Covington, Louisiana is a town in St. Tammany Parish and was dates back to the 1800’s. I use to live in Lake Charles, Louisiana and my family and once visited Covington to see the well known alligator farm “Insta-Gator Ranch”. The alligator farm is located off of Lowe Davis Rd in Covington and is a working alligator harvesting farm. This means the alligator farm harvests the meat, skin and other parts of alligators in order to use utilize their parts in many different facets.
Alligators are essentially one of Louisiana’s best known commodities. Insta-Gator has over 2,000 alligators and has regular guided tours year round that explain not only the uses for alligators but how the alligator industry in Louisiana has grown over the years.
At the alligator farm you will get to hold a baby gator and see how gators go from babies to alligator boots, purses, wallets and belts. At Insta-Gator you can also hold hatching eggs and watch the whole process if you are there during a hatching. They have a sign-up option for visitors that wish to view this process and they also have group rates for special events such as hatching. There also is an alligator shop in which you can purchase some items to remember your alligator farm adventure.
Covington, Louisiana also has a microbrewery called Heiner Brau which is located at 226 East Lockwood Street in the downtown district of Covington. Heiner Brau is a microbrewery known for several well known beers in the area. Kolsch is a golden, crisp, clean and fresh tasting German beer and is available year round. Maerzen is a dark Bavarian type brown beer with a hefty malt taste, this beer is packs a unique punch but is well liked and is also available year round.
Strawberry Ale is another beer that is available year round and hold a different taste than any others I have ever tasted. Much more fruity, crisp and aromatic than most.
My favorite microbrewery beer from Heiner Brau is Hefe Weisse, which is a summer type beer. The beer is golden in color and has a fresh unique taste with a clove undertone. Hefe Weisse is only available however from June through August. Heiner Brau does have tours however you must call the brewery for times and availability. At some times during the year the brewery does closes the tour schedule because of production increases.
References for this article include:
cityofcovingtonla.com/
www.covingtonhistory.co.uk/Louisiana.htm
www.stpgov.org/
