Great Raft Brewing - 318 Golden Ale

There’s something endearing about naming a beer after your area code – it’s a very popular way to honor your region and hometown, and specifically the local community who you’re brewing for and who supports you. Firestone Walker’s 805 and Goose Island’s 312 spring to mind immediately. Heck, 903 Brewers in Sherman and (512) Brewing Co. in Austin are two brewers we can think of who named their entire brewery after the area code – and those are just in Texas. 318 Golden Ale was crafted by Great Raft in that same vein – a beer for the locals, to show appreciation and enthusiasm for North Louisiana. Brewed with real orange peel and local Louisiana honey, this golden ale offers a nicely subtle balance in the aroma – look for pale malts to form a lightly bready base that’s overlaid by some floral and citric hops which merge into a complementary touch of orange peel. We picked up a wisp of Vienna malt nuttiness here too, while that honey addition adds just a bit of rounded sweetness to the vibe. Crisp, bright, and flavorful on the palate, 318 offers notes of citrus zest for a bright high note that dries this brew into the finish, beckoning another sip of this super drinkable ale. For pairing options, we’re thinking grilled chicken, shrimp, or brats. Pizza, fried chicken, tempura, fish & chips, or Louisiana crawfish would also be on our radar. Cheers!

Shreveport’s Great Raft Brewing is named after a massive natural logjam that began forming hundreds of years ago, rendering the Red River unnavigable. At its height, it reached as much as 175 miles in length before the Army Corps of Engineers and steamboat builder and river captain Henry Miller Shreve cleared it in 1838 after years of work, leading to the flourishing of the newly formed city of Shreveport – the hometown of Great Raft Brewing founders Andrew and Lindsay Nations.

Upon moving to Washington, D.C. after college, the Shreveport natives had become enamored with the world of craft beer in the Mid-Atlantic, which was far ahead of Louisiana at that point in the country’s craft beer renaissance. Upon returning to Shreveport, the couple decided it was time to bring good beer to their hometown. When their first beer was sold in October of 2013, it was the first locally made beer since before Prohibition. The heart of their business – their taproom – opened shortly after, allowing them to engage with the community and spread the word about quality beer.

Immediately, the business took off. “We realized within about the first quarter that Shreveport was thirstier than we thought they were,” says Lindsay. The brewery has grown since those early days, and they produce a wide array of seasonal and limited-run beers in addition to their year-rounders. Stop by the GRB Tasting Room to check out their latest offerings and grab some Nashville-style hot chicken from their in-house food truck called The Coop. For more info, check ‘em out at www.greatraftbrewing.com.