Urban South Brewery: The Journey

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Urban South’s 2019 Release Calendar

2018 was an exciting year for Urban South. It started off with a bang, as Paradise Park quickly became the second-best selling beer in our portfolio. We continued to refine our seasonal lineup - introducing Lime Cucumber Gose into the rotation. We collaborated with Aslin, Whole Foods and Parleaux, and released our first batches of barrel-aged beer. We continued to experiment and innovate with IPAs – most notably with DDH Holy Roller, Tranquil Dawn and Snoball Juice.

We grew our team by eight and said goodbye to Wes, our founding brewmaster. Alex Flores took over the helm as head brewer, and we continued to build out our brewing and packaging team with some outstanding folks. We more than doubled our production volume and cellar capacity and expanded our distribution footprint to cover all of South Louisiana.

If you know us, you know we won’t rest on our laurels in 2019. We’re going to continue refining our lineup to ensure that we are pushing exciting, relevant beer. You may have to say goodbye to some favorites in order to make room for some new beers out in distribution. You can count on us to continue pumping out exciting and ever-changing taproom releases.

You’ll notice a change to our seasonal lineup – we’ll say goodbye to Delta Momma to make room for a long run of Lime Cucumber Gose. We’ll phase out 2nd Set Pilsner to make room for Carpe Rose – a hybrid rose cider ale. Around mid-year, Coop’d Up will evolve into a mimosa sour ale, tentatively called Pop! You may see some of these beers in taproom-only batches, so don’t fret if one of these is a standby.

In the taproom, we’ve got some exciting hops on contract. In addition to the most popular – Citra, Mosaic, etc., we’ll get to play around with Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Strata, Sabro and Vic Secret, among others. You’ll see a recurrence of Snoball Juice and DDH Holy Roller, along with new IPAs like Electrinity. We’ll continue to put out barrel-aged and funky beer as we invest in our barrel and sour beer programs.

As the market shifts, we’ve become more committed to drilling deep with distribution in Louisiana, rather than looking to distribute to other markets. You guys are our priority, and we appreciate the friendships and partnerships we’ve built in our short 2.5 years. Thank you!

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Our Mission, Vision and Core Values

Mission

We inspire community and fellowship through the gospel of good beer. We operate with fearlessness and integrity in an effort to brew the South’s most respected beer.

Vision

Our vision is to build an enduring company that embodies the values and traditions of the Urban South. We seek to be strong community partners and produce world-class beer.

Core Values

Our core values are the principles that guide our internal work as well as our external interactions.

FEARLESS We are ambitious, striving, and intrepid. We are willing to fall forward as we pursue the production of innovative and world-class beer.

WELCOMING We are a family. We take care of our employees, our customers, and our community. Our house is your house.

HONEST We value integrity above all else. We are ethical in our decision-making, respectful of others, and exhibit professionalism at all levels.

COLLABORATIVE Our team brings a diversity of experience to the table and all voices are valued. We approach decisions with an ownership mindset and hold each other to high standards.

BETTER EVERYDAY We are committed to making top quality beer. We are passionate about our product and always seek to learn, evolve and improve.

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Two Years In

Two years. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they are surprised it’s only been two years. For us, it feels a lot longer! Especially given the amount of time we spent planning, looking for a building, finding the right people, etc. before our official launch in March 2016. But, what a two years it has been!

We’ve busted our butts to pump out some great beer and grow as a company in every way imaginable. We’ve invested every dime we’ve made back in to making more beer, improving our taproom experience and improving our beer quality. We’ve also cemented who we are as a company and where we want to take things – defined in our mission, vision and core values.

Year Two Stats

Beer packaged: 6,000 barrels

Number of employees (full+part-time): 27

Amount of money and product donated to community organizations: $29,000

Distribution markets: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Northshore, Houma, Lafayette

Festival sponsorships: Bayou Booglaoo, Hogs for the Cause, Fete Francaise, YEP Fest, Chili in the Channel, Moonlight Market and many others

Community sponsorships: Big Easy Rollergirls, Urban South Bicycle Racing Team, New Orleans Disc Association, Community Records, United Bakery Records and many more

Voted #1 Taproom Experience by the Church of the Sacred Brew

Voted #3 Best Local Brewery in Gambit’s Best of New Orleans

Voted best crawfish in New Orleans by my Uncle Carl

National Beer Awards

U.S. Open Beer Championships – Gold Medal for 2nd Set Pilsner

Beer Army Beer Wars – Gold Medal for Charming Wit

Beer Army Beer Wars – Gold Medal for Ca Phe

Some folks have asked how we’ve done it. I think we can boil it down to some key principles:

Incredible partners. Our distributors and retailers have embraced local craft beer, and we’ve worked hand-in-hand to prove to folks that you don’t need to look far to find great product.

