Nora McGunnigle

Beers we can get here, hooray! Last week, a new best of list came out from RateBeer.com . While of course user rated boards have their own issues, I thought this was a pretty solid list in general. Polly Watts at the Avenue Pub also pointed out that the list was based on reviews only in 2014, so it could be considered more a "what's hot" list, which might explain the few head scratching inclusions (no comment) and exclusions (Cantillon!!!!!!!!) But all in all, pretty good list. And like a third of it is available here, which is very cool, especially considering how sparse the selection was when I moved down here in 2010. So, I wrote my Gambit column on it, analyzing the trend a little, but I also wanted to post the list of all the stuff that New Orleans gets, either regularly or occasionally. Some of these you'll only see at the Avenue Pub and Stein's a couple times a year, but we get them. Here's the New Orleans/Southeast LA availability of the ...

Awesome news! I know that the LA Craft Brewers Guild has been working to get this resolution passed by the LA Legislature for a while- I think this will be huge to promote local craft beer as well as indicating that we do have support on the state level. That's huge! Here's the deets:

Finally, the new issue of Southern Brew News has been uploaded to their website! I wrote the cover story, "Louisiana's New Brewery Boom"

So, today was the first day of New Belgium release in Louisiana! I saw the display in Rouses on North Carrollton at lunch: $2.99 for a bomber, FYI. I need to pick up a six pack of Shift ASAP. So, New Belgium is only in bottles and cans right now- it'll be on draft at the end of May, from what I hear. The Avenue Pub offered bottle pours for the occasion today - $14 for six 4oz pours, which included a nice glass. I also scored a lip balm, a hat, and a coozie. Single 4oz pours were also available, $1.50 for the standards and $3.50 for the three Lips of Faith. I focused mostly on the Lips of Faith stuff, since I had the basic lineup beers last week at the distributor roll out. I did start out with a Shift, though, 'cause that's my jam. And I did use a Fat Tire to cleanse my palate after drinking the Cascara Quad. First of all, the La Folie- a Flanders Oud Bruin, It was straight up excellent. I need to see if I can get my hands on a bottle. Or two. After that, I tried t...

On the Gambit's website, the cover picture is accompanied by: "Nora McGunnigle says 2013 is the year New Orleans beer fans have been waiting for" Here are links & stuff: Here's the digital/"flipbook" version of the article. Basically a digital copy of the entire magazine with all layout intact. (with the ads and the photos, etc.) Here's the permalink to the article , and a link to the sidebars . Love, your NOLA Brew Maven (according to the Gambit.) PS, this is why I've had a hard time updating as much as I'd like! Only so many beer writing hours in the day.

So, anytime a major brewery moves into this market, it's a good sign. It's an indication that distributors, stores, and bars think they can sell it. Which means an acknowledgement that craft beer is on the rise in New Orleans! I've been hearing rumors for over a year now about New Belgium expanding their market to Louisiana - the word that they are building a second brewery in Ashville, NC has increased the buzz on that rumor as well. And as of April 1, New Belgium will be releasing 22oz bottles of Fat Tire, Ranger IPA, and others, including at least one of their special Lips of Faith series. About a month after that, draft beer will be available, and a month after that, regular 6 packs will come out. I am not sure why the staggered release - I know Green Flash was available in bombers, 6-packs, and draft at the same time, so maybe the distributor (I don't know yet if it's going to be carried by Southern Eagle or Crescent Crown) wants to gauge interest or stir u...

In my recent research of breweries in the state, I came across two I hadn't heard much (or, indeed, anything) about - Cajun Fire in New Orleans and Great Raft in Shreveport. I had the pleasure of talking to the brains behind both these operations this week. Cajun Fire  (warning: music playing upon loading) joins Courtyard Brewing as another Orleans Parish brewery hopeful for a 2013 opening. I spoke to Jon Renthrope, the guy who started it all in October 2011. He's a New Orleans native (as are all the other Cajun Fire folks) who fell in love with beer when off at college and moved back home to try to pursue his dream of opening a brewery. Right now, Jon's brewing a barrel at a time in a rented commercial kitchen space while Cajun Fire makes plans. They are in the process of looking for a space, and are hoping to find something in the New Orleans East area. The plan is to start with a nanobrewery model (a 3 bbl system) and see where it goes. They want to keep the batche...

