TheBeerObserver

I spent this week in New Orleans at the Do It with Drupal conference and enjoying some of Dixie's outstanding local beers. 

It was my first trip to New Orleans and Bourbon St lived up to expectations (good and bad), but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the local brews too.  Mix in a bourbon sampler trays, lots of oysters, alligator sausage, po' boys and mechanical bull rides - good times all around.

Local microbrewery Abita dominates the draft and bottle selection at most bars.  Hurricane Katrina hit the brewery hard so it was great to see them making a strong comeback with multiple choices at almost every place we went.  Abita Turbodog is a crowdpleaser and delivered the goods.  A crisp, easy to drink brown ale, Turbodog should be Abita's premier brand.  But everyone likes an Amber (especially on Bourbon St) and they give the people what they want. 

One surprise was Abita's Jockamo IPA - great beer.  Floral, very hoppy, well balanced.  This quickly became my beer of choice for the week - cool label too.

The first night, I learned an important, if unexpected, fact about New Orleans.  They don't serve food after 10pm - who knew?  Ah, the joys of business travel.... 

After some wandering, my colleague and I did find a divey local French Quarter hole in wall, Oceana Grill, that served creole food.  Dinner consisted of gumbo, alligator sausage and a blackened catfish po'boy, with a Turbodog or two - an excellent start to the trip.  A totally no frills experience, with the receipt handwritten on a torn piece of paper, the Oceana hit the spot for a couple hungry travelers.

My second night in New Orleans, team Acquia had a very good meal with nice lagers at the Crescent City Brewhouse.  A brewpub that features lagers exclusively is a rare treat and across the board, Crescent City's beers were delicious.  They too had a viennese amber lager, along with a brown Christmas lager, a Weiss, and a Pilsner.  The amber and the Christmas beers were full bodied malty beers, a little on the sweet side. 

The Pilsner was a floral, hoppy golden lager that finished pretty clean.  It was in good, not great, shape.  The balance of hops was just right, could be kick-ass czech-style pilsner.  My second beer was the Weiss, the best beer on tap that night.  Fruity, hazy with a thick head and clean flavor, they served it sans lemon and it delivered the goods.  Certainly worth the trip for one next time you're in New Orleans.  The food at the brewpub was better than expected too - lots of creole and cajun choices.  The softshell crab dish was outstanding, as were the sweet/spicy glazed chicken wings. 

Later on that night, we did the requisite trip to Pat O'Briens for hurricanes, a real dreck of a beverage - all sugar, syrup & ice.  The bartendar was cool in his green suit making fruity beverages.  He even caught someone trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill - crime was all around.  Just a few minutes earlier, I thought I was going to get mugged when I guy asked for cash while I was screwing with the map on my phone.  He got pissed when I refused, there was a moment where I really thought I was about to take one in the face, as I slipped my phone back in my pocket.  Luckily, he turned and split.   And off we went to Pat O'Briens.

The next night we ate dinner and watched the Saints lose in OT at the Bourbon House. 

Bourbon - brownest of the brown liquors.

I've poured and consumed my share of beer samplers, but this was the first time I'd ever had a bourbon sampler.  Four "bite" sized snifters, a sampling of more than 30 bourbons listed on the wall, above a sign that said "Please ask to see our complete bourbon menu."  Well, alright!

I'm no connosieur but the four samples covered a broad range of flavors - vanilla, caramel, spice, anise.  I should have written down the brands, hindsight and all that.  The samples were a lot of fun to share with a big group, each provoking strong reactions.  The waitress found a secret stash of Abita Jockamo IPAs when our excellent meal arrived - oysters, Redfish on the Halfshell and a killer pecan pie. 

Dinner included a crew of Acquians, Josh & Walker from Drupal SEO firm Volacci and Adam Cooper Wood.  Adam is the Webmaster for Magic Hat Brewing Company - he manages their website, which he's in the process of porting to Drupal.  Rock on!  As part of a recent review of Magic Hat Roxy Rolles, I spent some time on the Magic Hat site.  Its very flash heavy, making navigation a challenge to say the least, but he and the team recognize this.  The switch to Drupal is a step in the right direction, I can't wait to see the new site.

I was even able to mix in a little beer at the Do It With Drupal event too, where I debuted my new Acquia Drupal gratis!, libre! t-shirt. Let me know what you think.

I never did find any Dixie beers while in New Orleans - I would have loved to have a Blackened Voodoo beer.  But we did find a mechanical bull and cowboy karaoke, so it all works out. 

And we did catch the first snowfall in the city in four years - snowy palm trees lined the streets. 

Good times.