New Orleans craft beer options

Next time…courtyard.

 

I meant to reply earlier, but I thought it might be worth mentioning in this thread that May to September is going to be unpleasantly hot in south Louisiana, especially if doing any walking in the daytime sun. This is generally true in Baton Rouge where I live, and New Orleans tends to run a few degrees hotter. My favorite time in New Orleans is February to April, as you've got comfortable temperatures, ornate parades every weekend leading up to Mardi Gras (though it's pretty hectic and crowded on the actual Mardi Gras weekend), and boiled crawfish are in season.

I've had beers from NOLA, Urban South, Port Orleans, Zony Mash, Brieux Carré and Courtyard in New Orleans, and the only beers that stood out as noteworthy were from Courtyard and Brieux Carré, though I have not sampled a variety from any place (all were one-time instances of picking up beer-to-go), so I don't feel like I can rate the overall beer selection or experience of any of the breweries fairly. I concur with @zekeman17 that the drinking space at Courtyard appeared a tad bit gruff and bleak when I was there. NOLA, Urban South, Port Orleans and Zony Mash were set up in more open, welcoming spaces (Zony Mash had a particularly interesting setup in an old movie theater). I did curbside pickup at Brieux Carré during COVID and did not actually go inside their taproom, but it's in the popular and lively Frenchman St area easily walkable from the French Quarter.

For first-time visitors seeking out breweries in New Orleans, I'd probably recommend trying NOLA and Urban South as they're both established and are relatively close to each other (along Tchoupitoulas St in the Garden District area; also Miel and Port Orleans are nearby). If you're in the French Quarter area without a car, then Brieux Carré would be a good target. As I mentioned earlier in this thread though, I'm not based in New Orleans and am not really an authority on New Orleans beer. The only New Orleans brewery that has been producing in bottles/cans and is available where I live (at least until relatively recently) has been NOLA, and I haven't found anything I've gotten from them to be strikingly impressive, though decent. Probably next on my list to try in New Orleans is Second Line. My favorite Louisiana beers are from Parish and Gnarly Barley, neither of which are produced in New Orleans, but both of which you can find there packaged and perhaps on tap (if you look up the top rated beers in Louisiana here on Beer Advocate, you'll notice that the top 40 are nearly all from Parish Brewing, which is near Lafayette). So that's my two cents.

 

I'm a transplant to New Orleans I'll gladly chime in to help anyone out.

Best Breweries:
Brieux Carre
Parleaux Beer Lab
Courtyard Brewing
Bywater Brewpub

Solid Breweries:
NOLA
Urban South
Port Orleans
Miel
Oak Street
Second Line
Zony Mash

Beer Bars:
Avenue Pub
Cooter Brown's
Bayou Beer Garden
Junction

Bottle Shops:
504 Craft Beer Reserve

Hopefully this will help.

 

Thank you for the insight @craigo19--Parleaux Beer Lab wasn't even on my radar.

I went to a concert at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans last weekend and stopped in for some beers at both Second Line and Brieux Carré beforehand--Second Line was all outdoor seating with picnic tables and big umbrellas and outdoor fans, which made the cold beer taste all the more refreshing on a hot sunny afternoon--I liked the laid back setting there and really enjoyed their "Saison Named Desire" especially. Brieux Carré is just a tight little barroom with a couple of narrow tables along the adjoining wall, but it was a friendly atmosphere and the beer I got there went down pretty smoothly, and there was live jazz music all around as I walked down the street coming and going.

I'll continue exploring a brewery or two at a time each time I go to New Orleans, but @craigo19's suggestions are consistent with what I've experienced so far, so I'd say that's as good a list as any to guide you.

 

I forgot to add Wetlands Saki to my list.

 

Appreciate the contents of this thread… made choosing local options very easy and successful.

Brieux Carré Was excellent… had their Marzen, hazy boi, and a helles. All were absolutely top notch.

Had a really good Zony Mash pale ale.

Ghost in the Machine is the truth… found it a few places.

Faubourg (which I didn’t see mentioned) had a great lager and a dunkel that was really good too.


Overall I was happy with the beers in the areas where we were Speshy considering how low the bar had seemingly been set lol