It`s about beer: Bayou Teche Brewing group

FOOD
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013
Page 5-B
ACADIANA GAZETTE
It’s about beer: Bayou Teche Brewing
group headed to Washington, D.C.
A
s a soldier, Karlos Knott
spent time in Germany, and
before his time overseas he lived
in Washington, where craftbrewing is popular. Over the
years Knott developed a love for
quality beer, bringing home this
passion and making home brews
for family members.
He and his brothers now share
that love with the general public,
operating Bayou Teche Brewing
in Arnaudville. In the last few
years the brewery has grown
from a converted shipping container on Bushville
Highway to a
large brewing
space
with
tasting room.
Knott now
gives tours
and samples
and
sells
his
beer
throughout
Louisiana.
On Friday
and Saturday, Bayou
Teche Brewing will be
traveling to
Wa s h i n g ton,
D.C.
to take part
in SAVOR:
An American
Craft Beer &
Food Experience. Of the
more than 2,300
craft breweries
in America, only
76 have been chosen, hailing from
31 different states.
SAVOR pairs beers
with food for the
enjoyment of those
attending. It’s a great
opportunity for a
brewery to showcase
its products.
“We started our
little brewery wanting to craft beers
to compliment Cajun and Creole cuisine just over three
years ago — this
is our second time
selected for the nation’s premiere food
and beer event, and we are very
honored,” said Knott. Each Brewery will pour two
of its beers, accompanied by
Trés
bon!
with
cheré
coen
a reception-style sampling of
sweet and savory appetizers at
Washington’s National Building
Museum.
“All of the superstars in the
brewing world will be there,”
Knott said.
This year’s educational salons at SAVOR will feature a
few well-known chefs and craft
brewers and require a separate
ticket purchase. Only 11 breweries were chosen, including Bayou
Teche. Their Salon is named “Cajun and Creole Artisanal Foods
and Bieres in Quadraphonic Sensaround” featuring artisan Cajun and Creole food paired with
some of Bayou Teche Brewing’s
specialty beers. Four beer and
food pairings will be presented
with a recording picked by the
brewery of a noted Louisiana
musical artist. But for those of
us not able to
attend, Bayou
Teche Brewing
offers tours of
its Arnaudville
facility from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m.
daily but Sundays. Musician
Louis Michot
works at the
brewery and
gives tours in
French, making the brewery
popular
with the foreign French.
“A lot of native
Frenchspeaking people
are coming here,”
Knott said.
The
brewery
produces
four
beers annually plus
seasonal beers and
specialty brews. During SAVOR, they will
release Cocodrie beer,
“the brewery’s interpretation of the celebrated Tripel IPA style
of beer,” said brewmaster Gar Hatcher. Another new beer is
the barrel-aged Biere
Joi, brewed with Belgian malts and spiked
with Mello Joy Coffee,
then aged in whiskey
barrels for four months
after which cacao nibs
and chile d’arbols are
added. Biere Joi goes
down smooth with delicious hints of coffee
and cacao, then follows
with a nice bite from the chiles.
Recommended pairings for
Cocodrie include Cajun charcuterie, hog’s head cheese, fried
catfish or shrimp sauce piquant.
Biere Joi goes well with savory
pastries such as a tasso and pepper jack cheese scone or Cajun
pork meat pie or heavily sauce
barbecue, bread pudding or bananas Foster. For more information about
Bayou Teche Brewing, contact
Karlos Knott at (337) 303-8000.
The brewery is located at 1106
Bushville Hwy. in Arnaudville.
Eat Lafayette
EatLafayette, which celebrates Lafayette’s locally owned
restaurants every summer, is
right around the corner, from
June 17 to Sept. 2. For information about participating restaurants, specials offered and other
The Best Fresh
Mexican Food
Around!
Happy Hour Mon-Fri • 4pm-7pm
3558 W. Pinhook Rd
Next to AT&T
337.837.7720
Open Mon-Sat.
The Best Fresh Mexican Food Around!
www.blueagaveonline.com
updates, visit http://www.eatlafayette.com.
