The women started shopping right after the beignets. Rod and I made a break for it. We went by the Tourist Bureau and discovered that the Crescent City Brewhouse was within walking distance; six blocks away on Decatur and Toulouse. We went for it.
When we got there, Heath was applying lacquer to the exterior wooden doors. Heath is one of the brewers there. When he heard me mention my membership in the American Homebrewers Association, we immediately struck up a conversation (I didn't tell him the bumper sticker secret; I don't know him well enough for that yet). Anyway, when Heath isn't brewing he's doing maintenance work. Makes sense to me if you are trying to control your costs. Heath told us that they pretty much brew only lagers, and one wheat ale. They have a 17 barrel system and will probably brew 60 times this year (that’s about 2000 gallons). The facility is four stories tall, and they have a lot of cold conditioning tanks and equipment on the 3rd floor.
Then he told us the bad news – they didn’t open for another hour. What’s going on here; no beer in the big easy at any hour? Oh well, that meant we had to find a ‘tween place to sip some suds and wait for the noon opening. We walked up the block and discovered The Beer Fest International Beer House.
They boast 48 taps, but most of them were out of order due to pressure problems. The bartender had hot pink hair and didn’t seem mechanically inclined, so we had to deal with the limited selection. They had a Longhammer IPA from Redhook that I’ve had in bottles but never on draught, so we tried that. It’s a moderately hopped pale ale with a great citrusy flavor and a nice hoppy nose and finish. It was served at the perfect temperature, which means they were also having problems with their refrigeration system, as these Cajuns like their Coors Light very cold. Their loss; my gain. We finished our beers, went and gathered the women, then went back to Crescent City for lunch.
What's wrong with this picture?
We ordered lunch and I had the sampler; a collection of their four beers. I had some food too. They make a Pilsner, a Red Stallion, a Black Forest, and a Hefeweizen. The pilsner was probably the best beer; it had a nice balance and a clean finish that was not too bitter. The Red Stallion did not have a very rich color, and the Black Forest was more red than black. Shiner Black Lager is a better beer than theirs, if you ask me. The Hefeweizen was interesting; I think I detected Belgian yeast undertones, but all-in-all they were just average beers. I’d rate the beers a 6 on a scale of 10. If they would have had an IPA I would probably have bumped them up to a 7. The food was good, and the prices were reasonable.
The Sampler
Behind the Bar is the Brewing Equipment
We spent the rest of the day touring and taking in the local culture. We had dinner at Emeril's that night, the one on Tchoupitoulas St., which I would highly recommend to anyone. Bring your big checkbook. I’ve never had four servers put dinner out simultaneously to four people before; it was like each course just appeared before everybody at once. Then our main waiter would explain in detail what each dish was comprised of. We actually had three waiters attending to us all night, and the four course meal that we had was magnificent. I also had an Abita Jockamo IPA to sate my IPA urge for the evening. Be sure and check out the link for some very interesting reading on the origins of the name.
We ended the night with a walk down a very loud and bustling Bourbon Street. Painted, bare breasted and rather oversized maidens were throwing beads at us from balconies above. There was loud music coming from every direction, and more tattoos and body piercings than you could count. I picked up the beads for my granddaughters as Babs ran away from the madness and the crowds. We ultimately made our way to Antoine’s for yet another dessert and coffee. Antoine’s is the oldest family owned restaurant in America (circa 1840) and is the home of Oysters Rockefeller. Again, check the link for some great history reading.
On Saturday, we went to Commander’s Palace for brunch. Hey, I told you I went for the food! I finally got my turtle there, but that will have to wait for another day. Check the link for a preview
Until then, cheers!
There's always this for beer too...
1 comment:
No IPA? No Pale Ale? That's a crying shame. Why have all of that equipment if you're not going to put it to good use??? Eric, I REALLY feel for you down there in the land of Coors and Bud.
You mentioned their Black Forest...it's rare that I get to taste a good Black Lager, but surprisingly, Sam Adams makes a good one.
I got back from seeing your youngest last week and next time you're up there get them to take you to Russian River. They make great belgians and their IPAs are incredible. Try the blind pig. Also, end your stay there with a Pliny the Elder. It's an 8% ABV double IPA (OG 1.071) that blows your hair back a bit. I think you'll like it.
Good job on the blog, it's become part of my regular reading.
Post a Comment