The selection of a few dozen bottles is the most inspired in Louisiana, and there are real finds among the tap list of forty-seven rotating brands. Then there’s the friendly, ultra-knowledgeable staff and chilled out locals enjoying a quiet drink at the bar. Last but not least is the excellent—and very affordable—bar food, which is far more advanced than the quotidian menu item names would suggest. The grilled cheese turns out to be a ridiculously gooey-good combo of drunken goat cheese, sharp cheddar, and feta grilled in sourdough with sage, herb pesto, bacon, and tomato. It’s hedonism on a plate.
PHILOSOPHY
Enlightened. Watts is an unabashed craft beer maven, but neither she nor her staff will condescend to another’s taste. This is New Orleans, after all: Self-serious puffery is ill advised. Knowledge, on the other hand, is power. The bar offers classes for the Cicerone program, a beer expertise certification course, and Watts keeps her tap beers fresh using a costly system that dispenses beers under a mixture of CO2 and nitrogen that is calibrated according to each beer’s ideal mixture. Her staff cleans the lines every two weeks, inhibiting the bacteria growth that can contribute to terribly off flavors in beer. This is a (woefully) rare and yet essential practice.
KEY BEER
Watts recently put the seldom seen Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek on tap; it’s a tart lambic brew from Belgium that is spontaneously fermented with wild yeasts, aged in Bordeaux barrels for up to three years, and refermented with the juice of local cherries before bottling. With its unremittingly tart flavor it would be the perfect foil for the rich artisan cheese board from St. James Cheese Company, a noted Garden District merchant.
NOLA BREWING CO.
3001 Tchoupitoulas St. • New Orleans, LA 70115 • (504) 896-9996 • nolabrewing.com • Established: 2008
SCENE & STORY
With its sultry weather and evenings it would seem unlikely that craft beer—with its sometimes intense, attention-demanding flavors and hefty alcoholic punch—would gain much of a foothold in New Orleans. But it has. This is, after all, the city that invented the cocktail, elevating simple spirits to something higher, and, at one time, the former brewing capital of the American South.
Those days may be coming back. It’s a short drive from the French Quarter down to Tchoupitoulas Street to get to one of the most remarkable success stories—in beer, or any local business—since Katrina. With the demise of local brand Dixie, the New Orleans Lager & Ale Brewing Company, universally known as Nola Brewing, is poised to become the city’s preeminent craft brewery, first by putting superdistinctive batches on draft around town and then by packaging.
Native son and founder Kirk Coco and head brewer Peter Caddoo (a trained chef and former brewmaster of Dixie) have set up shop in a hangar-like former metal shop just south of the Garden District overlooking the Mississippi River. Standing beneath the soaring eaves in view of their compact 20bbl system of kettle and tanks (sure to expand) with the freshest possible brew in hand, it’s easy to think the sky’s the limit.
Coco, a former lawyer with a wily enthusiasm, was working as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy during Katrina, while Caddoo, a shyer sort but often wearing a contented, slightly wry grin, had been sous chef under Emeril Lagasse at Commander’s Palace before working at Dixie—until all the brewers were laid off a few months before Katrina as the company foundered. Both men watched from a safe distance as the storm took its terrible toll on the city and on Dixie, its last proud brewery. Slowly, as the city picked up the pieces in 2007, they began to plan their venture.
Today Nola gets a crowd of fifty or more visitors every Friday at 2 p.m.; samples are offered with the free tours, even though they can’t sell six-packs or pints under existing laws (ones Coco hopes to help change). And in 2015, Coco announced a bunch of good news: a new taproom (with local favorite McClure’s Barbecue) next door, and a distillery nearby making gin, vodka, and white whiskey.
PHILOSOPHY
Quintessentially local. Coco and Caddoo are experimenting with some local ingredients like watermelon and say they want to stay small (they did about 1,300bbl in 2010, and say they’d top out at 10,000). “More than any other city—except maybe Seattle or San Francisco—New Orleans supports local products so strongly,” says Coco. “That’s why there are no chain restaurants around. It’s very hard to find one. For one, the food’s so, so good, and for another, most people don’t want to support a businesses where the money goes out of the city. Having a brewery located in the city has been great for us. They know we’re here in the Irish Channel area, and the people around here, they all drink our beer.”
