Beer in the woods... much better than bear in the woods

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I am not much of an outdoorsy person. I don't hunt, fish, hike or even birdwatch. It is not that I don't like the outdoors, I much prefer to run outside than on a treadmill, it is just that I did not grow up in a house where experiencing nature and the outdoors was much of a priority.

This is in complete contrast to my wife Margaret. While growing up, she camped all the time and because of this, has been on me for a while to take the family camping. She finally wore me down enough for us to go this weekend to Fountainbleau State park in Mandeville, LA. One of the carrots dangled with this trip is the fact that the park is less than 10 miles away from the town of Abita Springs which is home to the Abita brewery. Abita is the best known microbrewery in Louisiana.

Since the brewery does not allow people under 21 years of age to take the tour, we had to settle for a lunch at the Abita Brewpub. As you would expect, the pub has all the Abita beers available as well as seasonal special ones that are not bottled.

Pictured above is the Pecan Harvest ale and a photobomb courtesy of my buddy Matt. He and his family joined us for the trip. I have had a little experience with nut ales, specifically the He'brew Messiah Nut brown ale and the Lazy Magnolia brewery's Southern Pecan beer. This Abita offering was not as remarkable as the other two I just mentioned. Try the He'brew one if you are looking for a good nut brown ale.

This one is an example of a beer only available on tap, the Roggen Weizen. This is a stronger version of a German hefeweizen and is made with rye malt. At 7% ABV, it contributed greatly to the afternoon nap I attempted back at the campsite. I enjoyed this beer more than the pecan one.

It was an Abita weekend, as I took some of their Fall Fest seasonal Marzen back for enjoying around the fire.

Your blogger looking rough after the first night in the tent.

Later on after coffee and a happy family.

Unfortunately, there was a black eye to the weekend's festivities. Around midnight Saturday night/Sunday morning, I was awakened by the sound of a drunken camper falling into our tent. This happened right near where I was sleeping and could have caused some injuries. The culprit and his friend quickly ran off. I bet it was quite a buzzkill for them, as it was for me. It was not until the morning that I found the damage caused to our tent.

Luckily for us, the tent was an old freebie second hand from Margaret's father, so we were not out any money as we left it at the campsite. In the haste to escape, the offenders dropped their beers. As I would have expected, they were drinking Michelob Ultra. It just goes to support my theory that nothing good comes from drinking Michelob Ultra. I trust these geniuses will get what they deserve.

All things considered, the trip was a great success. Good times in nature, good friends and good beers. We liked it so much that we are already planning our next trip and what new tent to buy.

For more info on Abita Brewery and the brewpub, please see Abita Brewing and Abita Brew Pub.

Cheers!