Nora McGunnigle

Cape Ann Brewing Fisherman's Brew Cisco Whales Tale Pale Ale Magic Hat Encore Wheat IPA Pioneer (from Sturbridge MA) Industrial Pale Ale Cambridge Brewing Company Audacity of Hops Tullycross Brewpub Pale Ale and IPA I have also just acquired several bombers to check in my luggage. More on that later.

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, ...

Man, I am excited for Mardi Gras, especially since it looks like the option exists to drink amazing beer while enjoying the parades. I posted this info to the other blog I write for, but I wanted to put it on here too. The Avenue Pub has taken the first week of Mardi Gras to line up some great beer events. This is the weekend that the balcony is open to the public. They, of course, want their best beer customers up there and the best way to get them to show up and watch the parades with us is to line up some great beers. Drinking the beers will get you access to the balcony for the parades (first come first serve of course).  No problem! Friday Feb 10th Saint Arnolds night: Divine Reserve 11 & the rollout of their newest beer: Bitter Belgian. Krewe of Oshun parade start 6pm, by the pub by 8pm Click here for more info and to RSVP Saturday Feb 11th Stone Brewing & NOLA collaboration rollout:”Pour Me Somethin’ Mistah” on cask and in draft. Plus a couple of other good...

Exciting news for all you have been awaiting the release of this years's Flambeau Red Ale by NOLA Brewing.  This hoppy red ale is released only at Carnival time, so it is only fitting that it be debuted just prior to the Krewe du Vieux parade on Satruday, February 4. The Krewe du Brew Bar Crawl is set to begin promptly at 1:00pm starting at R-Bar (1431 Royal St). From R-Bar the Bar Crawl will then head over to Balcony Music Club (1331 Decatur St) at 2:30. After Balcony Music Club the Bar Crawl will meet at Turtle Bay (1119 Decatur St) at 3:45. Then to end the Bar Crawl everyone will meet at Molly's at the Market (1107 Decatur St) at 5:00. Each bar will be serving the Flambeau Red for $3.00 a pint during our hour there. The Krewe du Vieux Parade starts at 6:30 so everyone will be in perfect position. The "Mardi Gras on Fire" theme of the crawl pays homage to the imagry evoked by the name of the beer. Flambeau are lighted torches that would be carried during ni...

Awesome post, over at my other blog! Go read all about Boucherie's beer dinner pairings with the Swedish beers.  It was good times. Man, I love those beers. Also, Boucherie. It's a winning situation all around. WINNING!

Avenue Pub management had a great method to help customers order the beers and the bartenders to understand them- they put the list and tasting notes together pairing each beer with a number, so you could just go up and order a Number Nine or Seven, or whatnot. Brilliant! (especially as the day/night went on) Funny story on Friday night- I wanted to order a bitter and a stout, but Eileen heard it as a bitter and a SOUR, so I got the Bedarö Bitter and the Cantillon Mamouche. I laughed and asked her to also pour me a stout. I'd wanted to drink the bitter while letting the Nynäshamns Sotholmen Extra Stout come up to temp, but I ended up drinking the bitter and the Mamouche. Stout was excellent by the time I got to it though. I cannot say enough good things about the Nynäshamns Bötet Barley Wine. It truly was the best barleywine I've ever had. It was a serious revelation. I loved the Nynäshamns Bedarö Bitter and the Oppigårds Amarillo Spring Ale like crazy too. Tom loved, as I...

(Crossposted to the other blog I write for, NOLA Beer Guide .) First things first: BIG UPS to The Avenue Pub- owner Polly Watts and her amazing staff – Stene Isacsson, owner of Akkurat Bar & Restaurant in Stockholm, and Shelton Brothers Distributors for all their hard work to bring this event to not only New Orleans but to Louisiana, the South, the US. Nothing like this anywhere else in the country- this was totally a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am grateful to everyone’s role in making it happen. On Tuesday, the Avenue put on the Oppigårds Golden Ale and I gave that a try- a very pleasant, slightly hoppy, balanced, and drinkable beer. Delicious! I couldn’t make the Wednesday night tasting, but I did go back on Friday night and enjoyed several of the Swedish offerings, both upstairs and downstairs. The Balcony also had Cantillon Mamouche on draft as a special keg for a special weekend. Downstairs had a Jolly Pumpkin Maricaibo Especiale to enjoy. I started with the Nä...