So, now for a little more beery detail about our just completed trip to Louisiana. We were
absolutely joyous that we were leaving this frozen tundra of Minnesota for warmer climate,
this winter has certainly tested my testicular fortitude (As Mick Foley would say. He was a
WWE wrestler. ). First order of business was to pack the car full of empty Growlers, 74 of
them to be exact, which was quite an interesting ordeal in packing, to say the least. We have
a Ford Fusion and I used every inch of available space. You may remember that in a previous
article to this newsletter, I had written about buying a Growler collection. The Growlers were
going to a guy who lives in Mobile, Alabama, more on this later. Our first beer stop was in
Fayetteville, Arkansas at Apple Blossom Brewery and Pub, very nice place with great food
and even better beer. This place had half Growlers, this was my very first encounter with a
half Growler and it was a very special time for me, so of course I got a 64 ounce Growler and
a Half Growler to go. How I could of fit any more into the car at this point, I don t know, but I
did.
Well, we eventually made our way to Abita Springs, Louisiana and our meeting with the
Growler man Tom Kus. He took all the Growlers I had packed in the car. Mr. Tom Kus is a
Growler collector of epic proportions, (And I do mean epic) he has somewhere around 1800
Growlers in his collection and you can go to his website and see for yourself, >
www.growler-man.com < Tom is a BCCA member and a great guy, he is always looking to
acquire more Growlers, so keep him in mind if you have any to get rid of. Well, we ate lunch
with Tom and had some great brews and spent the afternoon at Abita Brewpub just
enjoying the day. To sit outside in 70 degree sunshine at a brewery , have a 3 hour lunch and
talk beer after coming from a frozen abyss like Minnesota, well, you get the idea. I also now
had plenty of room in the car for buying more beer and Growlers to take home. Woo Hoo !!!
Next stop was in Shreveport, Louisiana and Great Raft Brewing, this place was newly opened
and they have cans and Growlers, so as you might guess, I had to buy some. At this point the
car could not take much more and I was looking at riding on the roof, but we were only a
one hour drive from our destination ( the home of Teri s Mother ) so we could live with the
packed car for that long. While in Shreveport, we learned of a street party going on, so we
checked it out. The party was for a local legend, Stan the record man Lewis, he opened a
record shop in Shreveport in 1943 and founded Jewel Records. He had promoted all the big
names in music such as Elvis and Dylan among others. We met him and had our picture
taken with him. He had met Elvis at one time, (We seen the picture) so now I can say I shook
hands with a guy who shook hands with Elvis. Had a great time there and before long it was
time to move on. Our other beery stops included Tin Roof Brewing in Baton Rouge, Parish
Brewing in Broussard, Louisiana, Rock and Run Brewing in Liberty, Missouri, and Rustic Brew
in Hampton, Iowa. I bought beer and Growlers from most of these places and the car was
packed full again on the way home. The trip was a success and more importantly many great
memories were had. Till next time,
Jay.
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