I'd heard rumors of a new brewery coming around in New Orleans called the Courtyard Brewery. I'd seen some tweets from the brewer but wasn't sure what it was all about, except that it was going to be in New Orleans. I saw mention that Courtyard was finalizing a location a few weeks ago, and I sent a direct message asking about it. Not only did the question get answered (more info on that below) but I was warmly invited to come by and try their beers. Scott Wood and his wife Lindsay live in Lakeview where they brew beer and are raising their son. Lindsey is from Louisiana and Scott is from San Diego, and when they got together they moved to New Orleans. When they first moved back they lived in an apartment complex in the French Quarter, which had a communal courtyard, which is where they started brewing more than three years ago. Thus, the name. They moved to Lakeview and have much more space and have a six-tap draft system for their test batches, which I was lucky enough ...

Top 10 Louisiana Beers of 2012 This is according to Jay D. Ducote, Baton Rouge blogger and personal role model of mine. He asked me, Jeremy " Beer Buddha " Labadie, Polly Watts from Avenue Pub , Vanessa Gomes from Barley Oak , Eric Ducote , and Brenton Day  to submit our top 5 beers of the year brewed in Louisiana and created a Top 10 from our replies. I think I'm attributed in the blurb for every beer on the list that I had a part in nominating. Anyway, GO CHECK IT OUT ! It's awesome to see more an more advocating around craft beer in Louisiana. THAT'S THE DREAM! Check out the other blogger's blogs as well, and make them a part of your Louisiana beer blog reading. ALSO! Stay tuned this week for a write up of what Barley Oak in Mandeville is up to with their new brew pub, The Old Rail. I talked to Vanessa Gomes, the public face of the Barley Oak (formal title: Director of Marketing and Event Coordinator), Nick Powers, the owner of both establishments, ...

When talking about NOLA Brewing's incredible growth, the key word is "double". Double the staff, from 6 to 13 in the past year. Double the production every year from the year before since they opened . Double the brewery space. Um, Mecha Hopzilla a double IPA, and the first beer in NOLA's high gravity line of beers. The changes aren't just quantitative; NOLA recently went through a restructuring after head of brewing operations, Melanie Knepp, left New Orleans to become a regional sales manager for Stone about a month ago. Acclaimed home brewer and friend of the brewery Derek Lintern became the newest brewer, alongside brewmaster Peter Caddoo and brewer Indy Grap. Buck Brown has shifted his focus more exclusively to sales, bringing on marketing and events new kid on the block, MacKenzie Oescher. Also, the least sexy but possibly one of the most important upgrades: a MUCH larger and powerful glycol beer chiller system behind the brewery. NOLA Brewing thinks abo...

I have done a lot of travelling this fall (which is kind of weird, for me) and as you might imagine, I tend to focus on beer-related activities while on the road. I have enjoyed many beers and breweries and beer bars over the past two months and would like to share what I've learned and seen. (and eaten and drank) First trip was to San Francisco. My trip to the Bay Area in early October was short and sweet, so I didn't get to go to the many beer places in the city. (Note: I've gone to the Anchor Brewing tour on a previous trip in 2009, as well as Monk's Kettle, Alembic, Toronado, and Magnolia, as well as outside of the city, where of course there's Russian River, as well as Bear Republic, Silverado, Moylans, Anderson Valley, North Coast, 3rd Street Ale Works, Calistoga Brewery, etc. We enjoyed excellent beer service at the French Laundry as well during that trip.) But this past trip, my primary beer activity was focused on my pilgrimage to Toronado - but I was ab...

