Ben’s Tune-Up has been a local favorite ever since their doors opened 3 years ago. With an open-aired space filled with lawn chairs and picnic tables, locally-sourced Asian inspired cuisine, local live music and delicious beverages, this Japanese- inspired beer garden has got something for everyone. Our personal favorite: their house-brewed sake.
Ben’s Tune-Up Brings Sake To Asheville, North Carolina
Since opening in 2013, Ben’s Tune-Up has been one of the only Sake breweries in the Southeast, offering unique blends including pineapple-habañero, watermelon-basil, and even apple pie. All their sakes can be served cold or hot or bottled to go, and a knowledgeable bartender is always on hand to offer suggestions and tastings.
So what exactly is sake? The refreshing beverage is actually a Japanese rice wine made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Unlike wine however, in which alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in grapes, sake is produced by a brewing process more like that of beer, where the starch is converted into sugars before being converted to alcohol. Sake is reputed to be the cleanest, healthiest form of alcoholic beverage in the world of spirits. Only in the modern era, since the tradition has been on the decline in Japan have eastern masters begun to reveal their brewing secrets, resulting in the trend of American breweries that are mostly concentrated on the west coast.
Ben’s Tune-Up Is Now Brewing Asheville, NC Beer Too
After years of honing their sake brewing skills, it seems natural that Ben’s Tune-Up is now taking a turn at brewing to the the whims of our Beer City community. Ben’s officially opened up their beer brewery this year and of course, being the kings/queens of creativity, these beers will offer something as unique as the place they’re being brewed from. The flagship beers will start out with an Orange Pale ale, a Caramel Amber, and a Candi Stout. (Yum!) Their concept is to have classic style brews with a creative twist of real fruit, herb and spice additions. Other beers are soon to be added to the list including a West Coast IPA, Citrus Saison, and a Black Gose.
On top of house brewed sake and beer, Ben’s Tune-Up offers craft cocktails and a full menu of Asian-inspired dishes as well as a bodega with convenience items along with sake and beer to go. You can come hang out in the sunshine and try these new brews Mon- Thurs 4pm-2am, Friday 2pm-2am, and Saturday-Sunday 12pm-2am. Ben’s offers live music every Saturday and Sunday in the garden! You can also get a taste of Ben’s Tune-Up along with many other South Slope favorites on our new South Slope food tours, which run every Saturday, and soon coming to Friday’s as well!!
