Low Road Brewing Closing

Saw this post on Low Road Brewing's Facebook page:

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closure of Low Road Brewing, effective January 1st.

Several factors led to this difficult decision:

• The shutdown of our previous distributor, Pelican Craft Brands, where, in addition to the money they owed us, we lost 50% of our revenue. After experiencing significant growth before their shutdown, we had invested in new equipment to sustain that momentum—but when the growth stopped, the payments for that equipment did not.

• Our partnership with Champagne Beverage Company has not yet returned us to our previous distribution levels in the area, and despite promising potential, our new partnership with International Wine & Spirits has progressed too slowly.

• As with many small businesses, we’ve seen a decline in taproom sales, rising costs, and shifting consumer preferences, making it impossible to continue operations.

When we first purchased Low Road during the pandemic, our goal wasn’t just to sell beer—it was to keep a community space alive, where we met so many great friends. Lynette’s passion for brewing was an unexpected bonus. We want to thank our amazing staff, who became family, as well as our friends in the brewing industry like Zac & Cari at Gnarly Barley and Josh & Jamie at Chafunkta, and many others. The collaborative spirit in this industry has been incredible, and we are so grateful for everyone who supported us.

We want to thank you, our loyal customers, who made Low Road your go-to spot. The taproom will remain open through December 31st, with a farewell party to celebrate. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for any changes in hours. If you pre-ordered a 2025 Mug Club membership, you will receive a full refund before December 31st.

There’s still plenty of beer and merch available, so come by for a pint or to grab some to-go. Weekly Bingo & Dart Tournaments will continue, but Trivia will no longer be hosted.

Ducks & gift cards will be available for purchase through November, but all ducks, gift cards, and free beer tokens must be redeemed by December 31st. #GiveADuck drawings will be held weekly starting this Friday.

Thank you all for being part of this amazing journey and we hope to see you at our Farewell Party on December 31st.

This is sad. Since being back in Louisiana, I only had the opportunity to head over to Low Road Brewing once. The beer was good, the space was nice and a lot of folks appreciated the product they were putting out. Definitely saw people supporting them on the local FB page Church of the Sacred Brew.

The repercussions of Pelican closing and owing small breweries upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars will continue to be felt for years though. Obviously, there are other market forces at play such as consumer preferences, increase in prices, competition, etc but its tough to combat those when you are small brewery owed so much money. The good news is that I feel Louisiana isn't really a saturated market like Florida or other states so there is some room for new breweries.

*In full transparency(if you know me personally you already know) I used to work for a brewery that was distributed by Pelican and owed money. I also work for an AB wholesaler in Louisiana now.*

Ain't Dere No More: New Orleans Brewing Company

The Formation of the New Orleans Brewing Association

In the late 1800s, an English brewing syndicate, represented by Edward York Ames(see Algiers/Security Brewing), sought to expand its market share by acquiring American breweries, particularly targeting successful New Orleans-based breweries. To counter this threat, a group of German brewers formed the New Orleans Brewing Association in 1890.

Founding Members and Breweries

Key figures Peter Blaise(Algiers/Security Brewing), JJ Weckerling, and several others joined forces to create this association, comprising six prominent breweries:

1. Southern Brewing

2. Louisiana Brewing

3. Weckerling Brewing

4. Pelican Brewing

5. Lafayette Brewing

6. Crescent City Brewing

A Unified Defense

By consolidating their resources, these breweries aimed to resist the syndicate's acquisition efforts. Although the syndicate successfully purchased breweries nationwide, acquiring the New Orleans Brewing Association proved too costly, with a price tag of $3 million for the six breweries.

The Breweries

Southern Brewing

The origins of Southern Brewing Company date back to 1858 when George Merz founded Old Canal Brewing. Merz pioneered lager production and introduced innovative cooling technology. He installed an air compression system designed by Charles Tellier, making his brewery the first to utilize air-conditioning. Although Tellier's system didn't succeed as intended, local engineer F.V. De Coppet adapted it into an ice-making machine, earning several patents.

