One of Central Arkansas’ best annual releases comes Wednesday at Flyway Brewing. For the third year, Flyway is releasing its Lord God Imperial Chocolate Stout, an 11 percent ABV booze monster that packs a lot of flavor. This is a triple chocolate stout brewed with cacao nibs from Izard Chocolate. That high ABV may look daunting, but Lord God drinks remarkably smoothly. The beer is named after the ivory-billed woodpecker, affectionately known as the “Lord God” bird in parts of East Arkansas. At the release party Wednesday, Flyway will also have a limited supply of 2018 Lord God, as well as a version brewed with espresso from Mylo Coffee Co. The event kicks off at 4 p.m. If you want to try it earlier than that, grab a ticket to the Love for Flyway beer dinner at South on Main Tuesday. Tickets to the five-course beer pairing meal are still available, and Lord God will be served for one of the courses. Get your spot by emailing amy@southonmain.com or calling 501-244-9660.
Lost Forty today has a unique take on one of my favorite beers they’ve ever made. Today’s Freshcut Monday release is Druid, an evolution on its second Wild Barrels Project release. That one was a sour milk stout that impressed me with its wide range of flavors and daring composition. Druid takes that same concept and ups the stakes, using red wine-barrel aged Forest Queen and rye barrel-aged Forest King as the base. The blend was aged on Brettanomyces for nine months before bottling. Lost Forty says the brew has flavors of German chocolate, whiskey and cherries. You can get it on tap by the glass or in half-liter bottles to go.
Let me just say this is a ridiculously good week in Central Arkansas’ beer scene. We’ve already talked about two must-try brews, and here’s a third: Rebel Kettle has Preachers and Pimps back on tap for its 4:30 Thursday event. Preachers and Pimps is a gigantic 10 percent ABV Belgian quad that spends months in both rum barrels and Maker’s Mark bourbon barrels for a deep, smooth feel. If you haven’t had this one before, there is so much going on in this beer, highlighted with rich caramel, oak and stone fruit flavors. This is a mighty beer that all beer geeks should try. Make sure you’re there early on Thursday for this one.
Stone’s Throw Brewing deserves some high praise for Saturday night’s wildly successful Big Red Ball Homebrew Contest. The festival featured 47 beers vying for the title of “Official Beer of Kickball.” Each year, Stone’s Throw brews the winning recipe in collaboration with the Little Rock Kickball Association for the spring season. This year, “The Scott” homebrew team won with its Orion Nebula Belgian Blonde. That beer will be on at Stone’s Throw in March. This week, Stone’s Throw is again tapping its Biere de Gras for #NewBrewFriday. This biere de garde brew is a 5 percent ABV ale brewed to celebrate the build-up to Mardi Gras. You can find it on tap at Stone’s Throw Friday; after that, be sure to look for it at New Orleans-style restaurants like Maddie’s Place.
Fans of barleywine better head to their local Core Brewing public house soon this week. Core has released a limited number of Ol’ Grumpy’s Barleywine 22 ounce bombers to each of its locations. Ol’ Grumpy is a big 10 percent ABV with a lot of malty sweetness and floral esters that will warm you up during this recent cold spell. Core is also selling a snifter glass with each purchase for just $3 more. Here in Little Rock, you can find Ol’ Grumpy at the Core public house in the SoMa neighborhood.
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