Through the doors of the old Longbranch Hotel's former bachelor quarters, an old wooden box labeled "Dad's Cookies" sits on the docent's counter, ushering you into the majestic fabric of Abita Springs' history.

Now serving as a donation box at the Abita Springs Trailhead Museum's permanent exhibit, it once was a mainstay of Rauch's Store, where Joseph Rauch handed out large, round cookies to children.

It is the first of several town artifacts that will greet visitors, whisking them back to the Choctaw Indians who lived where the town now stands then to the town's heyday, when its celebrated waters made it a resort community for New Orleanians more than a century ago.

Eventually, musical instruments and beer bottles help guide visitors to the present, displaying Abita Beer varieties from 1986 to today and paraphernalia from the Abita Springs Opry, its strains of Cajun, Southern gospel and zydeco music highlighting the state's eclectic musical style since 1992.  More

Abita’s large building rises abruptly out of the piney woods, its recently added tasting room sporting a wrought-iron-laced facade. Inside, a long line of college students and older beer geeks snaked up to a row of 14 taps loaded with everything from the widely available Turbodog dark ale and Purple Haze raspberry brew to the new Satsuma Harvest Wit, a blond ale made with a type of mandarin orange grown in Louisiana that had a nice bitter bite. more

Playboy City Guide - The 40th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (April 24-26, April 30-May 3) boasts a stellar line up of talent.  More than Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest has become New Orleans's biggest party.  Here's our list of must-sees and must-dos. 

Read the full article here 
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Thirty miles north of New Orleans, the Tammany Trace recreational trail with its 31 bridges travels over bayous, streams and rivers, marking the path of the former Illinois Central Railroad along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. One stop along the trail is Abita Springs, La., the home of Abita Brewing Co., where you can pass through French doors to the tasting room to enjoy sample quaffs of Abita, Jockamo, Purple Haze, Restoration, Turbodog, Andygator, Abbey Ale, or one of several seasonal brews, a choice of harvest brews, or even root beer—all brewed using natural spring water from the Southern Hills Aquifer. If you choose to tour the 49,000-square-foot facility, brewery President David Blossman might show you how the brewery makes its beer—and how it converts brewery waste into renewable energy. More

Friends of the Park presents Abita Springs Earth Fest 2009. Come out to the Abita Springs Trailhead and Park on April 19 from 1:00 - 4:00. There will be free tree giveaways, tree planting, green crafts, food & beverages, kids activities, bird house painting and fun! Sponsored by Abita Beer, Cleco, and the Abita Springs Opry. Live music sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation featuring The Grocery Clerks, Three Sisters from Alabama, Alynda Lee and Leisure Kings.
Earth Fest…because of planet is worth celebrating! More

The Nashville Scene
We could have been happy as clams with just raw oysters on clicking beds of ice, piles of steamed mudbugs and a few bottles of Abita beer. But a roster of Cajun staples named for Louisiana landmarks—Pontchartrain, Atchafalaya and Bourbon Street among them—lured us toward an array of sausages, stews and sandwiches that would have made Bacchus beam. More

The magazine devoted to brewing in the Delaware Valley includes a review of "Abita Beer:Cooking Louisiana True" read all about it here abita_draughtlines.pdf 

It's the best free fun in the metro area...the Abita Brewery Tour.  The New Orleans Times Picayune shares the news with everyone who has been missing out - read all about it here
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