Asheville’s beer scene is evolving to new levels, Axios’ resident beer geek John Frank found on a recent tour.
State of play: A decade ago, I wrote a beer column for the News & Observer about how Wicked Weed Brewing and the arrival of national brewers — Oskar Blues, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada — planted the city firmly on the beer map.
What’s new: Newer players and the stalwart standouts now combine for an amazing tour of breweries that offer something for everyone.
The tap list at Burial Beer. Photo: John Frank/Axios
The must-visit
Three breweries stand out from the crowd.
Burial: Back in the day, the small taproom was filled with scythes and odd antique farming equipment. Now it’s buzzing with so many people and beers you barely notice the deathly theme until you try to read the tap list.
Sip: Anything. Hazy IPAs, sours and the most decadent stouts, you can’t go wrong here.
Hillman: A great lunch spot with good food — try the fried chicken sandwich with spicy mayo — that offers a wide variety of beers. The location just south of Biltmore Village has plenty of outdoor seating and fills with locals and tourists.
Sip: The Oats and Hill stout is robust but not too heavy, meaning you can have more than one and drink it all summer.
Zillicoah: Situated just a few miles north in the town of Woodfin, the brewery’s sprawling waterfront campus on the French Broad River is worth an entire day itself. Sit at a picnic table, lounge in an Eno hammock, or rest by the fire while you taste classic, easy-drinking lagers made the traditional way with open fermentation.
Sip: Sours, stouts and IPAs round out the menu, but go for the classic Helles.
What’s next: From there, create your own adventure.
Highland Brewing proudly declares its legendary status. Photo: John Frank/Axios
Kick it old school
These mainstays are still hip.
Highland: The oldest craft brewery in Asheville remains one of the best to visit because it’s an experience — music venues, white-sand volleyball courts and a disc golf course, and tables in the pine forest that give you the western North Carolina feels.
Sip: Whatever’s on the black and white boards signifying it’s taproom only.
Hi-Wire: This award-winning brewery continues to stay relevant with its South Slope Asheville location that is an experiment hub and fun place to try beers you can’t buy in the story
Sip: Whatever’s new and only available here, but gravitate to the IPAs.
Wicked Weed: It’s hilarious to me to list them as old school, but since…
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte disc golf tournament is attracting more women this year after offering equal pay to the top finishers on the women’s and men’s side.
What You Need To Know
A Charlotte disc golf tournament is offering equal payouts for men and women
More women have signed up for this tournament compared to last year
Women’s Disc Golf World Champion Paige Shue hopes to make a comeback at the tournament
The Carolina Clash presented by Another Round Disc Golf will take place from Oct. 1 through Oct. 3.
Thus far in the professional division, 81 players signed up for the men’s open and 18 women signed up for the women’s open.
Men and women in the professional division compete separately.
According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, the total purse for each division is a combination of entry fees of that division and added cash the tournament raised.
Usually men earn higher payouts because part of the prize money comes from entry fees paid by participants, and typically there are more competitors in the men’s divisions.
Last year, with 61 men signed up in the men’s open division, the winner of the Carolina Clash earned $1,026. The women’s open division had nine competitors and the winner earned $440.
This year, for the first time ever, the Carolina Clash is bringing equal payouts. This is all thanks to additional fundraising at the local level.
“It was not that difficult to raise the extra money but it goes a long way. We’ve more than doubled our field from last year on the women’s side,” said Kyle Deck, the tournament’s director.
Deck said he wants to help the sport grow on the women’s side.
“There’s so many tremendous young stars on the women’s side. I want them to have the ability make it their full-time job,” Deck said.
In 2018, this was the full-time job of professional disc golfers Paige and Grady Shue.
The couple traveled around the country participating in disc golf competitions.
“Our day to day to day was traveling in a van going from state to state competing,” Paige Shue said.
That year Paige Shue won the Women’s Disc Golf World Championship.
“I grew up playing with my sister, my brother and my parents, and for them to see all the hard work and that jazz pay off was so incredible,” Paige Shue said.
Paige Shue married in 2019 and a year later the couple was expecting their first child. During the pregnancy and after the birth of their daughter, Paige Shue…
Looking for an outdoor adventure close to home this summer?
Consider these preserves and parks where you can mountain bike, picnic, hike, paddle, fish, swim, bird watch and generally just forget about work and commune with nature.
Some are in Charlotte. Others are less than an hour’s drive away, including the massive 606-acre Mountain Creek Park that opened June 18 on the northwestern tip of Lake Norman in Catawba County.
It’s time to get outside. You deserve it.
Colonel Francis Beatty Park
Address: 4330 Weddington Road, Matthews.
What you should know: The 265-acre Mecklenburg County park includes walking and biking trails, five lighted soccer fields; two lighted, full-court basketball courts; two playgrounds; two softball fields; six tennis courts; 10 picnic areas; 12 miles of mountain biking trails and a lake with kayak and canoe rentals and fishing.
