Wicked Weed is nearing the circle of trust (and needs our help to rebuild Asheville after Hurricane Helene)

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

Wicked Weed is an airport beer for me. That’s not a derogatory statement; I just fly through Charlotte a bunch in order to avoid the gaping hellmouth we call O’Hare International Airport.

The Asheville, North Carolina based brewery has an outpost there set up in the midst of a handful of decent, too-expensive options. But the beers themselves are airport reasonable (something like $9 last time I was there) and the selection was vast. They were also pretty good, even if the brain static of multiple flights left me with zero desire to write a review as I watched SportsCenter reruns or MAC football and frantically checked my phone to figure out how much time I had until my connection.

Wicked Weed deserved better than that. Fortunately, the brewer was kind enough to send samples my way for review, ranging from its flagship pale ale to a summer sour built for warm days but capable of refreshing in the winter, too. That gave me the chance to sip at my own pace while … uh, watching SportsCenter reruns or MAC football at home.

This review was originally scheduled for later in the year, but Asheville needs our help. Hurricane Helene devasted western Carolina, including Wicked Weed’s home base. The WNC Long Haul – Recovery and Resilience Fund is dedicated to helping residents across the area not just in the immediate aftermath of the flooding but years down the line. You can learn more at the link above or through the fund’s social media pages, including Instagram and Facebook.

It’s a worthy cause that’s worth your time and money. Please consider donating. Now, on to the beers.