Beer Blotter

Lets take a break from Seattle Beer Week so I can tell you about these amazing beer events in New Orleans from May 15 through May 22nd during the 3rd Annual American Craft Beer Fest.

Now, from previous posts you must know how much we love Avenue One Pub – the best beer spot in New Orleans. This is where I fell in love with Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co.’s Jefferson Stout. Amongst their 40 or so taps, you will find some incredible beer.

Below are a list of events that will take place at this fabulous beer bar:

 

 

Avenue Pub events:

Sunday May 15th at 2pm Saint Arnolds Divine Reserve Tapping

Wednesday: May 18th – Nano breweries tasting event starts at 7PM: On Draft – Dieu Du Ciel! Equinoxe du Printemps, Dieu Du Ciel! La Rescousse, Dieu Du Ciel! Aphrodite, Dieu Du Ciel! Péché Mortel, St. Somewhere Saison Athene, St. Somewhere Lectio Divina, High & Mighty from Will Shelton, Parish Brewing Canebrake, Jester King (possible), Stillwater/Struisse. Bottles – Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial, Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura, Jolly Pumpkin iO Saison

Friday Night: May 20th-  “Locals Night” starts at 4pm on the balcony – Each of the local/regional breweries is contributing a special keg or cask for this evening. Brewers and owners will be present to meet with customers and talk about the ‘one off ‘ beers they created for the event. Abita Triple Citra Hopped Satsuma Wit, , Lazy Magnolia bourbon barrell aged Pecan Ale, Bayou Teche beer cocktails, NOLA Single Hops Series (Blonde Dry hopped 4 different ways), Abita double IPA on cask.

Saturday: May 21st -Super Saturday! ….. Big Finale tasting at the Pub , 1 pm till 8pm ( last ticket accepted at 9pm)
Just like last year we will have a lot of new releases, one off kegs, cask ale and we will open every bottle in the house.  There is NO Beer festival in La that has a  lineup like we will have on that day. Period. Check the web link for the list of specific beers and cask tapping on that day. A ticket is $20 and you gets 12 samples…each 4 ounces. Everything in the house is an option…high gravity, rare and cask beers. We will open every (American Craft) bottle in the house if someone wants to taste it.
A message from Avenue Pub:

As many of you know I’ve been working pretty hard to help put this week of events together. We have over 25 different events at 17 different locations around town. For the full schedule use the link below. Its not often you will see me ask you to go buy beer at other bars. For this week I want you to do that!

Save Saturday the 21st for the Big Finale at the Pub BUT during the week please patronize the events you see listed on the MASTER schedule.  A successful craft beer week will go along way to convincing the distributors to invest in craft beer and influence other bars to carry craft beer. Higher state sales mean more good beers will come into La. You want Dogfish Head, Deschutes and New Belgium? This one way to get them interested in La.

To show you how much I believe in this project and how important it is to our beer culture I am offering one free taste for each receipt you bring in from one of the other events during the week. I will give people that bring me a receipt from one of the other events around town a free taste per receipt you bring in …up to 3 per person( thats 12 extra ounces of great beer). That means your 20 dollars could buy you 15 samples of the best beer in the state…not just 12.

Here is that MASTER LIST of events:

http://theavenuepub.com/american-craft-beer-week

Drink up and enjoy one of the greatest cities on this planet!

Washington Beer Blog reminded me that Draft Magazine put out their annual 100 Best Beer Bars this week. Thanks for the reminder, Kendall. Now let me go spend two unproductive hours ogling it!

Draft Magazine is a nationally published magazine focused beer culture. They have been around since 2006, sometimes featuring celebrities on their covers. All in all, its not the nerds guide to beer. Its more of a sassy celebration of all things barley pop.

Don’t let my description drive you away. Draft Magazine is good. In fact, all 3 of the Beer Blotter writers are subscribers. We enjoy the fact that Draft presents a global expose on happenings in the beer world. Its really a good way to locate beer venues from around the world.

Just this week, Draft released its annual Top 100 beer bars list. This list is sorted geographically into 4 regions. I was afraid that they were attempting to force options for each of these regions, but it appears that the selections are not equally divided (for example, the Northeast has many more than the South).  So, it appears that the choices are without prejudice.

In scouring the list, I was very pleased to see places like Avenue Pub (New Orleans), Apex (Portland), Blind Lady Alehouse (San Diego) and our very own Monk’s hole – The Stumbling Monk (Seattle).

