Southern Living Dubs Ozark Beer Co. Ale Best in State

Ozark Beer Co. set up shop in Rogers in late 2013 and, after only a few months in the market, is getting attention on a regional level.

The brewery’s American Pale Ale recently was chosen by Southern Living as Arkansas’ representative in the list of the 18 best Southern craft beers for the magazine’s A-Z Guide to Southern Food.

Co-founder and business manager Lacie Bray said the team did not know they had been chosen until the company’s Twitter account “blew up” with the news they had been published in the magazine May 18.

Right now, the company produces about 80 barrels a month out of its 8,000-SF brewery on South First Street. Its drafts are available in 45 bars and restaurants throughout Washington and Benton counties. The company also provides cans for a handful of restaurants that do not serve draft beer, Bray said.

Cans are also sold sporadically at the brewery. These generally sell quickly, Bray said. The first time cans were available, Ozark Beer Co. sold out of its 140 six-packs in one day.

Ozark Beer Co. has a tasting room that is open every day, and they fill growlers daily and sell pints on the weekends.

There is a plan to move into liquor stores, but the company is taking it slow. “We want to be able to keep up with demand,” Bray said. 

As to the Southern Living recognition, she said: “We’re very surprised and grateful. I think it speaks to the fact that the craft beer movement is gaining momentum in Arkansas.”