Decatur Street brewhouse revived New Orleans' beer tradition

They might not look it, but the circa-1840s buildings at 521-523 Decatur and 525-529 Decatur are twins. The latter, now home to Crescent City Brewhouse and shown at right, saw its façade altered in the early 20th century. The one on the left reflects how they both would have looked upon their construction.

Something was brewing Jan. 2, 1991, in the renovated warehouse at 525-529 Decatur St.

Literally. But also historically.

At the time, the announcement of the start of the first batch of beer at the then-yet-unopened Crescent City Brewhouse might have felt a bit like a novelty to some. In fact, it was the start of something noteworthy.

That inaugural batch of beer represented the first local spasm of a nationwide craft-brew craze that still has yet to be slaked.

But is also it revived a part of New Orleans history, triggering a full-on renaissance of beer-making in a city whose brewing traditions date almost to its beginning.

Specifically, they date to 1726 — less than a decade after the city's founding — and the establishment by brothers Pierre and Mathurin Dreux of the city's first brewery.

Located on the Dreuxs' Bywater plantation, which fronted the river between present-day Franklin Avenue and Homer Plessy Way (formerly Press Street), it was known simply as the Brasserie — or "The Brewery." It would, unsurprisingly, win fans.

It wasn't until the 1850s that the local beer scene really exploded, goosed by the midcentury influx to south Louisiana of German immigrants, many bringing their brewing traditions with them. By 1890, between 30 and 50 breweries were operating in town, according to one estimate.

That fascination with fermentation continued into the mid-20th century, with such still-familiar brands as Regal, Jax, Dixie and Falstaff dominating Louisiana's beer-drinking market.

For the city's beer industry, it was a sudsy heyday. Then came the buzzkill.

As was the case in many U.S. cities, New Orleans’ native beer industry was hit hard in the 1950s and 1960s by ultimately successful efforts of national mega-breweries — such as Anheuser Busch and Miller — to cut into territories previously dominated by regional brands.

For the next few decades, local brews mostly went flat. Then, a new concept began cropping up in America's cooler, hipper towns: the microbrewery.

In Louisiana, that started with The Mill in Baton Rouge. Within a year, the partners in Crescent City Brewhouse — armed with the beermaking expertise of German Brewmaster Wolfram Koehler — had brought the concept to New Orleans.

Not only was it the city's first microbrewery, but it was the first new brewery to open in the city in 70 years.

Unfortunately for the brewhouse's owners, most of the city's rusting brewing infrastructure had by then been scrapped. They had to start from scratch.

For their hoppy headquarters, they chose 525-529 Decatur, a piece of property that — like beer — dates to the city's earliest days.

The lot on which it sits appears on the 1722 La Tour map, printed just four years after the city's founding. Among the earliest mentions of a structure on the property is the description of a two-story, brick house with 14 upper rooms — seven facing the river, seven facing a courtyard — as well as six wine vaults and two outbuildings in the rear.

The address would also over the years have connections with an assortment of local historic names, including merchant Miguel Fortier and prominent lawyer Dominique Seghers.

Perhaps most notable of the property's early owners: Andres Almonaster y Roxas, the deep-pocketed local magnate who — as the person responsible both for rebuilding St. Louis Cathedral and for fathering the Baroness Pontalba — is as responsible as any one person for the look of today's Jackson Square.

He bought the Decatur Street property in 1782. Living next door at the time: Esteban Miro, the governor of Louisiana.

Shortly after, the Almonaster home burned with much of the French Quarter in the Great Fire of 1794. It would be rebuilt and would pass through the hands of a number of property owners before Seghers in the 1840s razed the buildings on the site and erected in their place "an original row of four, four-story Green Revival warehouses of the granite-and-lintel type," according to the Historic New Orleans Collection's Vieux Carré Digital Survey.

Those warehouses would serve various purposes over the years. For a while, 525-529 Decatur was home to a series of rice milling firms. In 1961, Steinberg and Co. bought the buildings and converted them into a fur-processing plant.

Slowly, inexorably the buildings began to sag — until the Crescent City Brewhouse project came along, occupying two of the four original structures.

By that time, 525-529 Decatur had already been dramatically altered, with the application of a white, glazed brick façade joining the two buildings into one address. The brewhouse shined it up nicely and added a second-floor gallery overlooking Decatur.

Inside, a half-million dollars’ worth of German brewing equipment was installed. Another half-million was spent on renovations, which emphasized use of reclaimed cypress and other local materials.

Some lamented that the façade wasn't restored at the time to its original design, a glimpse of which can be seen next door at 521-523 Decatur, where the other two of Seghers’ warehouses still stand.

The Times-Picayune's art critic at the time, Roger Green, saw things a little differently. "Lacking historical forms or motifs," he wrote, "the Spartan façade nevertheless harmonizes with neighboring buildings and contributes to Decatur Street's finely grained tout ensemble."

Taken all together, it was, Green continued, a "splendid, instructive addition to the local cityscape."

Now, 32 years later, it still stands out on Decatur.

Also, the traditions taught by Koehler, the brewhouse's original brewmaster — who died in 2022 — are still being used to make its products, including Red Stallion, its original beer.

And, most importantly, beer fans are still drinking it up.

Sources: The Times-Picayune archive; Historic New Orleans Collection's Collins B. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey; "New Orleans Beer," by Jeremy Labadie and Argyle Wolf-Knapp; CrescentCityBrewhouse.com.

Do you know of a New Orleans building worth profiling in this column, or just curious about one? Contact Mike Scott at [email protected].

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