction caused by the flooding that accompanied Hurricane Helene. Thankfully, the nature of the craft brewing industry is to creatively collaborate in good times and seemingly impossible times. The intrepid leaders at the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild have marshalled resources for those in need and issued a call to action to all breweries at the ready in the form of a nationwide tap takeover dubbed “Pouring for Neighbors.”