Nora McGunnigle

Part of NOLA Brewing taproom's awesome mural, created by Monica Kelly (photographed by moi.) So, occasionally there's something that occurs in the local beer world that I end up needing to cover from several different angles for several different publications. Louisiana Craft Brewer Week is one of those things. It takes place September 18-25 and since there's so much happening - events, beer releases, etc. - it's an opportunity to tell multiple stories on the same general subject. I need to be careful I'm not plagiarizing myself! The fact that one piece is for a publication geared for locals and one is geared for tourists is pretty helpful in that regard.

The NOLA taproom opened this week! I have been keeping busy working on a couple pieces for the Gambit and Where Y'At as well as hustling doing pitches for other publications, which is why I haven't been able to write a blog post about the awesome Bayou Teche beer dinner I had at Sainte Marie Brasserie last week (a week ago today, actually.) I'm really hoping to get that up with some pictures in the near future, because it was pretty kickass. The chef, Kristen Essig, was so warm and welcoming and so excited about the pairings! It was great. ANYWAY, for your links du jour:

Zwanze Day 2011 Today, the Cantillon brewery in Belgium announced the list of 46 locations all over the world that will be serving its 2013 Zwanze vintage on September 14, 2013. Once again, the Avenue Pub on St. Charles Street in New Orleans has made that list, a testament to its beautifully curated beer list and dedication to get the best beer to its customers that it possibly can. It's so great to see them get this kind of kudos and recognition - it's so well deserved.

Apparently, the 2014/15 Zwanze might be a spontaneously fermented stout? Relevant to my interests! Speaking of Cantillon, Avenue Pub is hosting a Cantillon Lambic and Gueuze tasting on March 20. And in further sour events, there will be the opportunity to try a very rare Italian sour (also at the Avenue Pub) on March 27 at the Xyauyu open bottle night . You all probably know that New Belgium will be released upon the area on April 1. As the first wave of New Belgium beer will only be in bombers, the Avenue Pub will likely have several Lips of Faith on hand to sell by the bottle (and probably an event with bottle pours for sale) as well as New Belgium's collaboration with Dieu de Ciel, Hemelse God and their other regular releases. Polly's great about keeping their Facebook event page updated as stuff is finalized, so keep an eye out for that. ALSO, Stone Enjoy By is coming to Louisiana ! It'll be Enjoy By May 17. This is exciting news. I'll post where it ...

And I feel fine. Thanks for asking! Anyway, the whole end of the Mayan calendar is coming up this week and will tie into 2 beer events that I hope we all live to see. First of all, I'd be nervous about this, because the monks of the Abbaye Sint Sixtus are releasing its beer geek Holy Grail, Westvleteren XII, for the first time EVER for sale outside the monastery itself. They SAY it's to finance repairs to the abbey, but the apocalyptic timing seems TOO coincidental. Anyway, this one time only situation has apparently been a bit of a challenge for the distributors, since the monks insisted that the 6 pack (plus 2 tasting glasses) cost no more than $84.99 for the consumer, and that the boxes not be broken up and sold individually. Here are the retailers in Louisiana who will have them on 12/12/12: Whole Foods, Baton Rouge Aquistapace’s Grocery, Covington Whole Foods (Veterans), Metarie Stein’s Deli, New Orleans Whole Foods (Arabella Station), New Orleans The second...

Inspired by Polly Watts' and all of the Avenue Pub staff's work this past weekend. 1) Have a specific plan and communicate it clearly and frequently. The Avenue Pub, upon getting formal notification that Cantillon had chosen it as one of a handful of beer bars in the world for its 2012 Zwanze beer release, immediately sprang into action. Emails went out to the email list, the Facebook event was set up, all with a good general plan of what to expect - the event and its logistics on Saturday, of course, but also what was happening the week leading up to the main event. 2) Explain the system and be consistent. Watts worked hard on getting the Zwanze ticketing system in place last year- she wanted to be able to serve the great demand while making sure her staff wasn't overwhelmed, that customers weren't frustrated, and that the system would be difficult to "game" or exploit. Instead of setting something up so that people would be stressed out about getting i...

