Navy Vet Bob Byron docks his own whiskey and beer at Rye Knot

Belly up to the bar for a beer at Rye Knot in North Asheville and scan the 16 taps for your desired brew. Fifteen of the wooden pulls are burned with the Rye Knot name and logo; the 16th is reserved for Pabst Blue Ribbon, the only guest beer available on draft at the kitchen/brewery/distillery.

“Some people are really committed to their PBR,” says Bob Byron, owner/brewer/distiller and Mr. Fix It as needed. “Whatever it takes.”

It took a lot of determination to get Rye Knot opened and operating in August 2020, but the proud military vet is no stranger to hard work (or whiskey as it turns out).

After graduating from Asheville High School, Bob entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated in 1985 and embarked on a 20-year career serving on six ships and commanding the USS Pickney. He retired from the Navy in 2005, then spent the next 13 years in the aerospace industry in San Diego.

When Asheville called him home, it was to a 110-year-old house he dedicated himself to restoring. It was also where he built himself a little still. “I was making some pretty bad moonshine,” he admits with a laugh. “I wanted to get better at it, so I used my GI Bill benefits to enroll in the Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation course at A-B Tech. I figured out how to make a decent bourbon on the same still I used to make bad moonshine. I had no aspirations to do it professionally.”

But an internship at a distillery in Maggie Valley led him down a path that after several starts, stops, detours, dissolved partnerships and discarded concepts, landed him at the current site on Merrimon with the one person he knew he could count on, his wife Joann.

The biggest pivot was yet to come. Starting build-out in December 2019, he hired a chef in January to create a menu of elevated pub food, with plans to open in April 2020. In March, Covid shut it all down. But there was a silver lining. “By the time we did open in August, people were jonesing to get out and we had a great outdoor space. We moved our tables outside and were lucky enough to have warm temps through Christmas that year. We built a great business and following in that time.”

He also had a good start on brewing and distilling. “Our first beer was Imperial Stout. It’s an easy beer to brew and hard to mess up. We called it the Silent Stinger, the motto for the USS Charlotte, an active-duty navy submarine.”

As the brewing operation grew, he replaced the guest taps with Captain Bob beers. The house IPA – called the Evil IPA – is their #1 seller. “Evil is in the middle of Asheville, and that is named for the town and the USS Asheville.” The Lucky Lady blond ale is named for the USS North Carolina.

The spirit side is a little more complicated. “When you have a distiller’s permit, you are able to buy big quantities of high proof spirits, proof them down, filter them, bottle them and call it your own. So, we have Rye Knot vodka, rum and gin, but we don’t distill or barrel age them. We do distill and barrel age our straight bourbon and a barrel-proof straight bourbon.”

Bob did his first mash in August 2020, fermented it, distilled it, placed it in barrels, rinse, repeat. “Aging in wood gives the bourbon color and spice notes. Two years is required to call it straight bourbon. We aged the barrel proof for three and a half years.”

As a preview, in late 2020, he offered 60 bottles of Batch 0 Bourbon Whiskey and sold out in less than 24 hours. “If I were to taste it now, I’d say it’s not very good, especially compared to what we aged for three more years. But it was good, and we learn on the job.”

Specialty house cocktails are made with Rye Knot spirits and the #1 seller is a smoked-rye old fashioned. “It’s a rye old fashioned with a big ice cube. We have a smoking gun that we put on top of the cocktail, cover with a plate which forces the smoke into the drink. It’s fun to watch it made and amazing to drink.”

Personally, Bob keeps it simple. “I think our corn whiskey is the best sipper. That’s what I prefer, and I take it neat.”

For more on Rye Knot, visit ryeknot.com. 

— Kay West

Photos courtesy of Rye Knot
First photo: Bob and Joann Byron
Second photo:  Rye Knot’s small batch whiskey

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