WHAT TO DRINK: Craft beer at Courtyard Brewery.
A labor of love for couple Lindsay Hellwig and Scott Wood, Courtyard Brewery is New Orleans’ first and favorite nano-brewery. Its ever-changing selection of small-batch brews focus on quality and technique rather than innovation or adding new flavors. The result is beer that’s simple and delicious. While Courtyard always features several guest breweries on tap, their own brews are far and away more in demand—because you can only get them here. Hellwig and Wood have transformed this former warehouse into a rustic candyland for lovers of craft beer.
What’s on tap depends on Wood’s latest beer obsession, although the Brewery always does its best to offer a wide selection and encourage its customers to try new kinds of beers. Its twenty-one rotating taps feature everything from the lightest pilsner and pale lagers to the darkest stouts, as well as strong ales and sour beers. Although you’ll never run out of new beer to try, be careful and get here early on to make sure that you can cop a taste—sometimes their customers drink them dry. There’s also a food truck calendar that’s as curated for quality as their beer is, so while Courtyard doesn’t serve their own food, you won’t go hungry here.
