I love beer, everything about it, the smells, the temperatures, the colors, the tastes, the feels (don't care if that doesn't work, it's beer). My biggest concern is that I come from California where a plethora of eclectic beers are available for consumption. And since moving down here to the heel of Louisiana (literally, Lake Charles is on the heel of the boot state) I have not been able to find any kind of stores or beer clubs or what have you that can help grow my beer knowledge. Even more unfortunately, it seems if I ask for anything other than a "Bud laat" I get chastised and alienated. Help me beer community!
Make a couple of trips to Houston a month.. that should help . I don't go to Louisiana often.. I actually am in a couple of hours.. but I have noticed it's hard to find good beer, or at last harder than Texas.
A lot of the southern states are like that. KY is coming around, finally, and getting a lot of good distribution lately, but back when it was shit like a lot of other southern states, I capitalized on trading and traveling. That may not necessarily be ideal for you, but search BA for good bottle shops within an hour or two from where you live and make it a monthly thing. Trading can get a little costly if you get addicted, which is easy to do, but it's the easiest way to find good stuff from around the country. There are lots of great BA's around here worth trading with.
I have no idea how far you are from NOLA, but I have heard good stuff about Stein's: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16678
Lake Charles is not a good representation of Louisiana's craft beer scene. Unfortunately, there's a big segmentation of beer in Louisiana. New Orleans and the Northshore, and over into Baton Rouge, excellent for beer. Outside of these areas, its dodgy. You're close enough to Texas and probably Baton Rouge to keep yourself sane. I say use your location to your advantage and grab the best of both states!
I can understand where you're coming from for sure man! I recently moved down here from the Boston area where I was spoiled with access to some great breweries that we just don't get here in Louisiana. That said, the above advice is good, definitely try to get into NOLA at some point as it is the best in the state from what I can see. I'd also agree to take advantage of your distance from Texas, since obviously distribution isn't great here. I've been living off a lot of Stone's constant releases and trying all the new stuff that comes out from local breweries. It will get better for you, and if you're ever in the NOLA or Northshore area, give me a holler!
