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With City Council still a week away from their September meeting, I went a’ drinking. Below find my thoughts on four Louisiana/Mississippi brewed beers that stand above the crowded tap line. Cheers!
Jefferson Stout, Lazy Magnolia (Kiln, MS)
Bitter and smooth, this stout is like a sparkling water after an espresso, or before, or at the same time. Malty with chocolate and coffee undertones, “the Jeff” would make a fine breakfast beer or afternoon companion. It’s dusky like a swamp sunset and sweet like a float down the Bogue Chitto (probably because it’s brewed with sweet potato). Bright on the tongue with lively carbonation, this is no stale stout. Pair with beignets or spicy alligator sausage as, either dulce or picante, it will keep you reaching long after your glass runs dry.
Ghost in the Machine, Parish Brewing (Broussard, LA)
Tangy like a barrel of satsuma zest, this is a beer with the volume turnt up. GitM is so cloudy, you can’t see through it and is surely one for the brave and the curious. Parish only brews this Imperial IPA every so often, so I was pretty excited to find it on tap at Avenue Pub. Served in a tulip glass, it was almost like tasting a bouquet or swallowing the sun with a spoonful of seawater. As the brewery’s Facebook page notes, “It’s probably too hoppy for you,” but I’ll let you be the judge. Try it with a friend, make a memory.
Jack the Sipper ESB, Southern Prohibition Brewing (Hattiesburg, MS)
Bitter like an Old Fashioned, not quite enough to send your tongue into a fit, but enough to leave it questioning. Am I being followed? Taking a clue from across the pond, the Hattiesburg crew has a served up a subtle and seductive brew in this one. With hints of clove and dark alleyway licorice, this Extra Special Bitter will keep you guessing. It has a lot to say with each sip, so it may not pair easily with most fried foods. Stick to cheese plates and jam, or enjoy alone. Think bogs not beaches. Mist over moors. Jack’s a brow furler. A real think piece.
Hopitoulas, NOLA Brewing, (New Orleans, LA)
This beer smells like a garden— a garden full of super green, freshly rained on, citrus hinting hops. Bright like a brass line, Hopitoulas has an inviting flavor that pulls you in like a sip of lemonade and then kicks back like a bronco, just a little bit. Wheat? Got it. Cloudy? Check. It’s got a super fun name that points straight to its brewery’s home on Tchoupitoulas just a few blocks downtown of Tipitinas. Can’t help but be hometown proud of this one, folks. (How many years later?) and I’m still coming back to it like a DKE to F ‘n M’s. Drink responsibly at crawfish boils, in the street, and in the pool. It’s a good one.
There are so many other microbreweries and brewing companies beginning in the South, we could only mention a few. Tell us about your favorite in our Comments Section!
