Beer Review: Bayou Teche Brewing Grenade

Over the past three years I've taken considerable efforts to be involved in the local Louisiana beer scene. I've seen us go from one "craft" brewery to nearly 5 and counting. Despite all the obstacles that Louisiana breweries have to traverse in order to open we are slowly seeing them open and flourish.

One of those breweries is Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudville, Louisiana. I could go into a long history of the brewery which I would get all my information from their website or I could just let you read it on their website. Yeah, you can read it on their website. Why the hell would I regurgitate to you that which is already on their website? I wouldn't. So if you want their history visit here.

One thing I will tell you is these guys(and gal) are awesome. They show up to practically every event. When it comes to brand support these folks certainly get an A+ from me. And like your typical Cajun they don't just show up they SHOW up. They did an event not to long ago at St. James Cheese Company and my buddy over there Justin Cheese Trosclair said they knocked it out of the park. It's things like this that build brand loyalty.

I've been fortunate enough to have the Grenade before on tap at the WYES beer tasting at NOLA Brewing and the beer is fantastic. I think it loses a step when bottled but it's still a solid brew. Here is my review of the beer:

Brewery: Bayou Teche Brewery

Beer: Grenade

ABV: Not listed. I would guess around 5%. Perhaps someone from the brewery can comment.

Louisiana Availability: Yes. Year round.

Appearance: Grenade poured a honey gold color with a nice white head which dissipated quickly. No lacing present.

Smell: A nice guava like aroma with a low hop character but malt forward which adds a nice bready/grainy aroma.

Taste: The flavor is very malt forward with a nice tartness from the passion fruit aka granade. Very slight hop bitterness

Mouthfeel: Medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: A nice fruity wheat beer for those damn hot Louisiana summers. I've had this beer on tap at the WYES beer tasting and it loses some of that fruitiness in the bottle BUT is still a solid brew. I think that's one of the toughest jobs of a brewer is to maintain that flavor in the bottle that you taste on draft. Especially when someone else is bottling for you. Overall though another solid brew for Bayou Teche and another win for Louisiana!!

Score: 3.5 out of 5 Buddhas

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha