Ozark Trip Part 5: Final Days and the Breweries

For a more recent journey, see the American Midwest blog.

 

This is part 5 of 5.  You may be interested in reading parts 1-4 first. 

 DAY 7

The trip would last 8 days and 7 nights, of which three of those days were fairly heavy driving.  Our drive from Little Rock, AR to Evansville, IN was not an epic drive by any stretch of the imagination.  But at 421 miles, it was 22 miles longer than I like to drive on a casual road trip.  My original reason to land at Evansville was to visit Angel Mounds, a few miles east of town and another important and unvisited prehistoric site.  However, the site is closed on Monday and Tuesday, and our plans put us in town Monday night.  Had the mounds been open Tuesday morning we would have visited then and likely spent another night further up the road before heading home.  So a return visit here is needed.

We drove east across Arkansas to Memphis, turning north just before reaching the city.  This part of Arkansas lies very low, and we hit our lowest point here at 200' in altitude above sea level.  Parts of the drive were almost continuous swamp and bayou, with entire forests underwater for miles and miles.  This was interspersed with patches of farmland, the whole area being very flat.  Near Memphis we turned north, remaining in Arkansas, and driving on the west side of the Mississippi, which we finally crossed near Cairo, IL.  The river here marks the boundary with Missouri.

 

Crossing the Mississippi River near Cairo, IL.

 

Deb snags a shot of the river as we fly over it on a very fine old bridge. 

 

By 5 pm we were in downtown Evansville, IN.  It was sunny but the wind was howling, as it was on much of our voyage.  Our first stop was Myriad Brewing Co., a modern and easy going downtown pub near the river, where we enjoyed a flight of their ales.  Then it was off to our 5th riverfront park of the trip.  The park was busy despite the chilly wind.  We didn't spend much time here, but signs indicated that the trail continued all the way along the river to Angel Mounds, about 11 miles away.  Looking out across the river from the park was Kentucky.

 

 

The Ohio River flows past downtown Evansville.

Part of the downtown trail system in Evansville, along the Ohio River.  Not far from here the river is joined by the Wabash, encountered at Terre Haute on our first night.  Then, back down near Cairo, IL, the Ohio joins the Mississippi River.  The Arkansas River eventually joins the Mississippi, too, but much further south of where we were, southeast of Little Rock. 

 

There were several amazing houses in downtown Evansville. 

 

Our final stop was for dinner and another round of small pours, this time at Damsel Brewing, an all-female run establishment with some delicious (female-named) ales.  We had two orders of their spring rolls along with our beer (see next section, below).

 

Damsel Brewing in Evansville, IN.  Next to a very busy train yard.  This was our final big stop on the trip, where we enjoyed a flight and some spring rolls. 

 

DAY 8 

 

This was our longest drive, about 480 miles by the time we were home.  The previous night we had gone to a large grocery store to buy a picnic lunch for today, which we ate at a rest area between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.  Traffic was horrendous, as was construction, in Indianapolis, but we squeezed through and even dodged a few thunder storms.  At 3 pm coffee time we pulled into Defiance, Ohio, stopping at Cabin Fever, an old and favourite downtown cafe (though it still looks new).  Then it was on to Detroit, to 8 Degrees Plato to round off my beer collection for this trip (I had been collecting at breweries along the way).  We sailed through customs at rush hour, and were home by 6:30 pm.

 

It had been a really fun, busy trip, our first in nearly 4 1/2 years (our last trip had been to Vienna in December, 2019).  We scored two new state high points, bringing our total to 7.  We visited two major art galleries, having enough time to enjoy them thoroughly, saw two new (for us) archaeology sites, and met two new friends in person.  In addition, Arkansas was a brand new state for us, offering a day atop a wonderful mountain, among other pleasures.   New cafes, new breweries, as well as old favourite cafes and breweries, came in addition to five riverfront park systems.  As I said, it was a busy trip, and very rewarding in so many ways.

 

No more trips are planned until possibly late August, when we might tackle three nearby high points, and then October, when we might return to New Mexico to watch an eclipse, among other things.  When we do hit the road, I will be sure to post here.  Thanks for the visit.  Feel free to leave a comment.