In 1880, Merz sold the brewery to Peter Blaise, who launched Southern Brewing in 1881. The new operation expanded significantly, occupying most of a city block and featuring a bottling works across St. Louis Street. By 1889, Southern Brewing had become one of New Orleans' largest enterprises, boasting a daily capacity of 1000 barrels a day and employing 200 men. Southern Brewing merged with NOBA in 1890 but ceased operations in 1900. Today, the site is home to the Vieux Carre RV Park.

Louisiana Brewing Co

George Guth opens a Louisiana Brewery on Conti St. in 1851. His brewery was quite small by today's standards but it was quite succesful until 1861 when it closes most likely due to the Civil War and threat of Union occupation. This brewery is NOT part of the NOBA but relates to the Weckerling Brewery below.

Weckerling Brewing

Jacob Zoelly was a German immigrant who opened City Brewery at 139 Delord(Now Howard St), between Camp and Magazine St around 1849. He brewed City Beer which was a cheaply brewed beer made for immediate consumption. In 1872 he sells his brewery to another German immigrant named JJ Weckerling who renamed it Louisiana Brewing Co but shortend the name to Louisiana Brewery in 1877 since the name hadn't been used since 1861.

In 1884 a group of investors came together and organized the Louisiana Brewing Company(at Jackson St and Tchoupitoulas St), also in New Orleans. Because of this Weckerling decides to close the 139 Magazine St brewery and open a second, larger facility with the name Weckerling Brewing in 1885 at 945 Delord and Magazine St. His new brewery opens on Oct 13 1888.

Ultimately, in 1890 both breweries would be swept into the New Orleans Brewing Association conglomerate. Weckerling, then in his 70s, retired from the business. He died on the 23rd of December, 1908 at 87 years of age. The Weckerling branch of NOBA was in operation until 1911. In 1925 it was sold to Gallagher Transfer and Storage Company and sold again in 1995 and as of 2000 is now home to the National WW2 Museum.

Pelican Brewing

Opened by Philip Wirtz in 1870, Pelican Brewing was located at 282(now 1230) Villere St. In 1887, it was purchased by Eugene Erath and moved to a larger facility on the river side of Chartres St, between Louisa and Clouet St. Merges with NOBA in 1890 and is closed in 1910. Today it is a parking lot. A second, short lived Pelican Brewery was opened in the 1930s.

Lafayette Brewing

In 1867, Henry Bassameir opens Lafayette Brewing at 1010(now 1310)Tchoupitoulas and 9th St with Nicholas Gunther. The building was a three story building and took 6 months and $30,000 to build. In 1884 Bassameir sells to Joseph Wegmann and partners Henry Lochte, Joseph Wegmann, Th. Rothenbilder, & George T. Hodgins. They merge with NOBA in 1890 and the plant is closed in 1892. It was demolished and is now part of the Port of New Orleans as a truck and railway roadway of the port.

Crescent City Brewing

There was a Crescent City Brewing that was started by John Gros in 1870 and closes in 1874. This brewery is not the brewery that sells to NOBA. Crescent City Brewing Co is started by Edward Y. Ames(yes, that same guy that started Algiers Brewing) in 1887. In September of 1889 it appears the brewery was having financial difficulties and goes into receivership.(see picture below) The brewery that is descibed seems impressive. It uses the De la Vergne direct expansion cooling method which is used to provide refridgeration for beer. Crescent City Brewing Co merges into NOBA in 1890.

Pre-Prohibition Pivot

In 1900, the newly named New Orleans Brewing Company was quite successful, brewing Columbus Beer (1900-1919), Louisiana Pilsener Beer (1900-1919), Eclipse Pale Beer (1900-1919), Export Lager Beer (1900-1919) and the popular 4-X. With Prohibition around the corner though, New Orleans Brewing Association planned to shift production to vinegar and soft drinks, but this proved unsustainable and in 1923, NOBC divided and auctioned its extensive property.