Back when we lived in Massachusetts, we'd go to a Belgian- and hophead- heavy bar in Brookline called the Publick House . This place was actually a hike from where we lived in Salem, so when we went, one of us would partake of the high gravity beers and one of us (whoever was driving the 30-40 minutes back home <cough> Tom </cough>) would enjoy the only session beer available, O'Hara's Irish Stout.  It's 4.3% and actually, probably our favorite Irish stout out there, regardless of ABV.  (I like it better than Guinness, better than Murphy's. Hmm, gotta try some Beamish again someday soon.) Brewed by Carlow Brewing Company, and purchased at Stein's this evening, the O'Hara stout is as dark as a ginger's soul and twice as tasty. Poured beautifully into a Sam Adams fancy glass with a good inch of latte colored head, Excellent roasty malt flavors, smooth creamy mouthfeel, finishes dry and crisp with a touch of hop bitterness at the end ther...

Finally had the opportunity to try the collaboration ale that NOLA Brewing and Stone Brewery were brewing a few weeks ago.  Mitch Steele from Stone was up along with Jason and Sean to eat, drink, and be merry before, during, and after the launch. We actually had a great time at NOLA Brewing on Friday- we went there with a camera crew and interviewed Dylan (Lintern, VP) and Melanie (Knepp, Head of Brewing Operations) about NOLA Brewing in general and about the process of the collaboration. Everyone I spoke to was just so stoked about the whole process of brewing- brewing together, pitching in, trading ideas and war stories, and just plain working hard and having fun. The brewing of this beer was definitely a labor of love. (Side note: was able to finally get my hands on my beloved Flambeau Red, since I had to punk out of the Krewe de Brew bar hopping kickoff last weekend.  Hooray! It's still freaking delicious- hoppy and drinkable and tasty and balanced.) On release day, ...

Thanks to the tireless work of the beer leaders in the Greater New Orleans area, there are some excellent beers coming to market here in the coming weeks and months! On August 17, Ommegang Brewing is debuting at the Avenue Pub. This is a beer I've had access to up in New England, and I'll be happy to see it again in bars and stores. The rollout event will be taking place at the Avenue Pub and promises "a lot of great beers including just one keg of their special release Aphrodite and one sneak peak keg of a new brew from Duvel." News just broke on a few more newcomers to the market: Stillwater Artisanal Ales , a " gypsy " brewer based in the Baltimore area. Their website is a Blogger blog format (like this one) so it's a little awkward to navigate, but the beers look awesome and seem well reviewed on BA. They definitely seem like they have an exciting approach to brewing so I will cut them some slack on how they message, heh. Also "gypsy brewer...

So... freaking... sleepy... Guess that's what a bunch of beers'll do to ya! So. Local's Night at the Avenue Pub. Where beers from local breweries were featured, and featured quite nicely I may add. Dranken: Always, always start with the cask. Why? Because it's almost as hard to find cask ale in this town as a street without potholes or a vegetarian entree without crab on top of it. So when I SEE IT I DRINKS IT. Usually this works out well. This evening was no exception- it was NOLA Brewing's Blueberry Blond Ale. Not sure what they did to the Blonde and when (shoulda asked, but as you will see, there was a lot of NOLA stuff to discuss) but it was a tasty, subtly fruity beer without sweetness and with a pale blue head. Another awesome thing happening was 4 NOLA Brewing draft packs (which is how they sell their beers) with 4 versions of dry hopped Blonde Ale. NOLA did an amazing cask series at the Pub a month or so ago, and this appeared to be an extension of ...

I am not sure if ACBW officially begins today or tomorrow, but the Avenue Pub kicked it off this afternoon with a couple new beers from St. Arnold Brewing Company - the latest in their Divine Reserve limited series (a double IPA,) and their Weedwacker, which is their Fancy Lawnmower Kolch brewed with a Hefeweizen yeast. I've been waiting for a St. Arnold beer to really impress me, and this one did. It was the perfect beer to quench the thirst of a bike ride over with actual flavor to enjoy at the same time. It has a increased hop presence, which made for an enticing aroma. The citrus and floral hop notes combined with the banana-clove smell of the hefe yeast was quite lovely. The combination of the yeast and the hops also translated into the flavor profile as well. A light, flavorful, really interesting beer. I love it when I find a beer like that! So, St. Arnold, well done. I only had a sip of Tom's St. Arnold Divine Reserve Double IPA , but it was definitely a hop bomb p...