I am in heaven.  Got some amazing Zwanze 2010 before they ran out and I love the Zwanze 2012. Rhubarb is amazing, it's balanced, clean-finishing, and refreshing. Really loving it. Other star of the day is the Augullons Setembre, in my opinion. Great day, great beer, great friends. Thanks to Cantillon and The Avenue Pub. Hooray! (Photos to come, my phone is being stupid.) (Also, I may be sort of drunk, so it may be me who is stupid!)

Regarding my previous post , I want to make it clear that I am incredibly grateful and inspired by the work that the Avenue Pub, NOLA Brewing, and other breweries and bars are doing in New Orleans and Louisiana. They just shouldn't have to carry the whole load! There's room for everyone at the table! On that note, behold the upcoming craft beer awesomeness here in New Orleans:: First and foremost, ZWANZE DAY is on Saturday, December 1! This is the day that Cantillon Brewery in Belgium reveals their annual Zwanze beer, which is different every year. This year, it's a recreation of their first Zwanze vintage in 2008, a rhubarb lambic.  Since Cantillon is all about "celebrating the style of spontaneous brewing" the road to Zwanze 2012 was a bit rocky, as you can see from this blurb on Cantillon's website : When in early April we brewed a top-fermentation beer which was to become Zwanze 2012, we hoped that it would be ready 3 or 4 months later so that we co...

Inspired by Polly Watts' list posted on the Avenue Pub's Facebook page: 1) Cantillon Iris. A gueuze that has been brewed with hops instead of wheat. Tart, sharp, a subtle hop bitterness on the finish. The sour and atypical bitterness marry well. Very refreshing while retaining the traditional gueuze sour characteristics. Recommended for sour lovers and sour skeptics alike. 2) Cantillon Zwanze 2010. More tart than sour, well balanced, crisp, refreshing, mild tartness and subtle. Like a belgian berlinerweiss. Wheat is turned all the way up. Smooth. Biscuits and lemon juice. Dances over the tongue leaving a trail of tartness behind. (I know it's something that won't be around to have again, but it was just that good.) 3) Mikkeller Drink In The Sun. Best session beer in the country. Wouldn't know it was less than 3%, the taste is much bigger than that. 4) Rogue Brutal Bitter: Balanced but very flavorful, like an amped up ESB. An interesting beer to say the least. It...

Ok all ticket holders have gotten their beers and the Cantillon pours are open to anyone with $6. As of around 3:30, there are still Zwanze 2010 pours are still available. Which is bananas in its awesomeness. Go get you some!

Well, we came, we waited, we drank a lot of sour beer. Cantillon FTW- Zwanze 2010, Zwanze 2011, and Iris were all home run winners. Really excellent. Better pictures and full writeup to come. For now, we are enjoying an Ommegang BPA and the Pub Pils out on the back patio. Next: lunch.

FULL OF NOMS.

Zwanze 2010- (the paler beer on the right) man that is good. That is Tom's JAM! (Remember, he doesn't like sours) More tart than sour, well balanced, crisp, refreshing, mild tartness and subtle. Like a belgian berlinerweiss. Wheat is turned all the way up. Smooth. Biscuits and lemon juice, in a good way. Dances over the tongue leaving a trail of tartness behind. 2011- fruit lambic- grape. Lighter than the St. Lamvinus, crisper, more balanced, in my opinion. St. Lamvinus was a little overwhelming and intense. This is more fun and drinkable. Rose colored. Tart with full fruit flavor. In conclusion: some seriously tasty shit.

The purpose of this post is to a) test out my liveblogging photo options and b) show the list of beers for the 2pm tapping so I don't have to type that shit out on my phone. Enjoy!

So I am here waiting on the tapping of Cantillon's Zwanze 2011. As previously mentioned, The Avenue Pub is only one of NINE bars in the US to get a keg of of this for the simultaneous worldwide Zwanze day tapping. It's a huge honor and I'm so psyched to be here for it. I'm experimenting with liveblogging the day as it unfolds. So far today we had a lovely breakfast at The Irish House (where our waitress is also a sour beer fan, so that was fun!) and bellied up to the bar to wait for the tapping and our turn at the Balcony kegs. Drinking Theriez Extra dry-hopped farmhouse ale right now. Pacing myself for an exciting day of beer drinking. Stay tuned!