But, one cannot peruse the list without finding their own list of absentees. While less deserving pubs made it (i.e. Cooter Browns (New Orleans), Green Dragon (Portland), McNulty’s Bier Markt (Cleveland)), some of the nation’s most celebrated beer venues are missing.

While that absentee list will differ for each of us, here are my Top 5 Absentees:

 

1. Brouwers Cafe (Seattle) –  They must have pissed off a Draft Magazine writer. Many of us know that Brouwers can sometimes rub the wrong way (and its been stated by commenters here on the site), but there is no better selection of ale in the NW. Brouwers routinely procures 60 taps of rare beer, one of the best bottle lists in the country and an unprecedented number of unmatched in-house beer festivals (See Sour Fest, Hopfest, Big Wood, and Hard Liver). Again, they must have pissed someone off.

 

2. Bangers & Lace (Chicago) – This might simply be too early for Draft to call this place a winner. But, Bangers & Lace has quickly ascended to the top of the Chicago beer world. Presenting an unmatched selection of rare beer, along with phenomenal food, B&L deserves a spot. Guest writer For Whom the Bell Toales agrees that this is the #1 beer venue in Chi-town.

 

3. Small Bar (San Diego) – Ok Ok, they got it mostly right. Hamilton’s Tavern, Blind Lady Alehouse, and O’Brien’s Pub should all be on the list. But, Small Bar gives that Top 3 a run for their money. Mixing a spectacular beer selection with epic food and spunky surroundings, I think it deserved a spot above many of the LA selections.

 

4. Brew Kettle (Strongsville, OH)  - Draft picked one of the many Cleveland suburb favorites – Buckeye Beer Engine. But, I think they got the wrong one. The Brew Kettle blends an incredible draft lineup (thank god for the connection with Founders), house made ales, and some spectactular bar grub. Get drunk enough? Go brew a batch in the back. Beyond that – its just a cool dark place to grab a beer.

 

5. New York’s Forgotten Trio – Ginger Man, Mug’s Alehouse and d.b.a. (NY, NY) – They picked a lot of NY spots. I can understand that its pretty tough to run into your editor’s office and say we picked the Top 100 – 20 of them are in NY. Its a tough job to pick between the excellent spots in NYC. In my mind, they got the top 3 on the list – Rattle N Hum, Blind Tiger and Spuyten Duyvil. Those three are iconic, and the three places that I spend the most time while in NY. But, the above three all deserve a shot at the list. The Ginger Man is just a few blocks from Rattle N Hum – many would say its the cooler bar. Mug’s is tucked away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But unlike the uber-hipster crowd at Spuyten Duyvil, you will find comfort at this grog spot. d.b.a. is the lone East Village fave. d.b.a. has been pouring beer for a long time and has an excellent wide spread selection.

 

I will say, writing the Top 5 absentees was pretty tough. All in all they did a great job finding the appropriate bars. The Top 100 is a worthy list and you should take a glance.

What else is missing!?

 

 

-  DSR

 

Week 39 of 52

Abita Brewing Company & Tasting Room

166 Barbee Rd.
Abita Springs, LA

Wed,Thurs & Fri: 2pm – 3pm
Tour Time: 2pm
Sat: 10am – 3pm
Tour Times: 11am, 12pm, 1pm & 2pm

———————————————-

Rank: 4/5

Type of Establishment: Brewery & Tasting Room

Visit: After a incredible week of consumption in the French Quarter, it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. We headed West to the Bayou to have some frog legs and catfish and embarked north to Abita Springs, home of Abita Brewing. It was about 85 degrees with 100% humidity on a late October day. We were thirsty, but severely full. The beer beckoned, we did not back down.

 

Beers on Tap (at time of visit):

 

Amber

Turbodog Brown Ale

Christmas Ale

Purple Haze Raspberry Ale

Pecan Harvest

Satsuma Wit

Jockamo IPA

Restoration Pale

Select Rye Pale

Save Our Shores Imperial Pilsner

Light

Golden

Fall Fest

AndyGator

 

Bottle List:

 

Its a brewery, you drink from the taps. You cannot get any bottles here.

But you can obtain Abita Brewing’s bottled beer at almost any store selling beer in Louisiana. They also distribute in 48 states, including Washington.

You can most reliably find some Abita down at Full Throttle Bottles in Seattle. Next time you have a fish fry, crawfish/shrimp boil, or a Mardi Gras party – head down there to get your Turbodog.

 

Food Options:

 

Again, my comments are limited. If you brought a bag of peanuts or chips – I think you can eat them here. But, this is purely a brewery visit. They are focused one thing: letting you drink the beer and see where it came from.