The Avenue Pub hosted a Sierra Nevada tasting to celebrate the release of the only 2 (small) kegs of it in Louisiana. No other bars have it, and it's not in bottles here either. Apparently Texas didn't get any at all! You know what this means, right? THAT I AM SUPER EXTRA COOL! Anyway, enough of that, although I am willing to discuss that fact at length at a later time. The Hoptimum was the grand finale in a SN tasting that started with the 2011 Bigfoot Barleywine, the 30th Anniversary Grand Cru, the 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken's Ale, Torpedo, and finally, the Hoptimum. While it was driving me somewhat crazy to wait so long, once I tried it, the finish made sense- as an Imperial IPA, that was palate-blowing. Delicious, but quite overwhelming. OK, the beers: the 2011 Barleywine. Eh. It was fine, but too fresh. Usually "beer" plus "fresh" equals optimum drinking experience, but in my opinion, the opposite is true for barleywines. Unaged barle...

So last night (after a day off from beer to enjoy some cocktails at Twelve Mile Limit and Bar Tonique and wine at Le Meritage on Thursday) we did our usual Friday night Beer Advocate action. We got to the Avenue Pub and made a beeline for the cask, where Polly had set up shop and was pouring pints of St. Elissa IPA into complementary St. Arnold's pint glasses (with pint cozies!) The cask ale was pretty good- I'd heard it talked up bigtime earlier in the week, so my expectations may have been inflated. But it was a nice IPA and I love IPAs on cask. I keep waiting for St. Arnold's to blow me away- though I did have a nice St. Arnold's winter stout , which I enjoyed. The big excitement was the unveiling of Cantillon Fou' Foune, an apricot lambic. I love the sour and funky beers. This was so, so, so good. Lip smackingly sour and fruity and drinkable and a gorgeous orange color. I'm so happy I had the opportunity to try it. In between, we sampled a couple amazing...

This week has included a lot of beer as well as a lot of cocktails. Um, and wine. And work! Wednesday, we attended a Brooklyn Brewery tasting at The Avenue. Mike Vitale, the first employee hired by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter as a sales person back in the earliest days of the company, came to talk about Brooklyn's beers. We were running a little late, so we missed some of his discussion about the history. But that was OK, since we'd both read Hindy and Potter's book: "Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery" which goes into all that. I recommend it for any beer lover- though slightly technical about the nuts and bolts about brewing and business. We were able to get 4 (out of 8 available) samples. I had (in this order): Black Ops, their Russian Imperial Stout, which they are very cute about "disavowing knowledge" of. It was good. It's bottled flat and then re-fermented in the bottle with Champagne yeast, and then aged in bourbon ba...

A bit about how craft beer brewing and drinking is slowly growing thoughout the state- here's the article . Louisiana has five local craft breweries where the beer is made onsite. They are: Abita Brewing Co. in Abita Springs, Parish Brewing Co. in Broussard, Heiner Brau Microbrewery in Covington, NOLA Brewing in New Orleans and Tin Roof Brewing Co. in Baton Rouge, the state’s newest. Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudeville has much of its beer brewed by Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Kiln, Miss., until its expanded brewery is fully operational, which is likely about a year away, said Karlos Knott, brewmaster for Bayou Teche Brewing. In 2008 Louisiana ranked 50th in the nation in the number of craft breweries per capita, according to the Brewers Association. I'm really interested in the Parish Brewing model, since that's probably the way that Tom and I may start out one of these days. And by "model" I mean "a dude brewing and selling beer." There's a bit ...