Photo courtesy of Jeff Pieper’s Facebook page. Used with his permission.
When I caught up with Jeff Pieper of Bossier City, he was on the roof of his mom’s house, helping prepare her home for inclement weather. But, as always, he was happy to take a moment to talk about his favorite subject: beer. Beer is something that Pieper knows a thing or two about. Earlier this year, he won the 2012 World Cup of Beer Homebrew Competition, beating out more than 200 well-known brewers to become the first non-Californian to take home the Best in Show award in 18 years.
Specifically, Pieper’s Vienna Lager beat out 639 other homebrews competing for Best in Show. As part of his award, Pieper is traveling to Oakland, Ca. this week, where he will be brewing 330 gallons of the award-winning Vienna Lager at Linden Street Brewery with Linden Street Brewmaster Adam Lamareux. There’s something undeniably cool about the fact that, in the near future, beer cognoscenti of the San Francisco Bay Area will be sipping a limited edition homebrew recognized as the best in the U.S. – and it’s originally from Bossier City.
Locals looking for an opportunity to taste Pieper’s work, along with countless other beers from around the world, should make plans to attend the 4th Annual BREW, an afternoon of premier beer tasting scheduled for 2-6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20. Tickets are $50 and may be purchased through the festival’s all-new website. This event, which also includes food courtesy of many of Shreveport-Bossier best restaurants, typically sells out well in advance. Proceeds from BREW will be used to fund additional programs provided by Downtown Shreveport Unlimited and the Red River Revel.
