Back home and enjoying some #ArkansasBeer again
It was last July that I wrote about some of my European beer experiences. And I haven’t posted anything here since.
The long lapse is kind of embarrassing considering how much money I’m paying to maintain this website. Now that I’m back from my overseas work assignment, it’s time to crank up the blog again.
Here are some random things I’ve experienced, tasted, or observed over the last few weeks in #ArkansasBeer.
Crisis rings in the New Year on London time
New Year’s Eve has become an anticlimactic event for my wife and I over the past decade or so.
In our younger days we did things big. In college we’d head over to Memphis for the typical Beale Street debauchery. For many years we made road trips to Dallas when the holiday coincided with a Razorback Cotton Bowl berth. The hangovers were brutal back then.
When kids came into the picture NYE took on a more mellow tone. These days it’s a struggle to see the clock tick over to 12:00am. The silver lining is that the next morning lacks the headache and haze of yesteryear.
We bumped into our buddy, Chris Abel at Crisis Brewing Co.’s NYE party.
Without any solid plans this NYE, I was excited to see a Facebook post from Crisis Brewing Co. in Fayetteville, advertising a party for old people. To accommodate the early-to-home, early-to-bed crowd, Crisis held a champagne toast at 6pm—or if you prefer, 12am London time.
Crisis has a solid reputation for its beer quality. The taproom is small, but all of the beers are well-made. My wife and I quickly decided this was the spot for our holiday “revelry.”
Crisis was packed when we arrived at around 4:30pm. I’m not sure what the maximum capacity is, but my conservative estimate is that one hundred or more people wedged themselves in that night (patio included)—with many more spilling onto the grounds surrounding the brewery.
I always enjoy the Identity IPA when I visit Crisis. That night I had a few of the brewery’s hazy offering as well. We passed on the champagne at “midnight,” instead finishing off the beer in our glasses.
At some point a big Belgian ale with even a huge ABV made its way around. We left soon after the English New Year and went for dinner. True to form for us “old people,” we were in our pajamas by 8:30.
Kudos to Crisis Brewing Co. for a fun night. The brewery seems to be quite popular among Northwest Arkansas beer drinkers, and I’m looking forward to seeing the place grow.
Visiting the new kids on the block
There were two breweries that opened right as I was leaving for Europe last summer.
One of those new breweries is Natural State Beer Co. in Rogers. It’s in a brand new building in the Pinnacle Hills area. With quick access to Interstate 49, it’s within easy reach of most of Northwest Arkansas. Twenty minutes from my home in Fayetteville, to be exact.
I visited Natural State and saw the brewery and taproom before the buildout was complete. It was obvious to me that the place was going to get off to a strong start. The physical layout was solid (as is often the case in brewery-specific designs), and the view of the multi-use trail, reflecting pond, and western sky from the back porch was inspiring. It was in concept—and seems to be in its final state—a good mix of form and function.
My wife and I were excited to visit Natural State on the first Saturday of February.
The place had a solid feng shui going on. There’s a mix of communal tables and semi-private seating. The windows are big and natural light pours into the taproom.
Most breweries go through a learning curve with the brewing process. Dialing in a new system and learning to cope with the new realities of running a business usually takes four to six months to achieve—sometimes longer. It seems like Natural State figured things out a whole lot faster than most.
German styles dominate the tap list at Natural State Brewing Co.
I’m sure part of the reason for this is that the founders of Natural State—Mark Smith and Dan Clous—hired a professional brewer to get things going. Will Sonneman trained with the American Brewers Guild and worked for Fair Winds Brewing Co. in northern Virginia before arriving in Arkansas. A novice brewer he is not.
The Helles reminds me of the beer I drank in Austria.
As for the beer, it’s great so long as you like German-style beer.
My time in Austria gave me a healthy appreciation for those styles. Ottakringer Brewery in Vienna made a Helles beer that was to die for. Along with other styles from the region, it had a more malt-forward approach than American beer.
Hops are the kings of American brewing.
Helles, pilsner, bock, and weizen—I learned to love them all. And these are exactly the kinds of beer Natural State is providing Northwest Arkansas.
