Local Beer Day!

No kids, just back from a long vacation, hot, steamy summer day with nothing to do (well, except housework, yardwork and all that boring stuff)... so what the hell, we decided to hit all the local beer makers yesterday and show some support by buying their products. Little Rock is actually home to some fine brews, which I'm sure shocks many people. Here's our own short personal tour.

Any tour of Little Rock brews starts at Diamond Bear Brewing Company. They have tours on Saturdays at 2:00 and 4:00 and give you plenty of samples of their fine beers. The brewery opened in September 2000 and has gotten quite popular around here. The tour was pretty typical and short, it's a small place, and the air-conditioned tasting room (bar) was the more popular spot.

Who would have thought some of the best beer in the country could come from Little Rock? I assure you though, you'd be hard pressed to find a better pale ale than those folks make. If you don't believe me, just know that it's won 2 gold medals at the World Beer Cup. Not too shabby at all. Also, they make a fine Irish Red, Presidental IPA and their new Honey Weiss. We sampled them all, even their delicious fresh root beer, and picked up a case on the way out.

Next up, just a few blocks away is Vino's Brew Pub. It's sort of a hole-in-the-wall kind of place known more for it's rock shows pretty much every night in a tiny back room full of sweat and energy. Been to many shows there myself. But, they also have some great brews they make (and pizza and calzones that rock) including Rainbow Wheat, Firehouse Pale Ale, Six Bridges Cream Ale and Lazyboy Stout. They've always got a good seasonal going as well. Personally, I like the Rainbow Wheat and Firehouse Pale Ale but Michelle's favorite seems to be the Six Bridges Cream Ale. All are tastey brews and went great with the pizza slices we decided it was necessary for us to induldge in to avoid being sloshed.

Lastly, we went by Bosco's restaurant in the River Market. It's a good place to eat but better place for beer. They're a chain, but I think they're only in Memphis, Nashville and Little Rock. I used to be a member of their "beer police" but rarely get by there anymore, usually choosing to avoid the River Market area at night. I love to get by there once in a while and see what they've got on tap though. During weekdays, they tap a new cask conditioned ale every day around 5:00 or, and they have a drawing to determine who gets to tap it. Doesn't get much fresher than a brand new cask just opened I can say. But of course, we were there on a Saturday so no such luck.

They've got several beers that have won awards at Great American Beer Festival and the Real Ale Festival, namely their Flaming Stone (a lighter beer), Downtown Brown, Bombay IPA and my personal favorite Isle of Skye Scottish Ale. Good selection for sure and I must add that a nice small order of their tuna taco appetizer goes perfect with it.

So my yard still needs mowing and the house is a mess and I haven't even unpacked from Atlanta yet, but you know what they say... all work and no beer makes Homer something something.