The Courtyard Brewery, New Orleans

11/9/14

Courtyard (a nanobrewery) just opened up on Erato St. in the LGD (close to Barrel Proof) and we are so happy to have a new place to drink craft beer in NOLA!  Scott, the owner & brewer, is a native San Diegan so he knows a thing or two about great beer. Right now he is just starting to brew his own beers so the taps are filled with guest taps. His current 12 tap selection is impressive and reasonably priced. Once his beers are available he expects his tap selection to increase to 20 or so. The space is spartan but his hand -finished reclaimed wood bar and sign and very impressive. If you like to sit, bring a chair since the space is standing room only at the moment. Scott plans to have his beers up in December and the one time we tasted them (2 years ago!) they were great, especially his Belgian style Tripel brewed with figs. Oh, and he does growler fills for those of you that are interested in taking beers home. Courtyard is currently open Thursday – Sunday and it is cash only at the moment. The nearest ATM is a bit of a hike, so bring the green.

*Check his twitter feed for any food trucks that might be at the brewery* Cheers!

Signage and draft list

Tap wall with room to grow!

The nanobrewing set up

Hanging out at the bar

The sign…

Looking into the bathroom

40 Arpent Brewing Co – Arabi, Louisiana

10/26/14

Arabi is located in St. Bernard Parish, just between the Bywater and Chalmette and although that sounds far way, it is a mere 15 minute drive from downtown New Orleans. We met Michael and Sean of 40 Arpent Brewing at their Oktoberfest beer release at Ale last week and they told us that the brewery is open, for free beer and mini tours, on Fridays from 5-7pm. 40 Arpent just opened in March so they are very new and there is not much of a following yet for this free beer Friday, which is a good thing!

There is no doubt that Friday nights will be packed soon as people find out about the quality beers that 40 Arpent is brewing. We enjoyed our time at the brewery and we discovered their ‘big’ beer, an Belgian style pale ale called Delacroix, which is delicious. We also enjoyed their solid signature beer, the milk stout, as well as their red bean ale which is a little sweet and tasty. The two other beers available were the so-so Copasaw, dunkelweizen and their solid Octoberfest. The brewery itself is on a truck route right near the Domino Sugar factory – 18 wheelers drive by at a pretty consistent rate. We were lucky to enjoy a gorgeous sunset last Friday night and the views of the city from the levee were amazing! Oh and what is an arpent?  Well, it is a unit of length or area of 180 French feet and of course it exists in Louisiana compliments of the French. Cheers!

Signange

Looking into the brewery from the levee

Tiki table in the parking lot / drining area

Tap handle for Red Bean

more tap handles

keg art

We read it, but did not follow the rules it seems!

Free glass on the levee

People hanging out on the levee

People showing off their car!

Hanging out on the levee

Sunset over the Crescent City Connection

on the Mississippi

Downtown

New Republic Brewing Co. – College Station, TX

10/19/14

If you find yourself in College Station, Texas, you might be asking yourself why you are there. You might be there to visit Texas A&M or the George HW Bush library or in our case, we were there for a wedding. Of course our first stop when we drove into town was to head to New Republic Brewing Co to try the only local craft beer brewed in the area. We were there in August so it was blazing hot outside! The brewery is located in the middle of a residential area in a light industrial area, which is not out of the norm. We greatly enjoyed the Dammit Jim amber as well as the Whipsaw Double IPA. They even let us try their kolsch which was still in secondary fermentation. The brewery also has live music and they put their calendar on the draft list board. And just in case you want a break from beer, you can wander over to Rio Brazos distillery, a few doors down to try some whiskey for the full Texas experience!

The rural road into the brewery

The signange

Their draft list when we were there in June

Cameron, one of the dudes that works there

the bottles

the cans

The space

Rio Brazos

Craft Beer in Mississippi

10/5/14

Mississippi usually ends up dead last on any list that ranks states by their craft beer. That is probably a fair assessment, however, there a small beer scene in Mississippi. The main players brewing in MS are Crooked Letter , best know for their Mystery Romp porter and Southern Prohibition, know for Fire Ant Red, Barely Legal etc. Yes, Lazy Magnolia is also brewed in MS but I equate them to Abita.  We drove just over an hour out of New Orleans to go to Hattiesburg. Our first stop was the Mahogany Bar which is a pretty bar and courtyard with a very respectable beer list. Not to mention when we mentioned to the bar staff that we were from New Orleans and the we were regulars at Avenue Pub in NOLA they treated us very well. They have great love for Avenue Pub! Mississippi gets Yazoo beers out of Nashville which we don’t have access to in Louisiana so we tried what we could. We were also introduced to a local gin from Cathead called Bristow. We went to several liquor stores to buy Bristow but we could only find Cathead vodka….we will keep trying!

