Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, La.

Funny thing, here in Louisiana. Folks can take a simple ordinary event and turn it into a party. For example, say, a brewery tour. Of course, there is beer. But add barbecue and a zydeco band, and you have a full blown celebration of Louisiana culture. Such is the case at Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudville, deep in the heart of Cajun country. Every Saturday, the brewery hosts live music, a trailer with a meat smoker, and tours of their growing facility.

Like so many destinations in Louisiana, Arnaudville is smack dab in the middle of nowhere. But it's an easy drive, just a bit north of I-10 at the Breaux Bridge exit.

On this particular Saturday, Nathan Plumbar and Steady Steppin provided entertainment.

The brewery is owned by a trio of brothers. Their father, Mr. Knott, serves as tour guide. He's a hoot. Sorry I didn't get a photo of him. The brewery is only around seven years old. You can read their history and beer bios on their website.

Bob and I first learned about Bayou Teche Brewing about a year ago when we volunteered at the Louisiana Winter Beer Fest in Lake Charles. (Read my post on that event here.) We were pourers for Karlos Knott, the oldest brother, brewmaster, and president of Bayou Teche Brewing. This year's Beer Fest is March 5. Mark your calendars.

Cheers!

Arts and Crabs Festival 2015

Bob and I enjoy attending fun festivals and events that benefit a good cause. This past Saturday, we attended the 6th annual Arts and Crabs Fest!

This event raises money for the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana -- a very worthy cause! The Arts and Humanities Council promotes the unique and diverse culture, music, food, and people of our region by offering free public events throughout the year -- Gallery Promenade, Spring Art Walk, Live at the Lakefront. They host art camps, arts awards, and offer grants to other art and culture organizations. I can't imagine living in Lake Charles without the services they provide to the region.

Anyway, back to Arts and Crabs, this event was initiated in 2010 not only to raise funds for the organization but also to bring awareness to the region's seafood industry after the devastating BP oil spill. We first attended in 2011. You can read that post here. The event started out in a banquet room at the Civic Center and has become more popular with each passing year. They soon outgrow venues and this year they hosted the event at Burton Coliseum.

Tickets sell out and approximately 700 people attended this year. Eleven area restaurants and caterers offered samples of everything crab -- corn crab bisque, crab cornbread, crab pasta casserole, crab and cheese dip, to name a few. Our personal favorite was a crab cake (center top, below) by a soon-to-open restaurant called 1910, on Ryan St. Also good was a crab salsa (upper right below in larger bowl) by popular taco truck, The Sloppy Taco, and indeed, they won the people's choice award.

Also fun is that a local brewery -- this year Bayou Teche -- pairs samples of their beer with the dishes. Old New Orleans Rum Distillery was also on hand passing out samples.

Then there's the art. One of my favorite art friends, Sue Zimmerman was there. Love her!

This photo was lifted from my 2011 post. (Why didn't I take a photo of she and I together. I'm her biggest fan girl!)

New art friend, Melinda Antoon Cormier, was also there. She's terrific, too.

Photo lifted from her Facebook page.

And my super-creative jewelry maker friend, Andrea Beck of Tab Typewriter Key Jewelry.


Also lifted from Facebook.

 . . . as well as many other art vendors. And what is any event in Southwest Louisiana without music! Folk singers Thomas and Theresa opened the event, followed by the band Sinners.

Good food, drink, art, and music! What could be better?

Of course, the event was emceed by our ubiquitous man-about-town Braylin Jenkins, aka BrayJ.

What is your favorite festival/fundraiser?

Louisiana Winter Beer Fest

Bob and I aren't super big beer drinkers, but we enjoy a good brew now and then. We like to try new beers and find new favorites. I have a very narrow range of beers I appreciate, so it's especially exciting for me to find one I like a lot. When we heard about the first ever Louisiana Winter Beer Fest, I promptly bought tickets. And good thing I did. They sold out 700 tickets in no time. Proceeds benefit the Lake Charles Symphony, so it's for a great cause!

Bob and I know the event organizer, Nick Villaume. Even the day of the event, he was putting out a call for more volunteers to help out. Bob and I said sure, why not. Could be fun. So we were the “pourers” for Bayou Teche Brewery. Our new friend Karlos brought three of their several brews; a belgian pale ale he says is their number one seller, a "noire" or black beer, and a french farm style beer called Acadie. The Acadie was the most popular one we poured. Everyone seemed to like it. Maybe, I think, because I told everyone it was my favorite.

After our volunteer shift was over, Bob and I made our rounds to all the tents. Twenty-three craft breweries from Louisiana and around the country and a couple from Europe were present, offering a total of 71 different beers. IPAs were very popular. Good for Bob (who prefers IPAs), not so good for me. I don't like the "hoppy" beers. Chocolate and coffee stouts were also well represented. While the concept thrills me, I found most of them to be too bitter for my tastes. I was disappointed that no one offered a ginger beer. I love ginger beer.

So, after tasting A LOT of beers, I narrowed down my favorites. I liked NOLA Brown Ale and Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar. But my very favorite was Sierra Blanca Alien Amber Ale. I could have stood in front of that table and just had the guy refill my glass over and over. Actually, I did that for a bit.

In addition to all those beers for the "regular" ticket holders, there was a VIP area with sixteen more craft brews and home brews offered. I didn't have one of those tickets.

There were several super food vendors at the event. My new Jamaican friends from TasteRite were there. (Look for them in a new post soon.) We had a fantastic pulled pork and slaw sandwich and bread pudding with blackberry sauce from Luna's and some boudin balls from Pujo St. Cafe.

There were two bands who entertained fest-goers. Bob and I especially enjoy the first band, Beau G's Band of Ojin. I wanted to buy a CD, but when we talked to one of the bandmates, we discovered they'd only been together a couple weeks and had no CDs.

One of the perks of volunteering is the privilege to attend the volunteer after party. Well, after a couple hours of sampling, the crowds and noise, not to mention the alcohol, were getting to me. We didn't stick around till the very end. Maybe next year . . . 

Great job, Nick!

So, what's your favorite beer?