Three Great Beer Events Are Happening This Weekend Around Nola

Mid-November in Louisiana can get pretty crowded with things to do — the weather is (usually) delightful and it's well before the holiday season starts in earnest. What that means, of course, is that conflicts arise and tough decisions must be made.

This weekend, no less than three beer events will be happening on Saturday, November 14. To help you make your choice, here's a breakdown of each:

What: Crescent City Homebrewers' WinterFest. When/Where: The Deutches Haus (1023 Ridgewood Drive, Metairie), 6-8p.m. Why: $25 (in advance - it's $30 at the door) allows access into a winter beer wonderland, permitting you to sample all sorts of crazy homebrews, as well as commercially produced beer, soda, and food - German sausages with potato salad and sauerkraut, and more. Who: Fellow homebrewers; people who love to wash down German food with beer; beer lovers who want to support the city's only homebrew club (this is their annual fundraiser).

What: Bayou Beer Festival. When/Where: Southdown Plantation in Houma, from noon-5pm. Why: This beer festival, now in its third year, is sponsored by neighboring brewery Mudbug Brewing and offers festival goers the opportunity to taste local beers as well as homebrewed beer. Thirty bucks gets you 40 beer tickets, and each sample "costs" one ticket. There will be live music and food to purchase - and all proceeds go to local veterans' organizations. Who: Beer lovers that will drive to Houma; beer newbies that don't know what they like or what's out there; folks that like beer and want to see the Lost Bayou Ramblers (fiddler Louis Michot also works at Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudville.)

What: Faux Real Fest's historical and present day brewery bus tour led by Argyle Wolf-Knapp, co-author of New Orleans Beer: a Hoppy History of Brewing in the Big Easy, under the auspices of the Faux/Real festival. When/Where: The bus tour starts at 11am at Crescent City Brewhouse. Why: It's a unique opportunity to get a historical perspective of the former "brewery capital of the South," as well as visit three current breweries in the city:Crescent City Brewhouse, NOLA Brewing, and Second Line Brewing. Tickets are $70. Who: Beer lovers who like to sit on a bus and drink beer; beer lovers who are history buffs; people who want to stay within Orleans Parish limits.