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A&E
Smoky Mountain News
Hop, tip and a pump away
Haywood welcomes a burgeoning brewery scene
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER It’s noon on a Wednesday and Scott Peterson already has beer on the mind. Brewmaster at the Tipping Point in downtown Waynesville, Peterson wanders behind the bar, down a narrow staircase and through a cool corridor to his basement laboratory. A mad scientist of sorts, he moves around the small space like a man with 10 hands and 10 legs, always checking temperatures, water levels, cleanliness and most all, the magic process coagulating within the large barrels he constantly mixes like a mysterious cauldron. “People just think you sit here with a beaker and measure stuff, but you’ve got to be hands on,” he said, shoveling grain into a wheelbarrow. “You just keep your eye on everything and react to it. It’s a lot of hard work, sometimes seven days a week.” Peterson is one piece of a rapidly growing machine in the newly formed Waynesville microbrew scene. Alongside Tipping Point Brewing, Frog Level Brewing and Headwaters Brewing have all opened in the past year, striking while the iron is hot in an industry with seemingly no ceiling of potential. As nearby Asheville is continually voted “Beer City USA,” it seems Western North Carolina has become a hub for beer connoisseurs and the curious alike. More than a dozen breweries (with 50plus different beers made) and innumerable niche bars dot the cosmopolitan city. Microbrew giants Sierra Nevada and New Belgium are both eager to break ground in the area, with enormous breweries planned that will not only accelerate the already-bustling scene but also provide hundreds of jobs and a well-needed shot in the arm for the regional economy. The same could be said for the burgeoning brewery scene in Waynesville. The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce recently touted the launch of Waynesville’s three new microbreweries as a symbol of its healthy business climate and the role of industrious entrepreneurs in growing the local economy. “People think that it’s a bar scene here, and it’s not. Microbreweries are an affordable luxury. We’re not a party crowd,” said owner/brewmaster Kevin Sandefur of Headwaters. “In reality, it’s a form of manufacturing we’re bringing back to the county, with breweries in North Carolina being one of the fastest growing, job creating scenes.” While the culinary and nightlife culture of Haywood County evolves and strengthens, Waynesville resident and microbrew aficionado Greg Kidd thinks the small town can grab a piece of the Western North Carolina brewery attention for itself, a deserving piece of respect that’s proving itself each day. “Though Asheville gets all the recognition,
Brewmasters (from left) Taylor Rogers and Clark Williams (owner) of Frog Level Brewing stand in front of their equipment. They’re now on a three-barrel system, producing around 80 gallons during their four days of brewing a week, which can last upwards of eight hours a session. Garret K. Woodward photo now that Waynesville has three breweries, we just might have more brewers per capita than they do in the city,” he said. Homebrewing for more than 30 years, Kidd said the fascination with a do-it-yourself method came from the simple fact that years ago you couldn’t find craft beers at your corner store and instead were stuck with mass-produced American pilsners, which were sometimes weak or basic in taste. “What’s so great about these breweries is they abandoned the old model of making American beer,” Kidd said. “Nowadays, brewers have developed a completely American style of craft beer, which has sophisticated the palate of this country significantly.”
Ultimately, Frog Level Brewing was first out of the gate. Clark Williams, owner/co-brewmaster of Frog Level, called craft beer a “good drive.” “If I can grow a successful business and at the same time bring others here who would normally not come here, who will then enjoy and experience our culinary scene, our mountains, our artwork and museums, then that’s great,” he said. Viewing the art of brewing as a way to connect all other aspects of touring in Haywood County, Jon Bowman, co-owner/manager of the Tipping Point, feels the more the merrier for breweries in Western North Carolina. “This area is already a tourist destination, and these breweries give them one more thing to do while they’re here. Hike all day, bike all day, float the river then go check out the breweries,” he “The beauty of food and drink is it’s said. “At some point, we’ll bottle our beer to subjective. As Waynesville becomes more be distributed around recognized for its food and drink, maybe the area, the South and the country. more restaurateurs will recognize this town maybe The great thing is it will always say as a great opportunity for investment.” ‘Waynesville, North — Greg Kidd, Waynesville resident Carolina.’” Despite all of the The sudden explosion of the microbrew scene noise and excitement echoing out Asheville’s in Waynesville is impressive — from zero to three microbrew scene, those in Waynesville look to crebreweries in a single year span. Leading up to their ate their own buzz, something that will stand on launch, all three were working simultaneously to its own and ultimately link into the future of brewget their operations up and running: honing their ing and backwoods tradition in the Appalachians. recipes, dialing in a business plan, finding a locaWatching the beer landscape unfold in his tion, creating their brand and applying for the own community, Kidd said he’d be surprised if myriad permits needed to mass produce alcoholic Waynesville could support more breweries, but is beverages. optimistic because in a game of survival of the
fittest, only the best beers will prevail. “The beauty of food and drink is it’s subjective,” he added. “As Waynesville becomes more recognized for its food and drink, maybe more restaurateurs will recognize this town as a great opportunity for investment.” Though the national attention is aimed at Asheville, Bowman looks to establish Waynesville as a destination for quality beer. On a recent trip to the northwest, he pulled inspiration from the high density of breweries in Oregon and beyond, learning to pay attention to detail, freshness and have a keen sense of what the consumer wants. “I’m picking up that Haywood County has people here that appreciate craft beer. You might not think that, but there is a population of that, and the tourists definitely seek out craft beer,” Bowman said. “We’re getting people from Asheville trying our beers, just like we go over there and try their beers. They like it, and we’ve gotten some great feedback.” Reflecting on his own heritage growing up and residing in Haywood County, Williams feels these up-and-coming breweries will be a catalyst for the culture and tradition unique to the Great Smoky Mountains. “I think that heritage mentality goes from the tobacco grower to the moonshiner, being proud of something and making a product to support their families,” he said. “I like that Bryson City can claim they have a brewery; Sylva can claim one; Waynesville can claim they have three. It’s almost retrograding back to the days when every town had a brewery.” And with the bottom line being camaraderie in this industry of friendly competition, vast exploration and discovery, Williams feels there’s more than enough room for three breweries in Waynesville, a notion that could spur on future businesses to open up shop in town. “I want everybody who comes to Haywood County to try all the breweries, pick a favorite and support them. Try us all, like us all,” he said. “Amongst the breweries, there is camaraderie, and we also want that from those who drink our beer. Enjoy the Smoky Mountains. Buy and consume what this county has to offer.”
Tipping Point Brewing
190 North Main Street www.TippingPointTavern.com Steam and the smell of mash fill the basement at the Tipping Point. With sweat rolling down his forehead, brewmaster Scott Peterson is exhausted from another cycle of brewing, which today was an autumn harvest ale in celebration of the upcoming season. But, a smile remains on his face. “I like the respect that goes along with brewing,” he said. “People don’t really know how to do it, and it’s great showing them around and how things work.” Training from the ground up in Colorado, Peterson was 25 when he started washing kegs, working in the cooler, eventually moving up to brewmaster. As the beginning of the microbrew scene exploded in the Rocky Mountains during the 1990s, he was on the ground floor of a new era in American beer.