King Cake Ale from Thibodaux's Mudbug Brewery hits store shelves this week

King Cake Ale, as well as other beers from Mudbug Brewery in Thibodaux, will hit the shelves of Rouses supermarkets throughout the area this week.

Brewmaster Wade Dugas and his partner Mike Kilchrist rebooted operations at the old brewery last February and began distribution this month. The two own the brand name House of the Rising Sun, and Dugas said he was looking for a brewery to create his own beers. He met the owner of Mudbug, Peter Leichty, and made a deal to create Mudbug's old classics, as well as his own batches.

"We brought Mudbug back to life and we're starting House of the Rising Sun," Dugas said.

Both brand name beers are being made at the Mudbug Brewery, 1878 La. 3185.

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The brewery was set to reopen in 2020, but the pandemic hit, a truck hit the building's waterline and flooded the place, then Hurricane Ida threw salt on the wound. The brewery was able to reopen its tap room on Feb. 2, 2022.

Those hunting for the King Cake Ale can find a six-pack on the shelves of Rouses Markets in the Houma-Thibodaux area for $11.99 this week, Dugas said. Mudbug's other available beers will be the Intracoastal IPA, White Boot and Pelican Pilsner, said Rouses Marketing Director Marcy Nathan.

"This was a limited release on this product," she said. "We will expand distribution as more product comes available."

The King Cake Ale will also be available at two stores in Baton Rouge, she said.

The Brewery's tap room, in the front of the brewery, is open 5-10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 1-10 p.m. Saturdays, and 11:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sundays. Pints start at $5.

All of the original recipes have changed, but Dugas said during testing people have said they really liked it.

"Most people say the beer is better now," he said.

An extra flair will soon be added to the King Cake Ale. Dugas has begun getting a rimming kit produced. The kit comes in a tall glass and has three small plastic cups of purple, green and gold sugar, along with a small packet of Steen's sugar cane syrup. The syrup goes around the glass's rim so sprinkles of the sugar stick to it before drinking the ale. The kit comes with Mardi Gras beads and a plastic king cake baby.

He expects the kit to be available before the start of local Mardi Gras parades, which kick off Feb. 10.

Dugas was born in New Orleans but grew up in Houma. He moved to Baton Rouge to attend Louisiana State University but dropped out and went to California to pursue a career in the movie industry. House of the Rising Sun began in 2020 as a pop-up booth in New Orleans that sold other people's beers. The goal was to see how the name would do and later to buy a brewery in New Orleans, but after the COVID pandemic hit, his plans went under.

House of the Rising Sun's beers include House Ale, House Amber, Trunk Porter and Ruin of May.

This article originally appeared on Daily Comet: Mudbug Brewery's King Cake Ale hits store shelves this week