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EgadBananas1

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Location
Northshore, Louisiana
So you're visiting Nola, eh? Glad to have ya! This guide aims to help anyone visiting New Orleans and surrounding areas on the North and Southshore. It will be a work In progress and is not intended to be a complete list, but rather a "best of" kind of list. Will update as establishments open up and any suggestions are welcomed to make this as informative as possible. Baton Rouge should really have its own Guide...I could make a very competent guide myself, but I really think it needs a natives touch.

What's distributed in Louisiana that isn't in my state?
-Check out Seekabrew, it will give you a good idea of what to expect.

What's on tap?
-While only a few establishments use it, the ones that matter keep it up to date: beermenus
Also, many places update their websites.

Breweries:

New Orleans
New Orleans Lager and Ale Company
-One of LA's best breweries. Taproom on site serving regular and seasonal lineups, as well as hosts of experimental brews found only there. Canned and growler beer to go. Tour on Friday.

Mandeville

Chafunkta Brewing Co.
-Currently not open to the public, but a solid up and coming brewery worth seeking out, especially the Old 504 coffee porter.

Covington

Covington Brewhouse
-Tours on Saturdays. Under new ownership that looks to be taking the brewery in an exciting new direction.

Abita Springs
Abita Brewing Company
-Louisiana's oldest craft brewery and likely needs no introduction. Tours on Wednesday through Saturday. Look out for their draft-only Select Series around town for some solid experimental releases.

Bars and Restaurants:

New Orleans

The Avenue Pub
-Voted one of America's best bars time and time again by various publications throughout the state and the country. Safe to say that it would be a crime against humanity not to visit.
The Bulldog (Mid City and Uptown locations)
-Equal parts restaurant and beer bar, a solid choice for good food and good beer.
Cooter Browns
-Extensive amount of taps housing usually solid offerings. Great atmosphere and a bottle selection that rivals a lot of retail shops.
d.b.a.
-Excellent live music venue, boasting more than solid draft offerings and an extensive bottle list.
Barcadia
-A great place for food, suds and fun, Barcardia is a full service restaurant offering an arcade stocked with classic games and a pleasing tap list. What more could a kid-at-heart beer geek ask for?
Crescent City Brewhouse
-Brewery restaurant serving only their in-house brewed beers. In the somewhat beer-starved French Quarter, this can be a welcomed deviation from wandering the streets.
Gordon Biersch New Orleans
-Semi-national brewery restaurant specializing in German Style beer. Located on the outskirts of the French Quarter, it also makes for a welcomed deviation. The food is quite good, as well.

Metairie

Lagers Ale House
-Basically "The Bulldog" of Metairie, it as well has great food and a solid beer selection.

Mandeville

The Barley Oak
-Located on the beautiful Mandeville Lakefront, the view is amazing, the tap list is one of the Northshore's greatest, and they have a Rueben that is to die for.
Old Rail Brewing Co.
-Also in Old Mandeville, this brew pub brews some solid in house beers, including seasonals, with a barrel program in the works.

Covington

The Chimes
-Located near downtown Covington, the huge venue backs up to the river, has a tap list of over 70 beers, staggering amounts of bottles, great beer atmosphere and an excellent food menu.
Columbia Street Taproom
-Large tap list and impressive food menu. Plays host to Covington Brewhouse's test batches.
Mellow Mushroom
-While a somewhat small tap list, most are quality. The pizza and pretzels are worth the trip alone.

Abita Springs
Abita Brew Pub
-Though not owned by Abita anymore, this was their first place of operations and the Brew Pub still houses the original brewing system. Great food and you can always find the current Select on tap.


Stores and bottle shops:

New Orleans

Stein's Deli
-Hands down the best shop for bottles. If its new or limited, Stein's will have it. Place will be packed during lunch, you have been warned.
Whole Foods - Magazine
-As most know, a worthy place for beer.
Cork & Bottle
-Though not the degree of Stein's, a solid shop for bottles.

Metairie

Whole Foods - Veterans
-Personally, I find this location to be better beer-wise.
Martin Wine Cellar
-The more extensively stocked of their stores, hitting here and Whole Foods is a worthy combo.

Slidell

Habanos Wine Cellar
-While really only worth trip if you're in Slidell, this little shop puts forth a solid effort with beer. Limited stuff has been known to pop up from time to time and the selection is solid for what it is.

Mandeville

Martin Wine Cellar
-Pretty much one of the only shops for beer in Mandeville. The selection isn't stellar, but sometimes you can find some gems.

Covington

Acquistapace's
-Best bottle shop on the Northshore. If you find yourself on this side of the lake, it is worth the visit.

