The NOLADrinks Show – 8-27-18 – Beer with Sal and Matt – Casa d’Aristi

On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we welcome our regular beer experts, Sal Mortillaro and Matt Horney. We touch on numerous brew-related topics including trends, IPAs, open fermentation, and more. We also chat with Nicole Arnell of Mexican distillery, Casa d’Aristi, a decades-old operation located in the Yucatan.

Pictured above from left – Sal Mortillaro – certified beer judge, Matt Horney – brewmaster of Old Rail Brewing Company, and Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks.

The NOLADrinks Show – 8-27-18 – Beer with Matt and Sal – Casa d’Aristi

We kick things off right away talking beer at Old Rail Brewing Company, located across the lake from New Orleans in Old Mandeville. We’re joined by regular guests, Matt Horney and Sal Mortillaro. Both are well-respected certified beer judges. Matt is also the brewmaster at Old Rail.

We touch on various topics connected to beer. We touch on pumpkin beers (What? Too soon? Probably!), sour beers, and Matt’s gin and tonic inspired beer, trends in homebrewing, among other things. We discuss IPAs including the explosion of New England style IPAs, the idea that certain brewers may be tiring of IPAs (but they still pay the bills), and more.

Next, we welcome Nicole Arnell of Casa d’Aristi, an interesting distillery located near Merida in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. They have been around for decades – since 1935 – crafting interesting liqueurs based on a Mexican cane sugar rum base.

We taste and discuss some of their expressions that utilize fresh ingredients, including local fruits, and are made naturally. These are certainly some delicious spirits that work well in cocktails (for example, great modifiers for daiquiris or margaritas) and are also tasty on their own. This interview was taped during our coverage of Tales of the Cocktail.

As we move into our podcast-only portion – Another Shot with NOLADrinks – we continue our conversation with Nicole. Matt and Sal also rejoin us to talk further about beer including a discussion of open versus closed fermentation. We close things out with our “Parting Shot,” discussing the efforts to save the home of New Orleans jazz musician and founding father, Buddy Bolden.

Thanks to Old Rail Brewing and Sylvain for hosting us for these interviews. Their locations are shown on the map below. Also, you can subscribe to, stream, and download The NOLADrinks Show podcast by using the player at the top of this post.

Cheers, You All!

~ Bryan