Core Brewing & Distilling Co. | Springdale, AR
Beer Trip: Core Brewing & Distilling Co. in Springdale, Arkansas
Northwest Arkansas has plenty of regional breweries that distribute to this corner of the state, and Core Brewing happens to be one of them. With its location in Springdale, it’s a bit of a destination - but well worth the visit.
Neat stone sign as you approach the facility!
Ready to check out Core with Warren in tow!
The Brewery
We weren’t really familiar with Core prior to our visit, so pulling up we were rather surprised with how large the place was. They occupy a big metal building with separate areas for loading, receiving, and - of course - brewing! The taproom portion is located right in the middle of the lot and features picnic tables out front along with a nice fenced in, dog-friendly area next to the indoor space.
Fun little dog park area!
Nice patio area with heaters for the cooler months
Speaking of dogs - the entire place is wiener dog themed with countless nods to the breed throughout in scattered artwork. Upon doing some research, we discovered that the original wiener in question was Barney, the founder’s longtime dog.
Tons of seltzer and canned cocktails for purchase
Patriotic + wiener themed tap wall
The indoor space is actually a lot bigger than it looks like walking in and forms a long, L-shape along the front of the building. The place seemed very family-friendly with board games, along with a pool table, ping pong, and several dart boards. The bar sits along the back wall along with a ‘Beer Forward’ board where you can purchase a beer for someone else on their next visit.
Pinball and ping pong
Darts!
The Beer
Core proudly touts that it is the “official craft brewery of the Arkansas Razorbacks,” and with its wide range of choices they certainly have the beers to keep the school supplied! They had twelve different brews on tap when we visited that consisted of a unique selection of IPAs, three barrel-aged beers, a wheat, a stout, and a pilsner among others. Core consistently rotates their beer options, so everything is new with no flagships. While we have been to plenty of places that continually change their menu, this place seemed like a bit of an anomaly to have no main staples - because it was evident that they mass produce and distribute quite a bit.
With all of the different options to choose from and only a limited afternoon to visit, we were only able to sample about half of the menu - everything we tried was drinkable! One beer recommended to us was their ESB, or Extra Special Bitter. This wouldn’t normally be part of our typical order, but we are definitely glad to have tried it. The initial taste is pretty standard for this style, but the finish brings a great maltiness - making it one of the better ESBs we’ve had. Their brewers additionally provided some solid taps featuring fruits, including the Strawberry Bananarama (a hefeweizen) and the Sons of Peaches (an IPA).
Food, Merch, & More
Scarlet Letter merchandise
In addition to craft beer, Core also makes canned cocktails - but it’s seltzers that really seemed to be their primary item. They had pallets of the seltzer line called Scarlet Letter spread about, along with merchandise specifically for it. In fact, almost all of their retail goods were for the seltzer products - but we did still manage to snag a brewery sticker.
While Core doesn’t have their own kitchen, they are the first brewery we have ever been to that has a free snack bar, including pretzels, cheese balls, animal crackers, and snack mix! It seemed like a really cool idea.
Pool table to cap off plenty of game options!
To-go options
Large-scale distribution at Core