KEY BEER
Too many IPAs on the market are haphazard affairs defined by a long and face-contorting aftertaste. Not Caddoo’s 6.5% ABV Hopitoulas IPA, a blend of six malts and six hops, which is then dry-hopped with two different hops beyond that point. It’s balanced, with notes of pine, grapefruit, and caramel.
LÜKE
333 St. Charles Ave. • New Orleans, LA 70130 • (504) 378-2840 • lukeneworleans.com • Established: 2007
SCENE & STORY
Mid-city native and James Beard Award–winning celebrity chef John Besh’s Lüke (one of a half-dozen eateries he owns) has gorgeous tile floors and high, shiny tin-clad ceilings and a mouthwatering menu of dishes like twenty-five-cent oysters, redfish “court-bouillon” (with crab, shrimp, oysters, and rice); and shrimp “en cocotte” (with creamy white-corn grits and andouille). But it’s the succulent Lüke burger that sings, with juicy tomatoes, smoky bacon from Madisonville, Tennessee, perfectly caramelized onions, and Emmental cheese with seasoned, thick-cut fries. That gloriously rich ensemble is worth the trip alone. Besh’s locally brewed house beers, which have included Lüke Fru (a delicate kölsch), Lüke Export (a pils with Austrian hops) Lüke Alt (an aged, Düsseldorf-style lager, well matched with meatier fare), and Mardi Gras Festbier, a smooth, potent bock, make the whole package even tastier. Experimental collaborations in 2015 with Great Raft Brewing out of Shreveport, Louisiana, bode well, too, for all the Besh restaurants.
8316 Oak St. • New Orleans, LA 70118 • (504) 866-9359 • mapleleafbar.com
Open since 1974, the old Leaf is the paradigmatic New Orleans music bar, with shows and jam sessions seven nights a week and regular standing gigs for many incredible artists. To walk into its small space and take in its dilapidated floors, red tin walls, and deep-crimson lighting is to become a part of the Crescent City itself. A photo of poet and “Maple Leaf Laureate” Everett Hawthorne Maddox (“in residence 1976–1989”) and a bottle of his Famous Grouse bourbon hang on the wall; poetry readings are traditional here, too. Musically speaking, it’s pure New Orleans, with nightly performances by the likes of Rebirth Brass Band, Papa Grows Funk, the Radiators, members of the Funky Meters, and surprise appearances by artists of icon status (Springsteen has made an appearance and Beyoncé filmed a video here).
With the famous Jacques-Imo’s restaurant next door, one could easily make a night of it. Just get there. Take a good look at the outside, too: The wood speaks volumes. You don’t come to the Maple Leaf to drink elaborate cocktails (mixers beyond ice get dicey); you don’t come here to analyze Belgian ales. You come here to soak up soul deeper than the roots of a live oak. After the storm, Walter “Wolfman” Jackson played the first (publicized, at least) post-Katrina New Orleans concert on an emotional night. With the famous Jacques-Imo’s restaurant next door one could make an easy night of it. Just get there. Take a good look at the outside, too: the wood speaks volumes. As for me, next time I’m in town it will be a Monday, to see the unbelievably talented band Papa Grows Funk. I’ll arrive around 10:30, just in time to catch bandleader Jon Gross start trading fat, growly Hammond B3 solos with the Hendrix-like June Yamagishi on guitar, order up some Nola brew and get lost in the music all over again. See you at the Leaf.
PHILOSOPHY
Nostalgic. Besh sought to make Lüke an homage to the grand old Franco-German brasseries that once reigned in New Orleans, and it
succeeds beautifully.
KEY BEER
Bok, or bock (German for ‘goat’) is a strong lager brewed in the winter to drink in early spring. If your timing is right (December to February), go for the medium-bodied Festbier version of this style, which is copper-hued with a smooth malty profile and just enough acidity and bitterness to complement the rich flavors of the burger.
CRESCENT CITY BREWHOUSE
527 Decatur St. • New Orleans, LA 70130 (888) 819-9330 or (504) 522-0571
crescentcitybrewhouse.com • Established: 1991
SCENE & STORY
Overlooking the busy pedestrian area of Decatur Street in the French Quarter, the oldest brewpub in New Orleans features a handsome oval-shaped wooden bar, oyster bar, and musicians’ area overshadowed by copper German kettles and a huge sign reading “OYSTERS” and below that “air conditioned,” the two main reasons to come here. Dating back to 1794, the building is large, and in addition to the ground and terrace levels there’s a small garden terrace and airy patio upstairs overlooking the street. While the food earns good marks, the best way to experience this bar may be by popping in for a look at the copper work, then buying a beer in a plastic cup from the street-level bar and heading on your way uptown in a taxi, having paid your respects.
