When I was in New Orleans, I almost didn’t stop by NOLA brewing because I figured it was going to be a lot of the same ambers and English style IPAs that I saw in many of the bars from them. When I had a little extra time to kill I decided to go anyway and lo and behold there were two sours and two brett beers on the menu along with a delicious saison and a variety of stouts. I didn’t have a chance to try their IPAs while I was there but with so many beers on tap I would have barely been able to walk out if I had.
In total I tried the Piety cherry sour, Desire raspberry sour, Hullmelon brett pale, Sauvage brett pale, Girl Stout Cookie, Rumple Stout Skin American stout, Irish Channel stout, and Hurricane saison. My husband drank most of the stout tasters but I had enough of each so that I could taste them.
The Piety cherry sour was very smooth with a medium amount of sour and a light cherry flavor that balances nicely with the rest. It poured a nice light amber color almost orange. Considering many cherry sours get to be a little much for me, I liked this one. The Desire raspberry sour was a satisfying sour with plenty of raspberry flavor, medium amount of funk and medium amount of sour. This was my favorite of the two sours.
The Hullmenlon brett pale poured a cloudy yellow and presented a nice melon and citrus flavor. This beer was very smooth and tasty. The Sauvage brett pale seems to be a beer that they make with various hops depending on the batch. The one on tap tasted like it used nelson hops and another one available in bottles was brewed with galaxy hops. The beer had a nice intense grapefruit flavor and a solid bitterness that balanced very nicely with the brett funk in the background.
The Hurricane saison was bright and fruity with some intense tangerine and peach. The fruits went nicely with the saison yeast flavor. This was a very impressive saison. The Girl Stout Cookie seemed to be a thin mint style stout. It had a nice minty flavor and some mild chocolate, making for a solid stout. I don’t normally like mint in my stouts but it was subtle enough that it worked well.
The Rumple Stout Skin American stout was a bit on the fruity side with some cherry flavors that balanced with some strong bitterness from some hops. Comparatively, the Irish Channel stout was a bit more chocolate forward and less bitter. I preferred the Irish Channel because it was a little more smooth and typical of the style. This one is also available around New Orleans in cans.
Before I left I also got to taste some of the Sauvage with galaxy hops thanks to someone next to me at the bar. He enjoyed the flavors of the one on tap and was curious to see how the galaxy would taste. He poured me a small taster and it was tasty but the galaxy had faded, leaving a more traditional brett pale taste. Depending on your hop preference, it may be better to enjoy the Sauvage on tap.
If you like sours or brett beers and are in New Orleans you absolutely need to stop by NOLA brewing for some tasters. They also have plenty of more traditional options on the menu as well. Thankfully they are situated in a part of town where it is easy to park because most of downtown New Orleans is a nightmare with parking.
Top 3:
Sauvage brett pale
Hurricane saison
Desire raspberry sour
Paul McGuire
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
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