Frédérique Soulé: A Brief History Of The Woman Behind Soulé Brewing

Frédérique "Frédricka" Soulé (née Dockter) was born on December 6, 1831, in Alsace, France. In 1848, she immigrated to New Orleans, where she married Jean Pierré Sebastien Soulé in 1853. Sebastien founded Soulé Brewery around 1866, following the Civil War. Tragically, he died in January 1867, possibly due to the yellow fever epidemic sweeping New Orleans that year, leaving Frédérique with two young children and thriving businesses to manage.

Despite the social norms and gender roles of the era, Frédérique demonstrated exceptional business acumen and leadership skills, guiding Soulé Brewery to become one of the more popular and successful breweries in New Orleans at the time. In addition to the brewery, she owned World Bottling Company who manufactured Dr. Nut almond soda in the 1930s. World Bottling later sold to Wright Root Beer Company in the 1950s and continued producing Dr. Nut into the late 70s.

Frédérique's impressive 21-year tenure at the helm ended in 1888 when she handed over management to her brother, George Dockter. She passed away on September 13, 1915, at the age of 83, and was laid to rest in Metairie Cemetery.

Frédérique Soulé's remarkable story serves as a testament to her pioneering spirit, entrepreneurial drive, and determination, paving the way for future generations of women in business.

Locations of the Soulé brewery:

113 Front Levee- 1867-1868

112-114 N.Peters St.(now 2707-2909 N. Peters)-1870

114 Front St(now 724 Convention Center Blvd. A parking lot between Girod and Julia Streets)-1872-1892

SOURCES:

New Orleans Beer: A Hoppy History of Big Easy Brewing

Tavern Trove

Family Search

Remember that history is an evolving story so if I find anymore info on Frédérique Soulé I will update.

The 6 Pack: Bobby Hoyt From Gilla Brewing

1) What is your favorite beer that you guys brew? What's the beer you hate to brew?

A) My favorite is either Ænigmatic Parabol or Crimea River to drink but if we are talking the task of brewing, my favorite would be seltzer or Gilla Low Life just because its the easiest. The beer I hate to drink would be the Not the Gumdrop Buttons or any of the sours. I've never developed the tast for sour beers nor pumpkin/spice stouts. I can't really say I hate actually brewing any beer but our IPAs are kind of a pain in the ass because of the process of cool wort whirlpool hopping.

2) People keep saying craft beer is dying, what are your thoughts on the current state of beer in Louisiana?

A) I wouldn't say craft beer is dying because I think that suggests it'll eventually be dead but there has been a clear retraction with the rise of seltzers, Cocktails in a can, THC drinks and the younger generations just not drinking like the older generations grew up doing. Beer has been around for centuries and I don't see it going away.

3) Other than your own, what is your favorite Louisiana brewed beers right now?

A) That's a tough one. I'm a big fan of The Se7enth Tap Brewing Kolsch and Juiceport. Grain Creation's schwarzbier was fantastic. I don't really have a go to LA beer outside of our own but those would top my list for sure.

4) What is your favorite beer to drink at a crawfish boil?

A) Miller High Life all day.

5) What was your job before Gilla? What inspired you to open a brewery?

A) Well, I still have a fulltime job and it's the same one before Gilla. I am inside sales/procurement for an Industrial Safety and Rescue company. While not a founding owner of Gilla, from the day I started homebrewing, I knew I wanted to own a brewery. I've always wanted my own business and brewing was the only thing I was ever super passionate about enough to make that leap.

6) If you could give some advice to someone who wants to open a brewery here in Louisiana what would it be?

A) Well, in this environment, my advice would be to not do it right away and wait for the economy and beer business to get better. However, if youre gonna do it, be well funded and do it with the least amount of debt you possibly can. Things are more expensive than you ever think, things break and this shit isn't cheap to fix.

When it comes to brewing, keep your ear to what is popular and selling. Some brewers go into it with a mentality that they are gonna brew what they like or gonna brew nothing but traditional beer styles. That ain't gonna cut it these days. We live in a world of haze bros and fruity sour beer lovers. Like Joe Dirt says "Its not what you like, it's the consumers". Brewing for the register allows you some freedom to brew the styles you like. Also, do not try to be cheap or look for too many ways to save cost on brewing itself. Quality matters and it takes quality ingredients and in the right quantities. Being too cheap when it comes to adjucts and hops will result in an inferior product. There are ways to be efficient and save money when brewing but dont skimp on the hops or the adjucts in your flavored/fruited beers.

Lastly, WATER IS IMPORTANT FOR GOOD BEER. Too many people underestimate the importance of water chemistry and I think its one of the most important things to consider when brewing quality beer.

Gilla Brewing

Address: 13025 LA-44 suite 108, Gonzales, LA 70737

Hours:

Friday 11 AM–11 PM

Saturday 11 AM–11 PM

Sunday 11 AM–5 PM

Monday Closed

Tuesday 4–10 PM

Wednesday 4–10 PM

Thursday 4–10 PM

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed reading this please subsribe and stay tuned for more of The 6 Pack.

