Beer Release Archives

January Beer Releases Announced

Hi-Wire Brewing will be releasing four beers in early January 2017 that span every section of their portfolio, including two new seasonals, a limited specialty beer, and a release from their Sour & Wild Ale program.

Kicking off the Lager Seasonal program for 2017, Enchanter Baltic Porter (8.5% ABV) will be replacing Twice As Nice Doppelbock the first week of January. Lagered for 8 weeks, this robust porter was created with historic traditions in mind. Brewed to withstand shipment across the North Sea, Baltic Porters have a long tradition of being big, chewy beers.The Enchanter draws from these roots by blending an abundance of dark malts with tannic dryness imparted by American White Oak.

For the second year in a row, Hi-Wire Brewing will be releasing Death Defying Spring Ale (6% ABV), but as a different style. In 2017, Death Defying is an Oatmeal Pale Ale that is easy drinking, hoppy, and smooth. Malted oats soften the satisfying bite of dank, piney, and tropical Eureka and El Dorado hops, creating the perfect beer to assist in your quest from winter to spring. Both Enchanter and Death Defying will see distribution throughout Hi-Wire’s entire footprint.

New from Hi-Wire this January is 10W-40 Imperial Stout, which is brewed with Coffee, Chocolate, and Vanilla (8% ABV). With notes of dark chocolate, fresh vanilla, and roasted coffee beans, this big decadent stout is full-bodied, sweet, and creamy with a smooth finish. From Asheville’s own French Broad Chocolates, the cocoa nibs are fresh and rounded out by milk sugar and Madagascar vanilla beans. Organic Dynamite Roasting Company coffee accentuates the cocoa and adds slight roast to balance out the vanilla in this dessert beer. 10W-40 will be available in 4-packs of 16 oz cans and will see limited distribution beginning January 6th.

Lastly, Hi-Wire Brewing will be selling their first foeder beer from their Sour & Wild Ale program with a bottle release Saturday, January 14 at 12pm at their South Slope brewery | 197 Hilliard Ave. The Foeder Brett Saison (6.5% ABV) is a fruity tart saison with an earthy brett character. Fermented and aged in a foeder for seven months, this beer is effervescent and drinkable with notes of stone fruit & white grape before finishing bone dry. This beer will see limited distribution and will be available on shelves beginning January 16.

Hi-Wire Brewing is able to offer a wide range of balanced and approachable lagers and ales, but remain innovative and experimental in the ever-changing craft beer market. Their line-up of January beer releases is a reflection of this, and they are proud to provide beers for everyone, from novice craft beer drinkers, to seasoned vets.

Hi-Wire Brewing Rolls Out Launch of Sour & Wild Ale Program

in Beer Release, Bottle Release

Asheville, NC – Hi-Wire Brewing will officially be rolling out its Sour & Wild Ale program Saturday, November 19, 2017 at 12:00pm at their South Slope Speciality Brewery with a bottle release of its two first sours, including a Sour Blonde Ale and Wild Rye IPA.

Over the course of the past year, Hi-Wire’s South Slope Specialty Brewery has fully transitioned from brewing a wide variety of one-time-release ales and lagers to brewing exclusively sour and wild beers. After one year of experimenting with limited releases from their Single Barrel Series and one-off batches of wild-ales, Hi-Wire Brewing is excited to announce the official release of its first two sours that will be hitting all four of the states they distribute in on Monday, November 21.

The Sour Blonde Ale (7.65% ABV) was aged in American oak red wine barrels before being bottle conditioned. It displays aromas of citrus rind and hay from brettanomyces with faint berry, pineapple, and oak. This classic American-style sour exhibits notes of bright acidic stone and tropical fruit, subtle brett funk with a clean, dry finish. Bottles will be $17.

The Wild Rye IPA (6.75%) is a lively, tropical India Pale Ale blending rye spice, dank mango, and pine notes from American hops, with the rustic character of house brett. Aged for 6 months before being bottle conditioned, this wild ale has a medium body that finishes with a soft bitterness and lasting notes of tropical fruit & funk. Bottles will be $13.

