ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The founder of a popular brewery company in Asheville and the “Godfather of Asheville Craft Beer” has passed away, Highland Brewing Company announced on Facebook.
Oscar P. Wong passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, according to the brewery. Wong was given 6-12 months to live after receiving a cancer diagnosis three years ago.
Wong founded the Highland Brewing Company after a career as an engineer. It was Asheville’s first legal craft brewery since the Prohibition era. It opened in 1994, according to Channel 9’s partners at WLOS.
He was also awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2023, the highest honor granted by the governor of North Carolina.
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