Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

210: Lacie Bray and Andy Coates of Ozark Beer Prove Accessibility Doesn’t Mean Sacrificing Character

10.22.2021 - By Craft Beer & Brewing MagazinePlay

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When Lacie Bray and Andy Coates, the founders of Ozark Beer 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 of the Brewing Industry Guide.

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