I stopped in at Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs, Louisiana for a brewery tour.  WOW, just WOW!

Getting to Abita from New Orleans is an interesting trip.  The drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway bridge absolutely looks like a bridge into the ocean or a bridge to nowhere.  Over 20 miles of bridge.  But the trip is well worth the drive.

The Abita Brewing Company tour is well worth the time.  The tour guides greeted us and gave us ample time to taste Abita beers.  In fact, they allowed visitors to pour their own beers, opening up the taps to us.  In countless brewery visits and tours this is the first time I’ve enjoyed this kind of hospitality.  And, I must say I took advantage of it.  I tried many of the offerings on tap.

The mainstay Abita Amber is a solid go to amber beer.  Period.  Purple Haze is a refreshing beer with a hint of raspberry – from the raspberries included in the brewing process.  Wrought Iron IPA is an absolutely delicious IPA – I heartily recommend this.  The beer that surprised me was the Strawberry Harvest Lager.  I found this to be delicious and refreshing.  I really enjoyed this.  Andygator is intense.  How about I just leave it at that.  I tried the Two Boots Saison and concluded I’m just not sophisticated enough for this.  I was delighted with the Macchiato Espresso Milk Stout – smooth and delicious.  And I filled my cup with Abita Root Beer for the road which was also delicious.

Did you catch that they let us pour our own samples.  WOW.

So maybe the key to all this success is the Abita Springs water.  Or maybe they’re just great brewers.  Or both.

Seriously, if you’re ever in New Orleans or otherwise near the brewery you need to stop by!

And, please check out Abita on MicrobrewingAmerica!