Took a nice weekend trip to the Western North Carolina Mountains this weekend. This is an annual trip that we have been making with the in-laws for as long as I have known them and it introduces some interesting challeges for the beer drinker. We stay in Sapphire Valley which is located just east of Cashiers, NC. Beautiful country that has one problem, it is a dry county. No beer, no wine, and no liquor. In the past the only was to get beer was to buy it from one of the members only bars (which we are a member of) and pay way too much or drive almost an hour to some other county that does sell beer. Well this trip added a new option. On our drive up I noticed signs for the Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company. I thought this was odd with the whole dry county thing. Turns out the Restaurant is located just up the hill from where we were staying, it is at the Sapphire Mountain golf course. We decided to give it a shoot Saturday afternoon, see what they had on draft and watch a little basketball. It is a great looking place, plenty of seating (there was a nice deck over looking part of the golf course and has an amazing mountain vista but it was a bit cool to sit outside), the bar is beautiful. They had 10 micros on tap, no macro brews here (WooHooo! Yes you could get a Miller Lite in a bottle or to go but it really wasn't advertised). A good selection: Dogfish 90, Bells Two Hearted Ale, Rouge Dead Guy, A house Amber, A house Pilsner, Thomas Creek Deep Water Dopplebock, Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning, Magic Hat #9 and 2 others that I can't think of. The house beers where brewed by Thomas Creek in Greenville, SC and where both very good. The amber ale was especially great. I also tried the Bells Two Hearted Ale (Now #2 on my list of breweries who I wish would sell beer in GA) and the Thomas Creek Dopplebock. They also had a great selection of crafts in bottles. Heck they had North Coast Old Stock on sale for $4 (it was left over from a beer dinner they had hosted) a bottle! Had a great time talking to a few of the regulars and to the bar tenders. There where probably close to 15-20 folks in the bar, which I guess is pretty good for the off-season. I hope the place does well and is around next time I am in the area. Food looked great although we didn't order anything. They also offered to-go beer and wine. The prices where very fair, a bit more than here in Atlanta but I would expect that. Picked out a 6er of the Bells Two Hearted to take home. Glad to see more and more places popping up and supporting the American Craft Beer industry. Anyway, if you are in the Cashiers/Highlands, NC area and want to visit a great beer bar with some great food give Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company a try, you will not be disappointed that you stopped.
Happy Drinking!
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