Brewing beer built to drink for all seasons, all occasions

Red River Brewing Company settled into its new 23,000-square-foot location at 1200 Marshall St. in Shreveport, which includes a taproom and private event space.

“It’s a beautiful historic building with a rich history that acts as a kind of gateway to downtown,” said co-owner and founder, Beau Raines. “After looking everywhere from Benton to Robson Road, we were fortunate to land this location. We’re happy to call it home.”

Red River Brewing has come a long way, especially considering its humble beginnings in a local garage. “We will be brewing our first batch of beer on our new four-vessel, 20 barrel brewhouse from Premier Stainless this afternoon,” Raines said. “Our bottling line should be in within the coming weeks, and bottles should be available by the end of April.”

Getting from barrel to bottle was somewhat of a challenge, Raines said. “Raising private funds for a startup business is extremely hard work,” he said. “By March of 2015, we were fairly close to finishing our raise goal but ultimately had to face the challenge of replacing a significant commitment. We were able to find new partners and are ultimately better for it.”

The new facility is now open with a taproom serving 2-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. “The taproom is a piece of the overall business we’ve anxiously wanted to add,” Raines said. “It’s not only critical to the financial health of the company in the early stages, but it is the best way to connect with our community and customers on a personal level. I had the pleasure to spend the days since we’ve opened the taproom sharing stories over a beer with so many people. Those moments go back to the core of what we’ve always pushed towards and it’s pretty surreal to get to live it.”

“Our two primary goals will always drive our decisions,” Raines said. “First is to make great beer, and second is to celebrate our community through great beer. If we stay focused on those two things, somehow the puzzle pieces seem to fall in place.”

One of the other founders, Robert McGuire, is still living in St. Francisville. “As we expand our footprint we hope that he can be a voice for our brand in South Louisiana,” Raines said.

“I continue to try and balance my day job with the brewery, too,” Raines said. “Oh, and Leigh and I are expecting boy No. 3, Luke, in the coming weeks. As my fouryear-old, Jake, put it a few weeks ago in the most exhausted tone, ‘Mama, we’re gonna have a baby and a brewery.’ We both almost fell over laughing.”

“Surprisingly, we had very few glitches in the operation,” Raines added. “But that’s more of a testament to the quality folks we’ve surrounded ourselves with. “Steve Parks has been with us from almost the beginning. Our beer can speak to what an awesome brewer he is, but I could talk for days about his work ethic and shear passion for the trade.”

Red River Brewing also has a new brand manager, Jennifer Zamani. “Jennifer immediately became a problem due to the sudden spike in sales creating production issues of not being able to keep up with demand,” said Raines, grinning. “She’s also taken a lead in running the taproom.”

Co-owner Jared Beville is slowly transitioning from his day job to full-time at the brewery. “The challenge for us is finding the sweet spot between the craft beer novice and the veteran,” Beville said. “You do this by making great beer and making styles that are innovative or are more challenging to produce. That’s really our litmus test going forward: Is this a beer we can’t get enough of and we’re excited to drink and tell people about?” Another challenge is to make beer that complements the Louisiana culture and climate. “‘Hay Ryed’ is the perfect example,” Beville said. “It was created to go with a springtime crawfish boil. And for Louisiana’s jungle-esque climate, we make a low-alcohol IPA called Session 18 that gives the hop-lovers a beer they can enjoy all day long in the Louisiana heat. Although it clocks in at less than 4 percent ABV, it doesn’t drink like a low alcohol beer. It’s literally ‘built to drink,’ which is a theme we’re using on all our flagship beers.”

“We’re also excited about releasing Heliopolis into the market, which is akin to beer served in German beer gardens,” added Beville. “It’s light, refreshing and easy to drink.”

All the hard work has finally paid off, with the first three soft openings having been more successful than the staff could have anticipated. “We work hard, but we have fun most of the time,” Raines said. “And that’s not difficult when the work involves making beer. Great community deserves great beer. We’re just happy to be there.”

For more information about Red River Brewing Company brews and events, visit the www.redriverbeer.com.