Thirsty Thursday

Me at the Avenue during ACBW 2010. We moved to New Orleans that week.
Which is why I look exhausted and why I have band-aids on my fingers
- because I broke a dish while unpacking it.

I thought I'd be all up in the middle of ACBW this year, having turned pro with the beer writing, but it turns out, I'm too busy actually writing about beer to go out and enjoy it. Heh. However! After I meet my deadlines today, I should be footloose and fancy free. I want to go to dba for the Bayou Teche shenanigans, but also there's a bunch of stuff happening on Freret Street, including a book signing at Midway of the New Orleans Beer book by Jeremy Labadie and Argyle Wolf-Knapp. Buffalo Wild Wings has a cool looking cask, and the Aline Street Beer Garden gets in the ACBW game tonight, too.

It's funny, the other day was my four year "NOLA-versary." We moved here on May 13, 2010, during American Craft Beer Week. I remember going to the Pub for Abita night and going to a Bayou Teche beer dinner at Calcasieu. That ACBW was a bit of a whirlwind as well. When I moved down here, I really wanted to open a beer bar. I would still love to do that, but I don't have the capital or, honestly, the patience to deal with the red tape. But maybe someday that will change. (ARE YOU LISTENING, POTENTIAL INVESTORS?)

But I am loving telling the story of Louisiana and New Orleans beer and brewing, even if it does keep me too busy to go out and party. It's a great problem to have - not just for me as a writer, but for the scene here as a whole.

Behold! Thursday's events!

Thursday, May 15

Aline Street Beer Garden at Prytania Hall (1515 Aline St., 504-891-5774; www.facebook.com/AlineStreetBeerGarden)

• 7:30pm - Abita Citra-hopped Jockamo IPA cask

Avenue Pub

• 5pm - Hop Head night: Single Hops and hop bombs. Several local casks. Parish Galaxy Single Hopped Canebrake (cask); Parish Citra Single Hopped Envie (cask); Brooklyn BLAST!; Sierra Nevada Hoptimum; Tin Roof Double Dry Hopped Juke Joint IPA; 40 Arpent – Dry Hopped (cask); Green Flash Road Warrior Imperial Rye

Barley Oak

• 7pm - St. Arnold Divine Reserve Vertical Tapping (DR12, DR13, & DR14) and Gnarly Barley Night with special dry-hopped version of the Catahoula Common.

Buffalo Wild Wings (Veterans)

• 6:30pm – 40 Arpent Cask Night. Owner Michael Naquin will tap a cask of “Café Brulot,” a firkin of their recently released café-au-lait style Milk Stout with wood chips soaked in Grand Marnier, cloves, and cinnamon. 

Buffalo Wild Wings (Clearview)

• 6pm – NOLA Pint Night, tapping a keg of NOLA’s newest release, Rebirth Pale Ale. A portion of the proceeds from this sessionable pale ale will be donated to the Roots of Music Foundation, which is a foundation founded by Derrick Tabb (drummer of the Rebirth Brass Band) that raises money to give instruments to underprivileged children. Buy a pint of any NOLA draft beer and keep the glass.

Bulldog Midcity

• 8pm - East Coast Brewery Night with Harpoon, Brooklyn, and Shmaltz Breweries. Featured beers: Harpoon Black Forest Cherry Chocolate Porter, Harpoon Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA, Shmaltz Death of a Contract Brewer, Brooklyn Black Ops, BQE Wild Streak, and Vintage 2012 Black Chocolate Stout.

Bulldog Uptown

• 6pm - Sam Adams Specialty Brew Night. Featured beers: Summer Ale, Blueberry Hill, and Porchrocker.
• 8pm - Chafunkta Brewing Night. Featured beers: Old 504 and the Chafunkta-Old Rail collaboration, Off The Tracks.

The Chimes Covington

• 6:30pm - Abita Beer and Chargrilled Oyster pairing: Amber- raw oysters; Andygator- regular charbroiled; Turbodog – BBQ oysters; Select Tripple Haze – special charbroiled oysters; Spring IPA – Oysters Rockafellar $30 plus tax. 

Columbia Street Tap Room

• 8pm - NOLA Pint Night - Rebirth Pale Ale, Hopitoulas IPA, Blonde Ale.

Cooter Brown's Tavern (509 S Carrollton Ave., (504) 866-9104; http://www.cooterbrowns.com/)

• 6pm - Covington Brewhouse Ponchartrain Pilsner Pint Night. 

d.b.a.

• 5pm - Specialty kegs from Bayou Teche and Juke Joint IPA from Tin Roof; Bayou Teche staff will prepare a big pot of Cajun food to give away, and Soul Creole (band with Louis Michot, Bayou Teche team member) will be playing a set at 10pm ($5 cover).

Evangeline

• 5pm - Featured beer: Crooked Letter’s Gipsy IPA.

Irish House (1432 St Charles Ave., (504) 595-6755; www.theirishhouseneworleans.com)

• 6pm - Brooklyn Summer Pint Night.

Gordon Biersch 

• 11am-7pm - Gordon Biersch brewery tour with craft beer samples.

Lager’s International Ale House

• 6pm - Abita Imperator Black IPA cask.

Midway Pizza (4725 Freret St., (504) 322-2815; midwaypizzanola.com)

• 6pm - Chafunkta Brewing and the authors of the New Orleans Beer Book are teaming up for a book signing and Kingfish Ale tapping.
• 7:30pm - New Belgium pint night; sampling and free glassware.

Old Rail Brewing Company

• 4pm - Limited Release of Barrel Aged Dark Territory Russian Imperial Stout. 

Publiq House

• 9pm - New Belgium pint night with the Brass A Holics.

R Bar (1431 Rue Royal, (504) 948-7499; www.royalstreetinn.com/r-bar)

• 5pm - Abita cask night featuring: Cask Conditioned Citra Hopped Jockamo IPA.

Wayfare (4510 Freret St., (504) 309-0069; http://www.wayfarenola.com/)

• 6pm - New Belgium Beer Cocktails.