GOOGLE IMAGES
A main 3.7-mile mountain biking trail loop offers a “notorious” optional technical section called “Beatty’s Black,” according to Tarheel Trailblazers, a nonprofit mountain bike organization.
“This trail system feels less like it was created and more like it was discovered,” according to the group. “The main loop is fairly open and sandy, with roots and gullies occasionally in play. ‘Beatty’s Black’ is a different story. It is tight and technical, but also features some of the most unique wooden technical trail features in the area.”
The park also houses “The Colonel,” the largest pump track in the area that Tarheel Trailblazers describes as “smooth, fast, and truly a joy to ride at any age.”
The park’s main trail features practically no elevation and can be completed in a single loop.
Mountain bike trails rating: Intermediate to difficult, according to the MTB Project, a crowd-sourced mountain bike guide
Who uses the park? Walkers, mountain bikers; soccer,…
With summer in full-swing, parents everywhere are faced with the ongoing challenge of keeping their kids active, entertained and off their devices. But with pain at the gas pump — and everywhere else, it seems — it’s more important than ever to find budget-friendly options for cheap summertime fun.
That’s why we’ve come up with this list of 10 local summer activities that are under $10. (Some are even free!)
Cost: $8; free for children 2 and younger. Or, $1 for those with a EBT or WIC card. Free parking.
What to know: This quaint museum provides plenty of nature-based fun to help children explore natural science and let their creativity run wild. You’ll find interactive exhibits, live animals, including a butterfly pavilion, a museum library, nature trails and an outdoor natural play area in the 100-year-old woods. And a bonus: The museum is adjacent to Freedom Park, so plan for a picnic lunch and playtime to make the most of your day. Closed Tuesday and…
Brett Ermer developed North End Park, a short-term rental community with 24 homes, 22 of which are available for various lengths of stay. Ermer feels that Charlotte’s proposed regulations on short-term rentals are unfair.
Charlotte’s development rule book has had its fair share of hot-button topics, from efforts to build denser housing to regulations around tree protection.
But there’s one topic that’s received more public comment than any other: short-term rentals. For the first time, the city proposed regulations around the growing short-term rental market, found mostly on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.
The debate over short-term rentals has raged over the past decade as the market has grown.
In Charlotte, city officials have been discussing how to balance complaints from neighbors over problem properties and the fact that some people rely on the rental properties for additional income.
Some argue the rentals provide an option for tourists to stay while others say the rentals take more stock out of a limited pool of affordable housing.
The regulations appear in the first draft of the Unified Development Ordinance, a 608-page document that will become the rules for what can be built where in Charlotte for years to come. The city released the draft in October as it worked to overhaul the city’s zoning and land use policies.
But between intense public comment on the topic and a recent court ruling in Wilmington, city staff and officials appear poised to reexamine its proposed language on short-term rentals. That includes a requirement to keep all “whole dwelling” short-term rentals separated by 400 feet.
The review could mean “potential modification” when the next draft of the UDO is released next month, according to a comment posted recently by city staff on the UDO website.
It’s unclear what prompted the review or what direction the city might head. The city declined to make interim planning director Alyson Craig available for an interview last week.
On April 14, Mayor Vi Lyles called a special meeting set for May 5 where she and City Council will hold a UDO work session. It’s not yet clear whether they will discuss the rentals issue.
What Charlotte is proposing
In the UDO, the city proposes that someone renting out a whole dwelling would need to get a zoning use permit on two conditions: That the property owner show proof of possession of the property and that the permit be clearly noted in any listings or advertisements.
It also states that short-term rentals have to be separated by at least 400 feet from another rental in the residential-zoned areas of the city.
Zoning permits and separation requirements can be found throughout the UDO.
Any new adult care homes, for example, would need to be separated by 800 feet from any existing adult care homes in one of the residential zoning districts. All drug treatment clinics must be separated by 800 feet from one another, under the proposed regulations.
In a March 25 interview, Craig, the city’s interim planning director, told the Observer the zoning permits could give the city a better handle on how many short-term rental listings are in the city. The city could then use that data to make better decisions around specific regulations like a separation requirement.
For short-term rentals, the city proposed a number of other regulations, including having a local manager available around the clock. It also includes parking requirements.
The city has received hundreds of comments from the public on these regulations, more than on any other topic.
Some residents thanked the city for the 400-foot rule, saying they live close to someone who rents out their home and have problems with loud noise and other issues. The rentals are a “detriment of our community” as Airbnb corporate owners “gobble” affordable housing stock and monetize the properties through rentals, one person commented.
Still, many people expressed how they own the rentals and rely on the supplemental income.
A recent North Carolina appeals court ruling could have implications for how Charlotte ultimately decides to regulate the short-term rental market. Airbnb
A short-term rental community in Charlotte
Like many other big cities, Charlotte is no stranger to short-term rentals.
As of mid-April, there were 3,170 active rentals in the city, according to AirDNA, a vacation rental research firm.
Zoom into where Interstate 85 meets Sugar Creek Road and you’ll find Brett Ermer’s street of rental communities.