New Orleans Beer History At Antique Stores

Hit some antique stores in Ponchatoula today looking for furniture pieces for the house. I love seeing the New Orleans breweriana stuff. Jax Brewing, Falstaff Brewing, Regal Brewing, Dixie Brewing, Union Brewing, and New Orleans Brewing Co. The prices were way too damn high, but it was neat to see them. Here is what I saw today.

Ain't Dere No More: Jax Brewing

If you've ever been to the French Quarter and Jackson Square then you will know that massive building with the Jax Brewing sign on it. Here is a little history on the brewery:

Jax Brewery was founded by Lawrence Fabacher in 1890 as the Jackson Bohemian Brewery. It was later renamed Jax Beer and eventually became Jackson Brewing Company, inspired by Andrew Jackson and Jackson Square. It quickly established itself as a leading regional brewery, and alongside Dixie Brewing, was one of the few New Orleans breweries to survive Prohibition.

In 1935, Jackson Brewing Company entered a legal battle with Jacksonville Brewing Company over the "Jax Beer" trademark, which both companies used. A compromise was reached, granting Jacksonville exclusive rights to sell in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, while Jackson Brewing retained rights to the western states. The brewery expanded in the 1940s due to rising demand, but faced increasing competition from larger national breweries in the 1950s. In 1954, Jackson Brewing acquired exclusive rights to the Jax trademark after Jacksonville ceased operations, making it the 10th largest brewery in the U.S. and the largest in the South.

In 1974, the brewery faced some serious financial issues and was acquired by Pearl Brewing Company out of Texas. Production of Jax Beer continued into the mid-80s until Pearl was acquired by Pabst Brewing.

The old brewery now houses some shops, restaurants and the WWOZ studios. I'm not sure if the old museum is still upstairs.

Location: 600 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130

If you'd like more information on Louisiana breweries you can buy our book here.

Beer News: Abita New Orleans

Interesting news from Abita:

Abita New Orleans. Coming early 2025. The opening of our secondary location reflects our continued investment in the New Orleans community. We’ve always been a proud supporter of New Orleans vibrant culture through food, music, festivals and community engagement and this new brewery will allow us to further enhance those collaborations with the local community from both sides of the lake. In addition to the brewhouse and tasting room, the facility will be able to host events and community gatherings to support local projects. This initiative, on the heels of the partnership with the New Orleans Saints as their Official Craft Beer, is another example of how we are staying Louisiana True.

According to Abita the location will be 1st and Tchoupitoulas. Address is 2375 Tchoupitoulas.

Support Local Beer: Care Forgot Beercraft

Wife and I drove into New Orleans for the day and made a stop at Care Forgot Beercraft on St Charles Ave. Connor Martinez is over here pumping out great beer. I got the Fo Ya Momemnnem Lager and the Parran's Pale Ale.

The beer list is a wide variety of beers with names that are inspired by Martinez's New Orleans upbringing. In addition to Fo Ya Momemnnem and Parrans they have names like Steiny The Elder(for of course Dan Stein), Dark Roux, Fess and Biere Des Allemonds.

If you get hungry while crushing all these beers they also have a small pizza menu. The pizza's are personal pan pizzas with a sour dough crust and they have Margherita, Pepperoni, Tomato with Anchovy and a Lemon Garlic White. Honestly, at this point if you are opening a brewery and don't have food good luck. It's the best way to keep asses in the seats.

Care Forgot's location is also perfect. Situated next to famed craft beer bar Avenue Pub on St. Charles, it's conveniently on the streetcar line and just a short walk from Courtyard Brewing and Ecology. Mardi Gras is going to be wild for these guys and a perfect spot for craft beer drinkers during parades

Having been away from New Orleans for the past 10 years, it's awesome to see so many breweries still popping up in the city. This day and age it's tough to open a brewery in general and to do it in New Orleans has to be even tougher. If you haven't had a chance to grab some pints from Connor make sure you stop in!

Care Forgot Beercraft

1728 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Monday Thru Wednesday: 12pm-930pm

Thursday Thru Saturday: 12pm-11pm

Sunday: 12pm-930pm

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha is Dead, Long Live The Beer Buddha

For a long time I considered this blog dead. I've attempted to revive it a couple times but it never felt right. I was no longer living in Louisiana and blogs in general seem to have gone the way of the Sour IPA. One of those things changed and thank God it's not the sour IPA.

I'm back in Louisiana(Baton Rouge) and working for a local beer wholesaler. I'm not exactly sure what I am going to be writing here or if anyone will even care but I have been feeling the urge to write and want to write about beer, breweries and cool places to get beer in the state.

The title says The Beer Buddha Is Dead, Long Live The Beer Buddha and there is a reason why I'm using that. People still call me Beer Buddha when they see me in public and I always jokingly say, "The Beer Buddha is dead". I say it because the guy that used to write this blog is, for lack of a better word, dead. I'd like to say it's a good dead. Basically, he died from knowledge of beer and experience in the industry. I guess that sounds kind of pretentious but the last 10 years I have been working in this industry has changed who I am. I read some of the shit I wrote here and I cringe.

Beer everywhere is hurting right now and the Louisiana beer scene is no exception. Is it just another reset? Too many breweries? People have moved on from beer? I don't know. I have my guesses but that's for another time. For now my goal is to have some fun promoting local breweries and great places to get beer in Louisiana. Stay tuned!

Cheers!