What you are about to read below was written about us from our friend that we recently met while visiting Little Rock, Arkansas. This state surprised us with their vast array of great craft beer, and, oh, ok…their people are definitely awesome. Anyhow, John the Beer Snob (great title) gave us a title of Stout Scouts and then proceeded to write an entire article about our travels around Little Rock. How cool is that?
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Stout Scouts by John the Beer Snob
A big thanks to the fine folks at The Water Buffalo [where we got some home-brew supplies and had a few fine Arkansas beers], who this past week got me introduced to Ken and April Pishna [that’s us], wayward travelers visiting our fair state [Arkansas]. The Pishnas, from the suburban Denver area, are traveling beer bloggers, and publish under the moniker ‘Living a Stout Life‘. They are living many of our dreams, touring the country, in search of the ultimate beer experiences. [And, wow, have we found some! Click here to see what we have found.]
We met up at Diamond Bear on Tuesday, where they interviewed me as a part of their future post on Arkansas breweries. After the interview, we spent the afternoon drinking, chatting, and watching the pros can some beer. We even got to taste the Irish Red and the IPA right off the line… the Irish Red is a long time fave, and the IPA tweaks are amazing. That fresh IPA is one of the best I’ve had… and I’ve had a bunch [definitely, one of the best, and I’m not a huge fan of IPA’s].
A very special thanks to Rush, Greg, and Joseph for their hospitality, as they were definitely busy enough to say ‘not now’. They didn’t. I’m glad. Rush even gave Ken and April some beers for a future tasting, on down the trail [at the RVE Summit if you sign up for our attendee-led meetup]. We had a great time there, and as a result I have two very new, and very good friends. I really liked these folks [and we really like you]. I’m sure our paths will cross again.
After the afternoon at Diamond Bear (they even posed with the bear, btw), the Pishnas toured several other local Little Rock venues [such as Rebel Kettle, Stone’s Throw, and Flyway] on Wednesday, and then Thursday headed for Hot Springs, where they seemed particularly enamored with our Superior Bathhouse Brewery… the only brewery in the country located in a national park. While in Hot Springs they even took out time to do a home brew! Having been on a trip or two in a camper, I can tell you, cargo space is precious. Glad to know that these folks really have their priorities in place when it comes to packing [less clothes, more space for beer].
Based on their enthusiasm, I’ll be betting they give us a very favorable review. [You all better sign up for John’s newsletter and visit Little Rock!] They pointed out what a great tourist opportunity we have here related to our craft beer scene. We have a lot of breweries located very close together, and all make really good beer. Great to hear them describe our market from an outside perspective. I’m very much looking forward to their post. 1) because I’m in it… 2) because I love seeing our state through a visitors eyes.
These are great folks living a great…er… stout life. Happy trails Ken and April. Y’all come back, y’hear?
That’s all for now… I’m off to the kegerator
Your (self-proclaimed) beer snob,
John ‘The Beer Snob” Wells, CBS, BCoLR-CDC, MoA, OCP&SI
email: JohnTheBeerSnob@Hotmail.com
web: JohnTheBeerSnob.Com
Facebook-John The Beer Snob
Twitter – @johnthebeersnob
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Click here to check out John the Beer Snob’s site! And then, subscribe!
Stay tuned for Stout Conversations from Arkansas coming to our YouTube channel soon. Click here to subscribe so you don’t miss out on conversations with the great folks from Arkansas including:
John the Beer Snob
Rebel Kettle
Stone’s Throw
Superior Bathhouse
Dude, we’ve met some great friends on the road, but this guy…he’s one of the best! Thanks, John!
Stout Conversations – Arkansas