Located just off the Sugaw Creek Disc Golf Course on Merlane Drive, Ermer built 24 single-family homes starting around 2019. He initially planned to sell them but had trouble finding buyers. That’s when he had the idea to convert them into short-term rentals.
The short-term rental community North End Park on Merlane Drive. Charlotte is trying to get a handle on how many short-term rentals operate in the city, and one of the city’s proposals was to keep all “whole dwelling” rentals separated by 400 feet. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez [email protected]
At first, he ran into some problems with loud parties and people being disruptive.
But, today, Ermer will tell you the model has been a success. He regularly hosts people visiting from out of town and even construction crews on a job for a few weeks.
Security cameras and policies about a minimum age and minimum two-night stays have helped cut back on issues. His community has a strict no party or event rule that comes with a $1,000 fine if broken. It also helps that Ermer lives in one of the homes himself.
When he heard about Charlotte’s proposed regulations, he thought it was unfair. He also doesn’t understand the logic of the 400-foot separation rule.
“In my opinion, this is the best way to do this,” Ermer said on a tour of North End Park, the name he’s given to his rental community, “because we have full control. You can provide a very controlled environment and there’s no neighbors that are going to be disturbed by this activity.”
‘You can only do so much’
Ermer sympathizes with residents who live in more traditional single-family neighborhoods and are upset about disruptive rental homes.
He supports the idea of some sort of rental registry, and thinks there should be more consequences for the people who rent the homes and abuse the properties.
As a host, Ermer said, “you can only do so much.”
Ermer’s homes are all built in a Scandinavian style with a pointed, triangular roof and clean design. They sit about 20 feet apart from each other.
If Charlotte’s UDO regulations were adopted as written, Ermer said he’d be put out of business. The same goes for the more than dozen people who clean the homes and take care of the property.
The Wilmington case
Ermer was keeping a close eye on the Wilmington case, which centers around an ordinance the City Council approved two years ago that required at least 400 feet separation between short-term rentals. The ordinance also put a 2% cap on rental properties in certain parts of the city.
Both the separation requirement and percentage cap meant people operating short-term rentals had to register their properties.
The city gave out registrations through a lottery system. Any existing rental operator who did not get a registration had to stop renting the home out within one year.
That’s what led to a challenge in the courts.
David and Peg Schroeder, who operated a short-term rental in Wilmington, filed a lawsuit in October 2019, after losing out on a registration to a nearby property, StarNews Online, a daily newspaper reported. The case wound up at the state appeals court, and a ruling was handed down April 5.
The ruling struck down certain parts of Wilmington’s short-term rental ordinance, but not all of it. The court made the ruling based on a state statute that prohibits local governments from requiring “permits and permissions to lease or rent” and “registrations of rental properties.”
It affirms that cities can still regulate short-term rentals through general zoning laws, government and legal experts told The Charlotte Observer.
Charlotte city spokesman Cory Burkarth acknowledged that the Wilmington ruling was a factor as city staff reexamines the short-term rental language. The large number of public comments is also being used by staff to review the regulations, Burkarth wrote in the email.
There are 3,170 active rentals in Charlotte, most of them hosted on Airbnb, according to AirDNA, a vacation rental research firm. Charlotte is considering how best to regulate the growing market for short-term rentals. Andrew Harrer Bloomberg via Getty Images
Wilmington case implications
The Wilmington ruling doesn’t necessarily prevent Charlotte from implementing its own separation requirement, said Rebecca Badgett, an attorney educator with the UNC School of Government.
The question becomes how closely is any requirement like that tied to getting the required zoning permit? And, how would Charlotte decide which property within 400 feet gets the permit?
One possible avenue Charlotte could take is a grandfather clause, Badgett said, meaning any existing short-term rentals could still operate.
More than two dozen comments on the UDO draft were by people who operate short-term rentals asking for a grandfather clause.
“If not, this will result in one of the properties (either ours or our neighbor’s) being unable to be rented as a short-term whole-dwelling rental, and potentially lead to discord between us as property owners if one of us is granted a permit and the other is not,” one rental operator wrote.
What the Wilmington ruling makes clear, Badgett said, is that short-term rentals are an independent land use. That means they can have independent zoning laws on them, much like a bed and breakfast or day care center.
Development standards like parking requirements, limits on large events, trash management, insurance and safety requirements can be applied to short-term rentals — as long as they’re not tied to any registration program, Adam Lovelady, a colleague of Badgett’s, wrote in a recent blog post.
There’s a good argument, Lovelady wrote, that a separation requirement could stand even with the Wilmington ruling.
Ultimately, cities have to decide what’s best for their community, Badgett said.
“The key focus has to be on the safety and community at large,” she said.
What does that mean?
It’s open, Badgett said, to different interpretations.
Related stories from Charlotte Observer
Gordon Rago covers growth and development for The Charlotte Observer. He previously was a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia and began his journalism career in 2013 at the Shoshone News-Press in Idaho.
Alcohol, beer, charlotte, outdoor activities
0 Comments
