Growlers: Lost Forty Wins Silver at GABF, Bubba Brews Lake Hamilton Opens Friday, Rebel Kettle Taps Five New Brews

Lost Forty Brewing this weekend became the first Arkansas brewery in nine years to win a medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Lost Forty won silver in the Vienna Lager category for its summertime staple Logger Rita. In all, more than 7,000 brews were entered in various categories from breweries around the country, so this win came against some real competition. Here’s the full list of all-time GABF medal winners from Arkansas:

  • 2003: Diamond Bear Pale Ale, silver medal for classic English-style pale ale
  • 2005: Diamond Bear Irish Red, gold medal for Irish-style red ale
  • 2005: Bosco’s Famous Flaming Stone Beer, silver medal for golden or blonde ale
  • 2006: Vino’s Rock Hopera, bronze medal for imperial red ale
  • 2007: Diamond Bear Honey Weiss, bronze medal for American-style wheat beer
  • 2007: Diamond Bear Pale Ale, gold medal for classic English-style pale ale
  • 2008: Vino’s Rock Hopera, gold medal for imperial red ale
  • 2017: Lost Forty’s Logger Rita, silver medal for Vienna-style lager

As you can see, Lost Forty deserves a ton of praise not only for the medal but for representing Arkansas well on the national scene. You should stop by the taproom today to celebrate with the team; today’s Freshcut Monday release at 4 p.m. is its seasonal Baltic Porter. By the way, there are still six-packs of Logger Rita to be found at Lost Forty and various liquor stores around town.
Bubba Brews is ready to open its newest location, and it’s not the downtown taproom. Bubba Brews on Lake Hamilton is set to open on Friday. The three-story taproom and restaurant offers three bars (one on each level) and 11 boat slips so that boaters can pull right up. The frame of this particular building has been up for more than a year, so it’s great to see the place finally opening up. Bubba Brews owner Jonathan Martin tells me the downtown taproom still has a few steps to go before it can open. He hopes for that location to be ready by the end of the month.
There’s a lot of work that goes into releasing just one new beer. Rebel Kettle this week is putting out five at the same time. For its 4:30 Thursday event, the brew team is going all out with four sours and an IPA:

  • “Squarepants” pineapple gose
  • “She’s My…” cherry pie sour ale
  • “Fuzzy Pumpkin” apricot pumpkin sour ale
  • “Keyed Up!” key lime pie sour ale
  • C-Street series IPA Block #6 New England-style black IPA (“Nightmare on C-Street”)

Sour fans in particular are going to find Thursday a must-go event, but don’t overlook the new C-Street IPA. Each one has been a unique take on the style, and I’m excited to see how this one turned out.
Flyway Brewing today is releasing a collaboration beer it made with Bubba Brews. Mocking Bird IPA goes on tap this afternoon. It’s a 6.7 percent ABV New England-style IPA. Flyway owner Jess McMullen says it’s a juicy ale with plenty of strong aromas and rich flavors. By the way, you can still find Dowitcher pumpkin ale and Coffee Cake Stout on tap, but these seasonal brews will only last during the fall.
And finally, you’ll be able to find almost every Pulaski County brewery in one place this coming weekend at HarvestFest in the Hillcrest neighborhood. Eight area breweries are scheduled to be selling in the beer garden at Kavanaugh and Beechwood from 11 a.m. until sundown (full disclosure: I’m a volunteer member of HarvestFest). This is one of the best festivals in the city each year, and I hope you’ll drop by and enjoy it with your friends and family.
Do you have some beer news you would like to share with us? Email me at steve@rockcityeats.com.

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