USA, LA: Red River Brewing Co. now open in Shreveport

Red River Brewing Co. hosted a grand opening on April 2 for its recently constructed taproom and production facility in Shreveport, KSLA-TV reports.

The business at 1200 Marshall St. in downtown Shreveport opened its doors to customers at 2 p.m.

The building was nothing more than an empty warehouse in September. Now it's filled with enough tanks to brew thousands of gallons of beer a year. After seeing the success of Great Raft and Flying Heart breweries in the market, Red River Brewing decided downtown Shreveport is where it wanted to be.

"If you want a vibrant downtown, you have to have a reason to go there," Red River Brewing co-owner Jared Beville said. "We feel like our business model, and our public tasting room, is really going to provide a great opportunity to bring people back downtown and see what all it has to offer."

The location couldn't be better for what they hope to accomplish, he added.

"Breweries, in particular, are locating in previously blighted areas, and really being that anchor tenant that really starts that revitalization and gives people a reason to come back to areas that they otherwise wouldn't know even existed," Beville said.

Red River Brewing has 7 craft beers on tap. The selection is expected to expand over the next several months.

Red River Brewing's owners say their brewery is the first to be in downtown Shreveport since Prohibition.

06 April, 2016