Growlers: Blood Eagle has Arrived, Rebel Kettle Collaborates with Mother's, Superior Doubles Capacity

Welcome to Growlers: your weekly roundup of news, events and specials from Little Rock’s breweries and taprooms. Little Rock’s beer scene is growing and improving at a rapid pace, and we’re dedicated to keeping you up to speed on all of it. Here’s what’s happening this week:
Congratulations to Blood Eagle Brewing Company, who got their first commercial beer on tap (and quickly tapped out) at The Water Buffalo on Friday. I got there just 45 minutes after the event started, and the first keg had already been floated. I found Blood Eagle’s Sitra Cadabra session IPA extremely drinkable with a subtle hoppy background. I really can’t wait to try it in the summer. You won’t have to wait that long, though; the Blood Eagle guys will continue brewing at The Water Buffalo for the foreseeable future. They’re next project is a triple batch of Sitra Cadabra while continuing to refine some of their other recipes.
Rebel Kettle has a small batch, German-style Hefeweizen coming 4:30 Thursday called “It’s a Hefe, Brah.” The beer should be a traditional hefe, but the name is a different story. Apparently it stems from an inside joke that came up when the guys of Rebel Kettle went to Springfield, Missouri, to meet with the brewers at Mother’s Brewing Company. There are no details as of yet, but we do know that Mother’s and Rebel Kettle will be collaborating for a special beer that should be released some time in the fall. Rebel Kettle’s John Lee wouldn’t go into much detail, but says if everything goes as planned, the collaboration beer will be one of a kind. We will keep following this partnership and let you know when more info about this special brew is available.
Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs is expanding. This week, the brewery is adding four ten-barrel fermenters to its brewing operation, which should allow for some expended distribution. The extra fermenters doubles Superior’s capacity. Whether this allows Superior to reach into the Little Rock market remains to be seen, but it has to be a strong possibility at this point.
Speaking of Hot Springs, last week we brought you the details of Bubba Brews Brewing Company’s new taproom, which is coming to Central Avenue sometime this summer. With the current developments, the new Craft Beer Cellar, and the possibility of Ben Bell bringing his Arkansas sake concept to the area, downtown Hot Springs is quickly becoming a booming beverage district.
If experimental brews are your thing, you should probably head to Lost Forty this afternoon. For its Freshcut Monday, Lost Forty is releasing a Thai Lemongrass Blonde ale in the taproom today. This is an ale brewed with star anise, lemongrass, coriander and ginger, so it shouldn’t hold anything back in terms of flavor. Almost as exciting, the taproom will be serving up some pork and peanut spring rolls to go with the ale. This one is a very small batch, meaning there will be no cans, growlers or crowlers available.
Stone’s Throw is doubling up on its #NewBrewFriday this week with the twin release of its Chocolate Stout and the Czechmate Dark Czech Lager. The chocolate stout is a milk stout at 6 percent ABV, and was last available last winter. Czechmate is a dark lager at 5 percent ABV and hasn’t been seen since 2015. Both these beers will be available only at Stone’s Throw’s taproom on Friday starting at 4 p.m.
Taco Tuesday is always a good time, and Blue Canoe Brewing Company wants you to spend it with them. Every taco order this Tuesday will get you a free half pint of one of Blue Canoe’s brews. This is only good on Tuesday, so make sure you stop by tomorrow.
Nothing new from Josiah Moody at Moody Brews and Vino’s this week, though there is still plenty of Katchiri’s Bier left on tap. This year’s version was aged in Rock Town Distillery gin barrels. Also, growlers are available of Moody Brews’ barrel-aged Sixes and Sevens at Legacy Wine and Spirits in West Little Rock until supplies run out.
And finally, if you’re a true beer nerd, you should be listening to Tap Time on 103.7 The Buzz every other Wednesday night at 8 p.m. This week, Tap Time will host Fossil Cove Brewing Company from Northwest Arkansas to talk about the upcoming Frost Fest and give away a couple of tickets to the event.
Do you have some beer news you would like to share with us? Email me at steve@rockcityeats.com.

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