Abita Brewing does, however, have a brewpub up the road about 1 mile. In the teeny town of Abita Springs, LA, Abita’s brewpub puts out some interesting food and showcases roughly 20 beers on tap at all times.

More interestingly, the brewpub pours some pub exclusives that cannot be found anywhere else, including Chocolate Stout, Blue (blueberry wheat beer), and Nitro Pale. You can also purchase growlers of these beers, or snag a six pack of some of their packaged ales.

The food at the brewpub provides a nice snapshot of Louisiana cuisine. Its not the best place to get this food, but its serviceable. A collection of po boys with all the fixins, oysters brochette, fried artichokes, blackened shrimp, crawfish cakes and stuffed quail might make you right. For me, I always loved their home recipe meatloaf, which is no longer on the menu – boo.  If you are looking for a recommendation, try the Andygator infused crawfish cakes topped with a Turbodog remoulade sauce. Yum.

 

Bar Opinions:

 

I’ll just get this out of the way: You serve yourself at Abita Brewing. Yep, you heard me – be your own bartender at this tasting room.

The fact stated above was the main reason that I decided to return to Abita. Some six years ago when I was nothing more than a Loyola student, a few friends and I visited the still relatively small Abita brewery. We wanted to see what changed, after some major renovations and upgrades.

 

The Old Brewery & Tour

 

My first visit was back in 2004, before Hurrican Katrina. Abita was producing a lot of beer at the time, but not nearly what they sell these days. At the time, they had just a few beers in their collection and did not produce one hoppy ale.

The brewery was in the same location but remarkably smaller, less efficient and much less attractive. I remember walking into the brewery for a tour and being directed to what had to be a refurbished closet. The “welcome room” was a tiny space with a jockey box setup and about 5 taps. There was a stack of cups and sign that read: “serve yourself.” What!? Of course, I will. Thank you very much.

The mentality at the old brewery was grab as much beer as possible, make sure you try all five styles and then stumble around the brewery tour for 30 minutes, with absolutely zero idea what the brewer was talking about. Except for my buddy Nick asking dumb questions about how they clean the place – we had zero communication with the tour guide. We had no idea how to connect with the guy, because we had such little knowledge of the brewing process.

Regardless, the old brewery tour was a hell of a time.  Not once have I visited a brewery that left you to your own devices in procuring drunkenness. What a world. Would it all change as Abita grew up?

 

All Grown Up – Abita Goes Gorgeous.

 

I had heard a lot of amazing things about Abita in the past few years. First, Abita underwent an incredible transformation right after we visited in 2004. Even before the great storm of 2005, Abita was in the midst of a great growth, increasing brewing capacity, fermenting capacity and brewery technology.

The brewery purchased one of only two Merlin brew kettle systems that are currently being used in the USA (we believe, but their may be more). Their 100 bbl system is only defeated by the 200 bbl system being used over at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, CO.

The Merlin allows for an extremely clean brewing process, while maximizing heat efficiency (it saves 70% in energy cost) and removing trub. Its a pretty sexy thing to see and you can taste the difference in Abita beer.

Additionally, Abita grabbed a slew of 300 bbl fermenters and built a brand spanking new brewhouse that sparkles with cleanliness. Very impressive.

They also built a new administrative building with a New Orleans flair. This building houses the Tasting Room and patio, where you get to enjoy Abita’s beer – as your own bartender. That’s right, even though they built a gorgeous new bar – you still pour your own beer.

One big difference is that you now have to choose from about 15 beers! But do not fret, the tasting experience is now expanded to roughly an hour. After  a brief introduction, visitors are invited to grab a beer (or two, three, whatever you can carry) and take a seat. The tour begins with an extremely informative and appealing video (on big flat screens) about the brewing process.

The video is perhaps the smartest move that Abita could have made. I was on the tour with my father and his friend, who know very little about brewing. But, Abita’s video showed the brewing process in action; the ingredients, the working parts, and even a life cycle of a beer were all comprehensible and tangible.

At this time, you are finally ready to take a quick (10 minute) peak at the brewery. By now, you understand how all the parts work and this is a great opportunity to ground the images you just saw on screen with the real thing. I love this tour.

 

Going Green.

 

Abita also uses this opportunity to “wow” you with its green initiative. I was utterly shocked to see a Louisiana brewery doing some of the things that Abita is doing.

As the site says:

 

“Conserving energy and water, reusing by-products and waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, driving greener vehicles and using recycled materials are some of the ways the Abita Brewing Company is working to keep our part of the world green and clean.”

