Featured photo: Brewing expert John Palmer will speak at an upcoming event at Red River Brewing Company in Shreveport. Photo courtesy of event organizers.
Shreveport’s Red River Brewing Company will host a day-long speaking event on Saturday, July 30 featuring brewing guru and How to Brew author John Palmer. Palmer, who has authored three books on the subject of homebrewing (How to Brew, Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew With and Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers), will speak at 10 a.m. and again at noon. The event, which will be held in the RRBC tasting room at 1200 Marshall Street, will also include a lunch catered by Drake Catering, a Q&A and book signing with Palmer and two beer coupons for each guest in attendance. Tickets are $40 each and may be purchased here.
“We started out homebrewing, and of course we read How to Brew, like so many others have,” said Jared Beville, co-founder of Red River Brewing Company. “This is the first of what’s going to become a pretty regular speaker series. Anyone who’s interested in homebrewing really ought to come out.”

If you’re a homebrewer from out of town who’s planning to visit for the John Palmer event, here are a few tips from a local beer lover:
-The Hilton Shreveport has a special room rate of $99 for this event, and they’ve got a shuttle that’ll drop you off and pick you up within two miles of the hotel, which applies to this event.
-You may want to download Eat Here: A Food Lover’s Guide to Shreveport-Bossier, a new brochure published by the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. There’s info on craft beer bars, breweries, local restaurants and more.
-Shreveport-Bossier is home to three craft breweries with tasting rooms: Flying Heart Brewing, Great Raft Brewing and Red River Brewing Company. Make it a full weekend and check out all three.
You must be 21 or older to attend the events and businesses mentioned in this post.