The craft beer landscape has changed so dramatically almost half of the places I used to recommend aren't around anymore. And honestly, my drinking habits(style of beers I prefer, places I enjoy drinking) have changed as well, so let's see what we can come up with.
Note: MANY of these places are NOT on the parade route but might be near it. Others, I am just recommending for tourists who might want to veer off the parade route a little. If you think I am missing something let me know! It's been awhile and I may not have been there!
THE FRENCH QUARTER
1) Rouses 701 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116- Small grocery store with decent selection of craft and domestic beer. REMEMBER: You CAN walk around the streets with beer but it needs to be either in a can or a plastic cup.
2) Mollys At The Market 1107 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116- Awesome dive bar located on Decatur St. Pop in for some beer or their frozen Irish coffee.
3) Crescent City Brewhouse 527 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130- Honestly, I would be remiss for not mentioning this place. Most beer geeks might disagree with this addition but CCB has been pumping out classic beer styles for decades.
CBD/Warehouse District
1) Rouses 701 Baronne St, New Orleans, LA 70113 - Great beer selection and you can even pick up a muffaletta to go wiht your beer. The store is located close to Harmony Circle(formerly Lee Circle) and is a great place to pick up a quick sixer or case of your favorite brew.
2) Cochon Butcher 930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130 - Amazing food and nice beer selection. This place is a must go! Everything on their menu is solid but I would recommend the Cubano.
FRENCHMAN STREET
1) dba New Orleans 618 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116- Good beer selection and amazing live music.
2) Brieux Carre Brewing 2115 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116 - Arguably one of the best breweries in the city. They are crushing the lager game over here and are located right off Frenchman Street on Decatur.
3) The Rambler 507 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 - Nice casual bar in Frenchman with a great local, craft beer selection.
UPTOWN
To make this easy I will be calling everything from I-10 up to the Riverbend "uptown".
1) Avenue Pub 1732 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130- No longer owned by Polly Watts but it is still an amazing place to grab a craft beer and it sits right on the parade route.
2) Steins Deli 2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 - Amazing Jewish deli located at Magazine and Jackson. Not too far of a walk to the parade route. Grab a sandwich and some beer to go. Dan Stein is the Godfather of craft beer in New Orleans.
3) Fat Harry's 4330 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115- For some reason I never mentioned this place in past posts and that was dumb on my part. Fat Harry's is a New Orleans instituion and serves a great variety of craft and domestic beers and like Avenue Pub it sits right on the parade route.
4) Care Forgot Brewing 1728 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130- The newest brewery in New Orleans is nestled right next to Avenue Pub on the parade route. These guys are brewing up great local beer. Go support them when you're in town.
5) Breaux Mart 3233 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115- This small locally owned grocery store also located on Magazine St has a nice diverse selection of craft and imports. They do a fantastic job supporting the local craft beer scene.
7) Cooter Browns 509 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118- A legend in New Orleans. Nice beer selection on tap and huge bottle selection. I would highly recommend the cheese fries, Radiator's Special and the NOLA Philly.
8) The Bulldog 3236 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115- Large selection of beers on tap and decent bottle selection. Nice outdoor patio which can be irrelevant in cold weather. Check out the outside fountain made from taps handles.
9) Le Bon Temps Roule 4801 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115- This place is a great neighborhood dive bar. A must check out for sure. The Soul Rebels used to have a Thursday night residency. I think they still might. Get over there.
10) Midway Pizza 4725 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115- I really dig this place. They have a great beer selection and I really enjoy the pizza here. It's not quite deep dish but similar and good.
11) Ms. Maes- 4336 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115 - One of the best dive bars in the city and at the corner of Magazine and Napoleon it sits on the parade route for one of the biggest parades Bacchus. Perfect mix of craft beer, domestic and liquor. Bring cash.
12) Courtyard Brewing 1160 Camp St, New Orleans, LA 70130 - Courtyard is a brewery meets divebar with incredible beers brewed onsite. I've never had a bad beer here. From localbeer classics like Dark Milds to hoppier options like Say Something IPA. OR you could go big and get a Wheatwine. Grab a burger from Burger Nerds while you are there too!
13) Ecology Brewing 1401 Baronne St, New Orleans, LA 70113- Ecology is brewing up classic styles such as Belgian Tripels, Scotch Ales and Czech Style Pilsners but they have a wide range of styles available. Grab a 4 pack of that Radio Lager when headed to the parade route.
14) Urban South Brewing 1645 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130- Quite possible one of the largest craft beer producers in the state, Urban South is a brewery that has a beer style for everyone and every occassion. From light beers with Paradise Park, hoppy offerings like Grapefruit Holy Roller, and even the cali sober THC beverage Driftee.
15) Elios Wine Warehouse- 6205 S Miro St, New Orleans, LA 70125- Awlays a favorite place of mine to buy beer. Been buying here since my college days at Tulane. Amazing selection of craft and domestic beers.
MID-CITY
If you're in Midcity it's most likely because a local dragged you to see Endymion. If you find yourself out there here is where you go!
2) The Bulldog Midcity 5135 Canal Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70124- See The Bulldog Uptown. The difference is there is a lot more space at this location.
3) Skeeta Hawk Brewing- 455 N Dorgenois St, New Orleans, LA 70119 - A more recent addition to the New Orleans craft beer scene, Skeeta Hawk opened in 2022. Located on the Greenway, they are a veteran run brewery that is making delicious beers!
4) Bayou Beer Garden 326 N Norman C Francis Parkway, New Orleans, LA 70119- Located in a unassuming double this bar looks like your neighbor is just throwing a party. Great beer selection with nice food options. The Disco Fries were always a favorite and appear to be still on the menu!
5) Finn McCool's 3701 Banks St, New Orleans, LA 70119 - This Mid City favorite is a must visit when in town. One of the best Irish pubs we have in town. Make sure you get the Scotch Egg.
Appreciate y'all reading. Yes, I understand there are a lot of places I didn't list, especially breweries. I didn't leave any off because I don't like them I just didn't want to list ALL the breweries. If you are looking for a list of all the breweries in New Orleans look in the tabs at the top of my page! Cheer!
