USA, LA: Miel Brewery and Taproom to open its doors in New Orleans on October 13
As the modern New Orleans beer scene has developed, new microbreweries have emerged to fill different niches. The latest addition, Miel Brewery and Taproom, is aiming to be a bit different on each visit, The Advocate reports.
Miel is slated to open Saturday, Oct. 13, in a little industrial corner of the Irish Channel, near the riverfront.
It is a taproom-only brewery, at least to begin, meaning Miel will not distribute its beer outside its facility. You have to get it at the source.
“That gives us a lot of flexibility,” said Alex Peyroux, Miel’s brewer, who co-founded the business with Janice Montoya. “We’re constantly making different beers in different styles, for different seasons.”
This is an approach now in play at three other tiny local breweries – Courtyard Brewery, nearby in the Lower Garden District, Brieux Carre Brewing in Faubourg Marigny and Parleaux Beer Lab in the Bywater.
It differs from the more common model of production breweries, which primarily supply their beer to other venues, and typically serve some through their own taprooms. At Miel, the taproom is everything.
Developed in an old warehouse, the taproom is centered on a long brick bar that faces a bank of roll-up glass doors opening to a beer garden. A tall, hangar-like door at the front of the warehouse also slides away to open another side of the taproom. The combined effect is like a convertible with the top down in nice weather.
“We like the idea that once you are through the gates here, you walk into a different space,” Montoya said.
By the taps, a line of Erlenmeyer flasks display the available beers, giving visitors a visual gauge on their styles.
“Sometimes seeing the beer sells it,” said Peyroux. “People want to know if it’s dark, or they’re looking for a hazy beer.”
The beer is aimed at people who seek variety and seasonality in their beer, rather than old-reliable flagship brews.
The taproom will open with three beers ready to serve – a blonde ale, a hefeweizen and a Belgian dubbel. As production ramps up, it will have about a dozen beers flowing, plus nitro coffee on tap.
The name Miel, which means honey in both French and Spanish, is a bridge to this couple's heritage. Montoya’s family is from Honduras; Peyroux’s family has roots in France. The two grew up on the north shore, and later moved to Boston, where Peyroux worked at Harpoon Brewery, an early pillar of the American craft beer revival. They moved home and began developing their own brewery.
Miel is using honey in some of its beers, replacing sugar in the brewing process. This does not necessarily produce sweet-tasting beers, but can contribute to the beer’s flavor, body and aroma.
Although it seems everyone asks, the brewery is not licensed to produce mead, the ancient fermented honey drink.
Miel's is licensed to distribute, however, so Peyroux said the business could grow to add that facet.
Miel is the latest brewery to open in a city where taprooms, which are open to all ages, have added a new kind of social space. Miel joins the ranks of dog-friendly taprooms too, and even makes dog biscuits with spent grain from brewing.
It also sits at the center of a circuit of breweries along a three-mile stretch of the city’s old industrial riverfront, with Urban South Brewery at one end, Port Orleans Brewing at the other and NOLA Brewing just a block away.
As the local craft brewing scene has grown, it has not always been a steady ride. Wayward Owl Brewing this week closed its taproom after two years in business and is looking for another facility to continue making beer.
While they all compete for the business of beer lovers on one level, Peyroux and Montoya both believe a rising tide of small breweries will benefit the industry overall.
“The more breweries we have in New Orleans, the bigger voice we’ll have together as this industry grows,” said Montoya.
11 October, 2018
