Our Story
Meet, Saint Brighid
“I should like a great lake of ale, for the King of Kings. I should like the family of heaven to be drinking it through time eternal.”- Saint Brighid
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Brighid has been described throughout history in many different ways. Some depict her as a shape shifter, ever transforming to meet the needs of the people. This might be our greatest admiration of Brighid’s and it is with that same spirit we share our unique gathering space, in Marquee Asheville, with you!
Being a patron saint of brewers, Saint Brighid saw fermentation for what it really is: a vehicle for human connection. In her day, it was also a crucial component to well-being. Beer, mead, cider, and wine were once a vital source of hydration and nourishment. They were, essentially, a food group. In fact, modern life as we know it could not have progressed without these deliciously bubbly elixirs. Hard to fathom but, it's true!
Now, fast forward a few hundred years and beer has become one of life’s great bonuses, reaching an impressive level of culinary sophistication and consistency that was once thought to be reserved only for the finest wines. Brewing methods have definitely advanced along with technology and we see some shockingly delectable brews grace our shelves, these days… even by our standards!
Our goal is to share our knowledge with you as a curator of fine, quaffable art. We have made it our mission to seek out the best this world has to offer and make it accessible for you to experience. With so many great local breweries and vineyards around the world, it can be quite dizzying to trek through this vast, modern terrain of craft beverages. Allow us to connect you to your new favorite artisan beverages, with greater ease and simplicity. Let our passion for fine drink be your cheat sheet into this age-old craft.
Some may find their joy, solace, and sense of community within church walls, but we’ve often found ours in more casual settings. There is just something about engaging with good company, enjoying fermented delights, that seems to help bring us inexplicably closer to that unifying thread of life. There are many tales of Brighid using these special fermented beverage to help connect others. Like, brewing a never ending barrel of beer that miraculously sustained eighteen churches throughout hard times and celebration, alike. We see each new day as a reason to celebrate existence within our beautiful Asheville community and invite you to connect to our beloved environment through our selection of local and regional offerings.
Brighid understood the true power and connection to her land. She was, no doubt, a creative and masterful brewer but one of our favorite tales involves her razor sharp wit. Using her magic cloak, she outsmarted the King of Leinster to reclaim her taken land and used it to build her monastery. From there, all the ingredients used in her brewing processes would be harvested.
With our small beer collective being located in the heart of Western North Carolina, this deep connection to our land is something we Ashevillians understand at our core. It is especially present in our farm-to-barrel culture. There is nothing quite like the taste of the Blue Ridge Mountains!
Above all else, the most amazing trait of Brighid’s legacy is her kind, giving heart. This is truly at the core of her extensive lore and it has earned her many associations throughout history. Long before Brighid was modernized as “Saint” Brighid of Kildare, she was cherished within her community as the Celtic Triple Goddess of love, art, poetry, music, fertility, fire and hearth, agriculture, water, and much more.
The many stories of Brighid represent the duality in us all. Gritty yet divine just like Foundy Street where we call, home. She was inspired to build a place where people could come together and experience something magical. Now, we have been inspired by her to build a place where our community can find a piece of that same magic. We attempt to honor Brighid and Asheville’s River Art’s District by creating an oasis inside the newly renovated Marquee building at Foundy, dedicated to the Patron Saint of Brewing and Goddess of the Arts!
Like Brighid, we hope to help and connect as many people as possible through our craft. Join us in honoring that same rich tradition by visiting us, here, at our newly constructed 50,000 sqft home in Asheville, North Carolina.
Cheers and Sláinte,