Eats

Bayou Teche releases Courir de Mardi Gras biere

by Leslie Turk

"This style of French beer is historically crafted at the beginning of winter with the farm's freshest crop of barley, wheat and hops."  Arnaudville's Bayou Teche Brewing is releasing 2013's Courir de Mardi Gras, the brewery's seasonally produced, limited edition beer that honors Acadiana's rural Mardi Gras traditions. Courir de Mardi Gras is brewed as a Biere de Mars - a centuries old French style of farmhouse seasonal brew.

"Not many bottles of Biere de Mars are brought to the states from France," says Bayou Teche's Karlos Knott in a press release. "These bieres are brewed in small batches and are only released in March [Biere de Mars translates to March beer]. This style of French beer is historically crafted at the beginning of winter with the farm's freshest crop of barley, wheat and hops. The farm's brewers then spend months aging what they consider their finest beer of the year."

When the brewers at Bayou Teche discovered this French style of ale, according to the release, they decided to seasonally brew batches for South Louisianan's pre-Lenten celebrations.

"Bayou Teche Brewing's Courir de Mardi Gras is our artisanal version of this elegant French ale," says brewmaster Gar Hatcher. "Biere de Mars is historically crafted with Pilsner, Munich, and a large dose of wheat malt. To celebrate 2013's Mardi Gras, we decided to take advantage of our new Louisiana license that allows Bayou Teche to brew higher alcohol beers. This year our Courir clocks in at 7.5 percent alcohol by volume. We also tweaked the hop additions to give the beer very traditional hop tastes and aromas."

Bayou Teche Brewing features organizations on the bottom of its six pack boxes that are working to preserve the unique culture and environment of South Louisiana. "We wanted to recognize the important work that Valcour Records is doing to preserve and showcase great Louisiana talent and roots music on the world stage," says Bayou Teche's Dorsey Knott.

In conjunction with the beer's release, Valcour records is again releasing its CD, The Best of Valcour Records Volume I.

The limited edition, seasonal batch of Bayou Teche Brewing's Courir de Mardi Gras is now available in six packs and kegs across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

For more information contact Knott at (337) 303-8000 or [email protected].