Abita Brewing marks 40 years with free brewery party in Covington

Abita Brewing turned its Covington brewery into a full-day anniversary stop, inviting fans in free for an all-ages celebration built around live music, brewery tours and beers from the brand’s own history. The party ran from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 21084 Hwy 36, with a lineup that included Jared Daws, the Fontainblues, Red Hot Gentilly Peppers and the Sunny Side Jazz Band.

The setup made the event feel like more than a standard taproom bash. Alongside local craft vendors and food trucks, Abita put retro beers on tap, a detail that gave the celebration a clear hook for longtime drinkers and newer fans alike. With old favorites pouring in the same space where the brewery has built its reputation, the anniversary doubled as a living tour through the brand’s past.

Abita’s own history gives that nostalgia real weight. The company says it was founded in 1986 as a small-batch brewery about 30 miles north of New Orleans, and it produced 1,500 barrels of beer in its first year. By 1994, Abita had outgrown its original site and moved up the road to a larger facility, a shift that helped carry the brewery from regional upstart to one of Louisiana’s best-known craft beer names.

Today, Abita describes itself as the original craft brewery in Louisiana, and the anniversary party underscored how that legacy still drives its public identity. Visitors could take guided or self-guided brewery tours and sample beers in the tap room, keeping the event tied to the production side of the business rather than turning it into a purely ceremonial gathering. Abita also operates a New Orleans taproom, extending its footprint beyond Covington.

The scale of the company has changed sharply since those early days. A 2026 local report said Abita employs just over 100 people and is aiming to brew 170,000 barrels this year, a reminder that the brewery’s growth has outpaced the scale of the original operation by a wide margin. Abita President Troy Ashley said the company was “at the forefront of craft beer before people commonly used that term,” a line that fit the weekend’s message: the celebration was about more than 40 years of survival. It was a display of how a Louisiana brewery can keep its name in circulation by making its own history part of the experience.