Our Story
It couldn't have happened anywhere else.
The story of Faubourg Brewing Co. is a long, twisting tale that began as Dixie Brewing in 1907, when Valentine Merz opened the doors of his brand new brewery at the corner of Tulane Avenue and Tonti Street. From day one, locals loved that the South’s largest, most innovative brewery was right here in their hometown — and the neighborhood beer of New Orleans was born.
Built to survive
Only 13 years after we hit the scene, along came the National Prohibition Act — a death knell for many American breweries. Our crafty operation survived by brewing and selling near beer (less than 0.5% alcohol) as a “beverage company,” and even two World Wars couldn’t hold back our commitment to making great beer for good times.
AWAY AND BACK
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina decimated our original brewery, forcing the company to relocate out of state and survive by contract-brewing our beloved lagers and ales. Twelve years later, Tom and Gayle Benson, owners of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, purchased a majority stake in the brand with the goal of bringing brewing operations back home to create jobs and spur local economic growth. Their promise became reality when our state-of-the-art brewery in New Orleans East was completed and started production in late 2019.
A new direction
Committed to making our home more unified, welcoming and resilient for future generations, the brewery was renamed Faubourg Brewing Co. in 2020 as a tribute to the diverse neighborhoods that flavor our gumbo-pot home. Faubourg — pronounced “FO-burg” — is a French word that we New Orleaneans often use interchangeably with “neighborhood.” Our beers have always brought people together, so it’s only natural that we celebrate every corner of our one-of-a-kind city.
Today, Faubourg Brewing Co. is the oldest operating brewery in New Orleans. In 2022, the Company was merged into Made By The Water, a southeast-based company of craft breweries that now operates Faubourg brewery and distributes Faubourg’s products in similar fashion to other beers and breweries that are part of The Made By The Water portfolio, including Oyster City (Apalachicola, FL), Catawba (Asheville, NC), and Palmetto (Charleston, SC).
See what’s brewing.
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