 

This brewer is recycling cooling water into their liquor tanks, using a kettle that saves 70% in energy cost, capturing vapor to reuse steam, reusing waste water to produce energy, capturing bio-gas to fuel boilers, using snub bottles to reduce glass, and using recycled cartons that use 50% less paper. These are just a few of the things that Abita is doing to improve the way brewing damages the environment. If you ever brewed a batch of beer, you know how wasteful it can be; its nice to see someone doing something about it.

 

The Beer & Result

 

All in all – I was floored with the improvements at this place. That includes improvements to the beer.

I never have been a huge fan of Abita Brewing, but their beer is noticeably improved. Additions to the family include: Jockamo IPA, a 6.5% IPA generously hopped with Willamette and Columbus hops; Restoration Pale, a nice malty pale dry-hopped with Cascade, which was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and started as a fund raiser; and last but certainly not least – SOS.

SOS stands for Save Our Shores. Abita has always got involved with helping out Louisiana during times of disaster. This time, Abita put together a charity to help out families that were impacted by the BP oil spill. Abita brewed this Imperial Pilsner (its marketed as just a Pils, but its big as hell) with the intention of raising .75 cents per bottle sold for its charity – and its doing a heck of a job.

SOS is easily Abita’s most desirable beer. The wheat malts blend perfectly with the Perle and Sterling hops that are packed in the bottle gratuitously. While the beer has a subtle malt backbone, its sharp and packs a delightful hoppiness. Get this beer – and help save Louisiana shores. You can also contribute by going to their website here.

All in all, I still love New Orleans and I’m beginning to love Abita, more and more. I was blown away with what the brewery has become and how great this tour is for visitors. If you are in New Orleans, there is no justification for missing this trip.

Been to Abita – Let us know what you thought below!

 

- DSR

I have been on leave from BeerBlotter.com in order to peruse the alleyways, taverns, and sound of the mighty New Orleans. And so I apologize to my fellow Blotter brethren/sistern (made up) for having to pull all the weight of this hefty machine. Kudos to them for keeping it running.

But alas, I miss the daily musings of musty bottles and bitter pints. The Blotter has become a reflection of what we all are: loose lipped, eager to share, legend seeking beer drinkers.

So, I decided to chime in this morning and share a snapshot of my adventures through the dirty. This will only be a peak of what is to come on the Blotter in the coming week.

 

Loving Me Some NOLA.

 

Last year, we visited a fledgling operation along New Orleans’ historic tongue twister of a street – Tchoupitoulas. The newcomer to the Louisiana beer scene (and really the only true brewery in New Orleans since Katrina sank Dixie Brewing), NOLA Brewing hit the market in early 2009 with two products: Brown and Blonde. They grabbed instant success and imminent growth could be smelled from a mile away.

We were not wrong. NOLA Brewing has grown in production size, quality, distribution, and of course – their lineup. Now brewing 4 year round beers and several seasonals, they are all grown up.

I decided to pop in, unannounced (sorry Dylan), and grab a taste of the new, the recreated and the “whats to come.” Luckily, I was able to siphon off a taste of the new Irish Channel Stout before its release. I was floored. Much more to come on these guys. Don’t miss that write up.

 

Holy Crap – What Happened Here?

 

6 years ago, craft beer was just a scant curiosity for me. I knew nothing, cared little and grabbed Schlitz cans without a second thought. But living in New Orleans, you had to notice the Abita Brewing stranglehold of 25 years. So, we took a little trip to the brewery.

6 years ago, the trip was just a hoot – now its an experience. Abita Brewing has undergone a dramatic face lift, expanding to an almost 50,000 square foot facility. Whats more is that they added a 100 barrel Merlin brewing system, a plethora of 300 barrel fermenters and a shiny new tasting room. Luckily for us they didn’t change the “be your own bartender in the tasting room” rule, which makes this the best brewery visit around.

 

Still On Top. Zero Challengers.

 

Last time I waxed poetic about New Orleans beer, we sat Avenue Pub right at the top. There is nothing that can change my mind about this choice.

Avenue Pub has all the factors: amazing taps, great bottles, phenomenal food, incredible aura and mind-boggling comfort/location (balcony over St. Charles!). With a direct line to Stone Brewing and Brooklyn Brewing’s top of the line beers, I am always surprised. With the new commitment to Belgian beer, my jaw drops with each visit.

Kudos to Avenue Pub’s Polly for keeping this one on top.

For now, I must rest as I embark on my final journey through New Orleans, tomorrow. I am going to peg gater and eggs, oysters on the half shell and some Liuzza’s gumbo for the day. How will I wash it all down? We’ll see what NOLA has to offer.

