Beer Prom and New Breweries

Man, it has been a busy... (looks at date of last post)... few months. Bypassed the holidays and Mardi Gras, looks like. Oops.

Right at the new year, Tom Conklin opened his Chappapeela Farm Brewery.

Then Mardi Gras with its various seasonal beers and cans. And riding Nyx with my krewe! (I acquired several beers along the route from various beer geeks who were able to catch me, heh.)

And then this past weekend was Nuit Belge, probably the best beer event I've ever attended. It had amazing Belgian (and Belgian-style) beers paired with dishes from great local restaurants.

Check out the (well, my) photos of a great, great night.

Now, on the horizon: Girls Pint out at Cooter Brown's on March 8, and then another event there on the 9th - Sour Power, with sour beers from New Belgium, NOLA Brewing, and Great Raft (including the first New Orleans release of Great Raft's dry hopped Brett IPA Oceans Between Us.)

On March 10, master sour blenders Eric and Lauren Salazar from New Belgium Brewing are running a seminar to talk about the practices and techniques they use to blend their beer like La Folie and Le Terroir. This is, from what I can gather, a pretty unique opportunity to really understand sour beer making and blending in a small group setting. You also get the chance to make your own blend, the way you like it. Get tickets here.

Oh! This weekend (although I sadly cannot go) is the Louisiana Winter Beer Festival in Lake Charles. It looks like the town and beer community are both really into it. If you're in the area, check out the burgeoning beer scene there.