Great Raft Brewing - Southern Drawl

This dry-hopped pils presents a bright gold color with good clarity and a head of crisp white foam. Vibrant fruity hops come forth right away, offering a multitude of shades due to the two complex hops used here. We picked up light touches of citrus rind, melon, and passionfruit, joined by notes of earth and cut grass. On the palate, this pils is spry, with bright hoppy notes controlling the vibe while the malt backbone remains purposefully light due to the judicious use of some rice – similar to how many brewers craft their “cold IPAs” to make them super drinkable and let the hops shine even more. The result is, indeed – as the can says – a “wildly drinkable”, flavorful, and food-friendly lager that struck us like a traditional German pils that’s been resto-modded with rice for cleaner malts and a bright dry-hopping of American Mosaic and German Hallertau Blanc – a non-traditional variety that’s descended from American Cascade. For pairing options, we’d steer towards spicy Cajun dishes, hot chicken, fried shrimp, or almost anything off the grill on a warm, sunny weekend day. 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.