Arkansas Beer by Brian Sorensen

Author:Brian Sorensen [Sorensen, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cooking, Beverages, Alcoholic, Beer, History, United States, State & Local, South (AL; AR; FL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA; WV)
ISBN: 9781467137553
Google: 6BgwDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2017-01-15T03:04:29+00:00

West Mountain Brewing Company anchors the southwest corner of Fayetteville’s downtown square. Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Then, in the fall of 2010, a young brewer named Andy Coates walked into West Mountain while taking a stroll around the square. He had recently moved to Northwest Arkansas with his wife, Lacie Bray. Coates, who had gained brewing experience at Chicago’s Goose Island Brewing Company and Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, was excited to taste beer made in his newly adopted hometown. He was disappointed to learn that the brewery was idle and there were no house beers on tap. Sensing opportunity, he left his phone number with the bartender and asked that the owner give him a call. Schmuecker called him back that day and made an instant connection. “He was an exceptionally nice guy and had all kinds of qualifications and experience,” said Schmuecker. “And being from Iowa, I knew he was somebody I could trust.” West Mountain’s long-awaited arrival was about to happen. House-made beer flowed from the brewery’s taps in November 2011. The first was appropriately named Coming Soon Pale Ale.

The brewery at West Mountain consists of a 3.5-barrel brewhouse and two 7-barrel fermenters. Everything sits in a space approximately two hundred square feet in size. To say it is cramped is an understatement. With such a small system and only a few fermenters, keeping up with demand was a challenge from the start. The IPA was especially popular and hard to keep on tap. Coates kept his IPA relatively simple, with a sixty-minute hop addition and another addition to the whirlpool. He then dry-hopped with a pound per barrel. Coates took pride in creating highly drinkable beers that many people now call session ales.

Coates eventually left West Mountain to start his own brewery in Rogers (Ozark Beer Company), and Will Gallaspy was hired as his replacement. Gallaspy brewed at Bosco’s in Little Rock and at Parish Brewing Company in Broussard, Louisiana, before arriving in Fayetteville. When he departed a year later, Ryan Pickop was hired to take his place. Pickop was an Americana musician and former distiller at Balcones in Waco, Texas, who moved to Fayetteville for opportunities in music. In late 2016, Minnesota-native Casey Letellier took over the brewing duties at West Mountain.

West Mountain Brewing Company caters to a diverse crowd. The original space is open and airy and is frequented by families. Floor-to-ceiling windows open the restaurant up to the plaza between the dining room and the Fayetteville Town Center next door. The brewery side is somewhat dark and tavern-like, with wood-paneled walls and a long bar that is frequented by some interesting locals. A happy hour is offered every day from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., lubricating conversations that bounce between politics, sports and philosophy. It’s not uncommon to find professors from the nearby university enjoying their pints next to farmers or construction workers. It is a microcosm of Fayetteville itself—a diverse and tolerant place that pairs well with a good beer.

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