I just discovered a true gem in the NOLA beer drinking scene. Squeal’s BBQ, located on Oak Street in Uptown New Orleans has a very surprising beer selection for a small restaurant, not to mention their awesome BBQ!
The taps are: Brooklyn Lager, Bear Republic’s Racer 5 IPA, NOLA Brown Ale, Lazy Magnolia’s Southern Pecan Ale, and Bud Light. The bottle selection includes several light beers as well as a few selections from Indian Wells Brewing Company, a new brewery to me. The brews they had there were the Amnesia IPA, Lobotomy Bock, and the Orange Blossom Amber. I enjoyed the Bock the best out of the three. Overall I was not impressed with any of them, except for the alcohol punch they pack, in excess of 5% is always a good thing. Check them out online and taste them for comparison reasons, but switching from Racer 5 to anything else is hard to do anytime. I appreciated being exposed to new brews and a new brewery.
The other brew of interest I ran into was from the R.J. Rockers Brewing Company out of SC. I had the Bell Ringer Ale (8.5%ABV) and it was very good. It had a nice balance of bitter hoppiness and enough maltiness to give it good body. It reminded me of an IPA at first, an Amber in the middle, and a bitter at the end of each taste. Definitely well balanced between the flavor and the ABV. It was a relief after trying all three Indian Wells brews with little satisfaction to get a hearty ale with great flavor. I recommend this one to all Ale drinkers.
The beer list continues to include a “Lobster Lovers Ale”, Shiner Bock and Commemorator, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine, St. Pauli Girl, Coronoa, and a few others. Definitely can keep you entertained for a while, my roommate and I stayed there for a few hours trying these tasty brews.
The food is enough reason to go the Squeals. I have had the brisket and ribs and loved both. They have great traditional BBQ and the sides are awesome too. PLUS, they are open until 2am on weekends, late night brews and BBQ????? I think so!
So hit up Squeals next time you are in the neighborhood. Let me know what you think and which beers you try! I’ll be back to finish the selection off within a few days….maybe tonight.
OYE!!!!