Don't Tempt Me with a Good Time: Louisiana Brewers Bash

The modern Louisiana craft beer scene got its start in 1986 with the Abita Brewing Company. Last year the Louisiana Brewers Guild, comprised of the owners and brewers of Louisiana's breweries, along with craft beer enthusiasts, got state legislators to approve the first Louisiana Craft Brewers Week. This September there will be a plethora of LCBW events across the South celebrating local brew, but perhaps the event with the biggest bang for your buck is the Louisiana Brewers Bash at The Irish House on St. Charles in New Orleans on September 24th.

This is the only event during LCBW where all nine breweries distributed in south Louisiana will be under one roof (the only Louisiana breweries that are unable to attend are Great Raft and Red River Brewing in Shreveport, LA, because they aren't commercially distributed in New Orleans). Tickets to the event are $45 and that covers beer-inspired Irish pub fare by Chef Matt Murphy, pours of eighteen different beers, and the opportunity to mix and mingle with other beer enthusiasts as well as some of the owners and brewers themselves! You can buy your tickets at brewersbash.eventbrite.com.

We've asked the breweries to supply a flagship, seasonal, or new release beer in addition to a one off specialty brew. This event will completely over take The Irish House and beers will be flowing both upstairs and downstairs throughout the night. This is the craft beer event you cannot miss! Here are the beers we have confirmed so far:

Black Magic Beers: Brew Dogs Works Voodoo into the Louisiana Craft Beer Scene

Martin Dickie (left) and James Watt (right) on a balcony in New Orleans, Louisiana

If you've never heard of Brew Dogs, now is the perfect time to do your homework. James Watt and Martin Dickie are the owners of Brew Dog brewery in Scotland, a rising star amongst the brewing constellation in the United Kingdom. Their show on the Esquire Network follows the pair as they visit brewing cities in America and concoct inspired beers along the way.

So why am I telling you about Brew Dogs? If you were listening in to the Bite and Booze radio show a while back, you could have heard NOLA Brewing's owner, Kirk Coco telling us about how these crazy guys were while brewing on an airboat in the middle of the bayou. James and Martin came down to New Orleans to see what Louisiana craft beer had going on and while they were here, brewed entirely on an airboat composed of flavors like mayhaw and the "resurrection plant", Rose of Jericho. During their stay, they participated in a friendly competition against Bayou Teche Brewing to test their skills pairing craft beers with the local cuisine.

Tune in August 20th at 9/8c on the Esquire Network to see how these Scots fair in the swamp!

Join Me at E's Kitchen in Lafayette Tonight!

Paul Ayo of E's Kitchen

Tonight, Monday, June 24, 2013, I'll be at E's Kitchen in Lafayette, Louisiana helping Paul Ayo pour and discuss some different Louisiana craft beers.  Some good folks from Shilling will be there to share the Louisiana beers in their portfolio including beers from Parish and Bayou Teche in the Lafayette area.

We'll be doing the beer tasting from 6-8 PM.  You can find more information on the E's Kitchen Facebook Events Page.  Come on by, check out E's Kitchen, say hi to me, and taste some beers!

Also, Paul Ayo, the owner of E's Kitchen, joined me on the Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket a few months ago.  You can listen to that episode using the player below!

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VIDEO: Louisiana Craft Breweries

I recently got a hired by Louisiana Travel to help document craft breweries in Louisiana.  With a film crew of Tommy Talley and Dan Jones from tommysTV, we trekked to all seven of the state's active breweries for on-camera interviews with their presidents, CEOs, brewmasters, and keg washers.  I also wrote a profile on each brewery that will be active soon on Louisiana Travel's website.  Check out the video that we filmed below!

    

Produced by Jay Ducote and Tommy Talley 

Director of Photography: Daniel Jones

B-Cam Operator: Tommy Talley

Edited by Daniel Jones

Special thanks to Theresa Overby from Miles Media/Louisiana Travel and Conrad Rolling with the Louisiana Craft Brewers Guild.  Also thanks to Abita, Bayou Teche, Chafunkta, Covington, NOLA, Parish, and Tin Roof for welcoming us in and giving us beer!

Photo to the right taken at the Pelican House in Baton Rouge.  Disclaimer: they can't get Chafunkta beer yet, but they actually had all other taps.

