Louisiana is our next stop for Christmas beer and we land with our reindeer at Bayou Teche Brewing for their Biere de Noel.
Architecturally Speaking
I am a sucker for a good back story to a beer and when that back story weaves in the history and sense of place where the brewery resides. Well, then even better.
Abita (which we thankfully get in LA) has done many charitable beers but this one should also endear a pride in the city and it’s splendid design. Plus the packaging is pretty cool. Good branding. And if you like Mosaic hops then you have another IPA to sample.
Louisiana Beer – Parish Brewing
Here is what their website says about themselves:
“Little Brewery, Big Biere
Parish Brewing Co. is a nanobrewery (yes, nano! smaller than micro!) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Parish will be bringing Acadiana and the rest of Louisiana uncompromising, craft brewed beer (or biere in our native cajun french). Using only the finest ingredients, we’d never cut costs at the expense of flavor.
Think of Parish as an upstart local brewery in cajun country doing battle against boring, tasteless swill.”
This biere (the first on their list) really caught my eye:
“Canebrake
Brewed with Louisiana sugarcane! A new Louisiana tradition in the works. Crisp and easy to drink, this sparingly hopped American wheat focuses attention on the understated sweet remnants of sugarcane.”
Louisiana Beer – Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche is another small and very Cajun’ outfit.
Like so many others before him, Karlos Knott, the founder of the brewery, tasted quality flavorful beer while in Europe, in Knott’s case, Germany. He was further entranced by the Washington State beer scene that he returned too. That led to home brewing in 1994. Upon returning to Louisiana, Knott and his brothers, who all live on the family farm in Arnaudville, crafted beers to compliment Cajun cuisine and launched Bayou Teche.
LA-31 is their most famous biere but others are on the way like a hefeweizen that will pair with that lovely Cajun’ food.
Louisiana Beer – NOLA Brewing
Each of the Louisiana breweries that I have focused on have great histories and NOLA is no exception. Here is the NOLA story: “NOLA Brewing is the concept and dream of entrepreneur Kirk Coco. Kirk is a native New Orleanian who earned his BA and Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University, his MBA from the University of New Orleans and served 11 years as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy. After watching the effects of Katrina while on deployment in the Arabian Gulf, he decided to come home to help rebuild and develop commerce in post-Katrina New Orleans.
While enjoying great tasting beer of fellow New Orleanian and home brewer Byron Towles, the question arose, “Why doesn’t New Orleans have several great local micro-breweries like Portland or Seattle to offer a variety of beer to a city full of brewing history?”
Once the cradle of brewing in the Deep South, New Orleans boasted world famous beers such as Falstaff, Regal, Union, Dixie, Jax, New Orleans Brewing and XXXX (Four X).”
And here is the beer that stood out amongst the many good choices:
“Hopitoulas is a West Coast style India Pale Ale that has 6 malts and 6 hops and has been additionally dry hopped for three weeks. A month and a half to make each batch, we think you’ll appreciate our extra work in the perfectly balanced, hoppy flavor Hopitoulas packs.”
Louisiana Beer – Crescent City Brewhouse
To start the month of Louisiana Beer, I have to start in the traditional (some may say cliche) heart. The French Quarter of New Orleans. I will expand out as the month goes by but first I present, Crescent City Brewhouse.
They have a really solid list of beers. All crafted by “Wolfram Koehler, [who] is recognized among his peers for his craftsmanship … and continues his family tradition of brewing the finest selection of world class beer. Our house selection of distinctive lagers has won numerous awards. World travelers will be pleased to discover that the German heritage known for fine beer making is continued here.”
LA-31
No this isn’t a freeway in Los Angeles. This is a bayou beer.
From Bayou Teche Brewing comes the first bottled batch of LA-31 Biere Pale . Lazy Magnolia is bottling their product because they have no bottling line yet, but that hasn’t stopeed Bayou Teche.
LA-31 is an American version of a Belgian Pale Ale. A late hop addition an American yeast strains give LA-31 a mellow bitterness and intense hop flavor over a continental malt base.
Two other brews are due from their tiny hand-crafted brewery, a dark beer called LA-31 Biere Noire, and a wheat known as Duck Blind Cherry Wood Roasted Wheat Biere. They will only be in kegs for now.
50 from 50 – Louisiana
Abita is probably the best known of the Louisiana breweries but their Christmas Ale is not usually seen here in California. So it gets the nod for the Bayou beer.
Abita Satsuma Wit
Somedays, it feels like I can’t stay caught up…
“Real Louisiana Satsumas, golden wheat, oats and the finest barley create Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit. Pale and cloudy, like the haze on a hot summer day, this white beer has a sweet and subtle citrus flavor with a touch of spice that is cool and refreshing.
Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit is very versatile and can compliment a number of dishes. This brew pairs well with salads, fish, shrimp and lobster, as long as the dishes are not too spicy. Thai dishes, which often have citric notes in their flavor profile, would also perfectly compliment the orange flavors in Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit.”
