Back with part two of Louisiana adventures. While down in the Pelican State, we set aside a “booze day” (you know it’s a good trip when the on-the-ground team has a cooler already loaded with beer and wine on Day 1) as our last day. We’d explored the marshes, fished the Gulf, and barely scratched the surface of what southwestern Louisiana has to offer. You can only do so much in a week, sadly, and on Friday we toured Bayou Rum in the morning, Crying Eagle Brewing Company in the afternoon, and took in live Zydeco music at “Downtown at Sundown.”
Side note: should you find yourself passing through the Lake Charles area, stop and play for a while. It’s awesome.
Crying Eagle Brewing has a simple concept: the idea behind the brand is to celebrate being outdoors in Louisiana. They know that beer brings people together — who hasn’t enjoyed a cold brew out on the river, on the lake, or with a burger after a good day of outdoor adventure?
Set on ten acres near Lake Charles, Crying Eagle dedicates 6,000 square feet of its 10,000 square foot facility to the brewery itself. The remaining 4,000 is an event, tasting, and overall party space (with a killer outdoor porch and seating area). A tight-knit six-man team runs the entire operation, meaning everyone has to pull their own weight plus a little more.
Here, creativity is king. In the past, Crying Eagle has featured seasonal craft beers such as Acadian coffee, hazelnut, peanut butter, chocolate porter, and others. I sampled some of the current Strawberry Rye Ale (made with fresh local strawberries) and was pleased to find that while the strawberry scent was quite apparent, once on the tongue it took a backseat to the spicy-and-sour rye characteristics. (Full disclosure: I’m no beer connoisseur. But after a long talk with the team, I began to slowly grasp some of this beer tasting stuff.)
For guys who may be envisioning a stop by Crying Eagle, be sure to take a pit stop in the bathroom. The “Beer Return Center” urinals are entertaining.
The facility is fairly new — Crying Eagle celebrates their first anniversary on July 15, and plans to have a true Louisiana-style party with 21 different beers on tap. Stop by if you’re in the area! These guys know how to party.
While the basic beer recipe utilizes water, marled barley, hops and yeast, Crying Eagle challenges the norm, using a wide variety of grains also including wheat, rye, oats, rice and corn. Hops are sourced from the U.S., New Zealand, South Africa, and Europe, and while the process is intricate and intense, the team takes obvious pride in the final product. As brewer Joel Prudhomme said with characteristic whit, “There’s a reason we all dress like Somali pirates.” It’s a hot, long process, but the final product is well worth it.
The Chuck, a golden-hued cream ale, is a favorite of locals and utilizes local rice and sugar. It’s light and easy, perfect for a hot summer day. Another perennially popular choice is “Ready to Mingle,” a Belgian single with a slightly spicy taste. And don’t forget Calcasieu Common, an amber-colored lager created by an unusual hybrid lager / ale process. See Crying Eagle’s website for the full list of brews — there’s plenty to explore.
The big news these days at Crying Eagle is the new kid on the block — Louisiana Lager. (In fact, the cans were being offloaded from the freight truck while I was there.) Craft brewed using local Louisiana rice from a local mill just down the road, this easy-drinking lager captures all things Louisiana — backyard bar-be-cues, crawfish boiling, tailgating, fishing, and outdoor goodness. It’s geared toward folks who are outside having fun, and my first reaction upon sampling was “Hell yeah, I’d bring that in the boat.” The brew is slated to premiere in late June, and if you can get your hands on some, do it.
