Nora McGunnigle

So, Mardi Gras has come and gone. It was a whirlwind of awesome, as usual. Definitely some somber notes, but that's New Orleans life, partying through the pain. I did a fun interview with Polly Watts about how things are at the Avenue Pub during Mardi Gras. (spoiler: pretty crazy). And in Gambit news, I ran down a bunch of beers that were new in cans this Carnival , announced the new Bayou Teche-Dat Dog beer collaboration , and checked in to see how everything was going at the Snooty Cooter . Otherwise, things are settling down after ALL THE SHENANIGANS that Carnival brings.

This weekend was the Gambit-sponsored FestivALES, their second beer pub crawl. The one in May down in the Warehouse District had too many "crafty" beers for my tastes , but this one on Freret Street had much more consistently good beers. I don't think I tried much I haven't had before, but every single Louisiana brewery currently producing (Abita, Bayou Teche, Chafunkta, Covington, NOLA Brewing, Parish, and Tin Roof) were represented as well as neighboring breweries that have a significant presence here, Lazy Magnolia (MS) and Saint Arnold (TX.)

My new print column! First of all, per last week's breathless announcement , here is the link to my Inside Northside article.  http://www.insidenorthside.com/craft-beer-revolution/ . Also, my Brewsday Tuesday post , which will be published in the upcoming print version.

On Tuesday, July 23rd, Dat Dog on Magazine street hosted a unique beer and food event, a six course pairing of beers from New Belgium with a selection of “Haute Dogs”.   The menu Nora was on a plane to Boston at the time, so I attended in her stead. Each course consisted of a smaller portion of hotdog and bun, paired with a 4oz pour of the accompanying beer.

My piece on the beer "scene" at Tales of the Cocktail is out today.  I can't pretend it was a very prominent part of the experience, but there was a connection between beer and cocktails or brewing and distilling that could be felt, if not seen, most of the time.

Highlight of the last couple of weeks: obtaining this bottle of beer I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July week/weekend. After I hit my deadlines early in the week, I pretty much vegged out until today. I'm resting up for what I imagine will be a bit of a crazy couple of months...this is my excuse in advance of why I probably won't be blogging as much as I'd like to.

And... we're off! (officially) Although the official span of ACBW is May 13-19, the weekend preceding had several fun events . But Monday is when things get real.