Receptive customers. The craft beer community in Louisiana is strong and growing. That’s what we love most about this endeavor - the chance to put delicious beer for every occasion in the hands of all types of folks.

Killer team. You can’t run this hard and this fast without exceptional people. From our taproom staff all the way to our brewers - we have kind, hard-working and passionate people.

Great beer. Our mission and vision include the ambition to make world-class beer and become one of the South’s most respected breweries. When something works, we run with it. When something doesn’t, we fix it.

Year Ahead

We are at 100% max capacity, and we can’t make enough beer to satisfy the market. So we’re putting a plan together to address this challenge and opportunity. We’re working on a significant cellar expansion along with the installation of a centrifuge and new/faster/better canning line. These improvements will put us on a strong trajectory to continue growing. You’ll also see a deeper focus on Louisiana growth. We still think there’s big potential here, and before we launch distribution anywhere else, we want to make certain that our own backyard has access to as much of our beer as they can handle.

We’re also finally installing a 7-barrel pilot system that will allow us to continue pumping out cutting-edge beers. Expect a regular pipeline of collaborations, hazy IPAs, fruited sours and traditional German and Belgian expressions. The system is decoction-capable, so we’ll get to take brewing back to its roots with those styles.

Come celebrate with us Saturday! We’ll take a day to enjoy the fruits of two hard years of labor.  Then, next week, we’ll get to work on the next chapter.

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Urban South’s 2018 Release Calendar

From the picnic table of Co-Founder Kyle Huling

It seems like just yesterday I was writing this blog for the 2017 releases. At that time, we were nine months old, had nine employees, and 390 barrels of fermentation space. Flash forward a year and we have more than 20 employees and 658 barrels of fermentation space, and are on track to produce 6,000 barrels of beer in our second year of operation.

The support that we have received from beer drinkers in the state has been overwhelming. It’s also a great of example of what supporting local craft beer does in terms of job and economic growth for our state! On a per-beer basis, buying local means exponentially more jobs, tax revenue and charitable giving in our own community.

2017 was a hectic year for Urban South. We released NINE new beers for distribution and dozens more in the taproom. I know...we are gluttons for punishment. Have no fear Urban South fans, we plan to challenge ourselves even more in 2018 to give you some unique and fun new beers.

Paradise Park Lager (Year-Round)

Paradise Park is something Jacob and I have talked about creating since opening our doors. In Louisiana, at least 8 out of 10 beers consumed are macro or import lagers! As a local brewery we want to help these drinkers keep their money in the local economy, but we can’t expect them to love hazy IPAs overnight. These folks stock their fridges with easy-drinking lagers at an affordable price.

With that being said, our brewers worked up an easy drinking American Lager without sacrificing any of our quality standards. This means no adjunct grains (corn or rice) and no shortcuts in the brewing or fermentation process. Using Pilsner malt and Huell Melon hops, this 4.5% flavorful lager will be approachable to the average beer drinker, yet still respectable for the craft beer fan who is looking for something sessionable.  

We don’t have the buying power that larger macro or craft breweries have, but we’ve made a conscious decision to keep the price affordable ($6.99 six packs and $16.99 15 packs) with the hopes that we will help transition more folks to craft beer and continue building the local economy. The more Paradise Park that Louisianians consume versus the likes of Yuengling or Dos Equis, the better chance all local breweries have to succeed in our lager-centric state.

Seasonal Changes (Lime Cucumber Gose In -- Hello Darlin’ Out...for now)

Last spring we released a taproom only Lime Cucumber Gose. Gose (goes-uh) is a German-style, kettle soured wheat ale brewed with salt and coriander. Post fermentation we add locally-grown cucumbers and lime. We rolled the dice and brewed 30 barrels of this beer, which is a lot to try and sell through the taproom. Our gamble worked, as we sold out of this beer in less than two months!  

