After spending a day with the Arkansas Brewers Guild members at their quarterly tap takeover, I’m pretty sure that there’s no place in the country quite like Prestonrose Farm and Brewing Co. (see header photo). For several hours, the beer community sipped and chatted and laughed on the sloped lawn outside the taproom and brewery. People came from all over to enjoy brews from more than a dozen Arkansas breweries. Among the highlights: a beautiful saison from Gravity BrewWorks in Big Flat, the excellent Firetower Stout from Slate Rock Brewing in Amity and the Zapust Kottbusser from Stone’s Throw Brewing. When you have great beer from all over Arkansas in a setting like Prestonrose, it’s hard to have a bad time. By the way, the next Arkansas Brewers Guild tap takeover is Saturday, Nov. 9, at Slate Rock Brewing. It’s well worth your time to be there.
Lost Forty Brewing kicks off this week’s beer release schedule with the pilot batch debut of Lil’ Wheezy Little IPA. This small batch is a breezy 4.2% ABV IPA brewed with Crystal, El Dorado and Mosaic hops. Look for notes of blueberry and tangerine in this sessionable brew. It’s named after Lost Forty’s “brewpug” Louise (AKA Lil’ Wheezy). Since this is a pilot batch, it’s only available on tap at the brewery starting today at 4 p.m. Lost Forty plans on taking your feedback and updating the recipe for a future wide release.
If you get down to Hot Springs this week, be sure to stop in at Superior Bathhouse Brewery for the team’s newest release. Camp S’moreswood is a 5.5% ABV brown ale brewed with chocolate, vanilla, marshmallow and graham crackers for a flavor reminiscent of everyone’s favorite campside dessert. As an added bonus, Superior has put this one on nitro, which should add a creamy texture to complement the sweet notes of the ale. It’s on tap right now at Superior.
Stone’s Throw Brewing this week has a collaboration release with Diamond Bear Brewing Company. Lost Harvest is a farmhouse-style saison brewed with more than 30 pounds of blueberries from Wye Mountain Flowers and Berries. Stone’s Throw and Diamond Bear soured the mix into a mildly tart, pleasant saison. It’s already gone on tap at Diamond Bear and will be the #NewBrewFriday release this week at Stone’s Throw MacPark. Get there Friday at 4 p.m. to try it out.
Congratulations to Buffalo Brewing Company on the grand opening of its Heights taproom. Buffalo opened to the public on Saturday and enjoyed steady business over the weekend. If you’re stopping in, be aware that there are only a few beers on tap at this time. Buffalo is starting with six beers on and will slowly roll out more selections over the next few weeks. Eventually, all 16 taps on the wall will be producing Buffalo’s beer. Buffalo is also getting its new brewing facility off of Cantrell Road finished up this month. It hopes to start brewing there before September.
On a final note, last week was the third anniversary of the Growlers feature here on Rock City Eats. We are grateful to the brewing community for embracing our weekly feature and sharing their news with us, and of course to our readers for their support. We’re proud that we can be your resource for discovering new brews and breweries in Central Arkansas.
Do you have any beer news to share with us? Email steveshuler@gmail.com.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
