Current local beer recommendation: Double Love Honey Anniversary Doppelbock at Lost Forty Brewing (available on tap and in four-packs to go)
It’s another double release from Rebel Kettle Brewing Company this week, including one of the brewery’s most popular sours. This week’s 4:30 Thursday event features the release of Purple Dinosour and Boom Pop! Frootsicle. Let’s talk about the new beer first: Boom Pop! Frootsicle is a 4.2% ABV smoothie-style sour. Raspberries, cherries and limes went into this lactose-brewed sour ale for a sweet, tart, creamy sip. Then there’s Purple Dinosour, Rebel Kettle’s capstone boysenberry sour that’s back for another canned run. This 5.3% kettle sour pours a vibrant purple and holds nothing back from the puckery-intense experience. Purple Dinousour and Boom Pop! Frootsicle will both be released at 4:30 on Thursday; both are available on tap and in four-packs to go.
Lost Forty Brewing today has a returning brew that promises to help beat away the blues from this miserable weather we’ve had lately (I need sunshine, soon). Today’s Freshcut Monday release is Puffy Jacket, Lost Forty’s excellent Baltic porter. This bracing 9% ABV lager smacks of roasted coffee and nuanced dark chocolate; think flavors of stone fruit and mild sweetness on the sip. The mineral content gives Puffy Jacket a different, more vibrant texture from Lost Forty’s other brews. Puffy Jacket is available today at 4 p.m. at the taproom on draft and in four-packs to go. For those of you who can’t get to Lost Forty, Puffy Jacket will be seeing statewide distribution, so be sure to check your local liquor store for availability.
Congratulations to our friends at Prestonrose Farm and Brewing Co. in Paris, Ark. The outstanding nanobrewery is celebrating its fourth birthday this week with a series of events. On Thursday, Prestonrose will be making bratwursts for dinner, while Friday will see Prestonrose create a made-to-order fresh deli counter. Then on Saturday, Prestonrose is roasting a whole hog raised on spent grains from the brewhouse. The party wraps up Sunday with a Cajun menu and King Cake contest at a Mardi Gras-styled “Fat Sunday” celebration. If you haven’t gone to Prestonrose before, you are missing out. This is my very favorite beer spot in Arkansas, and this week is a perfect occasion to make the drive west and experience Prestonrose for yourself.
This week’s Stone’s Throw Brewing release pays homage to the very early days of Little Rock’s beer scene. The #NewBrewFriday release at the MacPark location is Kleinschhmidt Kellerbock, a 7% ABV unfiltered bock that pours a rich amber color. This mild, slightly sweet bock is named for Gustav Kleinschmidt, who developed the real estate in Little Rock’s Pettaway neighborhood. Kleinschmidt first operated a German biergarten in the early 1900s just a block away from Stone’s Throw, but was forced to close when Prohibition was enacted. Kleinschmidt went into real estate as a result. This kellerbock is available Friday at 4 p.m.; it will also be featured at the Quapaw Quarter’s spring tour preview party on April 4.
And finally, we don’t usually talk about beer gardens in this space, but we do want to recognize this week Flying Saucer, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The taproom and restaurant has long been a friend of local breweries in Little Rock, committing more than a dozen taps to Arkansas brews. Flying Saucer will again be incorporating local beer into Wednesday’s celebration, offering a limited number of 25th anniversary beer steins for sale with pours of Lost Forty’s Second Rodeo cream ale that’s brewed with Arkansas rice. The event starts at 7 p.m. and goes until Flying Saucer closes.
Do you have any beer news to share with us? Email steveshuler@gmail.com.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
