Day one: I headed out of Mobile by about 10am. My first destination was Lazy Magnolia Brewing in Kiln, Mississippi. My Garmin Nuvi could not find a street with the name listed. I figured I would just head to Kiln and ask a local where the brewery was. I drove into town and saw no obvious signs for the brewery. Drove around for a while and then stopped at a gas station to ask for directions.
The woman before the counter had no idea there was a brewery in Kiln. I spoke to a local gentleman who thought it back up the road and one of the streets before or after the little bridge. I thanked him wholeheartedly and began trying every road before and after the 'little bridge'.
Eventually I gave up and made my way to Mockingbird Cafe in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. It was quaint, but much smaller than I had expected. From there I made my way to Abita Brewing's Brewery/Tasting Room in Abita Springs, Louisiana. I found the brewery with no problems. I tried to find the Tasting room on three sides of the building to no avail. Of course the small brass plaque on the fourth side of the building is where I was supposed to go.
That place is very, very nice. I was the first to arrive for the tour and I felt like I was in an expensive private club. As the tour time drew nearer more and more and more people continued to arrive. By the time the tour started there must have been 40 people in the tasting room and it wasn't feeling so exclusive in there anymore. It was still very nicely done.
From there I headed over to the Abita Brewpub. That was very laid back. I grabbed an appetizer and was able to thy the Double Kolsch, which I had never seen before.
From there I checked into my hotel in Covington, Louisiana. I hydrated and showered and headed out to Heiner Brau. This ended up being a brewery and museum that was not open at the time of my visit. From there I found my way to the Columbia Street Tap Room in Covington, La. This place definitely qualifies as a beerbar. I had a great time there. Beer Geek Breakfast, Levitation, Very nice beer list on tap and in bottles. I met the owner and Jonathan, the beer guy. Both were very nice and this Jonathan is really into bringing in quality beers.
The plan had been to stop at the Mellow Mushroom in Covington before returning to my hotel for the evening. All the MMs I have visited so far have decent food and normally a respectable selection of beers. Unfortunately my Garmin Nuvi failed me again. I ended up somewhere south of my hotel without ever seeing Mellow Mushroom. So I headed back to the hotel in hopes of just having a pizza or something delivered. The first three places I called do not deliver. The fourth and fifth places had stopped delivering for the night (one of those was a Pizza Hut). Finally I was able to get Papa John's to deliver a pizza.
For now I'm getting shaved, showered and plan to make my way to Mandeville, La. There is a place there called Barley Oak that is supposed to have an amazing selection of beers and a picturesque location. Then on to New Orleans.
I'll keep you posted...
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Topic: Road-trip New Orleans (Read 1530 times)