Hope this guide helps all you thirsty travelers out there heading to south Louisiana. Please feel free to comment or make suggestions.

Cheers,

Evan
 
Any TBers in Nola? I'm back home for a couple of weeks. Less than ideal circumstances but I'll be around The Avenue and Stein's pretty frequently. Let me know if anyone wants to meet up. Left last minute but I did bring a bottle of BA Vietnamese Speedway to share one night if anyone is interested. EgadBananas wyatt kuemmelbrau Any new spots open within the past year or so that I need to check out? Already grabbed a 4-pack of FBS and Abita Bourbon Street from Rouses, so, I have to say that is a great improvement to when I lived here.

Cheers!
Alex
 
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i guess i can stick this here......i'm not from nola, but have lots of friends over there. i'm often asked where to eat and drink over there. here is the copy/paste response from my nola crew, so forgive the prose....


"Brunch at palace cafe will yield Cochon du Lais eggs Benedict. Verti marte's 24 hour delivery of an all that jazz poboy will make him name his next child after it. A cab ride to Cochon will make him want to switch over to the dark side.

Bourbon house has a great oyster bar and an even better happy hour.
Green Goddess or Lillete for dinner. Root or Patois for lunch. Fat Hen or Atchafalaya for brunch

Satsuma or La Boulangerie for breakfast. Cure, Bombay club, or Tonique for licka
On the super cheap, turtle bay has kick ass pizza and a Cochon du lais po boy that will make a grown man blush. The 20 beers on tap don't hurt either.

Elizabeth's or Oceana for brunch

Domilise's, Liuzza's, and of course Central Grocery for a food poyboy/muffuletta. Turtle Bay for yummy BBQ pizzas!

Beer= Avenue Pub or sit on the outside patio at the Bulldog

Buffa's Sunday Jazz Brunch is pretty fun too! Fried green beans ftw!

And of course let's move onto the drinks: hand grenade (gotta have at least one), pat o's hurricane, pimm's cup from The Carousel Bar, Sazerac from the Sazerac Bar....just to name a few :)

Aunt tikis is the place to get down with cheap drinks and seedy people and a great juke box
I was gonna suggest some stuff in the M-I-D (Midcity) like Parkway Tavern, Doson Noodle House, Taqueria Guererro Mexico, or Venezia Italian, but seems things have already been sorted.

If you want a good burger, go to Yo Mama's on St. Peter between Bourbon and Royal.

**** Cafe at the Square for brunch we serve till 2 on the weekends. we are at saint Charles and poydras. Check out our website. Only a few blocks from canal street. Not a far walk. Should have prices and what not I believe."
 
Any TBers in Nola? I'm back home for a couple of weeks. Less than ideal circumstances but I'll be around The Avenue and Stein's pretty frequently. Let me know if anyone wants to meet up. Left last minute but I did bring a bottle of BA Vietnamese Speedway to share one night if anyone is interested. EgadBananas wyatt kuemmelbrau Any new spots open within the past year or so that I need to check out. Already grabbed a 4-pack of FBS and Abita Bourbon Street from Rouses so I have to say that that is a great improvement to when I lived here.

Cheers!
Alex

what's up alex? how long are you in town? i'm crazy busy with work until thurs night but if you will be around that night i should have some time to meet up. i am going camping at bayou signette on fri/sat if you want to drive out to the wank and drink a few one of those nights could work too.

I'm not quite sure if it is open yet, but the junction on st. claude should be able to compete with the ave in regards to beer. i know they hit a few construction snags but they should open any day now. You can also try courtyard brewing. They should have some of their beer on tap by now (they opened a few weeks ago with other peoples beer) the dude is from san diego but hasn't really made many friends here. just take him with a grain of salt if you end up there. It is growing in popularity amongst the beer geeks, as Dan told me a few days ago 'all the geeks are jumping polly's ship to go hang out at courtyard, **** if i know why'
 
i guess i can stick this here......i'm not from nola, but have lots of friends over there. i'm often asked where to eat and drink over there. here is the copy/paste response from my nola crew, so forgive the prose....


"Brunch at palace cafe will yield Cochon du Lais eggs Benedict. Verti marte's 24 hour delivery of an all that jazz poboy will make him name his next child after it. A cab ride to Cochon will make him want to switch over to the dark side.

Bourbon house has a great oyster bar and an even better happy hour.
Green Goddess or Lillete for dinner. Root or Patois for lunch. Fat Hen or Atchafalaya for brunch

Satsuma or La Boulangerie for breakfast. Cure, Bombay club, or Tonique for licka
On the super cheap, turtle bay has kick ass pizza and a Cochon du lais po boy that will make a grown man blush. The 20 beers on tap don't hurt either.

