I just spent a few days out in Austin, Texas and it was exhilarating. Austin’s awash in breweries and I lost count of how many finely wrought IPAs and lagers I drank. Standout of the visit? The all-time king of Texas ales, Lone Pint Yellow Rose. Second place went to Live Oak’s note-perfect Pilz, the definitive take on the genre. St Elmo Brewing’s Carl, a Kolsch brought home the bronze.

New Orleans beer scene is coming along nicely and as I’ve said in the past just give us about 15 years and we’ll have a dynamic scene that could make noise on a national level.

On to the news:

In 2018 Louisiana ranked a respectable 24th in USA craft beer production. Brewers across our state produced 227,096 barrels which is equivalent to over 75 million 12 oz cans (or bottles for the legacy brewers who are still bottle-bound) That’s a lot of cold beer. Check out where your state ranked here.

Yazoo Brewing has left The Gulch. Anybody who’s spent time in Nashville in the past 10 years has certainly visited the storied neighborhood that has slowly went from being a gritty time capsule of the city’s past to becoming a pure tourist zone. Take a look inside Yazoo’s new facility here.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a few mules spirit me six packs and bombers of Surly Brewing’s beers down to Louisiana over the years. They’ve been one of the top beer makers in the US for a decade now and anytime I see an article about their brew I read up. You should too. And if you have any Minnesota friends visiting LA soon please get in touch. I have breakfast tacos I’ll trade for Surly beers. link

Sam Calagione took home $165 million when he sold Dogfish to Sam Adams. In stock equivalent so that number could grow substantially over the next few years.

There is much hand-wringing going on over the pond as British pubs continue closing at an alarming rate. I’ve known a few Yanks that have ventured onto the Isles and it’s not hard to figure out why these taverns are shutting down. At $10 per pint (8.23 Pound sterling) it’s hard to have a night on the town more than once a month. The Guardian takes a long look at the economics here