American Craft Beer Week: May 13-19

Over the last few years, American Craft Beer Week has become one of my favorite weeks of the year.  This year, it is even more important as Louisiana boasts one of the most rapidly advancing craft beer scenes in the country.  Just check out all the official craft beer events going on here: http://www.craftbeer.com/news-and-events/calendar.

Eric Ducote with BR Beer Scene laid out all the Baton Rouge craft beer events this week on his blog.

Calandro's Supermarket on Perkins is doing daily craft beer specials.  Keep up on their Facebook Page.

For those in New Orleans, make sure to check out The Beer Buddha for his picks this week.

Louisiana currently has seven operational commercial breweries with quite a few more on the way.  The operational breweries are:

Abita, Abita Springs
Bayou Teche, Arnaudville
Chafunkta, Mandeville
Covington, Covington
NOLA, New Orleans
Parish, Broussard
Tin Roof, Baton Rouge

So if you see any of them on tap or in stores this week, make EXTRA sure to support your local breweries.

Additionally, Louisiana has several other breweries in the planning process such as Great Raft, Gnarly Barley, Courtyard, Mudbug, and Cajun Fire.  So prepare to enjoy even more local craft beer soon as the Great American Beer Boom continues to explode in Louisiana!

Louisiana's Best Craft Beers of 2012

Louisiana craft beer has made a lot of progress in the last couple years.  So much so that it is time for the masses to start paying more attention to what they drink, and just as importantly, where it is from.  Louisiana has always had a lot of pride in eating locally.  We promote our seafood to the rest of the world, and dishes like king cake, jambalaya, and boudin are symbols of our state that we wouldn't dare accept from outside our borders.  The farm to table movement has also hit the restaurant scene in Louisiana, where we see chefs actually paying attention to farms and local food manufacturers where they source their ingredients.  So now it is beer's turn.  This goes out to all the beer drinkers, restaurant and bar owners, servers and bartenders: start drinking and pushing more Louisiana-brewed beer.  These brewers are our neighbors.  They have made a commitment to us by setting up breweries in our state, and it is our obligation to drink it (I know, it is a tough job!)... and if you go somewhere that you can't find it, then demand it or drink somewhere else.

So now that everyone out there has agreed to drink locally, you may also want to know which beers to drink.  I took the liberty of compiling my top 10 beers brewed in Louisiana in 2012.  Some have come and gone, some are always available, and some will be brewed again, I'm sure.

Helping me with the list was an expert panel of beer opinions:

Polly Watts, Owner, The Avenue Pub
Eric Ducote, Blogger and Raise a Glass Co-Host, BR Beer Scene
Jeremy Labadie, Blogger, The Beer Buddha
Vanessa Gomes, Director of Marketing & Event Coordinator, The Barley Oak
Nora McGunnigle, Blogger, Nora's Beer Blog
Brenton Day, Blogger, The Ale Runner

That being said, the order of the list and selection of beers really was up to me.  So if you have an issue or praise, leave it in the comments here or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter!

10.  Abita Purple Haze

Say what you will, Abita's Purple Haze is still one of the most popular beers brewed in Louisiana.  Well regarded as one of the premier raspberry beers in America, Purple Haze made the Men's Fitness list for 6 surprisingly healthy beers in 2012.  So to all you runners and fitness nuts, you have no reason to not drink local!

9. Bayou Teche Bière Noire

The Bière Noire pays homage to the strong black coffee (café noir) and what it meant to South Louisiana's French speaking ancestors.  It is rich in dark German malts, American hops, and French roasted coffee flavor.  The Bière Noire made the First We Feast list of the top brews from all 50 states, representing Louisiana.  Congrats on that one!

8. Abita 18th Star Bière de Garde (Abita Select Series) 

Abita's Bière de Garde is a French style farmhouse ale that they brewed with pilsner and wheat malts, oats, and German perle hops.  They added a little lemon peel, then aged the brew for three months before it hit taps.  Polly Watts, owner of the Avenue Pub in New Orleans, admitted that this brew "blew my skirt up. Seriously a very good Bière de Garde, rich and the yeast shines."  The 18th Star is a tribute to Louisiana becoming the 18th state in the USA exactly 200 years ago.

