Between Two Shells: Buffalo Chargrilled Oysters with Chafunkta's Kingfish Cream Ale

by Blair Loup

Buffalo Chargrilled Oyster and Chafunkta's Kingfish Cream Ale at Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar in Baton Rouge

It’s fall, and sports are happening. If fall means sports, then sports means spicy food and beer. There’s something about watching sports ball something covered in buffalo sauce in one hand and a crisp craft beer in the other. It really gets me in the (team) spirit.

Yet, I can get bored with the battered chicken wing. I find myself craving that buffalo flavor without all the bones and mess. And I don’t know, when I’m eating in public, I don’t want to need a roll of paper towels to keep myself in check.

Conveniently, Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar now has a buffalo chargrilled oyster.

Jackpot.

These buffalo-style chargrilled oysters are simple but delicious: Gulf oyster, Tabasco’s Buffalo Style Hot Sauce, and creamy bleu cheese. It’s a recipe for scrumptious-ness. Pair with Chafunkta’s Kingfish Cream Ale, and you’re looking at a good time.

The Kingfish Cream Ale is crisp, but flavorful with a slight maltiness. It’s definitely a go-to oyster beer for me, and combined with the buffalo flavors, it’s a W.

Some of my best times in downtown Baton Rouge include indulging in some Gulf oysters with a Louisiana craft beer in hand.

Below are some other pairings we suggest at Jolie Pearl:

Raw Gulf Oysters and Fresh Margaritas

Oysters Rockefellar and the Louisiana Mule

Raw Gulf Oysters topped with Cucumber Mignonette with Fresh Grapefruit Margaritas

Asian Style Chargrilled Oysters with Tin Roof Tunrow Harvest Ale

Chargrilled Oysters with Gnarly Barley's Catahoula Common

Raw West Coast Gold Creek Oysters with Jay D's Blanc Du Bois

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:

Video: The Fourth Tier

The Fourth Tier

After Prohibition, which was repealed just over 80 years ago by the 21st Amendment, the model of choice for states to regulate the alcohol industry was the three tier system. In a nutshell, this created a framework where producers and suppliers of alcohol worked independently from wholesalers and distributors as well as the retailers in the form of bars and liquor stores. Creating a gap between the breweries and the bars was meant to eliminate some of the problems that led to the creation of the 18th Amendment, also known as Prohibition. Vertical integration, or one company controlling the manufacturing of alcohol and the bars where people consume the alcohol, they said, led to over-consumption and tainted products.

Still today, alcohol is treated differently than any other product. It is the only consumer good to be made illegal and then legal again by separate amendments to the freaking CONSTITUTION of the United States! The three tier system remains as an effective tool to regulate the industry, but it seems to have some side effects as well. Many states have different versions of how the three tier system is implemented, but I don't want to get into all those details right now.

This fall I had a the opportunity to produce a teaser to a possible feature length documentary called "The Fourth Tier." Mostly unrecognized by any sort of talks about the industry, the fourth tier represents the consumers who actually drink the product. This tier is essential for a viable industry, and is actually the most regulated out of any of the tiers. Still, in the United States these days, it is hard to argue that it isn't the Fourth Tier that is winning. Consumers, especially of beer, are being met with more choices, variety, brands, styles, and quality than ever before. Unlike other industries, the regulatory framework in the beer industry has created a thriving marketplace for small companies to compete with the big boys. This video explores the relationships between the producers, wholesalers, and retailers of beer as well as the effects that those relationships have on consumers. Alright, I've said too much. Just watch!

If you have any questions or if you want to contribute financially to making a feature length version of The Fourth Tier, email me at jay@biteandbooze.com. As of now we have commitments from a few individuals to take the project to the next phase and we are looking for more. Please let me know if you are interested in helping and I'll get you more information!

"Month of Salads" Post VII: Columbia Street Tap Room's Spinach Salad with Raw Oysters

Spinach Salad with Fried Oysters at Tap Room

While in Covington, Louisiana filming a bunch of beer I figured it would be the perfect time for fried oysters. Then I remembered that I should also make one last effort at a "Month of Salads" post. Fortunately the Columbia Street Tap Room allowed me to have my cake and eat it too. I added an order of fried oysters to my spinach salad and it turned out to be a winner. The oysters were delicately fried with a nice crisp exterior and a flavorful interior that retained the proper texture of an oyster. The spinach salad itself came dressed with slivered almonds, grape tomatoes, goat cheese, and a fruity vinaigrette. All of the flavors balanced each other well and the oysters proved to be a nice addition. Plus, the salad also paired nicely with my Old Ray, a mixture of the Old 504 Vanilla Coffee Porter and the Imperial IPA from the Northshore's Chafunkta Brewing Company!

