Great Raft Brewing

While not completely appealing on the outside, the interior space is pretty well done. Walking through the entrance puts the visitor in some odd large atrium space that leans a little more towards a therapist's office's waiting room than a brewery. Once ID'd and proven of age, visitors walk around the entrance table and into a large rectangle room with a '0' shaped bar at the end. A random collection of tables offers some various seating options. This large space is separated from the welcome atrium by a wall of aging beer barrels. A wall of windows lets visitors see into the industrial side of the brewery - showcasing the brewery itself. This space is large enough that they have a food truck set up in here and seemingly a small patio on the wall opposite of the food truck. Staff was pretty friendly, though quiet. Selection is pretty solid, though it does lean a little more heavily into goses and sours.

Rehabbed industrial building in a seemingly abandoned industrial area on the southeast side of town. Large open tasting room with big square bar in the middle. 16 beers on tap, I enjoyed their 8th Anniversary Ale very much.

 

 

A typical former warehouse set up, with a large taproom carved out of one side of the building. Overflow tables and a stage were set up in the loading dock area of the brewery for a festival the day we were there (or maybe they are there all the time). The taproom is a little loft-like and bare (knock together a little IKEA furniture already!), although a couple of booths have been installed at one end. Bartenders are friendly but professional and efficient.

There are over 15 Great Raft beers on tap, with excellent variety. Cans and bottles are available for takeaway.

Food trucks are often there, and you can also bring your own grub.

The brewery is located in an apparently sketchy area of Shreveport, but it is actually more abandoned post-apocalyptic than actively problematic, so even street parking when the on-site parking is full is probably not a problem.

 

 

 

 

 

Went for Oceans release. And had a great time. All the staff was friendly, and service excellent.

 

 

I finally made it by the brewery after having a number of their beers while in Louisiana for work. The staff was very polite, helpful, and very welcoming. Couple of TV's running a music application that people could request songs on changed to the Thursday night football game when it came on. The space was big, with space available in the brewery for seating and a set of bags for people to play if they would like to. A food truck was serving tacos the night I was there.

The beer selection as others have said is three flagships with a few rotating options. Last night those options were a double dry-hopped variant of Commotion, Born in a Barn IV, and an Oktoberfest that was part of their Provisions series. It sounds like they are working towards expanding from their current focus on lagers. Andrew sounds like he has a great plan to introduce the region to some styles that are simply not available.

I'll be sure to visit again if I have the chance.

My first trip to Great Raft was for a friends 50th birthday party, so I got to experience the reserved party room as well as the main tasting room, was way too hot to go on the tour though. Vibe was a 4, decently lively crowd, no music going at the time, would've helped out. Quality was a 4.75, the place was quite clean and professional in appearance. Ample amount of seating, very nice looking bar, two growler styles to choose from and the party room was simple but nice with multiple couches and a small but effective personal mini bar which held three taps. Service was a 4. Staff was attentive and helpful and friendly when asked. Not too socially friendly outright to patrons, but were when approached. Selection was a 3.5, my score on this is a bit biased on this perhaps but there weren't that many options when I went, there was a double IPA, a saison, pale ale and a black ale. Would have liked to see a standard IPA and some kind of stout. All in all, Great Raft is a pretty cool place, it is definitely worth stopping by and seeing if you are in the area, but I wouldn't make a long trip specifically just to visit and tour it alone.

 

 

 

 

Spacious taproom with an oaked, c-shaped bar. Three flagships were available as well as 3-4 other GR brews, including a couple variants on regulars. Overall, really cool vibe going on. Only a couple tvs that were muted, so beer is the main conversation. A must stop if ever in the Shreveport area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very young brewery but IMO will be the best the best in the state. and
parish being a couple years ahead is slightly better at the moment. At the end of the day though, 4 of the top 10 beers I've had in Louisiana have come from Great Raft:
-at arm's length saison
-grit & grace DIPA
-all my tomorrows IPL
-make believer session IPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy and Lindsay are friends from way back, so take this review with a bit of a grain of salt. I really like the GRB taproom. It's stylish, aesthetically pleasing, but not too frou frou. It's a comfortable place with long, rough-cut tables, a long bar, plenty of light, and lots of room. There are food trucks outside where you can get a bite to eat. On draft are always the flagships (obviously), but look out because Andy and Harvey also often have something new and cool rotating on. An awesome place to spend an afternoon, get your growler filled, and chat with other like-minded beer fans.