We had so many requests for Lime Cucumber once we ran out that we knew we had to work this into the seasonal rotation. We decided to remove Hello Darlin’ Pale Ale from the mix in 2018 so that Lime Cucumber could find a home on the calendar.  Don’t worry Hello Darlin’ fans…we will make a batch or two in 2018 as a taproom release.

Lime Cucumber will be released in late March and run through mid August. During the summer, we’ll brew quite a few variations of the Gose to release as taproom beers. Get read for the Summer of Gose!  ;) @parishbrewing

Weekend Pack (Year-Round)

There is nothing our packaging team “loves” more than building Weekend Packs. We bring five people in to hand pack three different beers into a 12 pack at a rate of one pallet per hour. It is not the most efficient thing we do at Urban South!

This year, we are going to offer a few more varieties of the Weekend Pack. Holy Roller and Charming Wit are the staples, but you will sometimes see Delta Momma, 2nd Set Pils, or Coop’d Up as the third beer. It is clearly marked on the 12 pack, so keep your eyes peeled!

Taproom Releases

One of our core values at Urban South is Fearless, and that manifests itself most in our Pilot Series. We started the series in late May, and have produced 20 different releases. Some of them are home runs...some didn’t go over as well, but we plan to continue to innovate and create unique beers. Isn’t that what craft beer is all about?

In 2018, we will on up the game even more. A few instant classics will make regular appearances. These include Grapefruit Holy Roller, Blackberry Tart, Cabana Boy and White Oak IPA. With the installation of a seven barrel pilot system in January, we will be able to brew different styles more frequently. You can expect an increased amount of hoppy, barrel aged and classic styles of beer released in 2018. Releasing 30-40 taproom beers in 2018 is not out of the question. Taproom beers come fast and furious, so keep up to date via social media! Sign up for our weekly newsletter here!

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Man, this weather #getoutside (at FrenchQuarter NewOrleans)

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The beer gods speaketh, and Strawberry Milkshake IPA will not be ready in time for this weekend. Still have plenty of new beers plus some holdovers from last weekend! (at Urban South Brewery)

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Last night at the @southernbrewersconference and we are enjoying some great beers from @smithandlentzbeer #happybrewer #pilsner (at Smith & Lentz Brewing)

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I know we're ready for tomorrow night! #repost #dirtylinen

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More growth! With help from good friends - Ever since we shipped our first beer out into the world, Urban South has been consumed with consistent and rapid growth. We’re excited to announce the addition of two more 90bbl fermenters to give us capacity for football season, another epic Mardi Gras, and expansion to new markets like Lafayette. These new tanks give us a total cellar capacity of 658 barrels.

While this is exciting, making sure that our production is keeping up with the demand can sometimes be a challenge. In brewing, making more beer means acquiring more brewing equipment. Luckily for us, support has been pretty close at hand. 

Over the past year, we’ve been able to produce more volume and varieties thanks to our partnership with Craft Kettle Brewing. Based in here in New Orleans [in fact, under the same roof as Urban South], they’ve supplied us with an impressive array of killer equipment - from multiple fermenters and brite tanks to a custom-built 7-barrel brewhouse we’re installing soon.

Not only is it convenient to have an equipment supplier close-at-hand, it’s also handy to work with folks who understand the particular challenges of brewing in the [urban] south.  

You can visit Craft Kettle over at their website:

http://www.craftkettle.com

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Saturday's lineup starting at 11am: -Quatrefoil Sour IPA with Hibiscus -Barrel Aged Russian Ties (Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout) -Choconut Brown (Brown Ale with Chocolate and Toasted Coconut) (at Urban South Brewery)

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Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout coming out the barrels today (at Urban South Brewery)

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Excited to announce they 2nd Set Pilsner win Gold at the US Open Beer Championship! (at Urban South Brewery)

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We get it...you're thirsty! 2 more 90 barrel fermenters courtesy of @craftkettle #morebeer (at Urban South Brewery)

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2nd to last boil of the season! Come on out and get some bugs and try our summer seasonal, Hello Darlin 'Merican Pale Ale #crawfishthursdays #newbeer (at Urban South Brewery)

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Collaboration brew happening right now with our friends at @parleauxbeerlab (at Parleaux Beer Lab)

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We’re Hiring a Taproom Manager!

Our team has grown by leaps and bounds over this past year and a half. We’re looking to add our newest member to manage our burgeoning taproom. Please take a look and/or share with folks who may be interested in joining our team. Check it out here: https://goo.gl/HoL1OS