Along the Gulf Coast in the Deep South, in New Orleans and the surrounding region, the culture is known for its food, music and southern hospitality. Few currently travel south for the sake of craft beer, but that’s changing. Prohibition altered the course of beer, Hurricane Katrina literally swept aspects of it away, but the region is in the midst of revitalization. Amid that resurgence, with an intensely hot climate and social culture, some sense the foundations of a Lager destination forming, one reckoning with a historically rich embodiment of people and place.New Orleans was viewed as the brewery capital of the South before the 18th Amendment prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” in the early 20th century. After decades of recovery, Hurricane Katrina caused immeasurable damage to families, communities and industries across the Gulf Coast, including beer. In the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane, New Orleans was home to zero breweries.
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