In conjunction with the release of the Sour & Wild Ale program, Hi-Wire Brewing has launched the RingMaster V.I.P. Beer Club, a year-long limited membership program that provides exclusive sour and wild ale beer releases to members. Membership is $200 and includes the following:

Receive five sour and wild ale releases per year, that are custom beers for RingMaster members. No other customers will have access to these beers. These special release beers are included with your VIP membership and there is no additional cost to get them. No shipping; all beers must be picked up from our South Slope Speciality Brewery (197 Hilliard Avenue).
RingMaster members are entitled to a barrel tasting of in-progress sour beers with our brewers once during the year.
15% off all Hi-Wire Brewing merchandise purchases in either taproom with membership ID card.
Free admission to any Hi-Wire event with membership ID card.
One-of-a-kind embroidered Hi-Wire Brewing t-shirt.
RingMaster members will receive one VIP member Teku glass.
The opportunity to purchase bottles and cans of ALL releases one day prior to the public release date.

More information and registration is available at hiwirebrewing.com/vip

About Hi-Wire Brewing Located in Asheville, NC, Hi-Wire Brewing is known for producing approachable and balanced lagers and ales, most notably Hi-Wire Lager, Bed of Nails Brown, and Hi-Pitch IPA. They have two locations in Asheville: the 27,000 square foot Big Top Production Brewery & Taproom located half a mile from the Biltmore Estate and the South Slope Specialty Brewery & Taproom located in the South Slope region of downtown. Hi-Wire was awarded the most medals at the 2014 NC Brewer’s Cup and was named Best New North Carolina Brewery of 2013 by RateBeer. Most recently, the Zirkusfest Oktoberfest Lager won gold at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival® in the German-Style Maerzen category. Their award-winning beers can be found on draft and in bottles across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Hi-Wire Brewing Reformulates Hi-Pitch IPA to Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA

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Hi-Wire Brewing has revamped their Hi-Pitch India Pale Ale, now calling it Hi-Pitch Mosaic India Pale Ale. Why, you ask?…access to better hops!

The young brewery, only in its third year of production, understands the importance of staying relevant in an ever-changing and competitive craft beer market. As drinkers palates change, so do breweries. Hi-Pitch started out featuring Zythos and Centennial hops, which is all Hi-Wire could obtain on contract when first starting out. With three years of continuous growth under their belts, they now have a much wider array of hop options to play with, which spurred the idea to reformulate their flagship IPA. The resulting product will please both old-school Hi-Pitch fans, as well as draw more hop-heads into the brand.

Hi-Pitch IPA, known for balancing a sturdy malt backbone with citrus-forward aromas and a lingering bitterness, now features Mosaic hops in place of Zythos. Timing of hop additions has also changed, with more emphasis on late additions and dry hopping to give Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA huge levels of hop flavor and aroma without adding large amounts of bitterness. A simplified malt bill was also created to let the hops shine.

Head brewer, Luke Holgate notes “We were very excited to get the quantity of this hop we needed to move it into production. Mosaic offers such a range of flavors and aromas that it lends itself to any hop forward brews. The dank, earthy, piney aroma gives way to a range of floral and fruity flavors. From stone fruit and more tropical tones to resinous pine, the range of Mosaic is what makes it so special. It creates a deep palate that morphs and develops throughout the pint.”

Not only was the beer redesigned, but so was the label and artwork. Drinkers will now notice a more vibrant and colorful label on the Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA. Don’t worry, the fan-favorite Hi-Pitch Hippo can still be found on the label. The last-ever Hi-Pitch IPA was brewed in early October. The new and improved Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA will be available to customers on draft and in six-packs in Hi-Wire’s entire distribution footprint starting this week.

Imperial Rye IPA Brewed with Lemongrass | Hop Circus Volume No. 4

in Beer Release

Hi-Wire Brewing’s Hop Circus Experimental IPA Series was created to push the boundaries of what has become to be expected from Hi-Wire, which is known for creating balanced and approachable ales and lagers. Each beer in this rotating series highlights a different combination of hops and malts to create one-of-a-kind IPAs.

Volume No. 4 of their Hop Circus Experimental IPA Series, an Imperial Rye IPA Brewed with Lemongrass (9% ABV), marries the subtle rustic effervescence of rye & bright candied-lemon citrus aroma from lemongrass with Citra, Mosaic, & Centennial hops to create a big, drinkable citrus forward IPA with a clean smooth finish. Hop Circus Vol No. 4 will be available mid September in 22 ounce bottles and on draught, seeing full distribution.

PINK DRINK is here!

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Back by popular demand, Hi-Wire Brewing will be canning Pink Drink (4.2%), an ultra crushable tart wheat ale with lemongrass & raspberries; simple, refreshing, & pink. A kettle sour with the perfect balance of raspberry fruit sweetness & fresh candied-lemon aroma from lemongrass. Think pink lemonade. Think happiness.

