DOUBLE FISTING

Lots and lots of suds

Great Arkansas Beer Festival raises money, spirits for charity

The Great Arkansas Beer Festival -- or GArBF, as the organizers like to call it -- went off the night of Aug. 6 at the Statehouse Convention Center, and by all accounts, it was a barrel-buster.

Ringleader Reed Lewallen estimated that more than 2,200 people bought $30-$40 tickets to sample more than 400 Arkansas craft beers and specialty national brands. In addition to the local and state breweries -- Lost Forty, Core, Damgoode, Blue Canoe, Rebel Kettle and Flyaway, among others -- offerings included recognizable beers from across the country.

Boston-based Samuel Adams; Guinness; Marshall Brewing Co. of Tulsa; Mother's of Springfield, Mo.; Oskar Blues of Longmont, Colo.; the Shiner series; Laguinta's; and Founders were among those who pitched tasting tents. All together, 103 vendors participated. Some 100 volunteers were called on to make it happen.

"I think people appreciate a quality beer festival," Lewallen said.

Distinctive aroma of the evening: beer breath. The food: stadium fare. Best accessory: ribbon necklaces strung through small pretzels that sold for $2.

At the Samuel Adams tent, men and women competed in different heats to see who could hold a 32-ounce mug of ice water the longest. Winners got a T-shirt and the mug, which in itself was tall and pretty darned heavy.

A portion of the night's net proceeds are to go to Ronald McDonald House of Arkansas. Accounting was still in process as of Monday, but Lewallen said he hoped to be able to give the charity at least $4,000, which was what it got last year.

The night before the big event, a brewery and distributor appreciation party was held at Flyway Brewing.

-- Story and photos by Cyd King

High Profile on 08/14/2016

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