Who Dat? No, really…who is it?
Wheee! The Big Easy!
After a week of lazy hazy Alabama days, we headed to the Big Easy. We heard that New Orleans was a really great city to bicycle around, and being bike lovers thought we’d give it a chance. A word to the wise- we don’t recommend it. From broken glass, potholes that could eat you alive, and drunk drivers and pedestrians, we were glad to cut our bike ride short! Nevertheless, we enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of The French Quarter from galleries, to street performers, a display of “low-riders”, and a wilted looking second line trying to beat the heat in the shade of a building.
We enjoyed the local 
fare of po-boys and beers that sweated as much as we did in the 100 degree Lousiana heat. Gee, I wish that someone had invented some sort of beer product that would help keep my beer cold and the glass less sweaty here in the south! Maybe something that is rustic, yet refined. Oh wait, we did. The Oowee Koozie leather koozies have been traveling with us across America and even on our bike ride. They make a great beer gift by the way.
NOLA Brewing
The next brewery we stopped at was the New Orleans Lager & Ale Brewery established in 2008 and is otherwise known as NOLA Brewing. We were heartily greeted by Tipsy (the dog), Buck & Dylan (the people) and Hopzilla (the godzilla). The crew at NOLA Brewing took us on a tour of their location that has expanded into not one but two giant warehouses right down the street from the famous music hall-Tipitina’s! Together, we all bonded over fishing stories, us with our deep sea fishing pictures and Dylan with his massive attack on local largemouth bass. Gabriel’s 60 lbs. Amberjack keeps growing in size every time we tell the story. Hmm….interesting. We can’t wait to come back to see these guys next time we are in the Big Easy. By then, they should have their own NOLA Brewing leather koozies.
Who Dat? The story…
So far, on this trip, Oowee Koozie has had plenty of success with making appointments the day before or day of. We found out soon enough that this doesn’t work for all businesses. Whoops. At Abita Brewery on the other side of Lake Pontchatrain, we left a sample packet of products with the secretary. That place was on lock down with security cameras, gates, and an intercom! This awesome regional brewing company may not take in stragglers from the streets of North Carolina-but we hope that they like our product enough to buy some. We’ll call first next time we come by their establishment.
We didn’t have time to seek out more great New Orleans breweries, but we heard about JAX Brewery, LA 31, and the ole Dixie Brewing Company which did not survive after Katrina but apparently is being brewed out of Wisconsin now.
Off to Houston!