At the start of 2014, the team behind Big Orange announced plans to open a brewery, and then were able to make it happen before the end of the year. Officially opened the weekend before Christmas, here are a few things to know before you visit Lost Forty Brewing, a Q&A with the head brewer, and a photo tour of the facility. (Oh, and also this year, Big Orange — along with liquor stores around the state — began filling growlers.)
Diamond Bear Brewing Co. moved it’s headquarters from Little Rock to North Little Rock this year (and now they offer food!). Also new to DB in 2014? Southern Blonde in can form.
We held our first-ever Sync Craft Beer Tournament, narrowing a field of 32 regional beers down to 16, eight, four and then finally a winner. (Here’s a recap of how we picked which beers to include, in case you’re wondering.)
In April, there was noise of new brews making their way to Arkansas shelves. Local distillery Rock Town had similar news as its rum hit local shelves shortly after. This year also saw the ABC working to catch up with the boom of craft breweries in the state in terms of regulation.
Two independent brewers — Matt Foster and Josiah Moody — kept us up-to-date on what their recent endeavors in the world of brewing, and nanobrewery Stone’s Throw Brewing celebrated its anniversary with news of expansion.