Highland Brewing Company
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Highland Brewing Company is a microbrewery in Asheville, North Carolina. Their products include Gaelic Ale, St. Terese's Pale Ale, Kashmir IPA, Black Mocha Stout, Heather Ale, Tasgall Ale, Cold Mountain Winter Ale (seasonal) and Oatmeal Porter.
After nearly a year of planning and construction, Highland Brewing Company, rolled out its first beer kegs in December 1994. Built almost entirely of retrofitted dairy equipment, they have the capacity to produce 6,500 barrels of beer a year and currently supply both Carolinas and parts of Tennessee and Georgia.
Until 1998, Highland beer was available only in kegs and 22-oz. bottles, all filled by hand. That year, the addition of a 4-head bottling machine allowed packaging in 12-oz. bottles. In 2002, they installed a used Krones bottling line capable of filling 7200 12-oz. bottles per hour. 22-oz. bottles are still filled by hand. They usually brew twice daily, four days per week, but demand for the beer has continued to grow. After evaluating short-term options for increasing production, they opted temporarily to brew much of Highland’s bottled Gaelic Ale and Oatmeal Porter using the facilities of Frederick Brewing Company in Maryland. Strict quality control ensures the beer brewed in Maryland is indistinguishable from that brewed in Asheville.
Owner/founder Oscar Wong and Vice President/Brewmaster John Lyda have been with the company since its inception. They oversee a staff of ten involved in brewing, packaging, and sales.
