Karlos Knott and his family are the driving force behind Bayou Teche Biere in Arnaudville, Louisiana.
You can read more about the story of Bayou Teche (pronounced “tesh”) on their website, but the abridged version goes like this. Karlos spent time in Germany while serving in the U.S. Army, and was exposed to German beers and brewing culture. After some time in the Northwest, he returned home to Arnaudville with his family. A local festival prompted him to make a brew for their festivities, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Bayou Teche is now in the process of building a production facility to meet the local and regional demand!
I had a beautiful time with Karlos and his wife, Stephanie, for the morning and lunch. We took some photos at the old railway car Bayou Teche currently uses for production, and I took the time as an opportunity to learn about life in the bayou and what it is like coming from a small town in Louisiana. After a little beer tasting and some music, we headed to a local joint for a lunch of boiled crawfish. I couldn’t have asked for more…beautiful, welcoming people that graciously let me into their lives for a day to take some photos.
As always, my goal with each of the Brewmaster Series images has been to focus on the brewer’s personality, not just the beer. The beer itself is secondary to the person brewing the beer. In many cases, the beer is a work from the heart for these brewers. It’s definitely more than just a bottle and cap, and I think it is important to convey that message.