Noble Cider & Mead sits at 356 New Leicester Highway in West Asheville — a working cidery and taproom where the same building that presses the apples also pours the pints. It’s a full-day-trip destination from the High Country, not a quick detour, but for anyone who wants dry, orchard-driven cider (and increasingly, mead) in a laid-back taproom setting, it’s worth building an Asheville day around.
From a Homemade Press to Asheville’s First Hard Cider Company
Noble’s founder, Lief, started the company with what the brand’s own site describes as “a simple mission and very little cash.” After cobbling together enough money to build an apple press and lining up a few connections at local orchards, the team set out to build what they call Asheville’s first hard cider company. Noble was founded in what its own site calls the new “Craft Brew Mecca” of Asheville, in North Carolina’s apple country, deliberately pairing the region’s long agricultural history with its more recent craft beverage boom. Today the small team behind the ciders includes Robin on sales and marketing, and Josh and Alivia making the ciders day to day, according to Noble’s own “About” page.
What to Taste: Cider First, Mead Second
Noble’s flagship lineup is built around dry, apple-forward styles: The Standard Bearer (crisp and dry, described as “straight up apple”), The Golden Arrow (ginger), The Spice Merchant (chai), and The Village Tart (tart cherry), per the cidery’s own product pages. Seasonal releases rotate through the year — The Blue Bard (blueberry, spring), The Royal Peach (peach with hops, summer), The Journeyman (cranberry orange, fall) and The Friar Fig (figgy pudding, winter) — plus an ongoing lineup of small-batch and spritzer releases. Noble has also branched into mead, which its own site calls “our newest venture,” made simply from honey and water; recent releases include a Clementine session mead and a full-strength blueberry blossom honey mead. As with any working taproom, exactly what’s pouring shifts by the week, so check Noble’s current tap list before you go.
The Setting: A Working Cidery You Can Walk Into
The Cidery on New Leicester Highway is Noble’s original taproom and production facility — the tanks and canning line are right there while you drink. The company’s own site invites visitors to “drink our cider and see where it is made,” and the taproom leans casual: board games, free popcorn, a fire pit and patio seating outside, and a pets-and-kids-welcome policy that keeps things low-key rather than formal. Noble also runs a second, downtown Asheville taproom with a rotating tap list of its own. Both locations post current hours and “what’s on tap” lists on Noble’s website, which is worth checking since taproom hours vary by day (as of this writing, the Cidery is closed Mondays and keeps shorter hours midweek than on weekends).
What Else Is Nearby
West Asheville is a walkable, low-key strip of its own — a short rideshare or drive from downtown Asheville, the River Arts District, and the rest of the city’s dense cluster of breweries and cideries. Because Noble is inside Asheville proper, it pairs naturally with other stops on a broader Asheville day: a group could reasonably combine Noble with a downtown Asheville taproom or another western NC cidery on the same loop, rather than treating it as a single, standalone stop.
Planning Your Visit
Asheville is a genuine drive from the High Country — roughly 86 miles and about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours from Boone by car, depending on route and traffic, more if you’re starting from Banner Elk or Blowing Rock. That distance means a trip to Noble Cider & Mead is realistically a full-day outing, not an afternoon add-on, especially if you want to pair it with other Asheville-area stops. Because the drive back involves interstate miles as well as winding mountain roads after dark, having one dedicated vehicle for the whole group is worth planning around — nobody has to be the designated driver for a three-hour round trip. Confirm current taproom hours directly with Noble before you go, since they vary by day and location.
Wine Tour Transportation to Noble Cider & Mead
Ashe County Livery offers private, chauffeured wine tour transportation to Noble Cider & Mead from Boone, Banner Elk, Blowing Rock, West Jefferson and across NC’s High Country. Our Noble Cider & Mead trip-planning page covers drive times, tasting-room hours, group sizes and pricing.
Travel in a luxury SUV, sedan, or Sprinter van with a professional chauffeur — everyone in your group gets to taste, nobody has to drive. Plan your Noble Cider & Mead tour or call (336) 484-1350.
Other High Country wineries we serve: Point Lookout Vineyards & World’s Edge Meadery · Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards · Biltmore Winery — or browse every High Country winery, cidery and meadery we provide transportation to.
Explore More from Ashe County Livery
- High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery shuttle service
- Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
- Wine Loop Shuttle — Hop-on hop-off winery tours
- Wedding Transportation — Luxury shuttles for your big day
- Wedding venues we serve — 40+ High Country venues
- Airport Shuttle Service — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI transfers
- Airport shuttles by town: Boone · Blowing Rock · Banner Elk · West Jefferson · Linville · Beech Mountain
- Ashe County Livery — Premium transportation in NC’s High Country
- Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350
🍷 Planning a Wine Tour in the NC High Country?
Ashe County Livery offers private, luxury wine tour transportation throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. Skip the driving and let our professional chauffeurs take you from winery to winery in comfort and style.
Serving Banner Elk, Blowing Rock, Boone, and all NC High Country destinations • (336) 484-1350
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