Gravity BrewWorks - Blog - What's Brewing?

It's Almost "Wearin' O'The Grin" Time

3/11/2025

Reading that title, you might guess that it's almost St. Patrick's Day -- and you'd be correct. We tapped it early because St. Patrick's Day falls on a Monday this year, and we didn't want to wait to tap it. Our Sojourner Double Oat Stout tapped out, and we had our Irish waiting in the wings (or at least in the walk-in). It's a lovely malty beer, very smooth and not too heavy at 5% ABV. The Schwarzbier is getting close to tapping out; the Hoppy Together India Red is down to the last small kegs. Brent kegged Kolsch from the Cold last week, so we have a good amount of it, as well as Mild Thang! Dark Mild, Brown-Eyed Girl, Cloud Nine Hoppy Hazy IPA, Red Ryeder Rye Ale, Nightfall India Black Ale, Hot Coco and Coco Chan-Ale chocolate beers, and lemon Ginger Saison.

On the brewing front, we brewed a 5 bbl batch of Kolsch from the Cold. this is one of our best-sellers, both in and away from the tasting room. Last week we did a bunch of canning - most of a 5 bbl batch of Wham Bam Hazy IPA. Sarah spent Friday getting them all labeled and got the 4 pack rings on them - and they are ready to go! Proud of you, gal!!

If you get out and about this week, it sure looks like spring has sprung - serviceberries, forsythia, and hyacinths are a few of the flowers we've seen this week. The deer are on the move too, so be cautious, especially in the evening!

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A Very Busy Week

3/5/2025

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We began our brew week on Sunday, because we had some catching up to do. We didn't get to can last week because Wham Bam wasn't quite carbed enough. But it was ready to go on Sunday, and we got at it. Once the canner was dialed in, we cranked out the beers, and we all took turns at the various tasks involved. The next three days involved brewing another 5 bbl batch of Wham Bam, and a 2 bbl batch of Bock-n-Ale-Ya, with Ethan's and Chuck's help. We also began carbing our Brown-Eyed Girl and Kolsch from the Cold, which Brent will get kegged very soon. But all the rain showed us where we needed to seal the roof, so Bill climbed up and did some sealing. We're happy it was only rain, although it got really windy, and our early daffodils and jonquils took a beating.

On the beer menu, the brews are still hanging in there - something of a slow week. Our Sojourner Stout is down to about a half keg, and we're on the last kegs of lemon ginger Saison and Schwarzbier. Our weather seems rather unsettled - one day it's nearly 70 degrees, and the next we're threatened with snow, and then tornadoes. Geez. Acting like March.

On a separate note, breweries across the country are prepping for higher prices in basic brewing items, such as grain, cans, fermenters, and the like. All because of some unnecessary tariffs. Even the big guys are getting ready for this, and small breweries will be hit hardest, we think. Many of us already get as much as we're able, locally and stateside. Several small breweries have closed; here in AR, Ivory Bill up in Siloam Springs is the latest to close its doors. Most of us support our towns and cities in various ways - fundraisers and donations come to mind - as well as supporting local artisans and craftspeople. In our own brewery, we help sell homegrown items and crafts. We hope you'll help support your local breweries, cause it's gonna get rough out there.

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No Brewing, Just Working

2/26/2025

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We decided not to brew this week, but we did get caught up on some other things at the brewery. Brent and Sarah came in on Monday to help seal the other half of the tasting room expansion. Bill also brought out a few beer crates and adjusted the lighting so that you can see them a little better. On Tuesday Bill and Chuck added gravel to our parking lot, which it needed! Today we were going to can our Wham Bam Five Minute Hazy IPA, but it didn't get up to the proper carbonation, so that job is on hold for now. We took samples of our beers in the barrel aging room, and man, those Flanders Red ales are coming along nicely! We decided to keg the Berry Superstitious (which has been in a bourbon keg) and got about one half-barrel out of it.

We didn't tap out of anything this past week, so our beer menu hasn't changed. We still have both chocolate beers, the Mild Thang! and Sojourner Double Oat Stout are hanging in there. Brown-Eyed Girl, Kolsch from the Cold, Cloud Nine Hoppy Hazy IPA, Red Ryeder Rye Ale, Hoppy Together IRA, Nightfall IBA, lemon ginger Time of the Saison, and May the Schwarzbier With You are the rest of our offerings. Our weather should be nice this weekend - at least, that's what is said for now! if you're out and about, the trees are just showing a smudge of color, daffodils are peeking out, serviceberries are tipped with the tiniest of blooms.