Food Events
Rouses presents Chef Nino
of Friends of Italy demonstrating dishes for “Special Days in
June” from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
today in Youngsville and from
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June
22, in Lafayette. No reservations
are necessary, and participants
will be admitted on a first come,
first serve basis.
The Art & Practice of Herbalism, Year I, Part 1, begins at 6
p.m. Tuesday, June 18, at Earthn-Herbs in Grand Coteau. To
register, call (337) 662-4022.
This week’s Seed to Skillet,
beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday
at Vermilionville, will focus on
the entire process of growing,
harvesting and preparing your
own food.
Vermilionville artisan Greg
Guidroz will walk participants
through the process of how to
plant, care for and gather crops
to feed you and your family. Admission for the Seed to Skillet
series is $15 for adults, $10 for
students and free for children 6
and under. To register, call (337)
233-4077.
The New Orleans Ritz Carlton
offers a Father’s Day Beer Pairing dinner at the Canal Street
hotel. Chef de Cuisine Frank
Gray has compiled a four-course
dinner that pairs M bistro’s fresh
farm-to-table cuisine with some
of the best brews from South
Louisiana. The cost is $65 per
person and available through
Sunday.
The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is hosting a “Party
for the Coast” Thursday at Generations Hall in New Orleans. All
proceeds from the event benefit
the group’s mission of restoring
and protecting the coast. The $25
ticket includes complimentary
Abita Beer, free food and live
music provided by the Honey Island Swamp Band. For information, visit http://crcl.org/events/
generations-hall.html.
Cookbooks
Since we’re discussing beer
this week, how about making
your own? There are two wonderful new how-to books on the
market that break down the process in easy steps.
“Brewing Made Easy: A Stepby-Step Guide to Making Beer at
Home” by Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher is a perfect example,
providing information on everything one needs to get started,
from an examination of grains,
to the equipment needed. “The
reasons people have for brewing
their own beer are many,” the authors attest. “But for most of us,
it comes down to three essential
goals: saving money, improving
on flavor, and having fun.”
Brewmaster Dave Miller gives
his professional insight to home
brewers in “Brew Like A Pro:
Make Pub-Style Draft Beer at
Home.” This book take home
brewing up a notch and is perfect
for those with a few batches under their belts.
Biere Joi, left, and Saison d’Écrivisses are two specialty beers
produced by Bayou Teche Brewing. Biere Joi contains Mello
Joy coffee. Saison is great paired with crawfish.
Karlos Knott at Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudville.
For those who rather taste
than create, there’s “Tasting
Beer: An insider’s Guide to
the World’s Greatest Drink”
by Randy Mosher. Like a
study of wine, the book looks
at the different styles of beers,
where beers are made, the
pairing of beer and food and
much more.
But you need something
to eat with those beers, don’t
you? Last week I mentioned
that the Evangeline Shriners in
Lafayette were selling Vidalia
onions at their Guilbeau headquarters (8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 9
a.m. to noon on Fridays). I was
there this week and they still
had those deliciously sweet
onions for sale. Here’s an easy
recipe from the Vidalia Onion
Committee in Georgia that’s
bound to go well with a cold
craft brew.
We proudly
serve
Mello Joy
Sweet Vidalia Pie
http://www.vidaliaonion.org/
recipes/sweet_vidalia_pie7
By Sabrina Toole
1 cup shredded mozzarella
cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
3 large tomatoes (sliced thin
and drained)
1 cup Vidalia onions (sliced
thin)
One 9-inch deep dish pie shell
(cooked according to directions)
1 pound bacon (fried and
crumbled)
Directions: Combine cheeses
and mayonnaise. Place tomatoes
and Vidalia onions in baked pie
shell. Spread mayonnaise mixture over the top. Sprinkle with
bacon and spring Vidalia onions
(salad onions – if in season) to
garnish. Bake at 350 degrees for
30-40 minutes.
You can find us in your local grocery
store and at your favorite restaurant.
Visit us on-line @ www.mellojoy.com