7.  NOLA Irish Channel Stout

Irish Channel Stout Nitro at The Barley Oak

The NOLA Irish Channel Stout is a favorite of many people, including myself, from the Big Easy brewery.  While it is only a  seasonal (just released this year's batch on December 7th), it certainly has a cult following.  Nora McGunnigle from nolabeerblog.com fondly says that this beer is "so delicious, so complex yet straightforward. I can drink pint after pint with friends and have a wonderful time."  She goes on to say, "This beer makes me smile."  I like any beer that makes people smile!

6.  Bayou Teche Joie à Tous

Joie à Tous (photo from Bayou Teche)

The Bayou Teche Joie à Tous, a whiskey barrel aged dubbel brewed with Mello Joy coffee.  Jeremy Labadie, AKA The Beer Buddha, proclaimed this to be "One of my favorite beers of the year.   This beer will be my Christmas go to beer every year.  If they brew it every year."  Vanessa Gomes from the Northshore's Barley Oak told me, "I love how Bayou Teche somehow manages to incorporate a certain level of comfort in all of their beers. It's as though each one nostalgically brings you to the Sunday dinner table."  And clearly Polly Watts from The Avenue Pub in New Orleans agreed, making it known that she found the beer to be "yummy, satisfying...comfort food in liquid form."

5.  Parish Canebrake

Parish Canebrake in Bottles is Still Elusive

Parish Canebrake made perhaps the biggest push of any beer in Louisiana in 2012, surging onto the scene across south Louisiana after the Broussard brewery's expansion.  "This is my favorite Louisiana session beer," says Eric Ducote from BRBeerScene.com, referring to the fact that he can drink multiple of them without getting too intoxicated or losing interest in the flavor profile.  Brenton Day from The Ale Runner chimed in saying that "Parish Canebrake is an easy drinker that many south Louisianians have taken to. It's so popular that Andrew had to double his capacity just to keep up with demand."  I'm definitely glad that he did.  I love it enough to make sure it has a place in my Top 5!

4.  NOLA Mechahopzilla

NOLA Mechahopzilla (photo courtesy of The Ale Runner)

The Beer Buddha believes in the NOLA Mechahopzilla.  The Double IPA from NOLA Brewing "made me a hop addict," Jeremy admitted.  "I ended up pissing myself,  crawling in the corner and had the shakes for about a week."  That's how hoppy the beer turned out, and many of Louisiana's craft beer drinkers rejoiced.  Eric from BR Beer Scene noted that the DIPA is "without a doubt the hoppiest beer to come out of the state, a delicious double IPA."  Meanwhile, The Ale Runner left us with this verbal picture: "It is a full assault of hops that leaves your palate waving the white flag. Or if you're a hophead like me, wanting some more."  Even Polly Watts wanted more.  "What can I say... it is a baseball bat of hops but you still love it," she admired.  Nora McGunnigle needed a bit more convincing, but sure enough, she came around, saying that "This double IPA won me over, though I tend not to be a fan of the style. Great citrus and floral hop aroma, bitter but balanced."

3.  Tin Roof Parade Ground Coffee Porter

Parade Ground Coffee Porter (photo courtesy of Tin Roof)

"The Tin Roof Coffee Porter for me, other than being a fantastic robust coffee porter, was a pleasant production change from this football tailgating college town brewery," explained The Barley Oak's Vanessa Gomes.  "This fall seasonal gave us an exciting peek into what Tin Roof can really do in between cranking out the highly demanded flagships."  I'm in total agreement.  I absolutely think that the Parade Ground is Tin Roof's best beer to date, and it is a shame that is only a seasonal that will soon be departing the taps around Louisiana.

2.  NOLA / Stone Pour Me Somethin' Mistah

Pour Me Somethin Mistah (photo from The Ale Runner)

"The hops and the malt were great when fresh and mellowed nicely with some age," explained Nora from Nora's Beer Blog.  The collaboration between the NOLA Brewing Company and the Stone Brewing Company from California was "a collective proud moment for us all in the Louisiana Craft Beer World," as stated by Vanessa Gomes.  Like most people I drank the beer with, all of my colleagues agreed that brew began a little rough around the edges with the dry citra hopping.  When allowed to warm up, or when cellared, the beer transformed into a piece of art.  The imperial porter rounded out with molasses to impart delicate flavor with the robust roasty maltiness and citra hops.