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Brown-Eyed Girl and Snow

2/17/2025

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After a weekend of working at home (taxes and drywall) and eating chocolate, it was time to get back to brewing. We had decided on Brown-Eyed Girl, our popular American-style brown and Bill had the yeast ready to go. Ethan helped with the first day's 2.5 bbl batch, and Chuck will help with Tuesday's batch. However! The forecast is calling for snow, and there's always the chance of ice in north central Arkansas. So we'll begin early and hope to beat the worst of the weather by getting home earlier.

The forecast is also calling for single digits for the lows on Thursday and Friday mornings - but the first time it was actually 1 degree, and they've improved that to 5 and 8 degrees, whoopee. Anyway, if you're coming to the brewery, or anywhere else for the next few days, know it's gonna be cold.

We didn't tap out of anything this past week, so our beer menu is the same. The two chocolate beers are very popular. They're small batches, so get 'em while you can! The Mild Thang! and Sojourner Double Oat Stout are still on tap but they're on the last kegs. Nightfall India Black has been popular also. Brown-Eyed Girl, Kolsch from the Cold, Cloud Nine Hoppy Hay IPA, Red Ryeder Rye Ale, Hoppy Together India Red Ale, Lemon Ginger Saison, and May the Schwarzbier With You round out the beer menu.
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This may not "belong" in a beer blog, but I need to put it somewhere and trying to get away from FB, so here goes. I read that there's a "spending blackout" to protest some companies' retreat from DEI policies; this is planned for Feb. 28th. According to news media, consumers are encouraged not to spend money in certain stores or online for the day, and if they have emergencies/essentials, they're encouraged to support a small local business. As small business owners, we always hope that folks support local and we try to as much as we can. We can't tell you how much we appreciate our patrons' support!

As for DEI, we're all for it and are working to cut down or out our patronage of businesses that cut back or discontinued their DEI programs. you can search for "what companies are getting rid of dei" but don't Google it, since they're one of them, along with Walmart, Aldi's, Target, Tractor Supply, United Airlines, Ford, Lowe's, MolsonCoors, and Meta/Facebook, to name a few. Shame on them for kowtowing to the conservatives!

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Brown Ales and Ciders

2/12/2025

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We tapped out of our Bramble On blackberry cider and decided to get some of Stone's Throw's Pear Guevara cider as a guest tap. We went to the brewery and of course had to sample a few brews. While all of the beers we tried were good, ST's chocolate stout was really tasty, as was their blackberry mint cider. After some more errands, we headed back home.

We kegged our fabulous Coco Chan-Ale and Hot Coco chocolate brown ales this week, and put them on tap. We also brewed a 2 bbl batch of Irish Upon A Star Oatmeal Stout with Ethan. Today we sealed half of the floor in the tasting room addition, with Chuck and Sarah's help. Valentine's Day is coming up, in case you hadn't heard, so our two chocolate brews are tapped and ready! We didn't change much of the beer line-up - Mild Thang! and Sojourner Double Oatmeal Stout are still hanging in there. The forecast is rather dismal with winter making a return, so bundle up if you're coming to visit!

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An Alternative to FB and Festival Wrap-Up

2/5/2025

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I'm not really sure what I'll be saying here, but the current state of affairs at Facebook bothers me. I've never been a huge fan of FB, but we use it for our brewery business. With the recent shut-down of "fact-checking" at FB and the continuing rumors of photo stealing, I hope to eventually do most of my talking over here. I expect I'll keep some of my FB posts for now, but it may end up being a list of what's on tap. I see that some folks are moving to Bluesky, and I have considered that; but that's still up in the air.

We had a great time at Frost Fest over in Fayetteville! The Fossil Cove folks had everything lined out so well, we were on gravel, and the weather held, yay! We got to visit with several of our fellow brewers and patrons, as well as sampling some new-to-us brews. The whole thing was really well done. Thanks to the Fossil Cove folks and their partners for a most excellent festival!

This week, we brewed another 5 bbl batch of Wham Bam with Chuck and Ethan, and plan to can more of it. We'd planned to do this with the last batch, but the transfer fermenter had a issue with the racking arm. So we kegged it for now. Bill, Adrian and Nick have been putting a roof over the walkway to the smoking spot and beer garden, and they got that finished today.

We didn't change our beer line-up this week, nothing has tapped out yet. Sojourner Double Oat Stout is on the last keg, and Mild Thang! may be getting close. We have other brews waiting in the wings, or at least in the walk-in! We seem to be in for some cloudy weather these next few days, so if you're coming out, dress for it!

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It's Almost "Wearin' O'The Grin" Time

A Very Busy Week

No Brewing, Just Working

Brown-Eyed Girl and Snow

Brown Ales and Ciders

An Alternative to FB and Festival Wrap-Up

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