NOLA-ing: NOLA Brewery Tour

Nola Brewing Co.

NOLA Brewery tours should be pushing people away. This simply is the best tour you can do in New Orleans in its price range. The tours are every Friday 2-3 PM & Saturday 2-4 PM. With admission into the tour you get two drink tokens.  Price is free (as of this writing). This is definitely Nola Nerd Couple approved.

NOLA Brewery might not have the widespread reach of Abita or the acclaim of Parish, but they do put out a consistent quality product. Their beers are perfect for summer barbeques or Superbowl parties. Their year round beers are light years better than any macro-brewed beer. In other words, I can’t understand why people still Budweiser, Coors, or Miller when they can get NOLA Blonde or Brown in a can.

The Tour

The brewery is not very large. Our tour guide, Derek, took us through the entire process. Now, this is a brewery and I had no desire to take notes when I could partake so I won’t try to explain the process to you. In fact, go on the tour to learn that, especially if you are one of those people who still think bottle beer is better than canned beer! What I will say is that brewing NOLA beers is a labour of love for these people. The care they use in crafting their beer is palpable. They know they aren’t the largest, but that’s not their goal.  They just want to make good beers that they will drink, which they believe, in turn, will be what people want to drink.

The best part of the tour, and of any brewery tour, is being able to try the beers.  We received two tokens for beers to use after the tour.  NOLA Brewery didn’t skimp; instead, they pour us 12 ounce glasses.  Being well familiar with NOLA Blonde, Brown, and Hopitoulas, I decided to give their 7th Street Wheat a try.  The beer, named for the wharf across the street, it is a very crushable beer.  In other words, this is a good summer beer when you want to be refreshed and it’s perfect for a barbecue. The lemon basil that is added to the beer after fermentation gives it a very smooth citrusy flavor. Yet, you don’t have to enjoy it just in the summer; this seasonal beer is available all year long.

 Next,  I tried Hog Tied, a Witbier.  The description on the wall said satsuma and coriander. I found this beer a little spicier than other witbiers I’ve had.  It too would be good while cooking some ribs on the Big Green Egg.

If you can’t make it for a tour, you should still go to the NOLA Taproom. They have plenty of beers on tap, more than you can try on the tour, for reasonable prices.  If you have little ones or you don’t drink, you still should go.  Why?  Because McClure’s Barbecue is located there.  We ate before we went on the tour which made me sad because the barbecue smelled amazing.  We have had McClure’s before at his previous location, but now you can only find his smoked meats at the NOLA Brewery Taproom. That alone makes me want to go back, but did you notice I have been mentioning how well their beers match with barbecue?

I’m not sure how far NOLA distributes outside of the city. We did the tour with Cristina’s sister and brother-in-law, and that was the first question they wanted to know, but were too thirsty to ask.  I’ll make sure we ask the next time.

The Verdict

We are not beer connoisseurs, and I have to look up with BJCP stands for.  However, we do enjoy a good beer every now and then. NOLA Brewery brew just that…good beers.  Their beers range from the simple drink all day long beers to complex beers for the discerning palates.  They have seven-year long beers and a host of seasonal beers.

Take a look at those marco-beer cans. Do you really think someone from Wisconsin or Colorado knows what beers go well with crawfish, jambalaya, and cajun fried fish? I’m pretty sure the people at NOLA Brewery do, and they have a beer that will fit in with your tastes.