Bayou Teche Brewing Company

Bayou Teche Brewing Company

Returning to America after a six year deployment in West Germany, our brewmaster dreamed of creating a beer that would pair with the Cajun cuisine he grew up eating. Living in Europe, he had learned to appreciate the regional foods and beers of many countries, and how they had evolved to complement each other. Taking up brewing beer at home, he taught himself to make several styles of these beers, fine-tuning recipes until he was satisfied that they complimented Cajun and Creole food. After returning to Arnaudville, he taught his brothers and collaborating they brewed commemorative batches of beer for their family’s holiday meals. Bayou Teche Brewing was founded on this simple dream – to craft beers that compliment the cuisine and lifestyle of Cajuns and Creoles. With that mission, the Knott brothers decided on St. Patrick’s Day in 2009 to convert a discarded rail road car into a farmhouse brewery. Years ago, when the French-speaking, agrarian residents of Acadiana needed to put up a barn or similar building they would throw a coup de main. Inviting friends and relatives over to help with the arduous task, everyone’s shared labor would be repaid with a large communal meal. Thanks to well-fed (and sometimes inebriated) volunteers and as a nod to the Cajun aesthetic and heritage, the tiny hand built brewery now resembles a traditional Acadian style home – complete with a tasting porch. Today, in that converted old rail car near the banks of the Bayou Teche, innovative ales are being crafted true to the brewers’ original intent – beers that compliment the unique foods and lifestyles of South Louisiana.