PHILOSOPHY
Traditional. House brews from the 17bbl system include a pilsner, Vienna-style lager, Munich-style dark, and unfiltered wheat beer, all basic and to some degrees boring; hopefully the brewers will take a look at Nola, Great Raft, Tin Roof, and Bayou Teche and step up the game. Recently they’ve tackled IPA and American-style brown ales, with some signs of improvement. And they added beer cocktails in 2014.
KEY BEER
Black Forest, a Munich-style dark lager, is a medium- to light-bodied brew with roasty notes of caramel and dark chocolate.
THE BULLDOG
3236 Magazine St. • New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 891-1516 • bulldog.draftfreak.com • Established: 1994
THE BULLDOG MIDCITY
5135 Canal Blvd. • New Orleans, LA 70124 (504) 488-4191 • bulldog-midcity.draftfreak.com • Established: 2004
SCENE & STORY
Magazine Street, in the area generally referred to as uptown (and bordering the Garden District) is lined with cool, old bars, shops, art galleries, and eateries, and makes a nice change from the French Quarter, which varies from magical to insufferably touristy. The original Bulldog on Magazine Street has fifty beers on tap and 100 in bottles, standard pub fare, and a spacious patio out back featuring a fountain made of beer taps. The mid-city location is a bit more upscale; both bars offer easygoing environments that make them worth a stop on a pub-crawl. The Bulldog has two other locations as well: Baton Rouge (where you can try the latest brews from Tin Roof, Louisiana’s most recent craft brewery to fire up), and Jackson, Mississippi.
PHILOSOPHY
Good fun for good causes. There are generally a lot of Tulane and Loyola students, and it’s dog-friendly, and the bar donates often to the local Humane Society and ASPCA. Wednesdays are popular as everyone gets to keep the pint glasses, or, by leaving them, donate to the causes.
KEY BEER
Nola Blonde, an easygoing, light-bodied brew first released in March 2009, is grainy, pale gold, and has an angular hop attack for the style.
COOTER BROWN’S TAVERN, GRILL, & OYSTER BAR
509 S. Carrollton Ave. • New Orleans, LA 70118 • (504) 886-9104 • cooterbrowns.com • Established: 1977
SCENE & STORY
The gloriously dive-y Cooter Brown’s, in the Riverbend area of uptown New Orleans, is the eccentric granddaddy of New Orleans beer bars, with a vast hoard of beer (over 350 bottles and 42 taps), pool tables, pressed tin walls, wood slatted ceilings, and a gallery of ceramic caricatures of “dead celebrities,” clutching beers related somehow to their careers (“Jimmy Dean, an unfulfilled acting career cut short by tragedy, grips a bottle of Golden Promise,” explains the website). It’s a classic, plain and simple. Recently they added the “Snooty Cooter” bar, a 46-tap homage to the latest and greatest beers.
PHILOSOPHY
No frills. You’ll hear it described as a good beer bar and a place to mingle with drunken Tulane students and eccentric locals, and it is indeed both, as well as a decent place to go for oysters and crawfish. And the beer is better than ever.
KEY BEER
A deliciously safe bet is Duvel in a twelve-ounce bottle, the classic 8.5% ABV Belgian strong pale ale. It’s a big, refreshing, kicky beer with fine effervescence and Champagne dryness that can stand the extra shelf time that comes for beers in bars with huge lists.
Beyond New Orleans
BAYOU TECHE BREWING CO.
1106 Bushville Hwy. • Arnaudville, LA 70512 • (337) 303-8000 • bayoutechebrewing.com • Established: 2010
SCENE & STORY
It’s a family affair. Early in 2010 the brothers Knott (Karlos, Byron, and Dorsey) opened the doors on their little train car turned taproom on farmland once used for growing beans, a good-size patch of earth maintained by the Knott family since the 1800s. Karlos and his brothers grew up in a Cajun French-speaking home, and their father Floyd writes about Acadiana, the traditional Cajun name for the area. The only beers around when the boys were growing up in the area were Jax (defunct), Budweiser, and Falstaff, all industrial lagers. Later Karlos served in the military in Germany and then at Fort Lewis in Washington State, and loved the good beers he drank in both locations. On Saint Patrick’s Day 2008, they decided to brew professionally. After all, they had a place to do it: the family farm.