1.  Parish Grand Reserve

According to Eric Ducote from BR Beer Scene, the Parish Grand Reserve is "in the running for the best Louisiana beer, period."  Indeed, it seems that the recently released special edition beer from the Lafayette area brewery lived up to the hype and proved that Louisiana can get excited about a special release beer.  It was a beer that people scrambled around town to purchase on release day and then again a week later when a second round was released.  "Was it worth it?" asked Brenton Day.  "Absolutely. It's a very big, yet remarkably smooth barleywine that I'm curious to see how it ages."  Andrew Godley from Parish suggests aging some, and will be holding onto several cases of the beer himself.  Polly Watts described the Grand Reserve as "silky and lovely with hidden strength like a very sexy woman in a white satin dress."  Now I'm thirsty.  Nora told me that "you could really taste the love and work put into this beer. Andrew did a great job and was able to leverage the reputation of his brewhouse up a whole other level with it."  Finally, Vanessa chimed in with "Parish Grand Reserve was absolutely perfect. To me it encompassed all that a barley wine should possess. It is perfectly balanced and has the smooth characteristics one expects from the reputation Parish Brewing has built for themselves."  Now we just need more Parish on the taps and store shelves!

Parish Grand Reserve in 750ml Bottles

Honorable Mention: I didn't list it above because it isn't commercially available yet, but it is worth looking forward to!

Mudbug Brewing King Cake Lager 

Our dear Beer Buddha let me have it.  He said, "I know this isn't commercially available yet but the whole idea of this beer makes me happy.  It's a tasty beverage complete with a rimjob.  Of sugar.  What were you thinking ya dirty bastard?"  He's right.  Even Vanessa Gomes from Barley Oak gave this beer some love.  "Mudbug Brewery has the King Cake Lager with lactose, cinnamon, & vanilla that will have you searching the bottom of your glass for the plastic baby," she said with a grin.  I just know I want some of that!

Top of the Hops Beer Festival in Lafayette

As I so eloquently quipped back in 2002 or 2003, "Si, me gusta cerveza."  Roughly translated, this Spanish phrase means "Yes, I like beer."  Those words hold true today.  I know that you, the loyal Bite and Booze readers, are highly surprised by this.  I don't mean to alarm you.  My apologies.  But, I do like beer.  In fact, over the past weekend, I managed to make my way to Lafayette with Jeremy, Eric, and Mandy for the Top of the Hops Beer Festival at the Cajun Dome.  With a couple tickets secured by King Cake Baby courtesy of Rouse's Supermarket, and a few more from sweet-talking the ticket folks (we were supposed to have 4 all along!), we were in.  Beer drinking commenced.  Life was good.

Top of the Hops in Lafayette had over 160 different beers to choose from.  While they weren't all new to me, I was pleasantly surprised at the variety, selection, and rareness of some of the brews.  Louisiana's own beer also poured from the taps of Parish, Bayou Teche, NOLA, Heiner Brau/Covington and Abita.  

The highlight of the afternoon for me came from Andrew Godley and the Parish Brewing Company.  His Black IPA blew me away, but even better was his amber beer that he ran through extra hops before pouring. Andrew, an engineer by trade, created a homemade system with which he used CO2 to force the beer through extra hops after leaving the keg and before entering your glass.  Those fresh hops left a taste with the Parish Amber that flowed through them and settled on my palate like cold iced tea on a hot Louisiana summer day.  Beer Heaven, I found you.  Si, me gusta cerveza.  

Louisiana Beer Dinner at Niche Bar and Grill

Wednesday night I had the pleasure of attending a Louisiana Beer Dinner at Niche Bar and Grill.  It wasn't too long ago that this would have meant an "Abita Beer Dinner," so the fact that this can now be done without a single Abita beer on hand is exciting in itself.  On tap were brews from Baton Rouge's own Tin Roof Brewing Company, Covington's Heiner Brau, and the Bayou Teche Brewing Company in Arnaudville.    

I was happy to find out about the beer dinner and get to make a larger reservation with Ause, the owner of Niche.  It was a pleasure to be joined by Eric Ducote, Dustin Davis, and Jessica Jameson.  Robert Romero was in town from New Zealand and he decided to join us along with his brother Jesse and a couple of other friends.  Aaron LaRose also came with his lady friend and a couple more pals.  William McGehee and Charles Caldwell from Tin Roof were there to drink their own beer, as was Dorsey Knott from Bayou Teche.  Even a few guys from Mockler Beverage showed up to praise the craft beer that they now get to distribute!

