Nearly two years after he left for Bike Rack Brewing Company in Bentonville, Josiah Moody is brewing again in Little Rock. Moody Brews last week posted its first teaser photo, hyping the return of Cuban Pull, which was a fan-favorite coffee brew when it was last here. However, that one won’t be the first Moody Brew on tap. Josiah tells me he has a dry-hopped saison that will be released next week at Vino’s Brewpub under the Moody Brews label. Vino’s will serve as Moody Brews’ home base as Josiah explores opening his own brewery and taproom in Central Arkansas. We’ll update you next week on all the details of the first Moody Brews release since January 2017.
Speaking of fan-favorites, two outstanding Little Rock beers are back on tap this week after spending some time away. First at Flyway Brewing is the return of the fall seasonal Coffee Cake Stout. Arguably the most popular of Flyway’s cake series, Coffee Cake Stout is an 8 percent ABV ale conditioned on vanilla beans and cacao nibs from Izard Chocolate. It’s then finished with cold brew from Argenta neighbor Mugs Cafe. Coffee Cake Stout was created from a family recipe for chocolate coffee cake, and the brew team absolutely gets the resemblance spot on. You can get a glass or growler of this one starting tomorrow.
And the second popular brew to return is Alphaholic Double IPA at Rebel Kettle Brewing Company. For its 4:30 Thursday release, brewers John Lee and Josh Davis have tweaked the original recipe (because this is still Rebel Kettle here). This time, you can expect a bigger nose and a juicier profile from this 8 percent ABV brew. You can also expect a less bitter profile, making this one a bit softer and easier to drink. In addition to Alphaholic, Rebel Kettle on Thursday welcomes acoustic rockers Southern Frayed to the stage for what should be a pleasant day with great beer and good music.
Core Brewing is starting to kick things into full gear. They are currently running their brewers battle stouts with three different imperial stout styles to try. This week they are also releasing their Brewer’s Pride series-Cranberry Rye IPA. The beer represents the tastes of the season with a spicy rye malt base, cranberry, orange peel and a healthy dose of Centennial hops. It will be available this week at the pubs and in four-pack cans.
Pumpkin spice can be found just about everywhere this time of the year, and that includes Great American Beer Festival medal-winning brews. Lost Forty Brewing today will unveil a super-small batch of Pumpkin Spice Easy Tiger for its Freshcut Monday release. The brew team blended its Mexican lager with nutmeg, allspice, clove and other pumpkin spices for a warm, aromatic brew. When I say small batch, I’m not kidding: there’s only a ½ BBL pony keg of this available. So if you want a taste of Easy Tiger basic-style, you need to be at Lost Forty pretty soon after it goes on tap at 4 p.m. today.
There are very few styles I enjoy more in the fall than a good dunkelweizen, and that’s what goes on tap this week at Stone’s Throw Brewing. For its #NewBrewFriday, the MacPark taproom is releasing Descartes Dunkelweizen, a 5 percent ABV wheat brewed in the tradition of Munich brewhouses. Descartes has a thick malt flavor with plenty of complex notes framing a classic wheat flavor. This one is a very dark beer, but the flavor is light and enjoyable, and the low ABV means you can enjoy it more than once. Descartes Dunkelweizen goes on tap Friday at 4 p.m.
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