John Parks is a brewer and co-founder of Woodfin, North Carolina-based Zillicoah Beer Company, which was devastated by flooding from Hurricane Helene and remains closed indefinitely.

Parks and his co-founders, brothers Jonathan and Jeremy Chassner, are childhood friends who grew up in Miami and eventually all landed in the Asheville area. Taking their name from the Cherokee word for the French Broad River, Zillicoah opened on the river’s eastern bank in 2017. The founders designed the brewery with the possibility of flooding in mind, but like a lot of other people and businesses in the region, they weren’t prepared for the extent of devastation brought by Helene and didn’t have flood insurance.

When the French Broad reached its record high point, the surging water rose six feet inside the brewery, sweeping away equipment, specialty beer, and years of passionate hard work.

In this episode, Parks shares how Helene impacted the brewery, the challenges of rebuilding in a floodplain, the craft and passion that goes into Zillicoah’s beers, and the outpouring of support the brewery has received from the beer community near and far.

Click here to donate to Zillicoah Beer Company

Theme Music

The song "Goa" was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.