The Fayetteville Ale Trail Puts the Spotlight on 24 Breweries in Northwest Arkansas

Breweries in Northwest Arkansas are diverse in how they approach their craft. Some are big and some are small. A few stick to classic styles, while others push the boundaries of traditional brewing techniques. Regardless of your preferences, you’ll probably find something you like on the Fayetteville Ale Trail. Here is a brief introduction to the other breweries in the passport:

Fayetteville

Boston Mountain Brewing & Supply (121 W. Township St, Fayetteville) is a home brewer’s dream. A local supply shop moved into the taproom in January 2023, and now customers can grab a pint of beer brewed on site while they shop for ingredients. The brewhouse can be seen through a window behind the bar. 

If you’re the athletic type, Columbus House Brewery (701 W. North St, Fayetteville) might be for you. Located adjacent to the Razorback Greenway, the brewery is a frequent staging spot for group runs and rides. Columbus House has been in business since 2015, with Spottie Ottie Oatmeal Stout being a favorite since the beginning.

Crisis Brewing Co. (210 S. Nelson Hackett Blvd, Fayetteville) sits adjacent to a longtime BBQ restaurant, just below the city’s downtown square. A small brewhouse supplies the diminutive taproom, with additional volume coming from a production facility located in a nearby industrial park. A comfortable outdoor area features open-air seating for pleasant weather, and an enclosed patio provides shelter from wet or chilly weather.

Flyway Brewing Co. (1550 E. Zion Rd #1, Fayetteville) is an outpost of the North Little Rock brewery of the same name. The Fayetteville location is located next to Veteran’s Park and is on a bustling spur of the Razorback Greenway. Flyway will make many of its mainstay beers there – including Bluewing Blueberry Wheat – as well as recipes that are unique to the site. A full-service restaurant sets it apart from most other breweries in the area.

Bartender Ally Stogsdill pours a beer at Flyway Brewing Co. in Fayetteville.

One of the elder statesmen of the Northwest Arkansas beer scene is Fossil Cove Brewing Co. (1946 N. Birch Ave, Fayetteville). A large tap list, energetic taproom and youthful disposition make it popular with locals. Fossil Cove hosts the much-ballyhooed winter beer festival known as Frost Fest each February. One of its most popular beers is T-Rex on Peaches, a Belgian-style tripel aged in barrels and featuring lots of stone fruit character.

Bartender Ryse Caratini stamps an Ale Trail passport after serving a Blackberry Cream Ale at Fossil Cove Brewing Co. in Fayetteville.

Puritan Coffee & Beer (205 W. Dickson St, Fayetteville) slings uppers (coffee) and downers (beer) on Dickson Street, which is the heart of the city’s entertainment district. Yet somehow the place maintains a studious vibe thanks to the undergrads who congregate there during the day. A miniscule brewing system yields only three beers – Pale 8, Pale 13, and Dark 13 – but Puritan also features a nicely-curated list of guest taps.

West Mountain Brewing Co. (21 W. Mountain St, Fayetteville) is the oldest active brewery in Fayetteville. The seven-barrel system in the street side window sat dormant and teased passersby for a decade before Andy Coates – now co-owner and brewmaster for Ozark Beer Co. – fired it up for the first time. Coming Soon Pale Ale was the first beer off the taps, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the extended wait. The cracker crust pizza has been a local favorite for decades.

Bentonville

Bentonville Brewing Co. (901 SW 14th St, Bentonville) is one of the biggest breweries in the state. In 2022, Bentonville brewed 5,460 barrels of beer, good for third-most among Arkansas beer makers. It operates out of an expansive brewery and taproom, which features a large outdoor seating area that is kid- and dog-friendly.

The first brewery in Bentonville was Bike Rack Brewing Co. (801 SE 8th St #61, Bentonville). It was located in a different place when it opened in 2014. Today it co-exists in a multi-use complex with the Brightwater Institute of Culinary Sciences and a number of eateries and other merchants. You can make it a true sensory experience if you plan carefully.

