History of Dixie Brewing
Dixie Brewing was founded in 1907 by Valentine Merz, a German immigrant and former partner in the New Orleans Brewing Company. The brewery was built on the corner of Tulane Avenue and Tonti Street at 2401 Tulane Avenue in the city’s Mid-City neighborhood, housed in a large facility designed by German architect Louis Lehle. Completed the same year—with a wooden extension added in 1919—the brewery launched with a capital stock of $160,000 and an impressive capacity of 75,000 barrels per year. Demand was so strong that every keg was already contracted for purchase before construction was even finished.
Surviving Prohibition
Like many breweries of the era, Dixie was forced to pivot when Prohibition arrived. The company rebranded as the Dixie Beverage Company and shifted to producing non-alcoholic sodas, malt extracts, powders for baking and malted milk drinks, and “near beer,” a low-alcohol brew. Much of its malt extract ended up being used by homebrewers looking to make their own illicit beer—something Dixie surely understood.
But Dixie’s survival during these dry years wasn’t entirely legal. In June 1921, federal agents raided six New Orleans breweries and seized 176,000 bottles of real beer. At Dixie, agents uncovered 500 cases and 120 barrels of illegal brew, resulting in fines. Just over a year later, Dixie was caught again with hundreds of illegal kegs on-site.
Despite the legal troubles, Dixie managed to keep enough legitimate business going to stay afloat until Prohibition ended in 1933.
Tough Times for Dixie Brewing
Emerging from Prohibition, beer sales are strong. In 1951, Dixie brews and sells 156,867 barrels of beer, which equates to about 39 million pints of beer but the expansion of national beer brands across the South in the 60s starts to erode Dixie's regional market share.
Its reputation took an especially damaging hit when a massive batch—roughly 45,000 cases—developed an off-flavor. While the beer was safe, fumes from newly installed floors in the fermentation cellar had tainted the product. Dixie fired its brewmaster and invested $500,000 in plant renovations, but sales continued to slide.
By the late 1970s, regional breweries across the South were disappearing, and by 1979 Dixie stood as the last operating brewery in Louisiana.
The company fought to stay competitive. Dixie Light launched in 1981 and briefly boosted sales, but by 1982 the brewery was forced to lay off 20% of its workforce. Ownership changed hands in 1983, and again in 1985 when Joseph and Kendra Elliott Bruno purchased the company. Financial strain persisted, leading Dixie to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989.
After nearly three years under court supervision, Dixie emerged from bankruptcy in 1992 with renewed energy and a slate of new specialty beers: Blackened Voodoo (a dark lager), Crimson Voodoo (a red ale), and Jazz Amber Light in 1993. Although unsecured creditors never recovered the $6 million they were owed, the reorganization plan was approved—largely because the only alternative was liquidation.
Still, there were signs of hope. Dixie’s new brands began gaining attention, with Blackened Voodoo Lager even being briefly banned in Texas, adding to its mystique. Despite the long financial struggle, the company entered the 1990s with cautious optimism and a fresh identity built on unique, Louisiana-centric brews.
Post-Katrina
Hurricane Katrina marked a devastating turning point for Dixie Brewing. When the levees failed in 2005, the Mid-City neighborhood flooded, severely damaging the historic Tulane Avenue brewery. After the waters receded, the complex was heavily looted—equipment, copper, and irreplaceable brewing hardware were stripped from the site. Although early statements hinted at a full restoration and some community advocates pushed for city support to bring Dixie back, the brewery never reopened. Production shifted to contract brewing at Joseph Huber Brewing Company in Monroe, Wisconsin.
As it became clear the brewery would not return to its original location, the former Dixie building was incorporated into the footprint of the new Veterans Affairs medical center in Mid-City. Restoration efforts focused on stabilizing and preserving the iconic elements of the structure. Project coordinator Liz Failla explained that the goal was to maintain the recognizable Dixie tower and key architectural sections, with a modern brick-and-glass building rising behind the historic facade.
A major shift came in 2017, when New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson purchased a majority stake in the Dixie brand from longtime owners Joe and Kendra Bruno. Benson aimed to bring brewing operations back to New Orleans within two years. After his passing in March 2018, his wife Gayle Benson assumed control and continued the project.
On August 7, 2018, the company announced plans for a new brewery in New Orleans East. The facility would feature a replica of the original brick tower and reuse metal lettering salvaged from the Tulane Avenue brewery. Built inside an 80,000-square-foot section of a warehouse on a 14-acre parcel, the new brewery included a taproom, private event space with a bar crafted from a vintage fermenting tank, an on-site kitchen, food-truck area, beer garden, pond, meadow, walking paths, bocce courts, fire pits, yard games, and even a dedicated beer museum.
In 2019, production briefly moved to Blues City Brewery in Memphis before finally returning home. On November 25, 2019, Dixie Brewing Company began brewing in New Orleans for the first time since Katrina. Two months later, on January 25, 2020, the new brewery opened its doors to the public.
The most significant change came in November 2020, when the company announced it would retire the Dixie name and rebrand as Faubourg Brewing Company. “Faubourg”—pronounced FO-burg—is a French term commonly used in New Orleans to mean “neighborhood.” While “Dixie” had historical roots, its associations with the Confederacy made the name increasingly divisive in modern conversation. By February 2021, new signage and packaging were in place to reflect the updated identity.
In 2022, Faubourg Brewing Company was acquired by Made By The Water, a Wiregrass-owned holding company that also operates craft breweries throughout the Carolinas. Honestly, I'm not going to go into it with how I feel about that company. This article here will do a better job explaining it. Either way it's honestly sad that this is how Dixie/Faubourg went out. I hope they can revive the brand somehow but I don't see it happening.
Cheers!
SOURCES:
New Orleans Beer: A Hoppy History of Big Easy Brewing
Modern Brewery Age
The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com
New Orleans: Interior, Dixie Brewery complex, New Orleans, 2008. Author: The Wandering God / Cody Allison
