When Lacie Bray and Andy Coates, the founders of Ozark Beer (https://www.ozarkbeercompany.com) in Rogers and Bentonville, Arkansas, began planning their brewery, it wasn’t yet legal to sell beer in Benton County and you could count the number of breweries in the state on one hand. But cultural and business changes were underway in the home of retail giant Walmart, and over the past decade they’ve grown in concert with the population and the culinary/hospitality world around them.
In this episode, Bray and Coates discuss:
Designing beer for a market new to craft beer
Working through the challenges of difficult alcohol laws
Dialing in flavors that are attractive and interesting without being overwhelming
Ingredient choices for longevity in packaging
Using the Edinburgh strain as their house ale strain
The value of Chinook in amplifying the character of other hops
Creating craft lager that’s distinctive without referencing European styles
Finding language that makes craft styles appealing to broad audiences
The construction of BDCS (Bourbon Double Cream Stout), their annual barrel-aged stout
The importance of fresh barrels
and more.
For more on Ozark Beer, see the cover story in the Fall 2021 issue (https://brewingindustryguide.com/ozark-beer-is-a-blue-collar-business-rooted-in-the-natural-state/) of the Brewing Industry Guide.
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