Stone’s Throw’s month-long third anniversary celebration kicks off on Friday, July 1, and the party doesn’t stop there. The neighborhood nano-brewery will release their annual Anniversary Stout Friday, and the festivities will continute until the third Block on Rock Birthday Bash on Saturday, July 30.
Stone’s Throw will mark its third year of brewing operations with the release of Anniversary Stout, which replicates the first beer brewed at Stone’s Throw location in downtown Little Rock on July 4, 2013. Shamus Stout was the intended beer that day, but the larger and more efficient equipment in the new brewery resulted in a much stronger beer than the original homebrew version. With a few tweaks, the Shamus recipe was perfected and is now one of the brewery’s flagships, but the “Imperial,” a higher alcohol version produced on that first brew day, has maintained a following ever since. The brewery releases the stronger Anniversary Stout for Independence Day weekend each year.
But wait — it gets better. The brewery also plans to commemorate the anniversary with an entire month of special beer releases each Friday in July. After a year in cold storage — a process known as cellaring — the final keg of 2015 Anniversary Stout will be tapped on July 1 to allow comparison with the latest batch. On July 8 an interpretation of an 1841 Little Rock beer that was developed with the Historic Arkansas Museum will premiere. The July 15 release is 2015 Anniversary Stout aged in a Rock Town Distillery Rye Whiskey barrel. Finally, a barrel-soured version of Amarillo Warrior Imperial IPA will go on tap July 29, the eve of the block party.
“Every year the block party gets bigger, and at the same time we’re able to give a better experience to those who attend,” says Ian Beard, co-owner of Stone’s Throw. “Easier access through more gates, increased shade, great bands, all the best local food trucks and more beverage options are all improvements we’ve made to insure a big crowd can have a great time.”
Well, we know what we’re doing this month. Cheers.
Block on Rock Birthday Bash
When: Saturday, July 30 from 4:00-10:00 p.m.
Where: The fest will take up two blocks of Rock Street, from the brewery’s location on 9th St. north to 7th St.The block adjacent to the brewery will feature a stage with musical entertainment from the Big Dam Horns and the Smittle Band. The next block, by First Lutheran Church, will host a variety of food trucks and beverage options from around the state. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from Block on Rock benefit Preserve Arkansas, which leads statewide efforts to protect historic structures like the Stone’s Throw Brewing building.