NEWS

Abita brews seven beers yearlong which include: Amber, Light, Golden, Jockamo, Purple Haze, Restoration and Turbodog. It also brews five seasonal brews which include: Bock, Red Ale, Wheat, Fall Fest and Christmas Ale. Abita Strawberry, Pecan and Satsuma can also only be found during certain times of the year. Abita prides themselves on using fresh Louisiana grown ingredients. Root Beer is also brewed in Abita Springs for the younger crowd.

Like many other local businesses Abita felt the need to donate to their home after the city of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. After the brewery was able to reopen after the storm it began brewing “Restoration Fleur-de-Lis” pale ale. One dollar from every six-pack sold donated to help rebuild New Orleans. Abita raised $350,000 so far from the restoration pale ale. This beer has become so popular it is now brewed year round.

We recently interviewed David Blossman, President of Abita Beer and asked him a few questions about how he got involved with Abita.

Q: Did you brew personally before becoming president of Abita if so at what age did you personally start brewing?
A: " Yes, I started brewing at home as a young adult."

Q: What was the inspiration behind the Abita Brewing Company?
A: "Our passion is making great beer.  We strive to make the best full flavored all natural lagers and ales."

Q:Did Hurricane Katrina damper production, and for how long?
A:  "We were down for over two weeks and we lost 1,000 bbl (31 gallons/bbl) of fermenting beer."

Q: What kind of damages did the brewery suffer from the storm?
A:  "Lost beer, two weeks of being down, devastated home market, and about 30,000 in property damage"

Q: When you were in your college years what were you dreams? Did you dream of running a brewery?
A: "Yes, even some of my college papers were on the feasibility of running a craft brewery."