Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. has it all — beer, food, mini-golf and bocce. 

When a brewery is named Salt Face Mule and it’s located in the mountains of Western North Carolina, well, the beers practically name themselves. Bless It, Holler Atcha, Sit a Spell, For Goodness Sake, Mosey on Over, and Howbigaboyareya take the words right out of the mouth of Appalachian culture.

That starts with the brewery itself, opened on September 13, 2023 by founding partners Alan Ray, Andy Stoker, Anthony Randolph and Christopher Luce. (Randolph and Luce remain in day-to-day operations, Luce is GM.)

According to the engaging origin story on their website, their friend and occasional golfing buddy Sam Jones – described as a Yancey County legend – was the inspiration, tossing off old-timey mountain sayings. One he used on particularly toasty summer days was “I’m thirstier than a white-faced mule,” a reference to mules coming in from sweltering in the fields with a lather of sweat that dried on their faces, leaving a white salt residue. The partners tweaked the folksy metaphor to Salt Faced Mule and claimed it for their future business.

Which was still in the development stage in 2021 when they purchased the 6,500 square foot building on Weaverville Highway; formerly a PlayStation, it came with two 18-hole miniature golf courses, a batting cage, and go-kart track on nearly four acres.

Enter Ray Dobens, who had unknowingly been making his way to a fortuitous meeting with the foursome for nearly 20 years. Dobens got his start as a professional brewer at Harpoon Brewery in Boston. After seven years there, he took a position at Duck River in East Carolina for a year, until they ceased operations, then moved on to Oskar Blues in Brevard. For about five years he ran a consulting business, helping other people in the beer biz.

That brought him to Salt Face Mule. “The property was already a great entertainment venue, and they wanted to add a nice restaurant,” Ray recalls. “They met with me to see if I thought a brewery could also work in the building.”

Not only did Ray reassure them that one section of the building was the perfect fit for a brewery, but he was a perfect fit to design it, build it, and launch the beer program.

“It was a great meeting,” Ray recalls. “I felt like we were on a common wavelength and knew I wanted to partner with them as their brewer.”

That common wavelength was the shared commitment to “…doing it the right way, right away.”

For Ray, it was a dream job, designing the brewery from floor to ceiling with cleanability and durability front and center. “The restaurant dining area is right next to the brewery, so the brewery has to be immaculate.”

In the two-and-a-half-year buildout, his assignment was to workshop SFM beers. “A friend and I homebrewed pilot batches for many of the beers we would be making there.”

Ray was intent on developing a program for a multi-purpose, family-friendly venue, which meant a good selection of low ABV brews. “I try to make it so people can enjoy more than one beer safely while they’re guests. We prioritize having a fun, active experience here, so I try to make a lot of beers that support that.”

Salt Face Mule opened with five beers on draft: Mosey on Over Pilsner (4% ABV); Room with a View (pale ale single malt, single hop); Holler Atcha West Coast IPA; Plott Hound Irish stout; and a Saison.

Since then, the repertoire has expanded considerably and rotates in seasonal brews such as an Oktoberfest beer, a cold weather sweet potato brown ale collaboration with Noblebräu Brewing in Brevard, a spring Saison to transition out of winter, and in the summer, a Kolsch and a Hefeweizen.

As for naming the beers, they lean pretty hard on Appalachian colloquialisms, turns of a phrase and song titles and snippets. Ray says he likes to think of customers going to the bar and asking, ‘Can I have A Room with a View?’

He admits food sales are always higher than beer sales – “Everybody has to eat, not everybody can or has to drink.” – and mini-golf is popular for all ages (each hole has a drink basket that can hold five or six glasses of SFM beers, cocktails, wine, cider, NA beer or soda). The batting cage was filled in to build bocce courts. Can pickleball be far behind?

“We have a great menu, great beer and fun things to do. We have a lot of locals and regulars.  People may come here the first time for one thing, but once they see everything, they come back for the overall experience.”

More about Salt Face Mule Brewing Company

— Written by Kay West

Photos courtesy of Salt Face Mule
First photo: The tap lineup at Salt Face Mule Brewing Co.
Second photo: Head brewer, Ray Dobens
Third photo: Burger and a Beer at Salt Face Mule