Urban South NOLA | Brewery Tour & Beer Review

I’ve been living in New Orleans for a little over a month now and I still end up googling free/cheap things to do in New Orleans at least once a week. My girlfriend and I have been enjoying hanging out at local breweries because we don’t have to worry about taking up a server’s table if we decide to sit for a while. Oh, and we really enjoy craft beer. So this past weekend we decided to take a tour of one of the most popular breweries in the city.

Urban South is the third-largest brewery in New Orleans. Pretty much every local restaurant and bar has Urban South’s Paradise Park on draft, which stands out from the rest with its pink flamingos printed on a bright blue background. They also have a food truck called Urban Smash parked outside every day, which has a lunch special Monday-Friday from 11am-2pm where you can get a free pint of their core beer with every burger.

Brewery tours are offered every hour from 12-3pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The tour is $12 and includes a free beer along with a souvenir glass. The brewery tours I’ve been on in the past usually offer you a flight at the end of the tour along with the history behind each brew. This was unfortunately not the case at Urban South, and I had to choose a beer before the tour started. Not a huge deal, but I’d rather not have to walk around with a pint glass in hand (especially one that I did not enjoy). I hastily chose the Rum BA GF Sour – Balancing Sheep when I was feeling the pressure of unexpectedly having to commit to a drink before the tour started in addition to the line that was growing behind me. It tasted like a flat cucumber lime seltzer. Disappointing, to say the least.

It was hard to hear our tour guide over the fans and bounce house (bonus points for the idea, though). We also didn’t get much information about the history of each beer, which was an opportunity lost because I’m more inclined to try something that has a good story behind it. All in all, the tour was maybe 15 minutes long, and we at least had some new glasses to go home with. I’d recommend checking out Urban South if you’re in New Orleans because they do have a few good beers, but don’t feel like you’re missing out on an experience if you skip out on the tour. I recommend trying Pop!, Spilled: Rainbow (a Skittle sour. I know, but trust me), and the Juvie Juice Peach Beer Slush (again—I know, trust me). Let me know what you think if you decide to try them out!

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