This is easily the most American 4th of July I’ve ever experienced. Granted, the bar has been set rather low. Last year, the Bedfellow and I went swimming and couldn’t find food and decided we’d rather die than go to Applebee’s. The year before that, I made a brisket, ate gross Italian ice, and read obituaries alone in the house. Needless to say, despite my love for the 4th, I’ve never really celebrated it very well.
This year is different. This year includes a rodeo, barbecue, and fries pies, but that’s not all.
I started the day with a local beer from Core Brewing Company, roughly 2 miles away from my hotel paradise and free fireworks from the world’s weirdest liquor store. With a waterfall. And a canoe. And a gas station and valet service. Did I mention the free fireworks? I got them in a shed in a large field behind the liquor store. Arkansas, you’re beautiful.
This is a pilsner beer with a Dachshund dog on it and euphemisms pell-mell: “take pride in your wiener!”- an easy way to compel an impulse buy on my end. For $5.50 for about 22oz., it’s a great value for a fantastic beer. I’ve tried a few Arkansas-local beers before, most notably an IPA from Ozark Beer Company that I didn’t like at all, so I was skeptical about this, but excited. At 5% alcohol, it’s an easy drinker but knocked me out pretty easily on the hotel patio. Pictured are the fireworks that, for liability transparency, I did not light and have no plans to. But they looked attractive next to the pilsner, so there you go.
The beer poured well, with a thick, foamy head that subsided fairly quickly, and had a spicy initial flavor that had a malty, almost creamy flavor to it, milky with a sour edge. Dandelion and floral notes on the side. Not fruity in the slightest, but thick, almost desserty, but accessible at 9:57 in the morning. It was easy to drink most of the bottle, as it wasn’t too filling of a beer. 22 ounces was too much for me- a can would be an easier drink, but it was definitely a beer to savor and enjoy on a cool holiday morning. Happy 4th, gang!
