The Asheville Brewers Alliance is a collective of local brewers and other like-minded businesses and organizations celebrating the area’s industry of craft breweries.

Karis Roberts, the newest Executive Director of the alliance, said that in this role, she helps with planning events, hosting member socials, coordinating educational seminars, and facilitating collaboration amongst the ABA members.

Actively working as a bartender with two member companies, Roberts said that her schedule allows flexibility for the many ways she stays active with the alliance as well as her community, and that the ABA has a huge potential to embark on more philanthropic opportunities in Asheville.

“The Asheville Brewers Alliance is trying to understand new ways of bringing beer into communities through philanthropy and education,” Roberts said. “We work to host events that promote diversity and inclusion as well as supporting community outreach programs and community volunteer opportunities.”

With 119 members across a variety of industries, the ABA consists of members from surrounding communities including Hendersonville, Waynesville, and Brevard. Even Crosby Hops, a hop distributor in Oregon, is a member because many local brewers source their hops from that business.

Roberts said that some benefits of ABA membership include website highlights, help with networking, and industry education. Other opportunities include engaging with other members for troubleshooting and making more connections, fine tuning processes, and creating dialogue with others in the industry on a casual, comfortable level.

“It can be very easy and enticing to reach out to other members,” Roberts said. “There are a lot of collaborative efforts happening here.”

Partnerships, according to Roberts, occur not only between brewers like Devil’s Foot and DSSOLVR, but also between brewers and area fundraisers and events that attract visitors and bring more awareness to WNC. 

She said such events include:

• Highlands Brewing hosted the Aleblazers Beer Festival, a fundraiser for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in March that featured more than 25 of NC’s craft breweries. 

• Asheville Beer Week, scheduled for May 19-27, will consist of a wide variety of breweries, activities, and locations in various communities in and around Asheville, bringing locals and visitors alike closer to the creative brewing culture that the area is known for.

• The Whale is organizing The Whale Invitational, a beer festival hosted at The Mule in June featuring more than 50 breweries, musicians, and other local vendors. 

• New Belgium is hosting WTF Fest, or Women to the Front Fest, in June, featuring live music by female musicians, female-owned business vendors, and opportunities for businesses that support women.

• Wicked Weed is hosting AVLFest in August, an inaugural venue-based music festival which will bring music artists and visitors to Asheville over a four-day period. Ticket sales will benefit local nonprofit partners including Black Wall Street, Campaign for Southern Equality, Homeward Bound, and RiverLink.

“Now that some other brew festivals are gone from the area, these are very enticing for Asheville tourism,” Roberts said. “Locally generating so much revenue and bringing in tourists that will spend money with restaurants, vendors, and hotels, each of these help to stimulate the area’s economy in a big way.”

The ABA also helps to spread awareness of WNC’s craft breweries in ways like transporting some of the area’s beers to the annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO, according to Roberts. She said that the Alliance also works with the NC Brewers Guild and helps with legislative initiatives and bills, bringing that information back to the area’s members, and discussing what opportunities are available to address any issues that may arise.

Roberts said that in working with many area brewers, she is noticing some interesting trends in the industry. She said that while there are downsizing trends for smaller businesses due to rising costs, larger numbers of people are visiting tap rooms. She said that many breweries are more conscious of and using more recreational outdoor spaces, companies are increasing inclusivity with BIPOC and LBGTQ communities and more women in positions of power, and many are moving towards an increase in sustainability efforts.

“There are also member companies focused and working on sustainability projects,” Roberts said. “Wicked Weed is changing the game on how we think about recycling, as they are the first craft brewery to add How2Recycle labeling on their cans. Highland Brewing has the 22nd largest brewery solar array in the world. Sierra Nevada built the first LEED Platinum Production brewery in the United States. ExactWater, a device supporting more efficient water usage, is helping some ABA members save on their water costs and encouraging them to use those savings to donate to area philanthropic efforts.

“Asheville Brewers Alliance is full of members doing really cool things,” Roberts said. “It’s surprising to learn about all of the amazing things that are happening that everyday consumers may not realize. It’s an inviting, safe space full of incredible individuals, lots of talent, and tons of creativity in the community.”