The entrance

The bar area

Draft list

Taps

the elusive Bristow gin…it was good!

The bar area

Courtyard seating

After Mahogany Bar we stopped in to the Golden Growler. They have five taps and a nice selection of beer to go, including Schafly beer out of St Louis (another brand we can’t get in Louisiana!). We talked to the gentleman running the store and he told us that they had been open for a couple of months and that it was his son’s business. He was working to protect his investment! They did brisk business when we stopped in, so best of luck to them. You can get a quick taste of the draft beers but the store is really for to-go beer.

The cool retro signage

Strip mall action

shabby chic table

the taps

So Pro cans

The store

Our last stop in Hattiesburg was to Southern Prohibition AKA So Pro. You can get So Pro beers in Louisiana and they are pretty popular since they can. Cans area always best for Mardi Gras and other outdoor events! You can tour So Pro but we just decided to head to the brewpub to try a few beers and then we hit the road. They have a ton of options on draft and they are not all So Pro. All of these places are on the same street, so next time you find yourself in Hattiesburg, check them all out.

The cool house exterior of So Pro

Outside seating for when it is not crazy hot

The taps!

Straight To Ale glass out of AL – best known for Monkeynaut beer

Sticker wall

Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery – San Francisco

9/28/14

When you visit San Francisco there are so many options of where to go to drink great craft beer. Magnolia is one place, in my opinion, that tends to get over looked. Why go to Magnolia? They have five cask beers which is hard to come by and an extensive beer selection. They have a great meat and cheese plate and they are located on the corner of Haight Ashbury. I will say that they used to carry a lot more guest taps, but it appears now they are focusing on their own brews. If you want to make a beer crawl in the Haight, then you can walk 25 minutes to the lower Haight to check out Toronado.   Toronado SF is a cool, punk rock place that has not changed in years. It is absolutely worth checking out and it is the polar opposite of Magnolia which makes it a great beer crawl.

The outside signage

The beer board

Meat and cheese

Outside of Toronado

Next month the blog will focus on beers in the South, specifically Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas etc. Yes, there are actually some decent beers here!

Capitol Beer & Tap Room – Sacramento

9/21/14

There has been a bit of buzz lately about the craft beer scene in California’s capitol city. We were there last month and spent some time checking out the local microbreweries of Rubicon and Hoppy Brewing which to be honest are nothing to write home about. The real standout place in Sacramento is Capitol Beer and Tap Room. This beer bar and bottle shop is located in a pretty run of the mill strip mall but don’t let that deter you from visiting. When we were there I had Avery – Collaboration not Litigation on draft which is one of my all-time favorite beers and it is always hard to come by. I just checked out the draft list today and they have highly coveted Alpine Duet on draft which is a fabulous IPA made just outside of San Diego. Capitol also has a great bottle selection. We left with a sour from Almanac Brewing out of SF as well as a Prairie Hop from Prairie Artisan Ales out of OK. They do not carry the elusive beers from Rare Barrel out of Berkeley; seems you have to visit them to try their sours. For those of you Pliny fans, they do sometimes have it in stock which they cleverly wrote on their info board. There is no doubt that Capitol is the best place to find Craft beer in Sacramento.

The info board – pretty funny

The sign

Outside seating area

Some of the beers on draft when we visited

yeah!

Cool use of old bottles

Looking into the bottle shop area

The bar area – no food, just beer!

Alvarado Street Brewing – Monterey

9/14/14

My Mom lives in the  Monterey Bay area which is one of the most beautiful places to visit in the great state of California. You go to Monterey for the coastline, the amazing aquarium, the seafood but not really the beer. However, the craft beer scene is not that bad in Monterey. On our most recent visit we tried the relatively new Alvarado Street Brewing in downtown Monterey. Alvarado brews their own beer and they also have a solid guest tap list. The Duane’s World IPA brewed in-house was the standout Alvarado beer and it was also the highest ABV beer that they carried at the time we visited. We tried the tasting paddle and we enjoyed the beers with a pretty solid plate of poutine. If you visit the brewery on a Wednesday evening you will also be there for the local farmer’s market.