Elizabeth's or Oceana for brunch

Domilise's, Liuzza's, and of course Central Grocery for a food poyboy/muffuletta. Turtle Bay for yummy BBQ pizzas!

Beer= Avenue Pub or sit on the outside patio at the Bulldog

Buffa's Sunday Jazz Brunch is pretty fun too! Fried green beans ftw!

And of course let's move onto the drinks: hand grenade (gotta have at least one), pat o's hurricane, pimm's cup from The Carousel Bar, Sazerac from the Sazerac Bar....just to name a few :)

Aunt tikis is the place to get down with cheap drinks and seedy people and a great juke box
I was gonna suggest some stuff in the M-I-D (Midcity) like Parkway Tavern, Doson Noodle House, Taqueria Guererro Mexico, or Venezia Italian, but seems things have already been sorted.

If you want a good burger, go to Yo Mama's on St. Peter between Bourbon and Royal.

**** Cafe at the Square for brunch we serve till 2 on the weekends. we are at saint Charles and poydras. Check out our website. Only a few blocks from canal street. Not a far walk. Should have prices and what not I believe."

you coming in anytime soon J? i missed ya'll at primus last weekend. if you will be here for the dec holidays we always have a huge tasting right around christmas.

ps- im gonna take you to toups meatery next time you are here. you will forget about 1/2 of your list!
 
you coming in anytime soon J? i missed ya'll at primus last weekend. if you will be here for the dec holidays we always have a huge tasting right around christmas.

ps- im gonna take you to toups meatery next time you are here. you will forget about 1/2 of your list!

primus was awesome. i'm not sure when i'll get over next. we will likely be over in january. i'll hit you up.
 
what's up alex? how long are you in town? i'm crazy busy with work until thurs night but if you will be around that night i should have some time to meet up. i am going camping at bayou signette on fri/sat if you want to drive out to the wank and drink a few one of those nights could work too.

I'm not quite sure if it is open yet, but the junction on st. claude should be able to compete with the ave in regards to beer. i know they hit a few construction snags but they should open any day now. You can also try courtyard brewing. They should have some of their beer on tap by now (they opened a few weeks ago with other peoples beer) the dude is from san diego but hasn't really made many friends here. just take him with a grain of salt if you end up there. It is growing in popularity amongst the beer geeks, as Dan told me a few days ago 'all the geeks are jumping polly's ship to go hang out at courtyard, **** if i know why'
I'll be in town through the Friday after Thanksgiving so plenty of time. Probably going to hit Barrel Proof and then The Avenue tonight. wyatt mentioned maybe doing a little share at Courtyard or Stein's over the weekend. Sunday night after poboy fest is probably the only time I have free this weekend though.
 
I'll be in town through the Friday after Thanksgiving so plenty of time. Probably going to hit Barrel Proof and then The Avenue tonight. wyatt mentioned maybe doing a little share at Courtyard or Stein's over the weekend. Sunday night after poboy fest is probably the only time I have free this weekend though.

Sunday night should work for me. If not ill look you up later in the week before thanksgiving. Just keep me posted.
 
Anyone been to Ale on Oak St? Worth checking out? I enjoyed Oak next door when I went a while back, and apparently it's the same owners.
 
I'm going to be in town for a conference May 4th through 7th. Staying across the street from the Superdome, so apparently the French Quarter is a reasonably short distance away. Any updated suggestions in the area? Company is picking up the tab for beer food. Trying to drink local stuff as much as possible. I'd like to avoid tourist traps and cluster****s if possible. Also, I will require more jambalaya. No, more than that.
 
I'm going to be in town for a conference May 4th through 7th. Staying across the street from the Superdome, so apparently the French Quarter is a reasonably short distance away. Any updated suggestions in the area? Company is picking up the tab for beer food. Trying to drink local stuff as much as possible. I'd like to avoid tourist traps and cluster****s if possible. Also, I will require more jambalaya. No, more than that.

Holla!

Where are you staying? There aren't really any hotels across from the dome.
 
I too will be back in town that week. If anyone is available to meet up and pop bottles let me know! Also, if anyone is interested in an IP trade for some San Diego stuff I've got bunch of recent releases that I could trade.
 
