Andrew and Lindsay Nations moved back to their hometown of Shreveport, La., to create and foster a beer culture in the state’s northwest corner, which is closer to Dallas, Texas, than New Orleans.
NOLA Brewing’s stewardship of the craft scene, focus on high-quality beer, and investment in the community has led to explosive growth in a city that had all but abandoned its historical designation as the Brewery Capital of the South.
The recent boom in new breweries has come with a secondary phenomenon: the growth in smaller scale commercial brewing equipment. Today, it seems, almost no one runs a commercial brewery without a pilot system.
In The Big Easy, drinking is often paired with the debauchery of Bourbon Street, where cheap Hurricanes and “Big Ass Beers” have long been sold and spilled up and down the thoroughfare. But times change even if the party never stops, and New Orleans now has much more to offer the discerning beer drinker.
Gumbo is more than a stew and full of history and Louisiana culture. Its origins are a mixing pot—some of the technique is French, its seasoning and flavors hail from Africa and Spain and its vegetables from the South—combining to create an unmistakable dish that varies from family to family.
Before Avenue Pub was New Orleans’ beer bar du jour, it was just another neighborhood taproom. Twenty-seven years later, it boasts 42 taps and more than 100 bottles of the best craft beer from all over the country.
Karlos Knott, co-founder of Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudville, La., says his team doesn’t consider Bayou Teche a craft brewery, but a “cultural brewery.” Every time he, his co-founding brothers and head brewer Gar Hatcher design a beer recipe, it has to fit in with Cajun south Louisiana food, music and language.
Craft brewers debate proposed tax breaks; arsenic detected in some beers found to be result of filtering process; Brazilian beer-flavored ice cream causes a stir; action sports athletes open Saint Archer Brewery; and Dixie Brewing fighting federal government for its fair share.
For many breweries, a regional, cultural identity fosters the brand’s wider appeal. Paradoxically, that popularity might dilute the brand by requiring a large-scale production model that precludes ties to its regional roots—something expanding breweries keep in mind.
KettleHouse Brewery pulls back on distribution in Montana; Alpine Beer Company takes action against illegal beer trading; Louisiana brewery changes name to avoid conflict; and new legislation brewing in New York, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Alabama.
Taking garbage beer proves hazardous; Washington state approves increased beer tax; on-campus brewing proposed at Louisiana State University; Carlsberg warehouse workers strike over on-the-job pints.
This place is a steaming melting pot of Spanish, French, African and Caribbean influences, a magnet for artists, musicians, misfits and criminals, a charmingly seedy town united by its distaste for authority and its mighty thirst.
