Beer: NOLA Brewing

New Orleans Lager and Ale Brewing Company (NOLA) started up in 2008, surely to help jump-start the craft brew scene in Louisiana (which, in my opinion, was sort of lacking). Since then, they’ve established themselves as premier purveyors of quality brews, and although their distribution footprint is only in a few Southern states, I was able to sample some of their brews thanx to a friend visiting New Orleans. Here’s my rundown:

REBIRTH PALE ALE - 4/5

Appearance: Pours a semi-clear golden amber, with a nice head of off-white bubbles. Lace is negligible.

Aroma: Crisp citrus hops and a touch of caramel malts. Very nice.

Taste: Heavy-handed on the hops — citrus and tropical fruit come through here loud and clear, with a lingering bitterness. I do detect a pleasant malty backbone, but this is first and foremost about the hops. Call this one a session IPA and it would be a big hit. Solid!

HOPITOULAS IPA - 3.5/5

Appearance: Semi-cloudy amber, with some slight sediment. Maybe an older can? Big, thick head of bone-white carbonation, and a solid tree-line of lace.

Aroma: Subtle floral and pine hops. Not bad.

Taste: Tangy, bitter, acidic hops. Very spiky and incisive on the palate, with more pine and bitter citrus grapefruit hops dominating the malt backbone.

Not a bad IPA, just not a great one.

BROWN ALE - 3.5/5

Appearance: Pours from the can a muddy, murky brownish amber, with a fair head of fine off-white bubbles. Lace seems spotty and light.

Aroma: Nose is a dirty, earthy mix of malts — a tad sweet with a tinge of citrus underneath. I get some roasty chocolate malts, and some sweetness. 

Taste: Light and almost lacking. I get a slight nuttiness and roasty element on the palate, but the light body is deceiving. There’s enough taste here to remain drinkable and sessionable. This one is faithful to the classic English brown ale style, and pretty decent.

BLONDE ALE - 3.5/5

Appearance: Pours from the can a cloudy golden with substantial head of off-white bubbles. Thin wisp of lace.

Aroma: A little caramel, a little toasty grain, and a hint of citrus hops falling behind. Pretty solid.

Taste: Mild and malty, but balanced nonetheless. A very engaging session ale here, though it certainly won’t impress hop-heads or most beer nerds. I can imagine this being quite refreshing on a hot summer day. Overall, not a complicated brew, but certainly an enjoyable one.

NOLA site

Beer: Dixie and Breckenridge

Here are a few more craft beer reviews, just a smattering from the hundreds Goatsden has been responsible for. Shame on us for enjoying so much beer and keeping notes on it. 

Anyway, scores are, as ever, from 1 (awful) to 5 (awesome). Anything over a 3.5 or so should be considered worthy. With that in mind, check these out and judge for yourself. Keep beer independent and local, and down with the corporate monoliths and monopolies!

DIXIE BEER (New Orleans, LA) - 2.5

Dixie Brewing has a long history and is a beloved institution in New Orleans. However, the brewery has been closed since it was severely damaged in Hurricane Katrina. Now, Dixie is contract-brewed by Minhas in Wisconsin, and the results are not good.

Clear golden, with a fizzy white head. Lace is thin and weak. Aroma is malty, grainy, and lager-like. Very average. Tastes sweet -- very much like a thin adjunct character. As with other beers brewed by Minhas (as this apparently was contracted brewed by), this one's an unbalanced mess that lacks complexity and wallops the taste buds with heavy, syrupy sweet malts. Ugh.

As near to a drainpour as I've had in some time.

DIXIE (New Orleans, LA) - BLACKENED VOODOO LAGER - 3.0

Clean ruby/brown appearance, with a rich head of off-white foam. Definite lace, but seems spotty and erratic. Nose is like other Minhas brews -- adjunct and sweetly malty. Taste is weak and watery, like the regular Dixie Beer, but with a definite roasty malt tone.

I have to wonder if Dixie's beers were better once upon a time, as this one is really disappointing.

BRECKENRIDGE (Breckenridge, CO) - AVALANCHE AMBER ALE - 3.75

Opened in 1990 in beautiful Breckenridge, CO, Breckenridge Brewing has been a Colorado craft beer staple since the beginning. These are a couple of their regular year-round brews. Clean amber in color, with a nice off-white (almost tan) head. Decent lace. Aroma is biscuits and yeast. Like freshly baked bread maybe. Tastes much the same - bread. A hint of roastiness and a minimal hop snap at the finish. 

Straight-forward and sturdy, and a solid session amber ale.

BRECKENRIDGE (Breckenridge, CO) - VANILLA PORTER - 4.0

Deep, dark brown and opaque. Almost black in appearance. Good suds, a little lace. Aroma is definitely, unmistakably vanilla. And good! Flavor goes straight to the vanilla. Creamy body, feels almost like a vanilla coke. The roastiness takes a back seat here, and likewise, I get no coffee tones. Still, this is a good-tasting porter, and a superb change of taste from the usual. Nice work!

Empress Hotel - "Heavy Halo" CD

Louisiana indie-pop ensemble Empress Hotel's second album is a pleasant set of upbeat, well-constructed melodic songs. The band professes to being inspired by one-hit wonders of the seventies, but I hear more carefree sunny California top-down symphonic pop elements, somehow. Anyway, "Last Picture Show" has all the whimsy of Vampire Weekend (sans African influences), while "Drugs" funks it up with disco references. But far from a silly parody act, Empress Hotel's stylish music is catchy and oddly affecting. (Park The Van)

Empress Hotelspace

"America's Music Legacy - Dixieland Jazz" DVD

Looking at this uniquely American conglomeration of styles and influences, fans of Dixieland may be dismayed upon viewing this mid-80s TV showcase. As with previous editions of this series, the historical context of the genre is only briefly examined, with the bulk of the program devoted to live performances from (then-contemporary) artists (often marginally related to the genre).

Standouts here include Scotty Plummer's banjo madness, and the immortal Scatman Crothers (who some may know more from his acting in little gigs like "The Shining"), who proves he was a showman of the first order. Also included here are Della Reese (who's songs seem more Vegas than Dixieland), Al Hirt (who hosts), Gene Estes, and the New Orleans Jazz All-Star Band. As a word of caution, there's a lot of filler here, with little of lasting substance. You're better going elsewhere for a serious examination of the style. (MVD Visual)