 

On Friday, Beer Blotter offered its 300th post! Over less than a year has elapsed since we first went public on BeerBlotter.com. We have a had a blast so far, and we look forward to much more ahead.

In almost 11 months, we have managed to put up more than 300 stories (this article is #302). From our editor’s first beer review of Lazy Magnolia’s Jefferson Stout to Mark Leavens’ review of sandwich board art over at Atlantic Crossing – we have come a long way.

While we look forward to big changes over here, we wanted to take a look into the past and discuss the three biggest, and most memorable, moments in our short history. We have visited Belgium, Holland, France, Canada, San Diego, San Francisco, New Orleans, Cleveland, New York, Washington DC, Portland, Chicago and more – all in that 11 month period.

These three moments stick out the most:

 

#3  — Beer Blotter Spawns From the New Orleans Beer Arrival & A Chicago Surprise

 

If you have ever visited New Orleans, you are probably aware that its almost impossible to find a good beer. You are almost assured of being stuck drinking some fruity concoction of a massive amount of liquor. Not anymore.

We visited New Orleans in the beginning of last November with little knowledge of any beer scene. But, we stumbled our way through bar after bar and discovered that craft beer does exist. In fact, we were floored with what we found; hope for a good future was established.

While we were in New Orleans, our editor was surprised with a no notice flight up to Chicago. It was her first visit – and a great opportunity to see an amazing world of craft beer. We visited the Publican, drank Three Floyds at the Map Room, bought a bounty of beer at Binnys and took in a Browns v. Bears game, before returning to New Orleans.

Upon returning, we decided to launch this site. Beer Blotter was born over a pint of Lazy Magnolia Jefferson Stout and NOLA Hopitoulas at the Avenue Pub. From that moment – 300 articles followed.

 

#2 — The Crew Visits West Flanders

 

The entire crew decided to throw down and take an excursion to Belgium, back in March. We planned the trip for a period of 12 months, holding epic Belgian beer tastings once a week until we left. As part of the trip, we decided to visit Germany, France and Holland as well.

Every day was filled with splendor. From the iconic bottle shops, to the revolutionary brewers, Belgium brought us to our knees. We saw Cantillon in Brussels, visited Moeder Lambis during its opening week, drank gallons at De Molen, sorted through bottles at Paters Vaetje, and gifted a Pliny the Elder to Hane at De Gans.

But, nothing was more epic than a one day visit to West Flanders. I had caught a pretty vicious cold that had put me out of commission for a few days, but I refused to allow it to defeat my trip to Westvleteren to catch Westy 12. I sucked it up, chugged some orange juice, bought some nose spray (so i could taste again) and we took off for West Flanders.

When we arrived at the Saint Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren – my cold cleared up. Whether this was an amazing intervention of the almighty himself or simply an incredulous recovery – we will never know. But, it all came together as my first Westy 12 was placed in front of me.

From there, we trucked on to St. Bernardus, visited a brewer’s cottage in Woesten, drove to France to sample Escambeq’s best (with a brewer who could not speak English), drank De Struisse’s finest in a living room at De Zon and enjoyed splendid wonders from the private collection of Alvinne’s owner. I’m unsure that this day could ever be eclipsed.

 

#1 — The Closing of Water Street Brewing & Alehouse

 

The number one moment is not a happy one. But, it certainly had a profound effect on me.

For days I labored over visiting my favorite beer spot before it would shut its doors, for the final time. In the end, I didn’t go. The horror was too much for me to handle.

If you never got a chance to read the hardest post I ever typed, take a gander now. For purposes of brevity, I will not relive the words that came to mind when I head that Water Street Brewing would close down. But if you were around me for those few days – you know it was always in my mind.

Bars come and go – that is for sure. Some bars leave way too early; that was the case with Water Street. Because of a legal spat that keeps the former Water Street brewing space vacant to this day (we just saw the space this past weekend and its still not even close to re-lease), Water Street was forced into early retirement.

But, like all great combatants, Water Street may rise again. Their Facebook page has provided snippets of hope to those of us who yearn to have Queen Nina pour us another IPA. Recently, Nina announced that Strange Brewfest would return this year! This was an amazingly welcoming sign that Water Street is still alive and kicking – somewhere.

 

300 More.

 

300 posts of Beer Blotter has brought us this far and we vow to keep it going. In the next month, we hope to have our new site running, filled with gobs of media and more user friendly resources.

Stick with us, please. We’ve enjoyed your company.