Abita Brewing Company

Jim Patton and Rush Cumming opened Abita in 1986 as the Southeast's first craft brewery, drawing water from the same artesian wells that had made Abita Springs a Victorian-era health resort destination. The aquifer runs more than 3,000 feet deep and is over 2,000 years old. That first year they produced 1,500 barrels. By 1994 demand outgrew the original brewhouse and the operation moved to a larger facility in Covington, 43 miles north of New Orleans. The original location in downtown Abita Springs is now the Abita Brew Pub, independently owned. By 2011 the brewery was producing over 130,000 barrels of beer and 5,000 barrels of root beer annually. The root beer is made with Louisiana sugarcane rather than high-fructose corn syrup. Abita's flagship beers are sold in 46 US states and Puerto Rico. In August 2005, Stuff Magazine called Turbodog Ale the best beer made in America. The brewery offers free daily tours—check the website for the current schedule.