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:
Little Rock beer lovers will be descending on Vino’s Brewpub today for the debut of Moody Brews Cuban Pull Imperiale, which is on tap right now. For this special brew, Josiah Moody put his coffee-inspired brown ale Cuban Pull into rum barrels from Rock Town Distillery for three and a half months. After that, Moody added fresh espresso beans to the mix just before the finish. The result is a 10.4 percent ABV beer with plenty of coffee flavor. There is less than 50 gallons of Cuban Pull Imperiale available, so get to Vino’s soon. This is the first of four barrel-aged beers Moody will release over the next few months. The next one will be an imperial stout aged one year in a Rock Town Distillery rye whiskey barrel with vanilla beans and marshmallows.
There is no Freshcut Monday scheduled today for Lost Forty Brewing, but you can hardly blame them after a hugely busy weekend that included the release of Nighty Night. The three-barrel-aged imperial stout is available in 11-ounce pours at the taproom as well as four-packs to take on the road. At last check, all twelve of Lost Forty’s taps are full, so stop by for a taste of White Hop Wandering Ale, Forest Queen Milk Stout and other specials.
Rebel Kettle is not planning a Growler Tuesday event as of now, though that could change later today. However, brewmaster John Lee tells me he is running Dirtbag Double Brown Ale through Rebel Kettle’s version of a randall, infusing it with candy corn and roasted pumpkin seeds. 4:30 Thursday is still on with the release of Whiskey Business, an ale inspired by the whiskey sour cocktail.
No matter where you are Thursday, it’s likely you’ll be near a Stone’s Throw Brewing event. You’ll be able to find them in West Little Rock at the Good Earth Garden Center food truck meet-up, downtown at The Rep for Stone’s Throw night at “The Crucible,” and in North Little Rock at a tap takeover at Skinny J’s in Argenta. Then on Friday, Stone’s Throw debuts The Liereman Belgian Brown Ale for #NewBrewFriday. As always, Stone’s Throw will hold a special randall infusion of one of its beers on Saturday at 4 p.m.
I got a chance to try Southern Rok by Bubba Brews this weekend, and it is definitely one of the best Marzen-style beers I’ve ever tasted. Major kudos to Jonathan Martin and his team for nailing that one. Martin and his team are working on brewing Winter Hammer, a beer that was well-received at the Great American Beer Festival a couple of weeks go in Denver. That beer will likely be available in the next couple of weeks.
Flyway Brewing is preparing for a beer dinner with Rebel Kettle and Raduno Brick Oven & Barroom. The event is Monday next week at Raduno. Tickets for the five-course dinner are $45, and a few are still available. Get your tickets soon if you want to attend. Also, the guys from Flyway will hold a tap takeover at Bar Louie in North Little Rock Wednesday, and will be serving beer at Salon Karizma Wednesday at a No Shave November cancer awareness event.
Do you have some beer news you would like to share with us? Email me at steve@rockcityeats.com.