There was no way cousins Chris Zieber and Nathan Kelischek could guess what would happen to their business, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, when it opened in 2011. At that time they served as brewers, sometimes bartenders, and business owners in a small space in Boone.

Since then Appalachian Mountain Brewery won numerous awards, joined Anheuser-Busch’s craft beer portfolio in 2021, was reacquired by the cousins in 2023, opened a new location in Mills River that same year, and ventured into other craft beverage avenues. 

Now, what started small has grown to 75 employees with three locations. They opened Modern Alchemist Co. in Old Fort on October 10, 2025. This venue operates as a distillery, brewery, restaurant, and cannabis bar.

 “In 2011, we had a couple bartenders and a couple brewers, and that was pretty much it,” Zeiber said. “To see the impact and the number of jobs created, it really gives me a lot of pride in what we built, along with our reputation in the community, the philanthropy that we've done, all of the people that we've met and great people we've had the pleasure of working with it all contributes (to our happiness with the brand).”

Kelischek asserts that the reason for the growing brand is simply a part of the craft brewers’ process and innovative nature. They’ve made hundreds of styles of beer over the years and continue to push what they could do with that particular drink style. Zieber said they are always innovating.

“I think it's that creative muscle, the more it gets used, the more you kind of understand the process behind making beverages in general,” Kelischek said. “I think along the way, we've done some cool collabs with Bojangles and other things that weren’t just beer. I think that that type of exposure also opened up the conversation for 'what else can we do?' Because beer is definitely what got us into this, but it's definitely interesting that it's grown to be more of a beverage company than just beer.”

The cousins were born several months apart and each had older brothers who were also near the same age, so they spent a lot of time together growing up. They attended different high schools in Asheville (Zieber at T.C. Roberson High School and Kelischek at Asheville High School) and different colleges (Zieber attended UNC-Chapel Hill and Kelischek attended Appalachian State) and still hung out often.

The two had been brewing hobbyists, but had never considered it to be a viable career until after college. They worked with two others in Boone to open Appalachian Mountain Brewery, which was located in a former welding shop, a 2,500-square foot building nestled where the Boone and Hodges creeks meet near the Boone Mall.

That space has been improved upon since it first opened and still serves plenty of beer to High Country residents. Before they reacquired the brand they began to plan for a second location in Mills River.

“It was certainly part of the deal we bought it back from AB that all the new products and kind of all this innovation stuff is certainly something that we were interested in doing prior to the reacquisition, but maybe more curtailed on doing so,” Zieber said. “I think there were definite differences of opinion on how AB wanted to run the brands. The emphasis and attention that we were getting just wasn't where we wanted it to be, frankly, and that kind of has led us to where we are today.”

The Asheville natives knew that the downtown area of their hometown didn’t fit the vibe they wanted for the new space. Kelischek was biking in Mills River when he saw the spot, across from Ingles on Boylston Highway, that would later become the brewery site. 

“I love Mills River. I love the area. It's really exciting to see the growth that's happening over there. I think that the outdoor community here is wonderful. The access out there is fantastic,” Kelischek said. “Bringing it home, and while it's not in Asheville proper, I feel like it counts. I think it fits the brand a lot more than Asheville proper, just a little bit more access to the outdoors and kind of what the brand was originally about up in Boone.”

“Downtown Asheville is a tough spot. There's a ton of competition. For our general brewery vibe we wanted to have a big outdoor space, which is very similar to what we have in Boone,” Zieber said. “We wanted to have an easier access place for kids and dogs to come and run around. From a brand perspective, and kind of the vibes that we're looking for, having the extra space that we can afford, was a way better choice than to try and squeeze into some smaller downtown location. With that being said, there's trades offs with that as well. I think being close to the outdoors kind of fits with what we want to do as a business and our kind of ethos of being outside, go on hikes, come in and join a couple beers. I think it works out really well.”

The influx of families into their breweries, along with the decline of alcohol consumption from a new generation of twenty-somethings, was another push into new directions. First they made ciders, which they continue to do. 

Then Mountain Hippie Soda was introduced as an alternative to their alcoholic drinks. With lemonades, ginger beers, and other flavors, it has become a must-have for some patrons.

“Mount Hippie, especially with the sodas, are definitely more aimed towards children. We have a lot of families that are coming through and kind of the millennial generation that started a lot of the brewing, kind of brewing revolution, are a little bit older now and they've got kids,” Zieber said. “They come into a pub and they want something to drink as well. High sugar, high caffeinated Coke is probably not the best thing for an already energetic child. Mount Hippie has all natural ingredients, low sugar, but still a lot of fun. There's fun flavors and great taste. So that's kind of what we're looking for with that brand.”

Modern Alchemist is the brand’s move into THC-infused beverages and the space is Old Fort is a place to have a mocktail or beer or food. It’s a space where friends can meet and not worry if someone in the group doesn’t drink alcohol as there are other options.

As they continue to build their brand, particularly in North Carolina, the cousins are planning to scale back a bit on innovation this year. Modern Chemist released Citree, a citrus-forward THC beverage that can be used in place of traditional liquor, late last year to round out that portfolio of liquids for now. 

“We opened up our distillery in Old Fort, and we're really excited about being able to serve the local western North Carolina community with that type of product and the quality that we strive for as far as our business,” Kelischek said. “We're definitely excited to see the growth in that sector, and we're firm believers in supporting the western North Carolina communities that might not always be thought of first. We're excited to see Old Fort grow into its own. We're definitely not taking our eye off of Mills River and what more we can do out there and how we can improve the experience out there. We have a big concert series and events scheduled for this year up in Boone. We're definitely more focusing on what we're currently doing and executing in that realm versus trying to find new opportunities.”

For more information, check out www.modernchemist.com, www.mountainhippiesoda.com and www.amb.beer.