Cummings Cove, NC, Celebrates with WNC Residents the Arrival of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

There has been major celebrating in Hendersonville following the announcement last week that California-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has chosen Henderson County in western North Carolina (WNC), home of the mountain golf community Cummings Cove, for its East Coast operation.

The internationally famous company will build a $107 million operation on 90 acres about20 minutes from Cummings Cove Golf & Country Club. Henderson County enjoys a diverseeconomic base built on agriculture, tourism and light manufacturing.

Like people who choose to live at Cummings Cove, Sierra Nevada owner Ken Grossman, said he became “enamored with WNC and all that it offered in terms of its physical beauty, outdoor recreation opportunities and thriving craft-beer culture.”

Then there was the site they purchased. “We fell in love with this site; it’s an incredibly spectacular piece of land,” he said, looking out across a large meadow to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. “It’s got a great heritage, great water, it’s near a river (the French Broad). This part of the country reminds me a lot of where we come from in northern California.”

The brewery will also have a restaurant and other attractions to make it a special place to visit.

While Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s plans to create more than 200 jobs at a new facility in Mills River is no doubt encouraging for Henderson County residents, officials are betting the overall economic impact on the region will be far more reaching.

A day after the news was revealed by the California brewery, County Manager Steve Wyatt said the county views the project as an investment that will net taxpayers a “substantial return” through jobs and other potential economic development activity.

Officials expect Sierra Nevada will take an already thriving craft-beer scene in WNC to a whole new level. As overall beer sales in the U.S. remain stagnant at best, the craft brewing industry continues to experience double-digit growth.

In addition, Asheville’s three-year title reign as “Beer City USA,” which has garnered it plenty of national attention as a beer destination, should be enhanced. Already, thousands of online tickets for the city’s annual beer-tasting and music festival, “Brewgrass,” now sell out in one day. The event takes place every year in September.