We get to Southwest Louisiana, Cajun Country, 5-6 times a year. We love everything about it. The people, the food (Crawfish, Boudin, Gumbo, Hoghead cheese, Pork cracklins), and, of course, the music. Well, almost everything. The beer? Southwest Louisiana is the world’s home of bad beer. Wherever you go, there is little more than coors light, bud and bud lite, and miller lite – in 10 ounce cans. Oh yes, evidently the Cajuns have recently discovered ultra. This is short for “ultra bad beer.” It tastes like the brewing process consists of passing it through a horse. After a few days of this, we decided to drive over to Lake Charles and try Rikenjak’s. We read the reviews in PubCrawler and decided it was worth a visit. By then we were desperate for decent beer. Take I-10 to exit 30B, the Ryan St exit. Take Ryan about 5-6 blocks to (?). Take a left on (?). Rikenjak’s is about a half block down on the left. Go past the brewery. Take a left. Then another quick left into a parking lot. We called ahead and talked to "DC" who told us what was on tap: a Light Ale; an ESB; a Nut Brown Ale; and a dark Scotch Ale. So far so good. He also mentioned that the brewer is Mike LeBlanc. That’s a good Cajun name. The question is: can a Southwest Louisiana man brew good beer? The short answer is YES! We arrived at about 3 p.m. on Fat Tuesday. Pretty crowded downtown. Folks were lined up for a Mardi Gras parade. But we found a parking space in the lot behind the Pub. The employees appeared to be having a barbecue. Looked like a good time. We walked in. The bar looked comfortable. There were a few tables and an area for a band. Some video poker machines and a juke box. No food. Now for the beer. In addition to their own brews they had about 10-12 taps. The usual stuff. Macros, Guinness, Shiner Bock, etc. They also had the standard bottle selection. Not a great start. We always prefer it when a brewpub serves their own beer exclusively. But this is Southwest Louisiana. The clientele is not used to good beer. A bar has to survive. We started with the Nut Brown and the ESB. Both were served too cold. However, they both turned out to be fine beers after about 10-15 minutes. We then ordered the Scotch Ale. Rikenjak’s name for it is the “Hard Head.” Also served too cold. When it had “warmed” for about 15 minutes, it knocked our socks off. Hands down, the finest beer brewed in Louisiana. In fact, among the finest Scotch Ales we have ever tasted. Reminds us of Middle Ages’ (Syracuse) “The Duke”, a long-time favorite of ours. It’s halfway between a typical Scotch Ale and a Porter. Smooth, malty, chocolate overtones. AND STRONG! We wanted some food to go along with the great beers. But since it was Mardi Gras, they did not have a menu. However, one of the employees brought us tostidos, then barbecued chicken and pork chops from the barbecue they were having out back. Now that’s a friendly bar! DC then introduced us to Mike LeBlanc, the brewmaster. He gave us a tour. Mike is knowledgable, talented and dedicated to producing a top quality product. We were impressed. Rikenjak’s is an oasis in the beer desert that is Southwest Louisiana. Mike, keep fighting the good fight!

Their CONTRABAND Ale is a traditional brown ale and always on tap, as is the OLD HARDHEAD which is a spicy stout made very rich and dark. They brew three other beers in rotating batches the first is the EVIL CLOWN BROWN which is brewmaster Mike LeBlancs personal favorite and mine, it's a brown ale very similar in texture and finish to Sam Adams Ale. Then there's the KOLSH seasonal and the LAFITTE LIGHT, both very good golden beers.

I have been a daily patron ever since my first visit. Not only do they have traditional microbrews, never pasteurized and brewed in small batches they have SW Louisiana's most diverse music scene.

If you are passing through SW LA on Interstate 10 (I-10) and you love microbrews stop by Rikenjaks. Take the DOWNTOWN RYAN ST exit and head SOUTH (right) to Broad st and the East (left).