Abita Brewing Company, located 30 miles north of New Orleans, is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. Abita President Troy Ashley says they are a great Louisiana growth story.
“Founded in 1986 in the small town of Abita Springs, we really came from humble beginnings and were really at the forefront of craft beer. We developed craft beer before people referred to what we are as craft beer at the time,” Ashley explained.
Abita employs just over 100 people. Headquarters are in Covington and they also have a taproom in New Orleans.
Ashley says a big key to their success is their Louisiana roots and what Louisiana has to offer.
“We try to embody what Louisiana is by using Louisiana products, Louisiana ingredients for our products, and it’s just been a great relationship all around; it’s helped us,” Ashley said.
The first two brews they produced were Abita Golden and Abita Amber, and in the first year, they produced 1,500 barrels of beer. Now they have 17 year-round brews, several seasonal beers, plus craft sodas, hop water, and they’ve recently added ready-to-drink cocktails.
“We do well in places as far as California and New York. Most of our sales are in the southeastern United States, certainly along the Gulf Coast: Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. Those are some of our stronger markets,” Ashley noted.
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