Bayou Teche Brewing is releasing the fourth in their LA-31 series of beers. Their newest beer, Bière Noire (black beer in English) is brewed as an alt-schwarzbier – an up to now extinct style of German beer. Says Bayou Teche’s brewmaster Karlos Knott, “By brewing Biere Noire we wanted to create a beer that paid homage to what brewing a pot of café noir meant to our French speaking ancestors. Café noir was more than a cup of coffee – its presence conveyed love and appreciation, and expressed a cheerful welcome.”
Reflects Knott, “On our grandparents’ farm, our grandmother would brew a grègue of café noir every morning for our grandfather’s pre-dawn breakfast. At the end of each week, after the obligatory Sunday dinner, she would brew numerous pots of it. Each and every one of the adults would then sip demitasses of the strong black coffee, laughing loudly and speaking French even louder.” The Knott brothers wanted to honor that essential piece of their Cajun and Creole heritage with their newest beer.
LA-31 Bière Noire is brewed as an alt-schwarzbier. Though this style of beer was brewed in the East German state of Thuringen for many centuries, the last remaining alt-schwarzbier brewery closed nearly twenty years ago. Bayou Teche’s Biere Noire resurrects this style and is brewed with a flavorful and historically accurate ale yeast. German breweries today use lager yeast in their black beers.
The brewery uses specially roasted German malts and select American hops that give LA-31 Bière Noire a small bite of noble bitterness and a dry, French roasted coffee flavor. The dark beer pairs with grilled steaks, hamburgers, or sausage po-boys, any spicy blackened Cajun dish, or as Knott says, “a dinner table surrounded by those you most cherish.”
Bayou Teche Brewing has been featuring organizations on the bottom of their six pack boxes that are working to preserve the unique cultures and environment of South Louisiana. The bottom of Bière Noire recognizes the important work of Louisiana Folk Roots. Louisiana Folk Roots was established to preserve, perpetuate, promote and celebrate our state’s cultural traditions, with a special emphasis on the Cajun and Creole heritage of South Lousiana. Says Knott, “Louisiana Folk Roots mission is to show that Cajun music is even better when accompanied by our dance forms, our food, and our other traditions, especially our beautiful French language. We wanted to thank them for the important work that they are doing.”
The inaugural batch of LA-31 Bière Noire is now available in six packs and kegs across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.