Warren Haynes Christmas Jam Teams With Asheville Brewing: Good Music and Good Beer For a Good Cause

In case you haven’t heard, Asheville, NC tied Portland, OR in Charlie Papazian’s poll to crown Beer City USA earlier this year. We here in the South are very proud of our underdog story, so we probably bring it up more often than we should. But hey, how often do we get to be mentioned in the same breath as one of the beer capitals of the world?

I’m mentioning this because I want to illustrate one reason why I think Asheville is such a beer haven. Good craft beer is not just brewed there, it is a part big of the culture. The brewers in the city and surrounding areas don’t just brew and distribute beer to nameless faces. They become active members of the community.

An example on an Asheville brewer giving back is Asheville Brewing Company with its recent limited release, Christmas Jam White Ale. ABC brewed this beer as a way to help raise money for Habitat For Humanity in conjunction with the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam. All proceeds from the sale of this beer will go to Habitat in order to provide housing for area residents.

The Christmas Jam White Ale is brewed in the Belgian Witbier style: cloudy yellow with citrusy orange and coriander in the aroma and flavor, and slight bitter orange peel in the finish. It kind of reminded me of Fruit Loops. It’s a very tasty beer, which makes doing good for my fellow mankind very enjoyable.

The Christmas Jam itself is on December 12 at the Asheville Civic Center. This is the 21st year of the Jam, and it has gotten to be such a big event that it’s now like a weekend festival with art exhibits and stuff. Over the past five years alone they have raised over $1 million for Habitat.

I was able to go to the Christmas Jam a couple years ago and I had a great time. It’s one of the more unique concert experiences I’ve been to. The London Times even called it “one of the top ten concerts in the USA.” There’s a wide variety of music styles represented, and the show goes well into the night, often until about 4 am. When I went I gave out around 2 and had to go to sleep. It’s a true test of endurance to stay the entire 8 or 9 hours, and unfortunately I’m getting old.

Thankfully, I will not be playing at the Christmas Jam this year.

There is a good lineup this year, including the Counting Crows, Ani DeFranco, Gov’t Mule, and moe., among a dozen or so other bands. Tickets are on sale right now through Ticketmaster.

If you can’t make the show but would like to help the cause, you can still make a donation. You can also order the Christmas Jam White Ale through January directly from Asheville Brewing Company and they will ship it to you. Call Asheville Pizza and Brewing at 828-254-5339 if you want to add this limited edition beer to your resume.