Eater’s Guide to Louisiana Craft Brewers Week’s Tastiest Events

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week, running from September 16-23, is full of special beers and events throughout the New Orleans area and beyond, but it is also full of food-focused beer events that even those who feel lukewarm about beer should love.

To wit, here’s Eater NOLA’s list of top food and beer events to check out:

Saturday, September 16, 2017

The first Oktoberfest celebration of the season gets underway at Brieux Carré Brewing Company. At the festivities, the six month old brewery just off Frenchman Street will release its a traditional Oktoberfest Märzen lager. Eat some German food (from Bratz Y’all the first week and The Picnic Basket the second and third weeks) while getting down to German Oompah band music. Oh, and stein-hoisting competitions of course. They’ll do it again on September 23 and 30, as well, so lederhosen up.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Wood Pizza Bistro and Tap House will be offering a cheese pairing featuring Gnarly Barley Brewing Company out of Hammond, Great Raft Brewing in Shreveport, and NOLA Brewing Company and Port Orleans Brewing Company, both on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans. St. James Cheese Company will be providing the cheese. It’s a great opportunity to explore how pairing cheese with beer is WAY better than pairing it with wine.

Speaking of cheese and beer, former St. James Cheese wiz and current owner of New Orleans’ only beer-focused restaurant, Eli Gay, is hosting a beer dinner at Freret Beer Room in partnership with Urban South Brewing. Cobia crudo will pair with the taproom-only Lime Cucumber Gose, flagship beer Holy Roller IPA will be served with chorizo bolognese gnocchi, and the brewery’s seasonal Oktoberfest beer will pair with braised beef with root vegetables. There will be five courses in all, for $50. Info on the full menu and making reservations can be found here.

Nora McGunnigle

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Killer Poboys gets in the beer pairing game with a collaboration dinner with Bayou Teche Brewing at the “Big Killer Poboys” at 219 Dauphine. If you’ve only had Cam Boudreaux’s (delicious) poboys, check him out flexing his culinary chops. Hmmm, how about spiced braised goat, with sweet potato gnocchi, soft boiled yard egg, shaved sheep’s milk cheese, and crispy kale paired with Acadie Farmhouse Ale? Or duck satay, with Montmerency cherry chutney, pickled peppers, duck crackling, and bitter chocolate with the Tart Side of the Teche Cherry Sour? Let’s not even bring up the spicy shrimp tikka masala, with black eyed pea fondue, braised collard greens, and crab pakora served with Swamp Thing IPA, because you may get dehydrated from excessive drooling. The menu is five courses for $60 (plus an amuse) inclusive of tax and tip, and info on purchasing tickets is right here.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Head to Mid City for Second Line Brewing’s Grain to Glass and Farm to Table Pig Roast from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., sourcing locally raised pork fed with the brewery’s spent grains at Local Cooling Farms and produce from Stoney Point Farms. Clesi’s Catering will be preparing all the local goodness and Second Line will provide suggested beers for pairing. More info here.

Saturday, September 23

There are two great beer events competing head to head on Saturday: Zwanze Day, celebrating all things sour and from Cantillon Brewery, at The Avenue Pub starting at 9 in the morning; and the 7th Annual NOLA On Tap, a veritable smorgasbord of local and national craft brews as well as homebrewers from all over the state. That’s in City Park starting at noon.

MORE READING

• Brewsday Tuesday: Louisiana Craft Brewer Week is Sept. 17-23 [GAMBIT]