Ozark Living

ArkAnsAs "e best beers are the ones we drink with friends" is a saying that encompasses the ideal of Arkansas Brewing Company in Ozark, Arkansas. In 2011, Christopher Brockett, an Ozark attorney who focuses in Tax Law and Trusts and Estates, had an idea. A dream, really, to open a brewery in Ozark to bring people to this beautiful little town on the Arkansas River. A few years later he acquired the rights to the name Arkansas Brewing Company from another attorney and was planning to start a brewery. But life happened and it was delayed. "en a motorcycle riding buddy of mine, Eric Meadors, told me that he always wanted to restore an old building and make beer," Chris said. "So, we bought a building together and restored it and that became the home of Arkansas Brewing Company." "I guess you would say we wanted to bring big city style to small town Ozark," Chris said. "And I think that's what we've done. e building itself was built 1945 and we have completely gutted it and renovated it. It was in very, very poor shape when we bought it from the city of Ozark." Chris' wife, Destiny, along with the help of an amazing staff, runs the brewery and the restaurant. ey work hard to make the brewery welcoming and fun for customers, serving up some great food and great drinks. Chris and Eric brew the beer with the help of family and friends, Charlie Meadors, Blake Bynum and Caleb Sowells. "All of us take turns making the beer," Chris said. "It has been a real experience and a lot of hard work but fun. Right now we have 9 of our beers on tap and we have 16 total taps. We rotate the other taps between domestics and other local cra breweries." But anyone who has sampled the results of their brewing efforts would tell you it is well worth it. Chris likes to say, "Come for the beer, but stay for the friends—because our customers become our friends." e brews Chris, Eric, Charlie and Blake come up with are as unique as the names they give them. "We have some beers that people love all the time," Chris said. "One is our Hillbilly Lager®. it's a light lager and very popular with our customers. When we have someone that says 'I only drink Busch Light or Bud Light' we try to convert them to a cra beer drinker. We give them samples of our Hillbilly Lager® and they almost always say, 'at's a good beer I'll have that!'" Other local favorites include Make Me Hoppy®, which is a light American Pale Ale and another one they call Dirty Red® which is an Irish Red. "We also have one on tap called Wanna Be Stout®," Chris said. "Eric and I really like a dark and strong beer. It can be 100 degrees out and we will still want a dark/strong beer. Not your average brewery Brewing CompAny : 18 • december 2022 • OZArK LIVING

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