Tap Handle #280: New Orleans Lager and Ale (NOLA) - Smoky Mary
New Orleans Lager and Ale was founded in New Orleans, Louisiana by Kirk Coco. Coco was a native New Orleanian who earned his BA and Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University, his MBA from the University of New Orleans and served 11 years as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy. After watching the effects of Katrina while on deployment in the Arabian Gulf, he decided to come home to help rebuild and develop commerce in post-Katrina New Orleans. Once the cradle of brewing in the Deep South, New Orleans boasted world famous beers such as Falstaff, Regal, Union, Dixie, Jax, New Orleans Brewing and XXXX (Four X). Following the closure of the Dixie Brewing Company facility after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, no commercial brewery operated in New Orleans, so Coco decided to start a brewery. The only problem was, he didn't know how to make beer.
He hired Peter Caddoo, who had worked at Dixie for almost two decades. Caddoo nearly went to work for Gordon Biersch, but Coco lured him away by selling him on the ability for Caddoo to make and drink his own beers instead of someone else's. They leased a converted old warehouse and filled it with secondhand equipment and free furniture. Local volunteers helped with labor. In 2009 NOLA released its first two beers, a blonde ale and a brown ale. They currently feature 4 beers in their year-round lineup, with other seasonal offerings on tap. NOLA now distributes across the Southeastern states.
Smoky Mary is a German Rauchbier (Smoke beer) and is NOLA’s fall seasonal ale. It is named for the steam engine that ran on the second oldest railroad in the United States. Instead of using Beechwood, NOLA uses pecan wood and a smoked Munich malt. Recommended food pairings are barbecue and grilled foods. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.04 out of 5.
New Orleans Lager and Ale Official Website
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