A Craft Beer Tour of the Northshore

Old 504 Vanilla Coffee Porter from Chafunkta at The Chimes Covington

I've been to a handful of places on Lake Pontchartrain's Northshore, but overall I'm fairly inexperienced when it comes to the entire area other than driving through on I-12.  I've competed in the Hammond Blues and BBQ Festival twice, filmed at the local breweries and eaten at the Abita Brew Pub, and I have visited The Barley Oak a handful of times, but the rest has remained sadly foreign to me.  

This past week I had the opportunity to change that.  I rode around with Vanessa Gomes, the reasonably new Craft Brands Manager at Champagne Beverage, to several popular craft beer retailers on the Northshore.  I had the pleasure of meeting some of the people that are making the craft beer scene flourish in an area that probably gets less attention than they deserve for adding culture to Louisiana.  Our first stop landed us at The Chimes in Covington fairly early in the morning.  Being a Baton Rouge guy, I am certainly familiar with The Chimes by LSU's campus and the one on Coursey, but the Covington location promised to out-shine both of them.  The property that the restaurant sits on is gorgeous.  Along the river in Covington, they still have old courthouse that was built in the 1800s on site as you drive up.  We sat down with Shane Waller, the bar manager and now beer buyer of sorts for all locations, to chat about the restaurant and their beer program.  I began with an Old 504 Vanilla Coffee Porter from Mandeville's Chafunkta Brewing Company since I can't get it in Baton Rouge.  We had a great chat about the business and the push to move towards more American craft beer instead of the previous domestics and imports model of "Around the World" get-your-name-on-the-wall fame.  I support that movement despite my name being on the wall twice at the LSU Chimes.  Shane showed me the keg room and the massive kitchen as well.  They definitely do some volume!

Adam Acquistapace and Jay Ducote

Vanessa and I's next stop came at Acquistapace's Covington Supermarket.  There we met with Adam Acquistapace who manages the the alcohol department and pays especially close attention to his craft beer selection.  Adam and I actually knew each other from undergrad at LSU, though I couldn't recall exactly how we met over a decade ago.  Much like Calandro's here in Baton Rouge, Acquistapace's has become one of the the Covington area's go-to bottle shops.  Paying careful attention to shelf life, storage temperatures, and stocking the right beers individually and in packages, this store definitely has an impressive spread of superb craft brews!

Chicken Fried Steak at Columbia Street Tap Room and Grill

Lunch time came along and that brought us to the Columbia Street Tap Room and Grill, also known around the area just as the "Tap Room."  This Covington hot-spot owes a lot of its success to Jonathan James, the beverage manager and entertainment director.  He joined myself, Vanessa, and Alex from Champagne who had previously met us at Chimes as well.  Before long we added Josh Erickson and a couple of his colleagues from the Chafunkta Brewing Company.  Before we left, Matt and Kyle from LA Craft joined the party as well.  I had a deliciuos chicken fried steak for lunch with an awesome white gravy, mashed potatoes, and sauteed veggies.  I also had several beers from the local selection such as the Chafunkta Voo Ka Ray IPA seen below, another pint of the the Old 504, and a bottle of the Parish Farmhouse IPA.  Life doesn't get much better!

Chafunkta's Voo Ka Ray IPA as seen at the "Tap Room"

Jay and Vanessa enjoying a Gueuze

Our last destination on the voyage took us to Hammond where we visited The Red White & Brew bottle shop.  Owner Todd Delaune greeted us with a smile.  Vanessa and I perused the selection of wines and his expanding craft beer stock.  Todd's store is one where you can take a bottle or twelve to go, or you can stay and drink on site.  The space has a very comfortable charm as you can sit around the bar in the middle of the retail floor.  Todd joined us in drinking a bottle of Gueuze Tilquin, a sour beer that is just sensational.  I'm usually not a huge fan (I appreciate, just don't love) of sours like lambics, but a gueuze doesn't have fruit added like a lambic, which clearly is what I don't enjoy, because this beer was top notch.  The Red White & Brew also just put in a 6 tap beer system so they can feature some local beers that they can't get in bottles.  Hello Chafunkta and Parish in Hammond!  I'll be back to this place for sure!

My small sampling of the Northshore made me want to go back for more.  Obviously Barley Oak and the soon to open Old Rail Brewpub are must-visits as well for the craft-beer loving traveler or local.  Everywhere I went made me want to come again and explore someplace new.  Perhaps next time I'll find a way to stay for dinner and some more evening drinks!  Thanks Vanessa, Champagne Beverage, and everyone I met or met up with along the way!

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!