Bayou Teche Brewery

Bayou Teche Brewery

Various beers by Bayou Teche
Type	Brewery
Location	Louisiana, USA Arnaudville
Opened	St. Patrick's Day 2009
Key people	Karlos, Byron and Dorsey Knott
Active beers
LA-31Bière Pale, LA-31 Bière Noire, LA-31 Passionné Name Type
Other beers
LA-31 Boucanée, Acadie Name Type

Bayou Teche Brewing is a brewery in Arnaudville, Louisiana, USA. Bayou Teche Brewing was formed by three brothers, Karlos, Byron and Dorsey Knott, when they started brewing in an abandoned railcar on St. Patrick's Day in 2009.^[1]

History

The company first began selling beer in January 2010.^[2] Karlos, the head Brewmaster for Bayou Teche, grew an interest in quality beer while stationed as an Army cavalry scout in Germany. Once he returned to the US in 1994 and was stationed in Ft. Lewis in Washington state, he began experimenting with microbrewing at home. The primary intention of the beer creation process was to create beers that would complement well with Cajun and Creole cuisine. ^[3] The website AskMen named Bayou Teche as one of their Top 10 best microbreweries in the United States.^[4] Bayou Teche Brewing has produced 11 beers total, including 5 year-round beers (LA-31Bière Pale, LA-31 Bière Noire, LA-31 Passionné, LA-31 Boucanée, and Acadie). Bayou Teche beer is distributed in five states currently, including native Louisiana and New York.^[5]

Its flagship beer is the LA-31 Bière Pale, which won a Silver Medal in the World Beer Championships in 2013, scoring 89 points out of 100.^[6] According to the Beverage Tasting Institute, who holds the competition, the tasting notes of the Belgian-style pale ale contain “Aromas of grainy corn flour, nut brittle, lettuce and roasted turnips are interestingly taco-like with a round dryish medium-to-full body body and crisp, okra and grassy hop bite.”^[7] It is recommended to be paired with red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo and hot boudin. ^[8]

A unique beer made for smoked Cajun food is LA-31 Boucanée, which is made using smoked cherrywood, a common tree in south Louisiana. The beer has a “sweet smoky taste that can remind you of standing downwind from a smokehouse or campfire.” ^[9]

Acadie is has its roots in Cajun culture and is “brewed as a Bière de Garde – a centuries old French style of farmhouse seasonal brew.” ^[10]

Another year-round beer is their “Bière Noire”, which was modeled after a German style brewing process which made a schwarzbier with ale yeast instead of lager yeast. (3) It is recommended as a compliment to grilled food. ^[11]

References

1. Ducote, Jay. "Bayou Teche Brewing". Louisiana Brewery Trail. louisianatravel.com.
2. "NEW BREWERY IN ACADIANA RELEASES FIRST BEER".
3. Price, Todd. "Cajun brewery Bayou Teche comes to New Orleans". The Times-Picayune.
4. "American Microbreweries". AskMen.com.
5. "Distributors".
6. Purdy, Anna. "Beer, you win again". The Website of Independent Media. Acadiana Business.
7. "WORLD BEER CHAMPIONSHIPS AWARD: Silver Medal".
8. Protz, Roger. "LA-31 Bière Pâle". All About Beer Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-10-28.
9. Price, Todd. "Bayou Teche releases Boucanee smoked beer in bottles". The Times-Picayune.
10. Fullpint, Johnny. "Bayou Teche Releases Acadie Biere". The Full Pint.
11. Price, Todd. "Bayou Teche's Biere Noire modeled on extinct German brew". The Times-Picayune.