Entry 5: New Orleans 2022, Courtyard Brewery

(should have been published in June but I got distracted) 

Our wedding anniversary was June 1st. We went out to dinner at the Pelican Club (fancy) to celebrate all 31 years of our marriage. We had a fantastic time. Cocktails, wine, no beer.  We went back to the hotel and took a big nap. As we were nearing the end of our stay in New Orleans, we decided to check out a small brewery called Courtyard Brewery. A few people had recommended we do our best to get over there, so we did. 

A very small, tucked into a little nook between a few other buildings on Camp Street, you can get ice cream and beer in this little tasting room. Seating available outside, which on the night we were there it had finally cooled off enough for us to get out and enjoy. We met a cat, who came by to hang out with us. Seemed so cool.

We have to admit, we were very influenced to come based on the art on their website and stickers and stuff. A very metal, kind of dark look, combining beer images with minotaurs and horned goats, we thought for sure this would be a fun place. 

If nothing else, a Tshirt or stickers were in our future. For our super metal head kid back home. 

We walked in to hear The Postal Service cranking over the speakers and it put a smile on my face. 

Not exactly the "metal" feel I was thinking we'd walk into, but I love me some Postal Service and enjoyed my first beer while singing through "Such Great Heights." Metal can wait. But hey, all music has a space in the beer world.

Thankfully (since I'm writing this long after we visited) Untappd tells me that I started with the Prose vs Poetry and Doug got the Inverse Speedbump. 

We also enjoyed the coconut hibiscus sourbae (pictured here), which I recall had a really peculiar scent but fantastic flavor. I usually steer away from anything that says "coconut," I'm not a big fan, but this was fruity, fabulous, fancy. 

And the color was gorgeous. 

A few other beers, feeling the impact and having just the best time on the patio together, I went in to get my last pour. Sonic Youth in 1983. Peculiar name, for sure, and I had a fantastic discussion with the beer tender and a guy on line (I think I bought him his beer. Feeling happy and magnanimous, like ya do). 

I think we had a huge discussion about Kim Gordon, Kill Yr Idols, the noise rock scene, the fact that this was all happening when he wasn't yet born and I was 16 and oblivious to the music at the time. 

Here's the beer named for the band, in 1983. 

I for sure drank way too much there, but every pour was stellar, the vibe was good, and yes. We came home with 3 t-shirts, a bunch of stickers, and we wear the shirts proudly around town to the breweries in this area. Well done Courtyard.