The standout beer during our visit to the brewery was the Vienna lager. Copper in color with a mild bitterness, it was for me a perfect example of the style. My wife said the India Pale Lager was outstanding. To put that into context, she’s a diehard IPA fan and was afraid she wouldn’t find something she liked.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how many people inside the taproom were eating something from the food truck outside—Big Sexy Food—which has a permanent presence in the parking lot. I had to fight the urge to order something because it all looked so delicious. The only reason I didn’t was because we already had dinner plans that evening.
I expect big things from Natural State Beer Co. It has found a unique niche in an established beer scene, which is hard to do these days. It also came out strong, making top-notch beer from the start.
Boston Mountain Brewing Co. is the other new brewery in Northwest Arkansas.
Admittedly, I haven’t spent much time there, even though it’s really, really close to my house. I stopped by last April to talk to co-owner Matt Thompson for a Fayetteville Flyer story. He was still building out the taproom back then. So my perspective of Boston Mountain is incomplete at best.
From what I’ve seen on Facebook, Boston Mountain has a pretty good crowd on most nights. It offers cocktails in addition to beer, which widens the scope on potential customers. I’m told the bartenders make a mean margarita.
The beer at Boston Mountain Brewing is clean in composition and diverse in style.
One Sunday afternoon I noticed I was out of beer. I figured it would be a good time to pop into Boston Mountain for a quick look.
The brewery is located in a 70s or 80s-era shopping center with a low-hanging roofline and only a dozen or so tenants. The old cigar shop flanks the north end of the building, though most people will know the location because there’s a Subway sandwich shop that’s been there forever. Boston Mountain is nestled into the southeast corner of the property.
I think Thompson and co-owner Sam Grinceri did a great job with what they had to work with. And I don’t mean that as a backhanded compliment either. They didn’t build the place from the ground up, with their own design in mind. They renovated an existing space that needed a little TLC.
The woodworking that went into Boston Mountain is impressive. Most of the interior was done by hand, including the massive bar that makes a dogleg turn on the far end. It’s a warm and inviting room, even for first-time visitors.
The beer itself was good. It was clean and free of defect, which is the first major test of a brewer’s mettle. Fermenting a clean beer is mission-critical.
The menu was diverse. There was a golden ale, a coconut porter, a pumpkin ale, and several different pales and IPAs. There was even a robust porter, which earns bonus points if I’m the one keeping score.
The learning curve I speak of is really about dialing in the recipes on a new brewing rig. The guys are probably tinkering with recipes at this point and haven’t yet found optimum results. I think this is a respectable—if not expected—critique of the place.
I mean, show me a brand new commercial brewer without professional training that nails it right out of the gate.
You can’t because it’s not possible.
Every new brewer learns through trial and error. In six months’ time I expect Boston Mountain to have settled on some recipes, and a few crowd favorites to have emerged.
I missed Frost Fest this year…on purpose
Each year Fossil Cove Brewing Co. hosts Frost Fest, which is one of the biggest beer events in the state of Arkansas.
I’ve been to every one since the festival started. I consider it can’t-miss.
But this year I decided to miss.
The decision was made due to a combination of fatigue from traveling, burnout from the holiday season, and the frantic nature of Saturdays that are built around kids’ sports and birthday parties. I wasn’t sure I was up to the marathon pace of a beer festival this early in the year.
I knew, of course, that around 3pm on that Saturday I would regret my decision.
And regret it I did. I could feel the positive energy flowing from the fairgrounds across Interstate 49 to my house in west Fayetteville. I knew exactly how much fun everybody was having over there.
I’ve written about Frost Fest before, so I don’t want to beat a dead horse. But Fossil Cove has its beer festival game down to a sweet science. Nearly all of the state’s breweries are in attendance, along with several regional breweries from St. Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa, and other nearby cities. The lines are manageable, and there is usually a killer lineup of local musicians under the tent.
You never know who might be pouring beer at Frost Fest. Last year it was @WooPigBrewey (and his wife) from Little Rock filling glasses for Rebel Kettle Brewing Co.
My wife and I usually go with a dozen of our friends and have a great time. I’d say it rivals the Roots Festival’s Thursday night party up on Markham Hill as the best social event in Fayetteville for the 30-50-year old crowd.
Ben, Tyler, Andrew, and the rest of the brewery’s crew are some of the finest people in the beer business. They have settled into a slow-growth, have-fun-as-you-go groove in the local beer scene. They make great beer, and I’m sure some people wonder why they haven’t grown twice their size already. I think they would respond, “Why would we?”
