North Carolina

Western NC cousins and brewery owners buy back business from Anheuser-Busch

Published

2 years ago

June 7, 2023

Western NC cousins and brewery owners buy back business from Anheuser-Busch

In western North Carolina, beer culture runs deep and the brewing scene is known to set trends that extend nationally. It’s a departure from other industries that might wait for big markets like New York City or Los Angeles to lead.

But a pair of Asheville natives have earned themselves a tall one with a decade-long run of success that’s put them among the industry’s tastemakers.

Nathan Kelischek and Chris Zieber have turned a love for home brewing into a career, creative outlet and way of life for two cousins who would talk shop among beer-loving family members at the holidays.

“The water in western North Carolina is excellent,” Zieber said. “More than that, it’s the culture that got started 25, 30 years ago that has continued to evolve and success begets success. You have a couple of breweries that are established and they bring in some beer tourism and another one opens and another one and it kind of snowballs into what Asheville is today.”

The cousins founded Appalachian Mountain Brewery (AMB) in 2011 in their early 20s. They entered a partnership with the Craft Brew Alliance and eventually became part of Anheuser-Busch’s craft beer portfolio. AMB became known as the first brewery in Boone.

Recently, AMB became the first craft brewers to ever buy themselves back from Anheuser-Busch in a move that signals a win for the little guy in the beer circuit and another step forward for the state’s beer scene. Asheville has one of the highest amounts of breweries per capita in the U.S.

The two couldn’t disclose the terms of the deal, but took pride in the purchase. AMB’s story still has many chapters left and this move gives the guys more reign over what happens next.

“I think that we want to be able to control our legacy and what we leave behind,” Kelischek said. “We want to continue to improve western North Carolina.”

Kelischek was the resident school brewer at Appalachian State. Zieber attended UNC-Chapel Hill. Both were environmental science majors, so elements of the process came naturally to them. Kelischek wears a shirt labeled with the brewery’s core tenets of sustainability, community and philanthropy as an indicator of the sense of responsibility they harbor in running their business.

“This state means a lot ot us,” he said. “We felt we would do A-B better a better service by our own leadership vs. A-B and InBev.”

Their products are distributed in North Carolina and South Carolina. One of the more celebrated beverages, Bojangles Hard Sweet Tea, launched in 2022 to much fanfare and social media acclaim. Kelischek said the process was a labor of love and looked like it wasn’t going to happen at some points.

“We definitely approached Bojangles and it took almost two years to come to fruition,” Kelischek said. “So it was a long project with some pretty key conversations with the leadership at Bojangles to make happen. The recipe development is the thing that took the longest. We had to make sure we had an absolute authentic product to Bojangles and to North Carolina. That was the massive hurdle.”

The duo are getting ready to open a new Mills River taproom on June 19. For now, AMB has about 30 employees and will hire more for the new taproom.

Source link

North Carolina

Vote: Who Should Be the North Carolina Boys High School Basketball Player of the Week? (1/20/2025)

Published

5 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Vote: Who Should Be the North Carolina Boys High School Basketball Player of the Week? (1/20/2025)

Who was the North Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Week last week?

Each week, High School On SI scours the state of North Carolina and compiles the top performances from the previous week.

Congratulations to last week’s winner: Jalin Sutton of Greene Central.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

The 6-foot-5 junior guard scored 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in the Sabres’ 71-63 win over Myers Park. Houpt also had 15 points in a 65-56 win over White Oak.

Kerr, a top 100 national recruit, scored 24 points as the Cougars toppled nationally ranked and previously undefeated Christ School 73-66. The 6-foot-4 junior guard has 10 college offers.

Charles scored 27 points and got 8 rebounds in a 56-42 win over Southside. The 6-foot-4 senior also had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in an 84-38 rout of Pamlico County.

Blow scored 17 points and got 6 rebounds in a 67-59 victory over Ayden-Grifton.

Barron scored 19 points while getting 7 steals and 5 assists in a 77-57 victory over Northwest Halifax.

Edwards posted 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in an 89-39 romp over Wayne Christian. He also had 17 points in an 84-57 win over First Flight.

Brewer dominated with 34 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals in a 66-48 win over Pisgah.

Parkins erupted for 39 points, tying a career high, in a 90-66 win over Asheville. The 6-foot-7 senior also had 17 rebounds. He had 27 points and 13 rebounds in an 81-65 win over Erwin.

Brown scored 30 points and had 5 rebounds in an 84-80 overtime win over Tuscola. In addition, he had 21 points in a 59-45 loss to East Henderson.

Fannon scored 31 points, including 9-of-14 from 3-point range, as the Mustangs beat St. Stephens 93-70.

Source link

North Carolina

North Carolina Democratic state lawmaker resigns after terminal cancer diagnosis

Published

12 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

North Carolina Democratic state lawmaker resigns after terminal cancer diagnosis

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A longtime Wake County Democratic state representative announced his resignation from the North Carolina General Assembly on Sunday.

Rep. Joe John, who represented northwestern Wake County, shared news of his resignation in a letter posted to his Facebook page, after he said he received a terminal diagnosis for throat cancer from his doctors. John, 85, first stated publicly that he was diagnosed with throat cancer in early December.

“I hope my legacy will be one of dedication to the common good — working to build bridges, advocate for the voiceless, and fight for justice,” he said.

John was first elected as a state representative in 2016 and served four consecutive terms. His upcoming term would have been his fifth. Before serving in the legislature, John spent a large portion of his life in the judicial field — as a state appeals judge, superior court judge and district judge. He also served as the State of North Carolina Crime Laboratory’s director.

The Wake County Democratic Party will be in charge of choosing someone to fill John’s vacant seat.

John said in his letter that he plans to focus on his health and spend time with his family after resigning.

“If my time in office has made even a small difference in your lives, then I will leave this world knowing I’ve done my part,” John said.

Source link

North Carolina

How will NC industries be impacted with Trump in office?

Published

20 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Republican President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, vowing swift action on a host of issues that could impact nearly every American — and could have a particularly profound effect on North Carolina’s economy.

Reporter : Kelsey Coffey
Photographer : Mark Olexik
Web Editor : Jessica Patrick

Posted 2025-01-20T07:13:38-0500 – Updated 2025-01-20T07:13:38-0500

Source link