Nora McGunnigle

Son of a Peacherman collaboration between Fairhope Brewing and Druid City, both AL breweries First of all, congrats to Chris Paylor who won a pair of tickets to the NOLA Eats King Cake Tasting by suggesting a pairing of NOLA Brewing's Seventh Street Wheat with Haydel's king cake, on my Facebook page. Though I won't be able to make the tasting, I'm pretty excited to check this pairing out before Mardi Gras. Second, Stein't Deli's Annual Beer Day is happening on Saturday! It involves a brewing demonstration and a bottle share. Also on Saturday: Abita's 2nd annual Abita on the Avenue, the Avenue in question is St. Charles. Go here to check it out .

 Happy Carnival, y'all! First, the contest. No, wait, first, the apology for letting too much time lapse between blog updates. I've had a lot of deadlines and doing any writing that I absolutely didn't NEED to do was not at the top of my list... OK, now the contest. I have a pair of tickets to the NOLA Eats New Orleans King Cake Tasting on February 1 at the Little Gem Saloon. And all you need to win them is to visit my Facebook page and leave a comment on the contest post with the perfect beer to pair with king cake. The beer should be available to purchase in New Orleans, and you can be as specific or general with what kind of king cake you're looking to pair your beer choice with. I'm the sole judge, but I can definitely be swayed by "likes" on your contest entry. Share as many ideas as you'd like! Contest winner will be announced Monday, January 20. Onto the all important links!

Great Raft Brewing in Shreveport is hitting all cylinders right out of the gate. Andrew and Lindsay Nations opened their tap room on December 20, and sold all the beer they had brewed for the next two weeks, in two days. They will be canning and selling the cans in Northwest Louisiana by Mardi Gras, and I found a great article about their can design that I wanted to share . They look beautiful, and I can't wait to drink the contents! The inspiration for the design is super cool to read about as well. Photo courtesy of OhBeautifulBeer.com Also, the brewery is a cover story in January's Beer Advocate Magazine! Amazing and wonderful and well-deserved. Here's the cover photo that I downloaded from Great Raft's Facebook page : I know that Andrew and Lindsay have been working so hard, every step of the way, and I'm happy to see that their meticulous planning and beer development has paid off so well, so fast. I reallllllllly hope to see their producti...