Rebel Kettle Brewing Company has a busy week ahead, starting with its 4:30 Thursday release of Season of Sin Saison. Season of Sin is a strong 7.2 percent ABV farmhouse-style ale with notes of citrus and Belgian spices. It is dry but easy to finish off. Then on Saturday, Rebel Kettle is releasing its Berried Alive Blackberry and Raspberry American Sour in large format bottles. This 6.2 percent ABV sour has a red ale base that has been kettle-soured before being refermented on blackberry and raspberry puree for two months. Rebel Kettle has 1,000 of these bottles for sale starting Saturday when the doors open. Finally, the brewery is getting a much-needed expansion with the addition of four 15-BBL fermenting tanks. These tanks are replacing four seven-BBL tanks. Rebel Kettle plans to use the extra capacity for more can and bottle releases. Brewer John Lee tells me this is probably the last expansion the brewery has room for.
Arkansas’ most famous beer gets its annual release party this coming weekend. Ozark Beer Company in Rogers is debuting the 2019 version of BDCS this weekend. If you don’t already have your tickets for the event, you’re probably too late at this point. However, you’ll still have a chance to get your hands on some BDCS later on. Ozark Beer Company has made one of its biggest batches ever, and you can expect plenty of distribution for the Little Rock area. We’ll let you know as soon as those cans are available. By the way, if you happen to be in Northwest Arkansas this weekend, Ozark is releasing some fun BDCS variants only at the taproom; those variant styles will be announced on Ozark’s Facebook page.
It’s not so much a beer-focused event, but you still won’t want to miss the stellar evening of food planned at Flyway Brewing on Wednesday. That’s when Dempsey’s Flying Biscuits will take over the Flyway taproom. The event is named for well-known barbecue chef Ken Dempsey, Flyway Brewing, and Delta Biscuit Company. The three have teamed up for a pop-up that looks incredible, offering dishes like a biscuit pork belly served banh mi-style and a pastrami biscuit. Doors open at 5 p.m.; you’ll probably want to be there early for this one. Then on Friday, Flyway is hosting a special benefit for the USA Paralympic Crew team. A dollar from specific pints will go to help the team travel to events in Brazil, Hungary and Poland.
Lost Forty Brewing today has a couple of brews coming out today for its Freshcut Monday release. First, Look-See Hefeweizen is back on tap for the spring season. This classic Hefeweizen is a 5.4 percent ABV wheat beer with excellent balance that is easy to sip on during a warm evening on the porch. Look-See will be available on draft and in six-packs to go, and should be at your grocery or liquor store very soon. Lost Forty is also releasing a new Blackberry Cider made with fresh apples and blackberry puree. Not nearly enough breweries do cider on a regular basis, so it’s good to see one coming out this week. Blackberry Cider is only available by the glass starting at 4 p.m. today.
Stone’s Throw has one of its bigger beers coming back this week. For its #NewBrewFriday release, Stone’s Throw is tapping Amarillo Warrior Imperial IPA. This double brings loads of hop flavor in the form of Amarillo, Warrior and Simcoe hops. It’s all braced with a strong malt and a 9 percent ABV profile. Expect loads of flavor with each sip on this one. You can get this year’s Amarillo Warrior at Stone’s Throw at 4 p.m. Friday.
Arkansas Brews Cruise has a pretty busy week ahead. The beer tour company is holding a two-brewery tour Wednesday at Rebel Kettle and Lost Forty. There are two three-brewery tours slated for this weekend; the Friday tour will stop at Flyway for the Paralympic Crew team benefit. If you haven’t gone on an Arkansas Brews Cruise yet, you really should try it. It’s a fun way to get out and explore behind the scenes of Arkansas’ best breweries.
Do you have any beer news you want to share with us? Email steveshuler@gmail.com.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