Originally developed as a one-off batch, Hi-Wire Brewing is thrilled to be canning this fan-favorite. To celebrate, Hi-Wire Brewing will be hosting a can release party at their South Slope Speciality Brewery, Friday, September 9th starting at 6pm. Cans will be available in 4-packs of 16 oz cans for $12. Wearing pink is highly encouraged. Pink Drink will see limited distribution and will hit shelves mid-September.

Hi-Wire Brewing Announces Fall Seasonal’s

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After three back-to-back months of heat and humidity, most folks are ready for cooler weather. With the fall season quickly approaching, new seasonal beers are here! Boasting full-bodied and malty flavors, Hi-Wire Brewing is excited to announce this year’s fall seasonals.

For the fourth year in a row, Hi-Wire Brewing has released its Lion Tamer Rye IPA (7% ABV). This popular seasonal is aggressively hopped with a blend of citrus-forward Citra and Amarillo hops. Ruby red in color, Lion Tamer’s citrus fruit flavors are rounded out by the unmistakable spice of bite and rye. You can find this beer in both of Hi-Wire’s taprooms, and is available in six-packs and on draught throughout their entire distribution footprint.

Also available in 6-packs and draught is the Zirkusfest Oktoberfest Lager (6% ABV). Scheduled to hit the shelves mid August, this traditional Märzen boasts all the flavors one wants in a rich Oktoberfest lager without the heavy finish. The use of Munich malt provides upfront biscuity and honey flavors that fade into a dry finish.

Finally, Hi-Wire is releasing a fall specialty beer on August 19th. Available in their taprooms and seeing limited distribution on draught and 22oz bottles is their Pumpkin Lager (6% ABV). This lager takes the traditional Vienna Lager to a new level. The malt bill in this beer attributes flavors of caramel and toasted hazelnut blended with pumpkin puree and a generous amount of fall spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice) to create a balanced malt-forward beer, perfect for cool weather. It is sure to be a fall favorite.

Whether your tastes buds lean towards a more traditional Oktoberfest, pumpkin and spices, or hops, Hi-Wire Brewing has the fall seasonal for you. So, get ready to grab your comfy sweater, stock-up your cooler, and get down on these fall favorites. They will not be around long.

Hi-Wire Announces First Can Releases

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Craving a cold beer while floating down your local river or at the summit of an awesome Appalachian hike? Well, Hi-Wire Brewing now says “can do.” Canning is on the horizon for Hi-Wire Brewing: Pushing their way into new markets, stretching all the way to the Carolina coasts, most of Tennessee, and parts of northeast Georgia.

Expanding rapidly over the past 3 years, Hi-Wire has no fear in testing new markets. Owners, Chris Frosaker and Adam Charnack have always dreamed of canning, but they wanted the time to be right. With consumers asking for more travelfriendly beers, and hot days approaching, the brewery was finally in a place to make canned Hi-Wire favorites a reality. Chris Frosaker notes, “Deep distribution in each market we are in is always our goal. Canning is a way to deliver our beer to a population of customers we are not currently reaching.”

“Deep distribution in each market we are in is always our goal. Canning is a way to deliver our beer to a population of customers we are not currently reaching”

Hi-Wire will be releasing their flagship Hi-Wire Lager, as well as a new, neverbefore released beer, Hi-Wire Gose. The Gose (4.2% ABV), which is brewed with Pink Himalayan Salt, is tart, supremely drinkable, and incredibly balanced with a complex fruit character. Crisp citrus and lemonlime from coriander marries with Hi-Wire’s house Lactobacillus strain, creating subtle notes of stone fruit and apricot in this hazy, sessionable sour wheat beer. The Hi-Wire Lager (4.6% ABV), one of their four flagship beers, is a true American lager that is as approachable as it is delicious, a perfect balance of light pilsner malt and German hops. Only released after reaching peak maturity, this lager is your handcrafted option when only a refreshing, light beer will do.

While Hi-Wire plans to continue using bottles as their primary method for packaging beer, they are excited to explore this first run of cans to see what consumers make of it. Additionally, they cannot ignore the pros of canning: sustainability, decreased shipping costs, and tapping into an untouched market. The first run of cans will be released at their Big Top Production Brewery, located at 2 Huntsman Place, on Saturday, June 4th with a crawfish boil. In addition, Hi-Wire will be selling cases of Gose and Lager cans for $30 for that day only. This official Asheville Beer Week event will declare that summer, the season of cans, has arrived. For more information, check out our events calendar.