This cool-weather snap comes just in time for today’s Freshcut Monday release at Lost Forty Brewing. The brewery is tapping a new Bourbon Barrel-aged Baltic Porter at 4 p.m. Almost a year ago, the brew team started aging its robust porter in Four Roses bourbon barrels. Seven months later, Lost Forty lagered the barrel-aged brew for another four months. Lost Forty says the resulting brew is smooth and complex, with notes of chocolate, vanilla and coconut. This is a pretty small batch, so no growlers, crowlers or cans to-go (too bad). However, Lost Forty is known to bring back successful small batches in larger quantities, so perhaps we’ll see this one again in the future.
The fall weather also means Oktoberfest-style beers are coming out in full force (though some debuted as early as July). Rebel Kettle has their seasonally appropriate lager out for 4:30 Thursday this week. Show’em Your O’Fest is a German amber lager with some American influence; it’s not your typical Marzen-style beer. It does, however, feature the prototypical rich malts and smooth finish you would expect to find from an Oktoberfest brew, in addition to Rebel Kettle’s typical balance and craftsmanship. You can grab this one by the glass or in a growler to take home.
Congratulations to the folks at Hawk Moth Brewing in Rogers. The microbrewery opened this weekend to excited crowds ready to try out the newest beer spot in Northwest Arkansas. Hawk Moth is closing this coming week to prepare for its official grand opening celebration on Saturday. Hawk Moth Brewing is a small-batch brewery that creates traditional brews with a twist. The brewery promises a healthy focus on barrel aging and blending to create their own unique takes. Hawk Moth will have eight beers on tap, including two barrel-aged brews, when they open for good this weekend.
Ivory Bill Brewing in Siloam Springs is set to open this week on the 15th (Saturday). Again, we sampled a couple of their beers a few weeks ago and found them spectacular. Sounds like a NWA tour of new breweries is in order.
Stone’s Throw Brewing is bringing back a special small-batch under a new name for its #NewBrewFriday event. The taproom will have It’s a Trapp! Trappist-style Single on tap starting at 4 p.m. The single is a relatively new style related to the typical Trappist Dubbels and Tripels. It’s a Trapp! looks like a Belgian-style Tripel, but has an assertive hop profile and half the alcohol. Stone’s Throw says this one has the traditional Belgian yeast esters, but also floral notes and spice from the hops. It should be great for sipping in the Stone’s Throw MacPark biergarten.
No beer news this week from Flyway Brewing, but the company did recently open up its online merchandise store. Flyway’s Facebook page now has a “Shop” option, where you can pick up one of six items. The store has three t-shirts, two hats and a beer coozie to start; you can bet they will be expanding their line-up in the future. There’s no option to pick up your purchase at the brewery; it’s shipping-only when you buy online. Still, this is perfect for buying holiday gifts or if you have gone out of town and just miss Flyway. You can find the link on Flyway’s Facebook page, or go to store.flywaybrewing.com.
Do you have any beer news you’d like to share with us? Email steveshuler@gmail.com.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