Social Project Brewing Co. (600 SW 41st St #4, Bentonville) actually has two locations. The place where the beer is made is located in Bentonville. A satellite taproom is located just off Emma Avenue in downtown Springdale, giving folks in Washington County a place to go to get their fix. Social Project is big on hazy IPAs, sours and stouts. 

Rogers

Natural State Brewing Co. (5214 Village Pkwy #140, Rogers) is located in the Pinnacle Hills area of town and focuses on traditional German brewing techniques. The brewery adheres to the “Reinheitsgebot,” the 16th-century German purity law that requires beer to be made exclusively from water, barley, hops and yeast. From time to time you’ll find something more adventurous on tap, such as a bourbon barrel-aged schwarzbier.

New Province Brewing Co. (1310 W. Hudson Rd, Rogers) is a growing brewery that recently changed ownership. John Lee leads a group of investors who acquired the maker of Philosopher King IPA and Fallen Queen Belgian Witbier. More adventurous beers continuously roll off the canning line and can be found at package stores throughout Northwest Arkansas.

One of the better-known breweries on the Fayetteville Ale Trail is Ozark Beer Co. (109 N. Arkansas St, Rogers), which launched in Rogers in 2013. The venerable beermaker is most well-known for its Bourbon Double Cream Stout, but it was Paper Game – its American/Belgian farmhouse ale – that won a 2023 bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival.

Rendezvous Junction Brewing Co. (2225 S. Bellview Rd #101, Rogers) is one of the feel-good stories on the Fayetteville Ale Trail. Co-founder Mike Peerson left a lucrative job in the corporate world to open the brewery with his son-in-law. He later suffered a serious injury while riding an all-terrain vehicle and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. He miraculously recovered, and Rendezvous Junction grew into the brewery he dreamed it could become.

Springdale

Black Apple Hard Cider (321 E. Emma Ave, Springdale) taps into the region’s history of apple production to provide a lone non-beer option to the Fayetteville Ale Trail. Located on newly hip Emma Avenue in the city’s downtown district, Black Apple produces a wide variety of ciders. Most are surprisingly dry compared to the national cider brands.

Technically, Core of Arkansas (2470 Lowell Rd, Springdale) started brewing beer in 2010, although founder Jesse Core didn’t move production to its current location until 2012. In recent years Core has shifted its focus to hard seltzer. On the strength of Scarlet Letter Spiked Seltzer, the brewery has grown into the second largest in the state, producing an impressive 8,435 barrels in 2022.

Saddlebock Brewery (18244 Habberton Rd, Springdale) opened in 2012 and is near the confluence of Beaver Lake and the White River. A serene landscape surrounds the brewery, which recently saw a significant remodel of its taproom.

More on the Trail

Eureka Springs Brewery (96 Ridgeway Rd, Eureka Springs) is located about one hour northeast of Fayetteville in a mountain town often referred to as the “Little Switzerland of the Ozarks.” Eureka Springs has a strong non-conformist vibe and is full of artists, musicians and writers. The brewery takes a more conventional route with its beers, with a tap list full of wheat ales, pale ales, red ales and stouts.

GOAT Lab Brewery (722 S. Bloomington St, Lowell) shares ownership with The Grove Entertainment Complex – a nearby comedy club – and focuses on German styles of beer. Grab a pint of hefeweizen in the taproom and see if you can spot a famous comic settling his nerves before a show.

Ivory Bill Brewing Co. (516 E. Main St #1, Siloam Springs) is located in a charming downtown area that has seen a resurgence in recent years. Co-owner and brewmaster Casey Letllier brews a wide range of beers on the wood-clad British brewing system. Ivory Bill is the western-most brewery on the Fayetteville Ale Trail, with the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line a short distance away.

The Recreation Parlor (104 2nd Ave SE, Gravette) opened in 2021 and is owned by Nebraska natives Travis & Sylvia Norris. The brewery occupies a 19th-century building that features a bar used in the Marshall Fields store in Chicago around that same time. The Recreation Parlor is the only brewery and/or bar in Gravette.

Photograpy by: JT Wampler