Karlos Knott

karlos@bayoutechebrewing.com

I think most of us in Acadiana remember what we were doing on the evening of July 23, 2015.

I was pouring beer behind the bar at Vermilionville for a Ducks Unlimited Banquet. Toward the end of the evening, one of the other volunteer bartenders said that we needed to shut it down; there’d been a mass shooting in Lafayette.

Just a few weeks before, Lafayette was named as the happiest city in America.

Listening to the radio on the drive home, there were sketchy and conflicting reports. But by the next day, we all heard the terrible news, nine were injured and two killed — Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson.

If you want to take in Johnson’s mark on Acadiana, you just need to look around. Just about everyone in our slice of South Louisiana has a T-shirt featuring one of her designs, sold from the popular gift shop in which she had a hand.

Disclaimer — I love visiting Parish Ink. Every time you walk into that place, every customer has that ear-to-ear smile you get when you come across a purveyor with remarkable and playful products. The fact that they are located in a building that formally housed a legendary business called The Fun Shop seems providential.

It's time to thank beer's unsung heroes

I knew this about Jillian, that she was a musician, artist and businesswoman. I knew she designed logos for many of our local businesses and progressive organizations. There was one thing I did not know — that she had a hand in creating the plans for, and the nonprofit behind, the Victory Garden.

Jeremy Connor, proprietor of Cellar Salt, approached Bayou Teche Brewing about crafting a beer to benefit the TownFolk Victory Garden. He proposed brewing a very limited-edition beer named Victory Garden that would raise funds for the continued expansion and maintenance of the Victory Garden in Lafayette.

Jeremy designed the beer. He wanted an elegant lager that would also be easy enough to drink while you were working in the garden. We suggested brewing the kind of lager that American breweries brewed right after the end of Prohibition, a style known as a Post-Prohibition lager. There also was the suggestion that this was the kind of beer that folks were most likely drinking while planting Victory Gardens during World War II.

The wonderful label for this beer has been designed by Jillian’s brother, Bram Johnson. Posing on the label is Marcus Descant of TownFolk. TownFolk is a nonprofit, resident-driven organization dedicated to improving quality of life for residents and businesses in the LaPlace neighborhood of Lafayette — and maintaining and growing the Victory Garden located there.

Several Lafayette retailers have signed up to help maximize the money raised by sales of this Victory Garden Post-Prohibition Lager. On Jan. 17 there is an evening event at Social Southern Table & Bar, on Jan.18 a Happy Hour Special at The Saint Street Inn, and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 19, a Night at the Hopera at Whole Foods Lafayette as well as the Burger Night at The Jefferson Street Pub.

Then on Jan. 20, there is an Aloha Pub Crawl, featuring members of the Lost Bayou Ramblers and the Victory Garden Post-Prohibition Style Lager. It will begin at 6 p.m. at The Green Room, stop at several downtown business and end at The Wurst Biergarten. You can also stop by the Bayou Teche Brewing taproom in Arnaudville to buy commemorative bottles.

If you get a chance, support one of these local businesses in their fundraising efforts. Get online and make a donation to the TownFolk organization if you can. And visit the Victory Garden at the corner of Olivier and South Pierce streets.