SALINE COUNTY, Ark. — A family of five found one thing missing in Saline County. Now, they're brewing up a business of their own.
The Burks family used to live in Austria in 1999. That's where they gained their love for craft beer.
That passion followed them back to the U.S. and landed in Bryant.
"I kind of built a homemade keg-orator," Jesse Burks said.
Jesse Burks and his family began making beer at their home and in 2014, when Saline County voted "yes" for a wet county, their minds began thinking of a bigger idea.
"That was actually the thing. We thought like, 'oh, hey!' after you started seeing liquor stores pop up. Like, oh it's real now," Jesse said.
The family started forming Burks Brothers Brewing, which is now coming to life in Bryant. It'll be the city's first brewery.
"We kind of just put it into action. It's all of us and we're are all together doing it, so that's what makes it most fun," said Gunnar Burks, Jesse's son.
Each family member has their own favorite style of beer, which they are brewing now.
The soon-to-be brewery will serve those kinds, all tailored to what the family loves.
"I tend to like Amber beers or darker beers. That's what I'm going to brew. Gunnar likes lake beers, like beers you can drink on a hot day," Jesse said.
But, why Saline County?
Because the Burks family loves the small-town feel and wants to make an environment for their guests to feel the same way.
"I want people to come in, have drinks, laugh, be kind -- just small town things like that," Gunnar said.
The family hopes to open the brewery to guests by spring of 2020. They said the plan is to start out small and grow through time.