To find that farm you drive west and a hair north out of New Orleans for about two and a half hours and wend along LA-31 beside the serpentine Bayou Teche, the 125-mile waterway leading from Arnaudville to the Gulf. As Karlos puts it, the next part involves a T in the road, a Piggly Wiggly store, and “left turn at the twelfth station of the cross.” One way or another you’ll find their Bayou Teche Brewery, once a nano-size, 1bbl project with modest ambitions, and today a vital presence in southern craft brewing—even a member of the 2016 Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America Tour, reserved for cutting edge regional breweries. “The local Budweiser distributor told us locals didn’t want craft beer,” recalls Karlos, who has a gray-flecked beard, dark eyes, and a genteel manner. “I said ‘well, maybe they haven’t been offered it,’ and sure enough, the beer we’d planned for three months sold out in three days.”
Not so long ago, of course, all the laughter ended in the Big Easy. When the floodwaters of Katrina breached in August 2005, the area’s breweries took a serious hit along with the rest of the beleaguered city. Hardest hit was Dixie Brewing Company, opened in New Orleans in 1907. A familiar landmark in town for ninety-eight grand years, Dixie was inundated with eight or nine feet of water.
Today the wracked shell of a building stands as a grim reminder of what the region suffered in the great storm. Visible from I-90 over on Tulane Avenue, the red brick behemoth stands scarred, its windows blackened and broken out, the interior emptied, the brewing equipment long looted and sold for scrap. After the storm, the owners talked of coming back, but costs were prohibitive, and today the ruins gloam over 3rd Ward streets with an abiding sadness. Once the largest brewery in town and pride of the region, the catastrophic storm reduced it to an empty hulk.
As of mid-2015 there are competing plans to either redevelop or raze the ruins. So if it’s still there, be sure to drive past it a few times, perhaps slowing down for a picture or two (it’s not currently a safe area to walk around on foot), and apprehend a powerful reminder of what New Orleans once was—the brewing capital of the South. Locals seem resigned to the fact that the wrecking ball can’t be far off, but perhaps someone whose heart beats for an old brewery will find a way to make it work.
It’s a heavy thing to take in—a real specter of death and destruction—so the best thing you can do next is to head to nearby Mandina’s, on Canal Street, for some Italo-Creole comfort food (3800 Canal St.; 5
04-482-9179). Its quaint pink-with-white trim exterior and front porch conceals thirteen-foot-high ceilings, bow-tied waiters, and a clientele of cheery, well-dressed locals and policemen chatting away. On the day I visited, it felt like a scene from Back to the Future.
Refreshingly, there were no tourists whatsoever. I took my seat in the first dining room and ordered a perfect iced tea. Over my left shoulder I spotted a faded old Times-Picayune story about how the place was opened in 1932 by the sons of Sebastian Mandina, from Palermo, Sicily. He’d opened it as a shop in 1898, and was briefly jailed for selling home brew, hidden in a false window in the store. It became a neighborhood—and, indeed, citywide—institution, and stayed in the Mandina family.
Katrina tried to silence this place, too, deluging the place up to about six feet. But because the restaurant is raised up from street level, the water came up to just below the tabletops, which were found eerily still set when Cindy Mandina first ventured back inside about six weeks after the storm. Now restored to its 1930s luster by Cindy and her family, the food is excellent and the portions hearty. The catfish po’boy is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten, in any city. And a word to the wise: The “whole loaf” is huge; the “half loaf” could feed two people, and the quarter loaf is just right for one.
It has been a wild ride since then for these bayou brothers, who were hit so hard with demand that Lazy Magnolia Brewery in Kiln, Mississippi agreed to help them meet it by contracting some extra capacity. This is Cajun country, and you’ll hear great music in the taproom, perhaps even from the musically talented brothers. In 2011, the Knotts broke ground on a new 8,000-square-foot facility to house their 15bbl brewhouse, and another in 2015, but the train car taproom will stay intact. Since 2010, they’ve brewed Ragin’ Cajun, a kölsch for the University of Louisiana (with added local rice, to lighten it up for tailgaters), and hit both the Food Network and the pages of Esquire.
The Great American Ale Trail (Revised Edition) Page 40