The Arkansas Brewers Guild is celebrating its 2nd Annual Arkansas Craft Beer Week this week (March 1-7). Slightly different from the previous year's celebration, the ACBW is encouraging craft consumers to support local and comply with state and local guidelines.

• The consumption and manufacturing of craft beer has been on the rise in the Natural State for the past several years. There are currently over 48 Arkansas breweries, and ten years ago there were only six. The estimated economic impact of these 48+ breweries is "well over $500 million" according to the Brewers Association.

Looking to support local? Here are a few of our favorite regional breweries and what we would recommend:

• Fossil Cove Brewing Co. (Fayetteville): try out the new Blackberry Cream which was launched this past weekend.
• Bike Rack Brewery (Springdale): Located both in Springdale and Bentonville, take a break from the trails and get a refreshing brew.
• Ozark Beer Co. (Rogers): recently released a revised edition of its famous Our Hazy Distant Youth, Sunday Pirates hazy IPA.
• Bentonville Brewing Co. (Bentonville): Be on the lookout for their future release, Spring Wrecker IPA. In the meantime, you can't go wrong with their classic Home Wrecker IPA.
• Most overlooked and underrated brewery (IMO), Hawk Month Brewing in Rogers. Give their Hazy & Hoppy IPA a try.