Something is brewing in Camden, or, rather, will be when south Arkansas’ first microbrewery opens.
Native Dog Brewing is the brainchild of Bobby and Lauren Glaze and Bobby shared the story behind the venture, as well as the basics of brewing, with the Camden Lions Club at the group’s weekly meeting.
Bobby was introduced by his mother, Christy, who is the owner of Catherine’s Bistro. She informed the Lions that Glaze was introduced to the hobby by her sister’s husband.
“Before I was able to legally buy beer, I started brewing beer,“ Glaze explained.
While he was in pharmacy school, he picked the hobby back up and applied the skills he was learning to perfect his craft.
“I started learning more about the chemistry, the microbiology. For someone who is science minded, brewing beer is just one big science project,” he said.
Also while in pharmacy school Bobby met his wife, Lauren, and while they were both completing an internship at a pharmacy in South Dakota, the name Native Dog came into their lives.
“We went out there and spent about a month and a half there; about halfway through, this scruffy little dog kept breaking into the clinic we were working out. We fed him out of our lunchbox, played with him. One of the locals said, ‘Oh the dogcatcher is coming to get him today.’ I said ‘Ok, he’s going to the pound.’ He says ‘No, he’s going to pick him up and shoot him, we don’t have a pound, we have too many dogs here.’ She (Lauren) starts crying and next thing I know I’ve got a dog loaded up in the truck and seven years later this dog lives a life better than most human beings do,” Bobby said.
Glaze said that Native Dog is also meant to foster a sense of community, and that he wants everyone who walks through the doors to feel like a native of Camden. It will also be a “dog friendly” atmosphere as patrons can bring their canine companions.
Part of that inclusivity will also be reflected in the tap selection, as Glaze plans on offering crafted sodas and root beer for children and those that abstain from alcohol.
As for the actual brewing, Glaze said a crucial ingredient is located near the brewery itself: the waters of the Ouachita River.
”The last five years I have competed around the country and I have never had bad marks as far as water quality,” he said.
The river also provides a key component in the Native Dog Experience, in that patrons will have a full view of the banks from the back of the brewery.
Glaze said that while he scouted many places downtown, nothing felt right until he came upon an empty lot at 125 Madison.
“I saw this beautiful view of the Ouachita River. For years Camden has prided itself on being the Queen of the Ouachita, but yet no businesses have really captured the view you get from atop the hill downtown. As soon as I saw it I said ‘This is where it has to go,’” he said.
But the microbrewery was not the Glazes’ original plan; both pharmacists, they were looking to open a pharmacy in El Dorado until Lauren told her husband that she’d prefer to stay in Camden. The duo had always joked that their retirement plan would involve opening a brewery, so they fast tracked that idea.
Glaze said the resurgence of a “shop local” mentality and the return of local breweries nationwide made the idea a natural fit.
He said he hopes Camden will see his business not as a bar, but an inclusive spot that gives back to the community.
To further this idea, one beer a month will be designated a “charity tap” and profits from sales will go to local nonprofits.
Native Dog is currently shooting for an October opening.