FORTY YEA STORY HEIDI GUERRA PHOTOS ABITA BEER
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orty years ago, in 1986, a bold idea took root in the piney woods of Abita Springs. Craft beer wasn’t yet a Southern staple. But Jim Patton, alongside partners Rusty White and later David Blossman, believed Louisiana deserved something brewed close to home — something independent, distinctive, and rooted in community. The original brewhouse produced just 1,500 barrels a year. It was small, passionate, and unapologetically local. Abita Amber quickly became the flagship, followed by Purple Haze and Strawberry Lager — beers that would find their way into ice chests, festival tents, tailgates, and dinner tables across the Gulf South.