What began as a winter seasonal at Highland Brewing in 1996 has grown into one of Western North Carolina’s most enduring holiday traditions. This November, Asheville’s original craft brewery celebrates 30 years of Cold Mountain Winter Ale and three decades of the fans, gatherings and traditions that have grown up around it.
From Nov. 12–16, Highland Brewing will mark the milestone with new and limited anniversary beers, five days of music and festivities, and a culinary collaboration with one of the South’s most celebrated chefs.
The celebration begins Thursday, Nov. 12, with Highland’s 7th Annual Cold Mountain Beer Dinner featuring Chef Taylor Montgomery of Montgomery Sky Farm, the 2026 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Southeast. The Leicester, N.C.-based chef will create a curated multi-course dinner paired with Cold Mountain releases and specialty offerings, bringing together two distinctly Western North Carolina stories for the milestone anniversary.
“For decades, the release of Cold Mountain Winter Ale has brought people together at a special time of year,” said Nikki Mitchell, Vice President of Brand Development, Highland Brewing. “It’s incredible how a seasonal beer has become a tradition shared by our team, our community and generations of Highland fans across the Southeast. For the 30th anniversary, we’re continuing to honor the traditions that make Cold Mountain a legacy brew while creating, unforgettable experiences with new spinoff flavors, bottle offerings and surprises on campus.”
From Winter Seasonal to Western North Carolina Tradition
Highland Brewing opened in Asheville in 1994, becoming the city’s first legal brewery since Prohibition and helping lay the groundwork for the craft beer community that would eventually make Asheville one of America’s best-known beer destinations. Just two years later, Highland introduced Cold Mountain Winter Ale.
The 5.9% ABV spiced winter ale, with notes of vanilla, hazelnut, dark fruit and cinnamon, developed a following that extended well beyond the beer itself. Its annual November arrival became a reason to gather at Highland, evolving over three decades into the brewery’s biggest annual event and, for many fans, the unofficial beginning of the holiday season in Western North Carolina.
Thirty years later, Cold Mountain Winter Ale remains at the center of the celebration, while Highland continues to honor the beer that started the tradition.
Cold Mountain at 30
For the anniversary, Cold Mountain Winter Ale returns in bottles and on draft and joins three spin-offs in a special 30th Anniversary Variety Pack of 16-ounce cans. The eight-pack includes Original Cold Mountain, returning Coconut Cold Mountain, and two new releases: Chocolate Orange Cold Mountain, pairing rich chocolate with bright citrus notes, and Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Mountain, featuring cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and coffee notes.
Two limited bottle releases take Cold Mountain even further. Barrel-Aged Cold Mountain (11% ABV) is whiskey barrel-aged with notes of vanilla, cinnamon and hazelnut. The anniversary also marks the debut of Double Barrel-Aged Bourbon Pecan Cold Mountain (13% ABV), Highland’s first-ever bottled double barrel-aged Cold Mountain, featuring bourbon and toasted pecan notes.
At the brewery, fans can explore four more Cold Mountain variations available only on draft during the celebration: Chai, Sour Cherry, Apple Cider Donut and Imperial Cold Mountain.
Five Days of Cold Mountain
Following Thursday’s beer dinner with Montgomery, the celebration expands across Highland’s East Asheville campus Friday through Sunday with live music, specialty food experiences, anniversary beer releases and the Cold Mountain Classic Volleyball Tournament.
On Monday, Nov. 16, Highland’s campus will be open to the public with no ticket required. Cold Mountain will be available on draft and in packages, and the Highland merch store will be open.
Three decades after its debut, Cold Mountain remains rooted in the same simple idea: brew something special for the season, bring people together and give them a reason to return year after year.
Tickets, the complete event schedule and Cold Mountain 30th Anniversary beer information are available at highlandbrewing.com/coldmountain.
