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Peabody’s Beer and Wine to Greet High Country Beer Fest with a Week of Tastings August 22 – 25

By Bailey Faulkner

From left to right: general manager Kevin Burnette, beer manager Chris Riley and owner Jeff Collins

If you’re a beer or wine lover of the High Country and you haven’t stopped by Peabody’s for one of its weekly tastings, you’re truly missing out. But there’s never been a better time to make your first visit — or return as a Peabody’s regular — than this August. In addition to holding tastings each Tuesday and Saturday this month, Peabody’s Beer & Wine Merchants is gearing up for a week-long series of tastings in celebration of this year’s High Country Beer Fest, which is set for Saturday, August 26 at the High Country Fairgrounds.

Growler station with eight beers on tap

Although the store holds its legendary Tuesday beer tastings from 5 – 7 p.m., Peabody’s features eight rotating beers at the growler station which are always available to taste. The store usually picks brews that are a little more uncommon than what many may expect.

“We kind of cover the gamut with the growler station. The beers are the more eclectic stuff that is either only in kegs from small breweries or are new releases or vintage beers,” Peabody’s owner Jeff Collins said.

If you like to dive deep into the intricacies of the beers you try, stop by on a Tuesday from 5 – 7 p.m. for a tasting. The store invites reps and other beer aficionados for each Tuesday tasting so you know as much as you’d ever like to find out about the week’s featured brews.

More of a wine person? Peabody’s holds wine tastings every Saturday from 1 – 5 p.m. Much like with its beer tastings, the store hand selects its featured wines each week, bringing in experts to tell customers more about the product.

“We usually pick a winery or a region or wines that go well seasonally,” Collins said.

Making its tastings even more unique is Peabody’s nitrogen-fed wine draft system, a Cruvinet, which dispenses and preserves wine much more effectively and efficiently than traditional methods.

“It keeps the wine fresh because there is no air introduced to the canisters. It makes a big difference.”

The nitrogen-fed system allows Peabody’s to keep six wines available at all times that customers can taste or buy by the glass.

But Peabody’s doesn’t limit itself to in-house wine tastings. This Tuesday, August 8 will mark the third installment of the store’s blind tasting series held at Bistro Roca in Blowing Rock. Since “nothing is as honest as tasting wines blind,” Peabody’s releases the names of each of the wines to be featured that week but does not indicate which wine is which during the actual tasting.

Tuesday’s tasting will be held from 6 – 7 p.m. at Bistro Roca. Admission to the tasting is $25 per person not including gratuity. For more information on the tasting and special deals offered on the day of the event, visit Peabody’s website here.

The store’s beer and wine tastings have been a staple in the High Country for years, but there might not be a more exciting time for Peabody’s than the week leading up to the High Country Beer Fest. The store will hold tastings from Tuesday, August 22 through Friday, August 25 from 5 – 7 p.m each day as a final ticket sales push for Beer Fest.

Starting Tuesday, each tasting will feature a specific brewery on tap. Thursday and Friday will be an especially exciting day for beer lovers.

Peabody’s Cellar Sale 2017

“We usually do a local night on Thursday and Friday will be four or five big name breweries that will be at Beer Fest.”

As if tasting some of the finest regional and national beers isn’t enough, Peabody’s will hold drawings for two free tickets to Beer Fest during each tasting leading to Saturday’sevent at the High Country Fairgrounds.

Stay tuned to see which breweries will be featured in the week-long tasting series by visiting Peabody’s Facebook page here. You can purchase tickets to Beer Fest by visiting Peabody’s or Beer Fest’s website. General admission tickets to Beer Fest will be $40 and VIP tickets, which will also include one-hour early entry and “free swag and food,” are $80 per person.

High Country Beer Fest is a “100% nonprofit event” that raises money for Appalachian State University’s fermentation sciences program and other local nonprofit organizations.

Check out the pictures of Peabody’s and Cellar Sale 2017 below!

From left to right: general manager Kevin Burnette, beer manager Chris Riley and owner Jeff Collins
Peabody’s Cellar Sale 2017
Peabody’s Cellar Sale 2017
Currently on tap at the growler station
Inside Peabody’s
Growler station with eight beers on tap
Growlers
Peabody’s can and bottle selection
Peabody’s can and bottle selection
Peabody’s can and bottle selection
Peabody’s can and bottle selection