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Abita Brewing Company

Breweriana, Collectibles, Ephemera and Memories

I have visited Abita Brewing Company,
in Abita Springs, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA, at both their brewery and brewpub locations locations.

Brewery/Brewpub Location

Reason for Visit: The first time we came to the brewpub was because we'd stopped by for dinner during a drive between Houston, TX and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Abita Springs is located just a few miles north of Interstate 12 and it was a convenient detour. The next time we came here to meet some friends for lunch. We timed it so that we could then drive the couple of miles over to the brewery for one of their daily tours.

Abita's Brewpub in Town Abita Brewpub: The building that houses the Abita brewpub was once their original brewery. It's hard to imagine how small their operation must have been in those days considering their output today. It's the perfect size for a brewpub, however, and it has a great location right in the heart of Abita Springs. Parking is a little tight in the lot directly next to the brewpub but there are a couple of larger lots nearby.
Inside the Abita Brewpub Inside the Abita Brewpub: The brewpub interior is eclectic and inviting. They do some brewing here on the premises (notice the tanks in the background of this image). They seemed to have some beers here that I didn't see on the taps at the brewery tasting room so I'm assuming they may be using the pub as a chance to test new recipes, train brewers, or roll-out new products. I don't mind that at all and am glad to serve as a taste tester.
Arriving at the Abita Brewery Abita's Brewery Outside of Town: We drove out to the brewery after lunch at the brewpub. The atmosphere is completely different, most visibly, it's off by its own rather than in the actual town of Abita Springs. Pulling up, large grain silos come into view as do the tractor-trailers being loaded with hundreds of cases of Abita beer. It's a functional structure but one corner of it is done up to look like a French Quarter facade complete with wrought iron and an enclosed brick courtyard. This is the entrance into the tasting room, and a good place to enjoy a beer after the tour.
Abita Springs Tasting Room Taps Available in the Tasting Room: Waiting for a tour is a blast so don't worry about showing up a few minutes early. Visitors are free to walk behind the bar and pull a beer from any of the dozen or more taps. The guides then show a short video while visitors leisurely sip their samples.
Fermenters Inside the Brewery: This is an industrial facility so Abita stresses safety during the tour. People who wore open-toe shoes had to wear little blue booties provided by the guides! Then it was off to the tanks. We only got to see one of the large rooms so it was a very brief tour, however Abita made up for this by continuing to allow people to hang out in the tasting room. I've visited many different breweries over the years so I was fine with skipping the technical aspects in return for more free beer. Thank goodness we had a designated driver.
Abita Brewing Company Coaster Front of Coaster: The Abita Brewing Company coaster is in a square configuration with rounded corners, featuring green and black ink on a beige background. The upper and lower borders are defined by a triangular pattern that looks similar to hanging pennants (upper) or shark fins (lower). The brewery logo appears at the center which features the name of the brewery along with four arcing stalks of barley. It further notes that their beer is brewed with Abita spring water.
Abita Brewing Company Pint Glass Glassware: A similar logo appears on the Abita Brewing Company pint glass.
Abita Brewing Company Mardi Gras Beads Mardi Gras Beads: Given Abita Brewing Company's Louisiana location it makes perfect sense for them to get with the Mardi Gras spirit. This is a set of Abita beads I caught at a Mardi Gras parade. The Abita logo appears on several purple circular objects that resemble bottle caps. The logo that appears at the bottom is considerably larger than the others. Small spherical beads of alternating green and silver provide spacing between each of the faux bottle caps. This was definitely a good catch... and no, I didn't have to do anything unseemly to get them!
Sample list of beers produced by Abita Brewing Company

Items featured on these breweriana pages are personal souvenirs of my visits to these locations, and an expression of the events and travels leading to their collection. They are not for sale or for trade.

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