Over the past two hundred years, Western North Carolina has evolved from a mountainous frontier known for illicit moonshine production into a renowned destination for craft beer. Award-winning beer writer and historian Anne Fitten Glenn will narrate WNC’s sudsy story from the wild days of saloons and 19th century breweries through one of the longest Prohibitions in the nation to the tales of bold entrepreneurs who started the region’s first modern breweries. The business of beer attracts jobs, tourists and dollars, but it is not without controversy. Drinking local, whether legally or not, is ingrained in and intertwined with the history of WNC.
Anne Fitten Glenn has written two beer history books: Asheville Beer and Western North Carolina Beer. As a long-time journalist, she has written about beer, food, parenting, small business and more for a myriad of publications, including the Asheville Citizen-Times, Mountain Xpress, Edible Asheville, WNC Magazine, Smoky Mountain Living, All About Beer, Explore Asheville, and CraftBeer.com. She was the East Coast marketing director for Oskar Blues during that brewery’s first three years in Brevard. She regularly speaks at conferences and special events about the world’s favorite alcoholic beverage. She has resided in Asheville with her family since 1998.
All Things Appalachia is a monthly program series at the Transylvania County Library exploring the people, natural world, culture, and history of the southern Appalachian region. Presenters include experts in the fields of history, ecology, outdoor recreation, and more. The programs are on the first Thursday evening of most months at 6:30 pm in the Rogow Room. Each program lasts approximately one hour. These free programs are supported by the Friends of the Library