I have to say, I have really enjoyed the fantastic sour beers I’ve tasted in 2017 from the Little Rock beer scene. One of the primary contributors to this trend has been Lost Forty Brewing, whose Wild Barrels Project has been superb. Today, Lost Forty is doing it again with the debut of Wild Barrel No. 4.5, a sour version of its Look-See Hefeweizen ale. No. 4.5 takes the base ale and ages it with fresh strawberries and two strains of yeast in oak barrels for four months. After that, the ale was racked and aged two more weeks in fresh cabernet barrels. This one promises to be a crisp, tart ale with plenty of pop. Bottles are only available at the taproom, limit two per customer. By the way, Lost Forty’s trademark Nighty Night is set to release on Oct. 21 at an event called Festival of Darkness. This promises to be a fun party with food trucks, an adult tricycle race, and beer from more than a dozen local and regional breweries.
Well, if you blinked you missed it this weekend at Flyway Brewing. The brewery put out a small batch of something called “Basic PSL” ale, a brew based on the popular Starbucks beverage that everyone seems to go crazy for each year. Flyway had some fun with it by serving Basic PSL in coffee cups with sleeves and lids. It sounds like it was massively popular, and no doubt will make a comeback next year. However, Flyway isn’t done with the pumpkin just yet. Today is the release of its fall seasonal Dowitcher Pumpkin Ale, a 6.8 percent ABV pumpking beer with cinnamon and nutmeg. This is becoming a perennial favorite at Flyway, so make sure you stop in to try it. In fact, if you come by tonight, you can take part in the Arkansas Fly Fishers social event called Fly Tying Night. Plenty of fly fishing experts and enthusiasts alike will be on hand to demonstrate some technique and exchange fishing tales.
Prestonrose Farm and Brewing Company in Paris is ready to debut its new taproom/dining room. On Sunday, Oct. 15, Prestonrose will hold its inaugural Beer Farm Bistro dinner in its new space. The dinner will feature five courses with food completely sourced from the farm, and of course paired with five Prestonrose brews. This is all the information we have so far; in the coming days Prestonrose will announce the menu and ticketing information. The bistro space is small, so ticketing is sure to be limited. We’ll let you know as soon as tickets go on sale.
One of my favorite calendar events every year is Pints and Pumpkins at Stone’s Throw Brewing. This year’s event is coming up Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. and features an all-out public pumpkin carving competition … with beer. Prizes are awarded from the scariest, most creative, and funniest pumpkin carvings. Pumpkins will be on hand to purchase, or you can bring your own. You should probably bring your own carving tools as well. Also this week, Stone’s Throw is debuting its new School for Lies Biere de Garde for #NewBrewFriday. This is a French brew style inspired by a play at the Arkansas Repertory Theater. It’s available at the taproom Friday, and the debut at The Rep will be Thursday, Oct. 19.
No 4:30 Thursday event this week from our friends at Rebel Kettle. The brew team is heading to the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado where it will be entering four of its flagships in the competition: Working Glass Hero, Easy Roller IPA, Moontower Cream Stout and Rob Gnarly Tart Saison. While there’s nothing new this week at the taproom, get ready for next week, when Rebel Kettle will release five different brews for its biggest 4:30 Thursday ever. This event will include the sixth version of the C-Street IPA series and four sour beers, so make sure to put it on your calendar.
Also, you might remember I really enjoyed the brews I tasted from Void Cellars at this week’s Little Rocktoberfest. We featured them last week in our Drink Insider, be sure to check it out and learn more about some of the most talented homebrews in the state of Arkansas.
Have some local beer news you would like to see in the space? Email me at steve@rockcitylife.com.