Mrs. Adventures signed me up for another virtual beer tasting, using her Washington University alum status. I invited Paul to join me.

A few weeks earlier, we received a box in the mail; it contained two 6-packs and a specialty beer. I chilled them in the fridge the night before the tasting, in anticipation of the big event.

The previous Wash U virtual beer tasting was with Moody Tongue. Jared Rouben, Moody Tongue’s brewmaster is all about taste, palate and food pairings. His presentation was ideal for beer nerds like me. On the other hand, Adam Charnack of Hi-Wire Brewing graduated from Wash U with a degree in finance and international business. We heard a lot more about the entrepreneurial side of running and growing a brewery.

Adam and his business partner, Chris Frosaker, started selling Hi-Wire Brewing beer in Asheville, NC in 2013. Today, Hi-Wire has 7 taprooms, three of which are in Asheville. They also distribute beer for sale to 8 states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia. Sorry, you can’t find any Hi-Wire in Maryland.

Hi-Wire strives to make balanced and approachable beer. According to Adam, their most popular beer is Hi-Wire Lager. During the tasting, I was surprised how much I enjoyed their ales. I guess I assumed approachable meant less taste. I was wrong.

For the virtual tasting, Paul and I shared 5 beers. Here’s my take.

• Lager: Nice and light lager. Bready and crisp
• Pink Lemonade Session Sour Ale: Crushable sour with raspberry sweetness. Nice beach beer! (the hit of the night)
• Lo-Pitch Hazy IPA: Smells yummy with citrus hops. Very smooth and sessionable. A beginner’s IPA.
• Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA: No nose but a very pretty beer. Dank with a bit of piney bite.
• 10W-40: Nice cocoa nose, great smoky, spicy flavor. This was the runner-up of the night.

I have high hopes that Hi-Wire will make it to Maryland in the near future. It not, I’ll just have to head down to Asheville some day.

Cheers!

Warren