I'm going to be in town for a conference May 4th through 7th. Staying across the street from the Superdome, so apparently the French Quarter is a reasonably short distance away. Any updated suggestions in the area? Company is picking up the tab for beer food. Trying to drink local stuff as much as possible. I'd like to avoid tourist traps and cluster****s if possible. Also, I will require more jambalaya. No, more than that.
I too will be back in town that week. If anyone is available to meet up and pop bottles let me know! Also, if anyone is interested in an IP trade for some San Diego stuff I've got bunch of recent releases that I could trade.

Should I rally some peeps for a proper share? Other then myself, wyatt, EgadBananas, and nophunk, I don't know of any other folks on the site from near here.
 
I'm not gonna have a car, and I'm sharing a hotel room with my boss, so I probably shouldn't get completely crazy go nuts, but I could probably spare a couple hours one evening somewhere nearby.
 
I didn't make it to courtyard last time I was in town, but based on their social media posts they seem to be cool w that, yes? I had already planned on hanging out there at least one night when I'm in town.
 
I didn't make it to courtyard last time I was in town, but based on their social media posts they seem to be cool w that, yes? I had already planned on hanging out there at least one night when I'm in town.

Scott is my buddy, and he's totally cool with us drinking his beers and sharing other breweries beers there. I brought a Curiosity Thirteen yesterday, and we drank the new batch of Baby IPA and filled a couple of growlers while talking hop profiles and yeast esters in Northeast IPAs. You can't do that anywhere else here.
 
Scott is my buddy, and he's totally cool with us drinking his beers and sharing other breweries beers there. I brought a Curiosity Thirteen yesterday, and we drank the new batch of Baby IPA and filled a couple of growlers while talking hop profiles and yeast esters in Northeast IPAs. You can't do that anywhere else here.
Nice. Yeah, the avenue seemed to have gotten tired of people having bottleshares there right about the time I moved.
Isnt he from San Diego or am I making that up?
 
Nice. Yeah, the avenue seemed to have gotten tired of people having bottleshares there right about the time I moved.
Isnt he from San Diego or am I making that up?

You are correct. He is from San Diego. West coast IPAs are his thing.
 
Great list, will come in handy for our Spring trip. We are staying a few blocks away from Courtyard Brewing. Seems like a nice spot, and get some hoppy beers like from home.

Are they still cool with shares? Be down to bring some stuff out.

Hopefully can work a trip to NOLA and Avenue Pub while out there.
 
Both of those places as well as Steins Deli (for your bottle needs) are very close.

Nice! Well picked a good spot without doing my research before hand.

Not much in the way of bottles looking for, but I will check out Steins for sure. The Avenue Pub looks like a good spot. Tick these all in an afternoon while the wife is busy.
 
Great list, will come in handy for our Spring trip. We are staying a few blocks away from Courtyard Brewing. Seems like a nice spot, and get some hoppy beers like from home.

Are they still cool with shares? Be down to bring some stuff out.

Hopefully can work a trip to NOLA and Avenue Pub while out there.

they should be cool with shares. we had one there with our last visitor. let a homie know your dates.
 
Just wanted to say I enjoyed my first Zwanze at Avenue. Polly and her staff were awesome all day. I was upstairs and there was plenty of room to mingle. She clearly knows how to organize an event; no wonder Cantillon keeps coming back to Avenue. Till next time.
 
We thought we'd let y'all know about us as well. We are a small brewery just outside of New Orleans in Arabi that does tours every Friday from 5 to 7. We'd love to see y'all come check us out.
 
I'm heading out to NOLA for NYE (Dec 30 - Jan 3) w two buddies I grew up with (one used to be really into beer). Planning on bringing a box of SARA/NorCal goodies. Will definitely keep the earlier list in my notes - great info!
 
I'm heading out to NOLA for NYE (Dec 30 - Jan 3) w two buddies I grew up with (one used to be really into beer). Planning on bringing a box of SARA/NorCal goodies. Will definitely keep the earlier list in my notes - great info!

Pm if you are looking for a local to drink with.
 
Is there anything of note in Thibodaux, LA? I am going to be there for work on Monday. Flying in late Sunday and out early Tuesday.
 
Thinking about canceling my Monday night stay in Thibodaux for a hotel in NOLA. Had a feeling it was a small town.

I'm sure you're flying out of MSY. Staying around downtown New Orleans puts you 25 minutes from the airport. If you have the option, I'd say it's very worth it.
 
Is there anything of note in Thibodaux, LA? I am going to be there for work on Monday. Flying in late Sunday and out early Tuesday.

I can introduce you to a very enthusiastic beer nerd named Todd.

Your best bet is to look to Houma (very close to thibodaux) and check out which craft and mudbugg.

Or come to New Orleans and we can drink mead and talk about how soccer is going to be more popular than football next year. ;)
 
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