It’ll be just down the street, but the new Lost 40 Brewing location will be much different.
That’s the goal, explained owner John Beachboard, who is finding ways to connect with new consumers.
Camp Taco will be a new Lost 40 location with a smaller production space than the brewery’s main facility that is set one block east.
“The beer we brew and can will only be available in the taproom and won’t have anything to do with our larger production brewery other than potentially being a test kitchen for new styles and brands,” Beachboard said as the Little Rock, Arkansas brewery announced the plan in December 2020 to be open in the Spring of 2021.
“We will do a lot of wacky, hype-train inspired beer,” he said. “We will be creative and try new hops and styles that we haven’t had the opportunity to get to do.
“I love coming up with bad ideas and seeing if we can actually make them come to fruition.” But the bulk of production will be traditional styles on the new seven-barrel system.
The brewery’s flagship Love Honey Bock is a World Beer Cup-winning Lager and Beachboard said they just can’t make many more Lagers. This expansion will help add experimental lager brands to the new facility.
“As it stands, Love Honey Bock lagers for about six weeks in 300-bbl outdoor fermenters,” he said. “That’s a lot of time, but the smaller brewhouse is going to allow us to do legitimate 8-12 week Lagers. Made without finings, no filtration. Just good old time and temperature.
“This isn’t something that is really triggering the market and I even recognize how boring it sounds, but what we are gambling on is that as craft beer culture has grown in Arkansas so has the palate. People will recognize and taste the difference.”
Creating a new facility with pandemic protocols in place may actually be easier now as what is expected and what consumers may expect have become more apparent.
Beachboard explained to Brewer that the new space has a giant outdoor patio and outdoor music stage with lawn-style seating.
“That obviously attracted us to the space during COVID and was a huge part of our desire to open up a second brewery literally one block away from our main facility,” he said.
The menus will be completely different for Camp Taco and will include in-house made flour and corn tortillas.
”It’s beyond my favorite thing on the planet to eat. … It’s really hard to get one that’s made to order,” Beachboard said. ”There’s a place out southwest Little Rock that makes their own tortillas to order. I go there once a week and am always envious of the woman that gets to make the tortillas all day.”
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