Our next two stops on the Asheville brewery adventure were Lexington Ave Brewery (LAB), and One World. These two are both right in the center of downtown Asheville, and only a few blocks from one another.
We started at LAB, which had a few pretty unique brews alongside the staples. The Cartwheel stood out to me, as a hybrid Belgian/American pale ale. We also all split a few orders of their sliders… served medium rare topped with blue cheese bacon sauce and truffled fries (yes, on the sliders). They were a good accompaniment to the beers. The atmosphere was pretty trendy, with a huge, wavy bar that could seat quite a few people, and fermenters lit up in multiple colors behind giant windows as a backdrop.
One World Brewing was a little different, and would probably be hard to find if you didn’t know what you were looking for. The front door is tucked back in an alleyway behind a (really good looking) burger joint. Then you go down a few flights of stairs, and reach another door which is the actual entrance. It almost felt like that scene in beer fest… you know the one.
One World is what you’d call a nano-brewery, but they have a ton of fermentation space, which allows them the freedom and flexibility to offer a bunch of different styles. I went with a fantastic double IPA, which is almost certainly gone by now, but they had about 5 other IPAs on deck, so I’m sure there’s always a good one on.
I could see this kind of place being one of my regular spots. It’s got a great, dark bar feeling with darts and a version of shuffleboard in the back. The bar isn’t very big, maybe 7 seats, but that’s okay, there’s enough standing room. I really enjoyed this place, and highly recommend it. I’m jealous of locals who get to try all the new stuff that seems to regularly come out of this place.
