About Us
Mark and Trish Lyons opened Asheville Brews Cruise in May 2006. Passionate about fine crafted beers and impressed with the exceptional breweries in Asheville, they decided to share their enthusiasm by creating a mobile tour experience for our guests.
In 2008, Asheville Brews Cruise then decided to start a “Winter Warmer” beer festival for the Asheville community to “shake up the winter blahs” - so, they partnered up the their design pals at ThreeSheets:Design, French Broad Brewing Co. and the Garage to put on the first annual Winter Warmer beer festival in January 2008. Marc Higgins & Dehlia Low turned out for the musical side of the things, and Luella’s Barbeque provided the tasty grub.
2008’s event sold out 3 days prior to the event, and all 275+ who attended deemed the festival a huge success!
In 2009, the Winter Warmer shifted gears to a larger space to allow for more breweries, more beer goers, and more success! The Haywood Park Hotel was brought on board, as well as musical performances from Brushfire Stankgrass and Woody Wood. Again, tickets sold out days in advance, and 2009 had almost 800 beer enthusiasts - fun was had by all.
2010 offered the same musical artists, and had 20 breweries participating. Food was provided by the Lobster Trap, and tickets this year sold out almost a week in advance.
2011’s event is sure to be a crowd pleaser, as well. Moving to the Civic Center’s Exhibition Hall will offer more elbow room, and an opportunity for a few more breweries to attend. Brushfire Stankgrass is coming back by popular demand, along with the debut of The Leigh Glass band, with the “grub” provided by Fiore’s.