ABOUT US
2013
Appalachian Mountain Brewery (AMB) was dreamt-up and brought to life by founders Nathan Kelischek and Chris Zieber; two cousins who both bring unique skills and passions to the table. Their German heritage, love for our state and passion for the environment and outdoors has helped to form the vision of AMB.
Upon opening the taproom in 2013, AMB became known as the first brewery in Boone, and quickly became known for brewing award-winning, high-quality beers and ciders.
2014 – 2015
The brewery continued to grow and bring in awards for both our liquid and our approach to business. In May of 2014, our leadership team won Brewbound and Craft Brew Alliances’ Brewery Start-Up Challenge. Our beer brought home big wins in 2014 and 2015 at the US Open Beer Championships, including a gold medal for our local favorite, Boone Creek Blonde.
In 2014, Appalachian Mountain Brewery expanded our brewhouse, began canning (starting with our flagship Long Leaf IPA), opened our Farm 2 Flame food truck, released our first ciders on draft, and entered into a strategic partnership with the Craft Brew Alliance to expand our distribution footprint across the Carolinas.
2017 – 2018
We saw more wins for our liquid in 2017, but our biggest win came when we took home 3 medals from the Great American Beer Fest, one in 2017 and two in 2018! Our Boone Creek Blonde and Down South Lager took home Golds in their respective categories, and Hop Rain Drop (originally entered into the GABF competition under the entry name Not an IPA (P.S. It’s an IPA)) won silver.
Our cidery also saw major wins in 2017 and 2018 as we released our first year-round ciders in cans, starting with Mystic Dragon and Scarlet Rose.
Today
Now, with a recent brand update, a new partnership with MountainTrue, and the launch of our first bottled cider, Southern Apple Hard Cider, AMB continues to grow and produce high-quality, award-winning liquids. We continue to grow while focusing on our core beliefs of community, sustainability, and philanthropy.
AMB strives to create a sustainable brewing process and have teamed up with several local farms to donate spent grain for the cattle feed. This helps us to divert grain from ending up at landfills and helps local farmers make ends meet saving up to 50+ tons of feed per year!
AMB around the community
AMB has a 501©(3) public charity, the We Can So You Can foundation, that supports community growth and protects surrounding nature. A portion of the proceeds from every case of beer sold goes to this charity.
We partner with BeeDowntown, sponsoring multiple beehives around the state in an effort to protect and help raise awareness of the bee population. The honey from these hives helps make our Boone Creek Blonde Ale and other beers each year!
We partner with The Long Leaf Alliance and plants a tree for every case of Long Leaf IPA sold. Since 2016, over 120,000 trees have been planted!