Lost Forty’s best fall beer is out today at the taproom. No, not The Hunter Oktoberfest, which is quite good but comes out in the summer. Today for Freshcut Monday, Lost Forty is releasing its Baltic Porter under a new name. Puffy Jacket is a robust 9 percent ABV porter packing tons of chocolate, coffee and cherry notes in a warm, malty, lagered beer. Puffy Jacket is getting the full Lost Forty treatment, with draft, crowlers, growlers and four-packs to-go. You can also expect to find it in grocery stores and liquor stores around town. Then on Saturday, the brewery is hosting the Lost Forty Fall Concert at HarvestFest in Hillcrest. As part of the festivities, Lost Forty is holding a tap takeover at Proof Bar + Lounge in Hillcrest, and they’re bringing a keg of Nighty Night to the party. Full disclosure: I am chairing the HarvestFest committee this year.
Look, there are now plenty of breweries churning out very good beers, but there’s only one doing a regular (and popular) malt liquor. Chug Life was first put on tap at Rebel Kettle in May 2016 and caught on better than the brewery expected. This week is the third time the brewery has released Chug Life. This is a 6.6 percent ABV malt liquor with a lot of malt flavor that ends clean and slightly sweet. It’s going on for Rebel Kettle’s weekly 4:30 Thursday release event, so make plans to swing by the brewery later this week.
Core Brewing is releasing a special stout in cans, but only at its public house locations. This one is called Alton’s The Dude Abides. It’s billed as a white Russian imperial stout brewed with pale, crystal and chocolate malts. Core also throws in roasted barley, cream and white chocolate. The brewery says it’s a robust stout that eases into a sweet, velvety finish. The beer is named fro brewer Alton Heubner, who has plenty of affection for The Big Lebowski. As I mentioned, Core has canned this one, but it’s only going to the public house taprooms, so make plans to stop in at the Argenta or South Main location this week.
Stone’s Throw is reviving a style of beer that has gone extinct. For its #NewBrewFriday event, Stone’s Throw is releasing an as-yet unnamed Dumpfbier. I had never heard of it, so I had Ian Beard fill me in on it. Basically, Dumpfbier is a style of Hefeweizen brewed without the wheat. That means you get all the banana and clove flavors from the yeast, but without the traditional sweet hefe finish. This sounds really intriguing, but you’ll have to wait until 4 p.m. on Friday to try it. By the way, Stone’s Throw is also releasing its Cranapple Cider Friday as a fall seasonal. Next week, its pear cider Pear Guavara goes on as a year-round tap.
And this weekend sees the last of the fall beer festivals in Central Arkansas. On Friday, it’s the Arkansas Times Craft Beer Festival. The event is from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. in Argenta, across the street from Mugs Café. The $25 entry fee will get you unlimited pours from dozens of local and national craft breweries. In addition to local favorites Lost Forty, Flyway, Stone’s Throw and others, you can find pours from Elysian, Clown Shoes, Off Color and many others. Tickets are available now and at the door.
Do you have some beer news you would like to share with us? Email steveshuler@gmail.com.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
