GOAT LAB Brewery | Lowell, AR
Beer Trip: GOAT LAB Brewery in Lowell, Arkansas
People always ask “Which came first - the chicken or the egg?” Well, we found ourselves asking the same question about the name of GOAT LAB Brewery. Did the name arise out of their logo being half goat and half Labrador retriever, or is the name the acronym for Greatest of All Time Lowell Arkansas Brewery? We may never know the answer - but this brewery had plenty of other cool quirks that are sure to provide a fun afternoon.
The Brewery
GOAT LAB has a uniquely weird atmosphere (in the best way!) that we won’t soon forget. Once you walk in the door, you are immediately drawn to all the different seating options, which vary dramatically from standard tables and chairs to couches, a bicycle with a tabletop, and some retro fur recliners. The space is very bright and features enormous windows on two sides that show off a beautiful hand-painted mural of the mountains and a lake on the third wall.
They have a separate room right next to the bar featuring a pool table, darts, and a ping pong table to keep everyone in good spirits. As if that wasn’t enough, several times a week they host some of the more ingenious events we’ve ever seen from a brewery. These range from trivia night, movie night, a farmers’ market evening, and even a get-together for Corgi owners! Speaking of dogs - GOAT LAB is dog friendly and we saw many taking advantage of this by bringing their pup on a Sunday afternoon.
The Beer
GOAT LAB is a traditional German brewery offering all of the familiar staples such as a hefeweizen, helles, Vienna lager, and a Maibock. They did, however, brew a few added styles including an IPA, porter, and amber ale. With twelve different beers on tap, there were plenty of options for us to try. For all of the locals who are part of their mug club, they could enjoy their fresh draft out of their own horn mug - tons of them were hung behind the bar. Learning that the owner of GOAT LAB was born in Germany and they’ve even traveled to Germany to learn more about perfecting their craft made this experience even cooler!
While we weren’t able to sample the entire menu, the beer we tried here was rock solid in taste. Their brewers don’t throw in many additives such as fruits into the beer, but rather have perfected their mixture of malts and hops to create their flavor profiles. One practically perfect product of theirs is the Amber Ale, which is one of the best ambers we’ve ever had. They tailored it to the sweeter side and it provides an awesome caramel finish. The Loki’s Maibock and Chocolate Lab Brown Ale were two others that also really stood out with great malt combinations.
Food, Merch, & More
Whether you come here hungry or not, you must try one of their wood-fired pizzas. The smell was enough to send us over the edge and try their pizza of the month, which was a fantastic pulled pork recipe. While their food menu isn’t extensive beyond pizza, they do also offer charcuterie boards and fresh cheesy beer bread. Lastly, they also have seltzer on tap that they can flavor for you with 10+ options of your choosing.
The merchandise section here was rather small, but featured glassware, hats, and a couple of t-shirt choices. We found it neat that one of their shirt designs donates 100% of the proceeds to a rotating nonprofit in the area.