Last Night In Little Rock, Put Me In A Haze

To kick off this new year, we decided on a whim to hit all of the central Arkansas breweries yesterday and see what's up. I'm going to call it the "Central Arkansas Hop District" as opposed to whatever name people trying to make money selling t-shirts and such come up with. There are 5 breweries all within about 2 miles of each other in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. Each offers something different, each is quite unique, each have their own charms and here's the kicker... they all make beer. See how this works?

I've done the Fayetteville Ale Trail a couple of times (all in 1 day once actually) and love it, but the difference is that around Little Rock the breweries are all packed pretty tightly. We actually are going to walk the entire thing often I'm sure, but yesterday's rain and cold made that not sound like much fun.

So we decided while finding something for lunch that Arkansas Ale House sounded like a good place to eat. And hey if you're having a beer at a brewery at noon on a Saturday, why in the world WOULDN'T you just hit them all? AMIRIGHT?

The new Diamond Bear brewery is really great. There is tons of room, free parking, really good food in the restaurant and a nice atmosphere. I had their Oatmeal Stout, a very nice version of the style. We hit the grandfather of Arkansas breweries, Vinos, next for a nice ESB, then Stone's Throw for a pint of their hot, hot, hot Chipolte Porter, which they're calling "Hawt"... for good reason. Great beer. Next we stopped by and visited with the great people at Blue Canoe over their milk stout, hit The Flying Saucer for a Saddlebock Java Stout (to keep the Arkansas theme going you know), then visited Little Rock's newest brewery, Lost Forty. These guys have just nailed it with everything they've done this first month. Excellent food, facility, atmosphere and oh yes... beer. I've called their operation "world class" and I mean it.

So there it is, the first of many days spent just wandering around the Central Arkansas Hop District. The beer lovers of this state should all do the same, and we actually saw many groups of people at multiple locations. Call some friends, make a plan, get a designated driver (or load the UBER app)... this is going to be HUGE.

The first pub crawl if 2015 begins at @Diamond_Bear Just like Marty McFly planned it. pic.twitter.com/JJVlQfIbw0
— Woo Pig Brewey! (@WooPigBrewey) January 3, 2015

Rain hasn't dampened the enthusiasm on the pub crawl. Knocked out an ESB at @VinosBrewPubLR on stop 2. pic.twitter.com/NAp4KmznAQ
— Woo Pig Brewey! (@WooPigBrewey) January 3, 2015

Like it hot? Get some of this Chipolte Porter at @StonesThrowBrew right now. Wow! #NailedIt pic.twitter.com/UX19oOin4N
— Woo Pig Brewey! (@WooPigBrewey) January 3, 2015

Nice crowd at @bluecanoebrewco for the Hogs game and nice line-up of brews. #LocalBeerDay pic.twitter.com/xt5yJFYNC4
— Woo Pig Brewey! (@WooPigBrewey) January 3, 2015

The pub crawl ends at the kick ass @lost40beer taproom. If you haven't been here, you should. World class. pic.twitter.com/oCKcTeEQ1W
— Woo Pig Brewey! (@WooPigBrewey) January 4, 2015

Video: Diamond Bear - Quick Tour of the Brewery & Restaurant

Russ & Sue Melton give a quick tour and brief history of Diamond Bear Brewery in N. Little Rock, Arkansas.

Arkansas At GABF By The Numbers

It doesn't take long to recap Arkansas' history in the grandaddy of American beer festivals, Great American Beer Festival, running October 2nd through the 4th this year in Denver, Co. But we're sending some big hitters this year to bring home some hardware as Apple Blossom, Core, Diamond Bear and Saddlebock all head to the mountains with some tasty Arkansas made brews in tow. With the state's craft beer scene really just beginning to take off in the last few years, it may be surprising to some that we actually do have a nice history at the festival dating back to our first medal in 2003.

Here's my historical breakdown, by the numbers...

1 - medal for Boscos Little Rock
2 - medals for Vino's Pizza Pub
2 - the most medals for 1 beer (Diamond Bear Pale Ale & Vino's Rock Hopera)
2 - the most medals in 1 year for the state (2007 & 2005)
3 - total number of gold medals for the state
3 - number of breweries in Arkansas to claim medals
5 - medals for Diamond Bear Brewery, the state's leader
6 - years since the state claimed a medal
7 - total medals for the state of Arkansas

(click to enlarge)

Shine On You Crazy Diamond Bear

It's official (almost?). Central Arkansas' Diamond Bear Brewing Company has moved their location from downtown Little Rock to the north side of the river, into the Argenta Arts District in North Little Rock. Governor Mike Beebe helped open the brewery on Monday at it's grand opening. It's a much bigger facility than their Little Rock location so I'd expect the volume of beer to increase from them and also maybe more offers than from their current line of beers? We'll see once they get things rolling. A restaurant is also still to come it sounds like too. Also worth noting, I don't think this new building is actually open to the public just yet.

Here's a quote from their Facebook page: "This was a soft opening, christening kind of deal. An open house. We will still have the taproom and retail area open at 323 Cross St. Thursday thru Sunday 12-6pm as usual for the time being. We will keep you posted."

Here's KTHV's coverage: http://www.thv11.com/story/news/local/2014/04/21/brewery-contributes-to-argenta-growth/7987451/ 

And check out this short highlight video below of the ribbon cutting at the new location, 600 N. Broadway in North Little Rock.

I Love That Firkin Beer

Rare Beer Tapping @FS_LittleRock Thurs Jan 30th firkin of @Diamond_Bear Paradise Porter with Dekuyper Hazel Nut Liquor and Cacao nibs 6PM
— Woo Pig Brewey! (@WooPigBrewey) January 27, 2014

Yes, another firkin coming up. You won't hear me complaining though as I think they're pretty fun and can get sort of creative sometimes, although I've also had my share of boring ones. That's the fun in it I guess. The one above from Diamond Bear definitely has me intrigued though.

So what is a firkin and what makes is special? Well if you don't want to click that handy link there from Examiner.com then I've paraphrased a bit below:

"A firkin, which is derived from the Middle Dutch word vierdekijn (meaning fourth), is actually a small barrel of beer that is one-fourth the size of a regular barrel of beer. As opposed to a standard beer barrel, which contains 117.34 liters or roughly 30.96 gallons, a firkin full of cask ale will contain a volume of 40.91 liters or 10.79 gallons. These volume sizes are provided in U.S.-based gallons.

The firkin is typically dedicated to housing Real Ale (i.e., cask-conditioned ale), or beer that has not been cold-filtered, pasteurized and carbonated by outside equipment. The ale beer that is housed inside the firkin is naturally carbonated by its resident yeast and its ingredients have not been processed in any way outside of simple fermentation by the yeast. In essence, firkin-contained Real Ale is comparable to the ale beers that were produced hundreds of years ago, before industrialization subjected them to processes that removed and/or killed the yeast, stripping the beer of many of its inherent vitamins (especially the B vitamins), minerals, and perhaps most importantly, taste."

So now you know! It's really just another way to enjoy some beer, like I need any excuse to get out and drink a few.

Here's a video from a recent Diamond Bear firkin tapping at Andina Cafe here in Little Rock. For the record, that's me standing over Bonz' shoulder at the :25 second mark, looking thirsty (and shockingly sober).