 

THE BREWERIES 

Moggers:  Most of the breweries were new to us, though I had been to three before.  I include Moggers here, though it is not a brewery.  However, it is a craft beer haven, and it is housed in the old location of the now defunct Terre Haute Brewing Co. (not the newer micro brewery with that name).  At the end of Day 1 we were aiming for the micro brewery, but found that their doors were locked on Monday and Tuesday.  Right up the road was good old Moggers, and we were soon comfortably ensconced at a table.  Flights were six tasters, of which Deb got one (but she did taste all of them).  The veg burger was terrific, as was the tap list and the available bottle selection.  If its your first time in T. H., I recommend stopping here first.  Check out their tap list before heading over to the other two breweries (if they are open on your visit--Moggers always is).

 

Our flight at Moggers. It included Bells 2 Hearted, Weihenstephaner Hefe (which I first had in Vienna), Founders Breakfast Stout, Quaff On Busted Knuckle Porter, Sweet Baby Jesus Porter, and Zombie Dust Pale Ale.

 

On tap on our visit. 

 

Inside the bar section of Moggers.  There is also a restaurant. 

 

Springfield Brewing Co.  My 3rd visit, and Deb's first.  They had a marginally good tap list today, though they were out of two I would have enjoyed.  We left with a six pack; 3 kinds of ale, 2 of each.  They have food, but we had a date with a little vegan grille in town later on.

Temptation in liquid form.  We enjoyed Walnut St. Wheat, German Pilsner, Oscura Mexican Dark Lager, and McDaniel's Drought Dry (shown above).

We brought home six cans. 

 

Mother's Brewing Co. is within easy walking distance of our previous stop in Springfield, MO.  Located in the old Mother's Bread factory, this is a high priority stop for craft beer lovers.  They have an enormous outdoor garden, and thankfully all the parents with children were out there.  They also have a great swag shop, and they sell a lot of their own beer.  We left with a six pack of coffee stout, one of the flight samples I drank on our visit.  One of the best tap lists for lovers of dark beer!

 

Good times ahead!  Just follow the arrow.
 

Their tap list goes on and on!  Deb glides through the ether with a gin and tonic (not on the tap list, but apparently available).

 

Dark ales 3, lighter ales 1.  The kind of score I like to see on my flight deck. Winter Grind, Imperial Grind, Say Hef, and Czech New Prague await our palates.

Next up came a lovely little place in downtown Van Buren, adjacent to Fort Smith, AR.  The small tap list at Pointer Brewery was still a good one, and the little main street felt welcoming and quite magical, especially with all the buildings lit up the way they were.  There was vegan food, too.  It was a Friday night, but our visit was relaxing and very much appreciated.

 

The flight at Pointer Brewery, Van Buren AR included Golden Doodle Blonde, Maltese Mango, Indian Mastiff IPA, and Irish Setter Amber. 

 

Next came two fine breweries in Little Rock, recommended by Luke.  First up was Lost 40, where we had dinner with Luke on our arrival night.  The next afternoon Deb and I visited Flyway Brewing on our own, before meeting up with Luke and Jenna for dinner near their home.  Both were great places, and quite busy.

In Little Rock.

 

Deb had the Radler, while I indulged in Druid Wild Stout, Rock Hound IPA, and Double Love Honey Dopplebock. 

 

Flyway Brewery is in North Little Rock, in an up and coming area of cafes and little shops.  This image is from their website, as I don't seem to have any photos of my own from here. Deb had their very popular Berry Wheat.  I had their Hefe, a very good Tripel, and Lord God, a triple chocolate stout.  It was heavenly!

 

Our last two breweries were in Evansville, IN, on our final night away.  First up was Myriad Brewing Company, where we enjoyed a delicious flight of four ales, and a bag of really good pretzels!  They had a great wall of brewery stickers from all over the US.  Their downtown location was near the Ohio River and the park system there. A fun stop.

In beautiful downtown Evansville, IN.

 

Our flight at Myriad.  Pretzels not shown.  The female bar patron shown on right sang along with every song that played while we were there. 

 

Damsel Brewing in Evansville, well outside of downtown.  It is run by an all female crew.  Our cutely named flight at Damsel.  See the board below.

The full tap list at Damsel.  We had no complaints to offer.  Our dinner consisted of two orders of delicious spring rolls. 

 

After a stop in Detroit before returning home, I returned with 33 beer.  4 were for Brandon, our neighbour, (and a pound of coffee) for keeping an eye on our place while we were gone.  For now, I will have to survive on beer purchased on the tour, as well as the breweries of Windsor and Detroit, which I haven't visited in far too long.  This is the end of the journey blog.  There is no more.  Good bye (for now).

Mapman Mike