The Louisiana Beer Dinner featured a five course meal each paired with a different beer.  It's hard to argue with that!  And at $35, Niche also presented a great value that is sure to attract more and more people when they do it again.  So, without further ado, let's get to it.  Course one paired a French onion soup with the Tin Roof Perfect Tin Amber.  While the soup didn't blow anybody away, it was a nice course to start off with and did pair fairly well with the beer.  The soup was a little stronger than the amber brew, but at the same time I could still taste the malt and hops in the beer, so in the whole scheme of things, I'd say it worked.

French Onion Soup with the Perfect Tin Amber from Tin Roof

The second course was probably my least favorite of the evening, as it was also the least inventive.  It had a bleu cheese wedge salad with roma tomatoes paired with the Pontchartrain Pilsner from the Covington Brewhouse (Heiner Brau).  While I understand pairing light food with light beer, I think there could have been more to this. Still, for the second course out of five, I guess it did the trick... to a degree.  The salad was alright and the pilsner was reasonably crisp and a tad refreshing.

Bleu Cheese Wedge Salad and the Pontchartrain Pilsner

Course three gave us my favorite dish and pairing of the night.  Chef cooked up a great blackened mahi with a spicy mango salsa, and paired it with the Bayou Teche LA 31 Biere Pale.  The seasoning from the blackened fish beautifully complimented the pale ale flavors of the beer.  The salsa also added some citrus flavors that matched the hops in the beer.  All in all, this dish worked pretty well, and I ate every bit of it!

Blackened Mahi with Mango Salsa and the LA 31 Biere Pale

Next up, Niche Bar and Grill decided to put a little meat in our diet.  We had a beer braised beef brisket (I like the alliteration!) served along side the Tin Roof Voodoo Bengal Specialty Pale Ale.  The brisket was actually slow braised in a Voodoo Bengal broth, which I think worked really well.  The beef came out fork tender and covered in a pretty decent sauce.  The dish also came with some fairly standard mashed potatoes.  I think the brisket came in first place for many of the diners, but I still liked the fish better.  But you know, to each their own, and the beef certainly tasted pretty darn good!  Also, the beer hit home for me.  The cane syrup used in the brewing process gave the beer just enough sweetness to counter the hops and pair nicely with the sugar in the barbeque sauce.

Beer Braised Beef Brisket with Mashed Potatoes and the Voodoo Bengal Specialty Pale Ale

Finally, the dinner concluded with a lemon berry mascarpone cake and the Heiner Brau Strawberry brew.  The cake actually turned out to be really well made.  It was dense, fruity, and had a great layer of tasty cream that was not overly sweet.  The Heiner Brau Strawberry worked with the sweetness to give a good flavor profile and accent the fruitiness of the cake.  Again, complements to the chef.

Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake with Heiner Brau Strawberry

BONUS: As a little lagniappe, we all got a taste of another beer from Bayou Teche before the meal actually began.  The Granade (the French settlers mistook Louisiana passion fruit for a type of pomegranate, so in parts of Cajun country they are still called granades (grruh-nod)) is a very lightly fruited wheat beer that was refreshing and unique.  I actually think it may have been my favorite brew of the evening!  The picture on the right is a Niche pint glass filled with the Granade.

A huge thanks to Ause and Niche Bar and Grill for hosting this Louisiana Beer Dinner.  Also thank you to the guys from Tin Roof, Bayou Teche, and Mockler for being there and sharing their passion and insights for the suds they create and market.  If you missed the beer dinner, look for the fine Louisiana beers in your local watering holes, and keep an eye out for when Niche might do it again!  Until then, drink ya later!

Beer Wars: Brewed In America

Drink craft beer!  Drinking Bud, Miller, and Coors products every time you drink beer is like eating at McDonalds and Burger King for every meal.  Support your local and craft breweries!  I do believe that macro-brewed beers have their place, just like fast food, but it is time for people to pay as much attention to what they are drinking as what they are eating!  When the occasion calls for it, go ahead.  Otherwise, help support your local economy and help fund the brewing of GOOD beer!



Local beer available in Louisiana is currently confined to Abita, Heiner Brau, and NOLA though two more are on the way in the form of Parish and Bayou Teche.  Lazy Magnolia comes from nearby Mississippi while Saint Arnold, Shiner, and serveral other are made in Texas.  Drink their beer!  You won't regret it!