USA, LA: Bayou Teche Brewing expands its operations

What started years ago as a love of brewing beer and sharing it with friends and family has blossomed into a profitable multistate beer business for a family in St. Martin Parish, The Advocate reported on February, 18.

The Knott brothers of Arnaudville, Karlos, Byron and Dorsey, and their families officially welcomed visitors to Bayou Teche Brewing’s new facility on Monday, February, 18.

The facility can brew 4,000 barrels of beer a year, and if demand keeps growing, the Knotts will install equipment to ramp up to 10,000 barrels annually. The family also plans to bottle the beer soon at the Arnaudville facility.

As the new brewery ramps up production, LA 31 beer that is being made at the Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Kiln, Miss., will be scaled back, Dorsey Knott said.

In a little over three years, the company’s territory has expanded. Its products, LA 31 Biere Pale, LA 31 Boucanee, LA 31 Piere Noire and several seasonal beers, are sold in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the panhandle of Florida and in New York City.

What started as an experiment, brewing beer at home and letting others imbibe years ago is a now family endeavor with parents, sons and wives helping the Knott brothers.

The brothers put together a small brewery inside a railroad car, constructed a shelter around it and started brewing. In a few months, they were making plans to enlarge Bayou Teche Brewing.

The brothers also had to find a distributor, as Louisiana does not allow brewers to ship their products straight to retailers. Anheuser-Busch distributors ship LA 31 to bars and other retailers, the brothers said.

Karlos Knott said the brewery is getting its share of foreign visitors who embark on “beer tours.”

“We call them beer fans,” he said. “They come from all over the world.”

20 February, 2013