Currently, in central Arkansas, there are a
handful of craft breweries, and the industry is
growing. If you are a beer drinker, and even
if you aren’t, you are most likely familiar with
some of the bigger names around town, but
there is one that has been steadily making its
name known – Buffalo Brewing Company. If
you are a home brewer or a gardener, you most
likely know The Water Buffalo supply store on
Rodney Parham Road, and if you know the
store, you know there is a small taproom inside
with a variety of brews available, most of which
are the products of Buffalo Brewing, but they
are not one and the same. I make this distinction
because the two entities are just that, distinct.
And now, Nolen Buffalo, owner, proprietor,
and brewmaster is making this distinction more
apparent. He is opening a separate taproom and
a brewery facility to give his beer the stage it
deserves.
Buffalo Brewing Company will open a taproom
next door to Burge’s, the legendary restaurant,
taproom in the Heights, and the surrounding
area, and the residents of the area will instantly
adopt it as their favorite watering hole. To give
you an idea of what to expect, I asked Nolen
to describe the space. At the outset, they tore
what was the once Painted Pig down to its studs.
Everything is new, and I mean everything. The
walls, the plumbing, the bathrooms, even the
HVAC are all brand spanking new. Nolen refuses
to cut corners. The space will have two bars and
capacity for up to 99 “herders”.
As far as the look of the room, Nolen
draws his inspiration from another Little Rock
the refrigerator door in the Oyster Bar. If you
are familiar with this icon, you know that it is
a door that is covered in history – stickers,
markings, and other nostalgia cover the stainless
steel façade. Buffalo Brewing will have a similar
motif. Being that Nolen is community-minded,
he wants the community to be a part of the
space. On one wall will be a large cork buffalo
where the customers will be encouraged to
place different items as they choose. This can
be something as simple as a sticker or maybe
even a picture of your latest catch at the lake.
Not much is off limits, and once it is up there,
only the laws of physics will ever take it down.
staff ’s personality, it is this personality that wants
everyone to be involved. He doesn’t want it to
just have his stuff included, he wants it to be
“our stuff.” Upcycling and recycling will play a
major part of the taproom décor as well.
Of course, being that he is opening a taproom,
I had to ask if food will be served like many of
the taprooms around. Refreshingly, he said no.
He said, “I don’t make food. I make beer.” In
the Heights, there are plenty of restaurants, and
in the spirit of community, he supports those
businesses, just as he hopes they support him.
This beer-centric approach tells you that he is all
in on the beer. His efforts remain concentrated
on the quality of his product and the satisfaction
of the “herd” as he affectionately calls his
patrons, and he wants nothing to get in the way
of that.
Speaking of beer, there will be 10-12 active
taps at all times, two to four of which will be
guest taps, much like he has offered at the
Rodney Parham location. Varieties range from
lagers, ales, IPAs, ciders, and others. He will also
offer his non-alcoholic root beer and maybe
even a fruited spritzer option. There will be
themed nights with various activities and goingson.
Unique events centered around DIY classes
will not want to be missed. These range from
tasks such as canning your own vegetables to
sewing and whatever you can imagine might be
in between. If you’ve been curious about how to
do something – anything – they might just have
a class on it someday at Buffalo Brewing.
You might be thinking. “There is no way they
will be able to produce all that beer in such a
small Heights location.” Well, you’re not wrong.
Buffalo Brewing will concurrently be opening a
new brewery facility in the Riverdale area near
Discovery night club. Up to this point, Buffalo
has been brewing out of a 350 square foot space.
The new location will be a bit larger at 2500
square feet. He will soon be operating at a 10
barrel capacity, which to give you reference, will
make Buffalo Brewing the 5th largest operation
in central Arkansas. With all this space, and
all this beer, there are quite a few plans in the
works for this location as well. The brewery
overlooks the Arkansas River bike trail, so it
only makes sense to build a deck on which weary
and thirsty riders can stop to rest a bit. With
Nolen’s gardening expertise, this deck will not
just be your average wooden expanse, but will be
“Babylonian” in grandeur as it was described to
me – a tranquil place to hang out.
The Brewery facility will be divided into two
spaces, a taproom and an event space. The event
space will be able to accommodate large groups
(over 100 people) for different gatherings as the
organizer wishes. Being that the location is large
and in an industrial area with ample parking, the
vision includes ideas such as small beer festivals,
local music performances, food truck meet-ups,
and other community functions. The Brewery
itself will have limited hours initially, but things
available, and maybe more as demand increases,
which it will.
As for the Heights taproom, hours are Tuesday
through Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.,
Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00
p.m. and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Yes, you heard that right, you will be able to get
beer on Sundays; you can even take it to-go.
Buffalo Brewing Company is often associated
with its sister operation, The Water Buffalo, but
after these moves and subsequent growth, it is
ready to separate itself from the herd…sorry,
had to get in one more. For more information,
follow Buffalo Brewing on Facebook and
Instagram; be sure and look for the red buffalo
logo.
- Adam Cherepski
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