From THC to 'spiked tea,' Louisiana breweries go beyond beer to boost business

When Abita Brewing Co. opened on the Northshore in the mid 1980s, there were only a few dozen craft breweries in the U.S.

Today, the number of independent breweries churning out small batches of specialty brews has grown to nearly 10,000, thanks to a craze that took the nation by storm in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Despite the growth of the category, however, which now accounts for one-fourth of national beer sales by dollar amount, per-capita beer consumption nationwide has actually been on a downward trajectory for more than a decade. With the exception of a brief, pandemic-era spike, younger people are drinking less in general, and consumers are embracing new options, including hard seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails and increasingly popular THC beverages, which debuted in Louisiana