Post-Prohibition Success

After Prohibition's repeal, the company reformed and repurchased its main buildings. On September 1, 1934, 4-X Beer once again flowed from taps, sparking citywide celebrations. The demand required them to install 26 new fermenting tanks in order to meet demand. They introduced bottled 4-X(1934-1949), Eagle beer and Double Eagle(1937-1944) which was originally brewed by George Auer at his Eagle Brewery. The brewery had a bottling plant with the capacity of 85 bottles/minute.

Wartime Challenges and Liquidation

During WWII, grain usage was reduced by 30%, limiting production for breweries and NOBC hobbled along until March 1949 when 93,000 gallons of beer were poured down drains under government supervision due to the company’s liquidation proceedings, marking a somber day for local beer enthusiasts. Part of the building still stands at Jackson and Tchoupitoulas St and you can make out New Orleans Brewing on the backside. It is currently used as a marine repair works.

SOURCES:

New Orleans Beer: A Hoppy History of Big Easy Brewing

Historic New Orleans Collection

Tavern Trove

NOLA History Guy: New Orleans Brewing – a brief history of a long NOLA tradition

Times Picayune Archives

Ain't Dere No More: Algiers/Security Brewing

The Beginning

Edward York Ames, a Tulane educated doctor and visiting physician at Charity Hospital, founded Algiers Brewing after previously forming Crescent City Brewing in 1887 which went into receivership before later being absorbed into New Orleans Brewing Association(Southern Brewing, Louisiana Brewing, Weckerling Brewing, Pelican Breweing, Lafayette Brewing and Crescent City Brewing) in 1890. Ames then briefly went to New York City and took charge of the Bohemia Brewing Company and managed that firm for a year. He returned to New Orleans where he represented an English brewing syndicate that wanted to buy the 6 breweries that later became New Orleans Brewing Association for three million dollars but the deal fell through. With no job and numerous brewing industry contacts he decided to start another brewery.

Early Challenges

Algiers, mostly farmland and industry at the time, offered lower land and water costs but lacked electricity until 1892. Despite these challenges, Ames saw potential. However, competition was fierce. In addition to New Orleans Brewing Association the 1890s also saw the formation of Jax Brewing(1890), American Brewing, who made Regal(1891), Home Brewing(1893), Standard(1898) and Columbia(1899).

The Rise and Fall of Algiers Brewing

On September 30, 1891, a cornerstone-laying ceremony aimed to raise funds via stock purchases. While they had some success, the estimated $75,000 construction cost and initial brew expenses still led to financial difficulties. By 1893, stockholders refused further contributions, prompting creditor Lafayette Bank of St Louis to file suit to have a receiver appointed to take charge of assets. The brewery was sold at auction for $85,000 on June 13, 1894.

Rebirth as Security Brewing

St. Louis malt merchant Q.W. Tinker purchased the brewery, renaming it Security Brewing Company. Ames stayed on, and the refitted brewery reopened in 1896. By 1899, Security Brewing had invested $150,000, earning recognition as "one of the best breweries south of the Ohio River."

Expansion and Eventual Decline

Security Brewing acquired buildings on North Diamond Street for offices, cold storage, bottling, and delivery. A special rail line connected the Algiers brewery to the North Diamond depot. However, George Blaise, who joined in 1909, eventually gained control and closed the Diamond Street depot and main office in 1910, returning operations to Algiers.

In April 1912, a bank holding the mortgage on the bottling plant petitioned the court, claiming the brewery's insolvency and requesting a receiver. This move aimed to prevent another major creditor from seizing the property. With no objection, two receivers took over the brewery, deeming its operations "altogether disastrous." On March 13, 1914, the court ordered the sale of the brewery's assets.

The proceeds went to unpaid suppliers and material providers, while secured creditors received nothing. The building changed hands in 1914, sold to Algiers Distilling, and later acquired by American Solvents & Chemicals Corp. Tragically, it burned down on August 30, 1928, destroying 250,000 gallons of alcohol.

SOURCES:

New Orleans Beer: A Hoppy History of Big Easy Brewing

Tavern Trove

Old Breweries

The Breweriana Collector: Journal of the National Association of Breweriana Advertising(Post Convention Issue Fall 2003)