The sign

Outside seating

the microbrew menu

poutine!

Other tips – if you visit the aquarium you must stop in for a beer at Cannery Row Brewing.  They have over 50 taps and some great beers. I had Allagash Curieux the last time we were there.

Also, you can take a short walk from Alvarado Brewing to hit up Peter B’s Brewery at the Portola Hotel & Spa. The beer is solid but it is more of a sports bar so it is not very photogenic inside.

Lagunitas

9/7/14

When you find yourself north of San Francisco your first thought is probably how to get to Russian River and then your second thought is where is Lagunitas located. The good news is that they are located about 25 minutes apart (by car) in Santa Rosa and Petaluma respectively. Lagunitas is a large compound complete with a stand alone schwag store, two outside areas for live music and a cool inside/outside bar area. The real reason to visit Lagunitas is for all the one-off beers that they have available to try as a taster or a full pint. The standouts when we were there were the Mandaraison and the Belgian Kronik. It’s also nice that they give you a complimentary basket of peanuts and pretzels. Also, the space is super laid back as well as dog friendly. As a side note, Lagunitas now has another brewery in Chicago so we now finally have Lagunitas here in New Orleans! I can’t wait for the seasonal release of Brown Shugga.

The board..check out the specials!

The awesome logo

the free treats

Corporate art

Baseball looking area that I think is for music

This dolly was just hanging out unattended when we went back to the car

Huge capacity

Indsustrial area near the parking lot

The tap handles

Russian River Brewing Company

9/1/2014

When we arrived back home to New Orleans, I thought long and hard about what to do with our trip blog. I contemplated starting a new blog but then I decided to keep this blog going. After all, I have accumulated a lot of beer reviews on this blog! Although we are now home and not traveling around the world, we are still drinking as much craft beer as possible. So the blog will now focus on our travels in the US and of course all of our beer drinking adventures.

We just got back from a week long trip to Northern California. We were lucky enough to spend some time in the Sonoma area which meant a trip to Russian River Brewing Company. Ok, so is Pliny the Elder overrated? No, it most certainly is not! The funny thing is that Pliny is EVERYWHERE when you live around the brewery in Santa Rosa. We found it on tap at the Girl and the Fig restaurant and Hopmonk Tavern in Sonoma and you can also buy it at Whole Foods. Not to mention you can buy up to 6 bottles at the brewery and/or get a growler fill to-go. A Pliny will set you back $4.50 a pint at the brewery and $3.50 during happy hour. It really flows like water but don’t be fooled, it is not that easy to come by in the rest of the state. We used to find it on draft two or three times a year in San Diego and we could buy bottles from time to time as well, but it was never on the shelf. The sours, Damnation and Consecration are favorites too. Plus, I happen to think Blind Pig is a darn fine beer as well. Go the brewery and get the full tasting paddle – why not!? Just make sure to have a designated driver handy as that tasting paddle means business!

The outside – unassuming but awesome!

The beer was crowded even at 3pm on a Thursday

The menu

The complete taster paddle

Pliny growler fill..yes, please!

So many cases…

 

Home Sweet Home

Everything good must come to an end it seems. Our 9.5 month trip around the world is now officially over and we are back home in New Orleans. We already managed to catch a spontaneous second line parade off of Oak Street which reminded us just how awesome it is to live in New Orleans! Here are a few stats and thoughts from our trip:

Stats: We visited 20 countries and we took 20 flights covering approximately 37,420 miles. We rode on seven buses, took four train rides and one ferry ride.

Favorite beers from the trip: Yeastie Boys – Gunamatta IPA, 8 Wired – Tall Poppy and Young Masters – Rye Old Fashioned.

Favorite places to drink beer: Csak a Jó Sör – Budapest, Mikkeller – Bangkok, Brothers – Auckland and Les Trois 8 – Paris. We must give an honorable mention to Bière et Montagne in Annecy, France especially because we drank beers from Brasserie Du Mont Salève.

Thank you to everyone who followed our travels around the world. I am planning on starting a new blog about craft beer in the South. I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites photos of NOLA. Cheers!

St Charles streetcar barn

mardi gras beads at the sculpture garden

first week of mardi gras 2013 at Avenue Pub

a second line in the Quarter