Gnarly Couple Tapped as Young Alumni of the Year
It’s rather fitting that an alumni couple who are making their mark in the craft beer
industry will be tapped as Southeastern Louisiana University 2016 Young Alumni of
the Year.
The couple – Zac from Mandeville and Cari from Covington -- met at Southeastern as undergraduates. He was a general studies major, while Cari was studying family and consumer sciences majoring in merchandising with a minor in marketing. They married in 2009 and now have a one-year-old daughter named Stevie.
What started as a home-based hobby in their garage became a passion for crafting small batches of beer that received rave reviews at area festivals. That passion led to the formation of a corporation in 2011.
They both knew they wanted Hammond – home of Southeastern and a really cool skate park downtown – to also be home to their brewing company. In Spring 2014, the Caramontas opened Gnarly Barley Brewing Company in the heart of Hammond with the release of their first beers from a 10,500 square foot location on Corbin Road.
Gnarly Barley now produces three flagship beers and two specialty beers, which are distributed at approximately 300 locations throughout nine parishes. The company plans to start offering the product in cans in time for Mardi Gras next year.
A new business created to be a part of a fast growing industry resulted from the will of two entrepreneurs that knew success was attainable – and it all started with two Southeastern students passing each other in White Hall between classes.
The Caramontas will be officially recognized at the Southeastern Alumni Association’s Awards Evening to be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, during Homecoming Week.
Alumni Awards Evening will include recognition of several Southeastern faculty and staff including Alumnus of the Year for 2016 Billy Kennedy, the current head basketball coach at Texas A&M who graduated from Southeastern in 1986 and served as one of the university’s most successful head coaches from 1999 to 2005.
Tickets for the event are available from the Alumni Association by calling 1-800-SLU-ALUM or through the association’s website.
Learn more about the Caramontas on our website, or find out more about their operation on the Gnarly Barley website.
