USA, LA: Courtyard Brewing opens in the Lower Garden District

Scott Wood and Lindsay Hellwig will open Courtyard Brewery in the Lower Garden District Thursday, Oct. 23, bestofneworleans.com reported on October, 17

Wood, who's the head brewer, says he and Hellwig been receiving at least half a dozen inquiries per day about the brewery opening: “It’s pretty crazy how much people are bugging us about this.”

The Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC) granted Courtyard its state license to brew and serve beer at the beginning of the month, and Wood has begun brewing test batches. Since his beer will take several weeks to come online, however, the first few weeks will feature special guest draft beer while the house beer is brewing. The brewery has 13 taps, but will start with 6 to 8 taps until Wood's beer goes on.

Wood also says that he, NOLA Brewing, and several New Orleans breweries in planning are working to start a New Orleans-specific guild to focus on lobbying and promoting awareness of zoning needs of small local breweries. “We want to work with the CPC [City Planning Commission] and City Council toward promoting local breweries, supporting startups, and modernizing city laws and ordinances,” Wood says, adding, “It’s a really interesting time for beer in the city."

22 October, 2014