Sorry We’re Closed… Sort of

By Ian Guevara

“Somebody is having a bad day,” a disheveled homeless man uttered to me as he lurched past me on the sidewalk.

That somebody was not me. Not by any means. My time in Asheville is coming to a close and while a sense of melancholy slowly creeps in the back of my mind, a smile still wraps around my face as if it’s still my first day in this incredible beer Valhalla.

That somebody was a poor denizen of Asheville who decided that the best parking spot for her hatchback was in the window of a bodega off College St. However small and quaint Asheville’s downtown area may be, the hazards of city life are inescapable. As inescapable as my truck is now because the whole street is closed down as the fire department attempts the near surgical operation of removing a car from a store front.

So I’m on foot, and thankfully my next brewery is close by, within walking distance.

I followed the maps app on my phone and found a beautiful brick three story building with a wide open door and stairway leading up to the heavens. I climbed the three stories to a beautiful bar that opens up to a balcony with a lovely view of downtown Ashevlle.

Something immediately strikes me as odd: I don't see any taps, only bottles of liquor.

I snatched a beverage menu and reviewed its libations. Cocktails. Only cocktails. “The Top of the Monk” cocktail bar.

“Excuse me,” I paused for dramatic effect because I’m already rather tipsy and feeling puckish, “this is the oddest looking brewery I’ve visited so far.”

“Oh, yes sir, this is the cocktail bar. The brewery is downstairs,” the well-dressed bartender responded.

I walk downstairs and utter some rather interesting expletives under my breath toward the bartender upstairs for burying the lead.

Closed. A piece of paper with a message printed hastily and taped to the window gives me the news. The brewery is closed due to equipment issues. My face showed a great deal of dismay because at that moment, the same homeless man, with his same creaky gait, and same disheveled look passed me up yet again.

“Somebody is having a bad day.”

No sir, I will not be denied some tasty beer. Thankfully the Delirium Bar at the Thirsty Monk is open behind and under the brick building.

Located on Patton Ave, Thirsty Monk’s downtown location isn’t its only spot. There’s a location on Biltmore, I think it’s the original location. But the downtown location is the one I was told by multiple sources to visit. Closed for 15 straight months due to COVID and its complications, Thirsty Monk is coming back… aside from today it being closed due to technical issues.

But the Delirium Bar is open and it provides some of Thirsty Monk Brewing Company’s beers… only two… but I can still review them and enjoy them.

Normally the brewery provides close to 16 brews on tap, but today there are only two available at Delirium: “Tricky Triple” and “Hazy IPA”.

Tricky Triple is a Belgian Triple displaying a volley amber color and fruity scent. Its soft, grainy, and malty to start with a slightly spicy and citrus flavor that follows.

Hazy IPA is… well… a Hazy New England Style IPA showcasing the classic mellow yellow and hazy characteristics with the citrus and hop smell that nearly every NEIPA possesses. Its a well balanced beer, balancing all the elements of a NEIPA being juicy and tropical to start and balanced hoppy bitterness at the end.

Thirsty Monk Brewing Company, Top of the Monk Cocktail Bar, and Delirium Bar are all closed on Tuesday, but open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4pm to 10pm, Friday and Saturday from 12pm to 12:30am, and Sunday from 2pm to 9pm. From top to bottom, you’re getting an experience at Thirsty Monk. Start high and finish below, that’s your best strategy because those stairs coming down the cocktail bar look treacherous after a couple of drinks.