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.

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!

Football Season is Here!!!! Let Us Rejoice!!!

I'm so excited right now! Tonite kicks off the NFL season with the defending champ New Orleans Saints taking on the geriatric led Minnesota Vikings. Poor Brett Favre. Completely ruined his legacy by being the ultimate flip flopper.

New Orleans right now is a total madhouse with the whole NFL parade thing being held downtown. Tickets for the game are virtually impossible to come by and being downtown for the game is going to be one total cluster.

The great thing about football games(and all sporting events really)is you don't actually have to be in the stadium or tailgating at the stadium to enjoy the game. Having some friends over, drinking some beer and cooking on the grill can be just as fun if not a better experience.

I plan on using the NFL season as an opportunity to have some cool events at my house that'll spread the love of craft beer. Here are some of the ideas that I have planned for this upcoming season:

1) Local vs Local: This can be tricky unless you beer trade as I do. The idea is simple though. You get local beers from your hometown and get someone to send you beers from the town in which your local team will be playing one week. For example:

Teams: New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

Beers: New Orleans: NOLA Brewing, Abita, Bayou Teche
Atlanta: Sweetwater, Atlanta Brewing Company, Terrapin

You can do a blind tasting and square off and see who wins or just enjoy the beers.

2) Beer and food pairing: You can't have a football party without some food. Most of the time you're cooking on the grill or you got your slow cooker going anyways so you might as well pair some good craft beers with the food. And I'm not sure how you do it in your town but I've seen some amazing dishes being prepared by New Orleans tailgaters so you can do it up fancy or not. I'm still claiming that my Who Dat Roastbeef Poboys I created last year for the Superbowl helped New Orleans win the game. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Oh and paired with Abita Turbodog by the way.

3) Seasonal beer tasting: The fall is one of the best times for seasonal beers in my opinion. You have Octoberfests, pumpkin beers and all sorts of speciality brews being created by craft brewers for the fall. Fall, football and fall beer. It's perfect.

4) Locals only: You can make Sunday a locals only day. In most towns it's not that hard to do. I'm pretty sure every beer store in your area has access to some local beers. Support your local team by drinking only local brews.

5) Craft Beer Showdown: Pick a certain amount of craft beers and imports. Categorize them into 4 categories and creat your bracket. You can make this as elaborate as you want. Each person blind tastes a beer and votes on the beer they like best. Winner advances. Great opportunity to try tons of craft and import beers.

So there are some ideas I had for helping spread the love of craft beer this NFL season. If you want to know where you can get some great craft and import beers in New Orleans read below. If you have any cool ideas to share please comment! I'd love to hear them!

Beer Stores in New Orleans:

1) Steins Deli
2) Cork & Bottle
3) Martin Wine Cellar
4) Acquistapace's Grocery(on the Northshore)



Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

I Am A Craft Brewer Video

I Am A Craft Brewer from I Am A Craft Brewer on Vimeo.