The beer party in East Village this weekend was impressive, and now both breweries are continuing with big releases this week. It starts today with Lost Forty Brewing, which held its annual Festival of Darkness Nighty Night release party on Saturday. Today’s Freshcut Monday is a double release of Nighty Night and Wolf Bite Dark Cider. This year’s Nighty Night is a 10.5% ABV imperial stout aged in rye, red wine and bourbon barrels. Lost Forty releases Nighty Night every year around this time, and after tasting it Saturday I believe this is the best version since the first one in 2015. It’s available by the glass as well as four-packs and growlers to go at the taproom. The other release, Wolf Bite Dark Cider, is a collaboration brew with Black Apple Crossing in Springdale. It’s a tribute to the classic snakebite drink made with cider and Guiness beer. Wolf Bite is a blend of Black Apple’s dry cider with Lost Forty’s Forest King Imperial Stout refermented on blueberries and bottle-conditioned with tea and berries. Wolf Bite is available in large-format bottles at Lost Forty and Black Apple Crossing today. The Freshcut Monday event starts at 4 p.m.
After its thrilling concert and beer release Saturday with Little Rock metal band Hell Camino, you could forgive Rebel Kettle Brewing Company for taking a week off. However, they’re back at it harder than ever this week with the 4:30 Thursday release of 2019’s RedRumPum. Rebel Kettle has been making this one since before the brewery opened, and this year’s version looks like it continues the beer’s boozy legacy. It’s an 11% ABV pumpkin ale aged for more than half a year in Caribbean rum barrels and released just in time for Halloween. Expect rich toffee, vanilla, rum and a touch of pumpkin spice in this one. RedRumPum available at Rebel Kettle at 4:30 p.m. this Thursday.
Continuing the trend of big, barrel-aged beers this week (and the weather is perfect for this trend) is Stone’s Throw Brewing. The MacPark location this week is releasing its Barrel-Aged RoggenDunkelDoppelBock for #NewBrewFriday. Besides being a challenge to my spell-check software, RoggenDunkelDoppelBock is a 10% ABV rye bock, which is a style that you won’t find around Little Rock very often. Stone’s Throw previously aged this one in wheat whiskey barrels from Rock Town Distillery; we will see if that is the case for 2019. At any rate, lovers of big beers won’t want to miss this release on Friday at 4 p.m. at Stone’s Throw MacPark.
And if you get through all those releases this week and still want more, you can grab a number of beers for a wonderful cause this Saturday. Diamond Bear Brewing Company is hosting Fest for the Cure to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., attendees will get to sample beer and wine from nearly three dozen vendors, including Central Arkansas breweries. There will also be games and food trucks to enjoy, though food is not covered in the price of admission. Tickets to Fest for the Cure are $30 in advance and $40 the day of the festival, so it’s best to buy them early.
Do you have any beer news to share with us? Email steveshuler@gmail.com.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
