Tony Kiss

ASH

Newest brewery in Asheville has speakeasy feel and a tap for homebrewed beer.

Asheville's newest brewery has arrived just in time for the city's Beer Week festivities.

The new One World Brewing has opened its doors at 10 Patton Ave., at the end of a short alley separating Farm Burger and Salsa's restaurants just off Pack Square. One World is the 17th brewery to open in Buncombe County, with a dozen or so more scattered around Western North Carolina.

But there's still room for growth, said Jason "Jay" Schutz, who owns One World with his wife Lisa. "Each of the local breweries has its own style and flavor," he said. And for One World that means celebrating home-brewed beer. A home brewer himself, he's inviting other home brewers to bring their favorite ales and lagers down to the brewery, and he'll be picking some to produce. One World will have a designated tap for homebrew, he said.

One World has a small 1.5-barrel production system and can turn out about 40 gallons per batch. Right now, the brewery has four IPAs, a pale ale, a coconut porter, an American stout, an imperial stout, a saison, a bock and a summer ale, he said.

Schutz was previously a professional stonemason and carpenter, but "after the recession, my phone pretty much stopped ringing," and he had to figure out a new job, he said. He was encouraged to take his passion for homebrew and put it to work as a professional brewer.

The location off Pack Square is high-traffic, but being tucked in an alley has made for a bit of a 1920s "speakeasy" type vibe that seems low profile, he said. "We will have a sign up eventually," he said. After passing through a portal in the alley, visitors head down a winding wooden staircase, and then into the dark but inviting tasting room. A solid wooden bar is up front, with the small brewing set-up off to the side. The sweet malty aroma of beer wafts through the place.

Schutz said he wants to book music in the room. As for food, there are plenty of nearby restaurants just outside.

The brewery is open 4 p.m.-midnight Wednesday-Saturday. Keep track of them on Facebook or at http://www.oneworldbrewing.com.

A beer for Beer Week

The official Asheville Beer Week brew, a white IPA, is being released this weekend at all the breweries in the Asheville Brewers Alliance including Catawba, which made the ale on its system in Morganton. The 5.5 percent alcohol brew will mostly be on draft, but about 80 cases of 12-ounce cans were also packaged, Catawba co-owner Billy Pyatt said.

New beers on tap

• Highland Brewing will crack into Kelly's Kolsch this weekend. Similar in style to a pilsner, it's brewed with Saaz hops. Get it only at the tasting room, 12 Old Charlotte Highway.

• Oskar Blues Brevard has Watermelon Pis, with Mama's Little Yella Pils infused with fresh watermelon. Also, they're tapping a firkin of Amarillo dry-hopped Dale's Pale Ale.

• Lexington Avenue Brewery is kicking off Beer Week with a saison made with wheat and lemon peel. At 4.6 percent alcohol, it's a real sessions beer.

• Burial Beer is teaming with South Slope neighbor Twin Leaf Brewing for a May 29 event called Follow the Hops. Each brewery will make six single hop beers and share three of them with each other. To taste all 12, visit both breweries.

Visit AshevilleScene.com to see a video from One World Brewing. Follow Beer Guy Tony Kiss on Twitter @AVLBeerguy or on Facebook at Asheville Beer Guy. Email him at tkiss@ashevillescene.com