Great Raft Brewing Opens in Shreveport, LA

From Great Raft:

Great Raft Brewing Sells First Local Beer in Shreveport since Prohibition

• -Inaugural pint is first sale of local beer in more than 100 years
• -Shreveport-based brewery to revitalize Northwest Louisiana brewing culture

Oct. 16, 2013/mbb/, SHREVEPORT, La. — Great Raft Brewing, a locally created and owned craft microbrewery, sold its first pint of beer Oct. 15 in Shreveport, La., making the sale the first of a local brew since Prohibition. The pint, sold at Zocolo Neighborhood Eatery and Drinkery, is the latest achievement for Great Raft as it establishes itself as the premier craft brewery in the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area.

“We’ve been planning Great Raft for more than two years and are excited to finally present our beer to the Shreveport community,” said Andrew Nations, co-founder and president of Great Raft Brewing. “While this was a limited release, we are planning additional events around the region very soon.”

The first beer sold was Great Raft Brewing’s Reasonably Corrupt™, a black lager. This is just one of three flagship beers the brewery will launch on draft. The other flagship beers are a pale lager named Southern Drawl™ and an American pale ale named Commotion™. Great Raft Brewing will work with its distributor, Eagle Distributing of Shreveport, to supply its beers on draft to local bars and restaurants beginning in mid-November. In early 2014, Great Raft Brewing plans to introduce its beer in cans and bottles as well.

Following the recent milestone sale, Great Raft Brewing will participate in the fifth annual BREW Festival in downtown Shreveport on Sat., Oct. 19, where samples of three of the brewery’s beers will be available.

“The BREW Festival is just one example of how the interest in better beer is growing in our community,” said co-founder and vice president of Great Raft Brewing, Lindsay Nations. “Craft brews are generating a lot of interest in all types of beer enthusiasts who want to try different beers and learn about different styles. We are excited to be part of that education and provide local beer options.”

In the coming months, Great Raft Brewing plans to open a tasting room alongside the brewery. The brewery will soon be open for tours, seminars, samples and sales.
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