I’ll be back at Frost Fest next year, even more excited having missed the 2020 edition.
There’s lots of new beer from outside the state
The beer is from Tampa’s Cigar City, the glass is from St. Louis’ Urban Chestnut.
I’m amazed by all the new beer available in Arkansas now. It wasn’t that long ago that we had to dream of the tasty offerings from Stone Brewing Co. (San Diego), Bell’s Brewery (Michigan), and Founders Brewing Co. (also from Michigan). These days we have a wide variety of the bigger craft breweries to choose from, with more on the way.
The latest to arrive in our area is Cigar City Brewing Co. from Tampa, Florida. People who vacation in the Sunshine State—who also love craft beer—are probably familiar with the brewery. It’s a unavoidable sighting all over the Gulf Coast.
Cigar City’s most popular beer is probably Jai Alai, an IPA that is big and bitter with notes of citrus and a foundation of caramel malt. It clocks in at 65 IBU and 7.5% ABV and is best described as a classic west-coast version of the style.
There are occasional variants of Jai Alai, including my personal favorite, the version aged on white oak. Hopefully we see some in Arkansas when its time comes.
Jai Alai probably isn’t considered a beach beer due to its heft, but Florida Cracker—a Belgian-style white ale—fits that bill. It will remind some of Blue Moon, with the familiar orange peel and coriander flavors, and the characteristic spicy, dry finish. Florida Cracker is probably the easiest introduction to the Cigar City lineup at only 18 IBUs and a relatively low 5.5% ABV.
Cigar City's arrival in Arkansas was probably made possible when it was purchased by Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewing in 2016. They join Wasatch Brewery, Deep Ellum Brewing Co., Perrin Brewing Co. and Three Weavers Brewing Co. to form CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective. Together they represent the 8th largest craft brewery in the United States, with 480,000 barrels shipped in 2019. Member breweries enjoy wide-scale distribution.
Consolidation is a dirty word in the beer industry nowadays. But I’m fine with whatever it took to get Jai Alai to my refrigerator on a regular basis.
At least they’re not owned by Anheuser-Busch, right?
Random thoughts
The building that once housed Ozark Brewing Co. and Hog Haus Brewing Co. is under renovation.
It’s sad to see the Puritan Coffee & Beer location in uptown Fayetteville close. Like the original location on Dickson Street, it carried a nice lineup of craft beer on tap and was a good place to grab a quick pint or coffee with a friend. Fortunately, the downtown location doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. I love the slow pace and quiet hum of conversation there.
Renovation work continues at the old Ozark Brewing Co./Hog Haus Brewing Co. building at the corner of Dickson and West in downtown Fayetteville. Removing the facade exposed the bones of the century-old building, which is like looking back in time. Although some are excited to see the mixed-use outcome for the site, I’m a little bummed that the corner will become “modernized” and lose most of its original character. And even more depressing, it doesn’t look like the site will see any brewing in the future.
Bentonville Brewing Co. is getting really close to announcing the opening day for its new brewery. The building looks amazing, and from the brewery’s Facebook page it appears brewing tanks are being set in place. I haven’t bought much Bentonville Brewing beer in recent memory, but there’s obviously a market it for it in Northwest Arkansas. The leap in brewing capacity—and the expectations that come with it—will be a challenge. It will be interesting to see how the transition from its current space to the new building goes later this year.
Little Rock has lost some breweries over the past year or so. Blue Canoe Brewing Co., Refined Ale Brewery, and Buffalo Brewing Co. all closed up shop. Damgoode Brewing Co. stopped making beer. Breweries have sprung up all across the state, but the capital city has seen things stall a bit. It makes me wonder. When will Northwest Arkansas see a brewery close? It’s inevitable that the market will force someone out at some point. If I were a betting man I would place my money on two NWA breweries in particular to close in the next 12-18 months. I won’t name them, because I’m not trying to hurt anyone on this blog. However, I will say that making an inferior product and/or charging more for a pint of beer than the market dictates are not good for business. As the average beer drinker becomes more sophisticated with his or her taste in beer, and more savvy when it comes to pricing, breweries will be forced to emphasize quality while controlling for cost. Even though breweries have had a good run in Northwest Arkansas, economic forces win in the end.
