Brewers Push For Racial Equity
courtesy Weathered Souls Brewing
Breweries answer the call for change with collaboration and educational resources
Teo Hunter and Beny Ashburn had more than a few reasons to start the 8 Trill Pils Initiative.
The name “8 Trill” is a reference (the trill is an abbreviation for trillion) to how much larger the United States economy could be if the country eliminated racial disparities in health, education, incarceration and employment, based on a 2018 study by the W.K Kellogg Foundation. Hunter and Ashburn saw these disparities in the nation’s beer culture, disparities they have been determined to address with their California brewery, Crowns and Hops and, now, the 8 Trill Pils project.
“The fact that systemic racism could play a part in why there were almost no black-owned breweries wasn’t something people were really investigating,” Hunter said. “We’ve had naysayers who would say we were ridiculous for bringing our culture and race into the conversation. Today it seems people understand why it is an important conversation.”
Like so much of the rest of the country, the beer world has not been insulated from racism and a lack of opportunity for Black brewers. African-Americans own roughly one percent of independent breweries in the United States, according to the Brewers Association, but there are a number of recent efforts intended to change that and make the craft beer scene more equitable and inclusive.
The 8 Trill Pils Initiative has launched with a $100,000 grant in partnership with BrewDog, the craft beer giant from Britain, which will assist Black brewers in opening breweries. In Texas, Weathered Souls Brewing began the “Black Is Beautiful'' campaign, with over 1,200 participating breweries making a dark beer of their choosing to raise money for programs that advocate for racial justice. And in Brooklyn, New York, Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery has reimagined the Michael Jackson Foundation to award scholarships to distilling and brewing trade schools for Black people, indigenous people, and people of color. (The foundation is named for the legendary beer and whiskey writer, who died in 2007).
Beny Asburn and Teo Hunter, courtesy Crowns & Hops
Crown and Hops
Crowns and Hops was founded by Hunter and Ashburn in 2018, after they realized years ago that Black people were often left out of the craft beer industry. They started in 2016 with a concept called “Dope and Dank,” which was a lifestyle brand that encouraged Black and Brown drinkers to participate in the craft beer community, and pushed to make a space for them to do so. You could buy Dope and Dank apparel like shirts and hats, and find Beny and Teo at events like Fresh Fest (the nation’s first Black beer festival) or at tastings at local establishments including barbershops and breweries.
The concept has evolved to become Crowns and Hops, a beer company that they founded with financial assistance from BrewDog. Crowns and Hops beers include BPLB (Black People Love Beer) IPA.
The brewery’s 8 Trill Pils beer was released in the United States, Britain and Australia on September 8, with all proceeds going to organizations that fight for racial equity. The 8 Trill Pils website is designed as a resource for breweries, industry employees, and others who want to get involved in craft beer. “This is the first step in creating racial equity in the craft beer industry, the fund and this launch,” Ashburn said.
Even though the beer industry would appear eager for change, Mr. Hunter said, the reception for 8 Trill Pils has not been universally positive. “It’s been a bit of a mixed bag from the craft beer community in terms of reaction,” he said. “It really shows when people invest in doing the work on their own. With 8 Trill Pils we’re presenting the opportunity to do the work because we can’t do the work for the existing craft beer community… Breweries like Great Notion, HenHouse in Santa Rosa, California, and the Alchemist in Vermont were some of the first breweries that had a position on racial equity, and I was so encouraged to see that from an industry leader. Hopefully that is what 8 Trill Pils will allow for.”
A focus on education
On the East Coast, the Michael Jackson Foundation is reemerging under the guidance of Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and a renowned beer expert.
“I was fundamentally getting asked the wrong question, which is ‘Why don’t we see more Black brewers?’ It was a stupid question--‘You do not appear to understand what country you live in. You haven’t noticed that there are also no Black people in the restaurants you visit?’”
Mr. Oliver has long been a man on the move, often taking more than 10 trips each year to destinations like Brazil, England and Japan to do his work for Brooklyn Brewery and, more broadly, to educate communities about the joys of beer. That did not leave him much time for work on other projects, but with the pandemic limiting travel, Mr. Oliver found himself with the time to get the Michael Jackson Foundation going.
In some form the foundation has existed for the last 20 years or so, originally started by a now-moribund organization called the American Institute of Wine and Food. The Jackson foundation funded a few scholarships over the years but in November of 2019 the previous incarnation of the institute asked Mr. Oliver to help dispense the remaining funds and he agreed on the condition that they go predominantly to people of color. From there, the current version of the foundation was born. As protests roared across the country last summer Mr. Oliver decided to move forward while the nation was paying attention. “I saw the moment coming, and coming quickly and I thought to myself, ‘I have six weeks. I have some time, I have a starter fund, I already started down this road, let’s finish it,’” he said.
“It is very simple by design—we only do two things: we provide scholarships for technical education and only technical education for people of color and alongside each scholarship we do mentorship. We’re trying to produce the levels of applicants that we’re looking for at Brooklyn Brewery.” To date, the fund has raised over $170,000 for scholarships and has received donations from some of the industry's most acclaimed breweries, including Other Half Brewing, Tree House Brewing and Half Acre Beer Company. Breweries and individuals can donate via a GoFundMe, and there will be other avenues for corporations to contribute.
Garrett Oliver, courtesy Brooklyn Brewery
The goal is to fund as many scholarships as possible and then match each recipient with a mentor in the brewing or distilling industries. The cost of the technical courses the grants will pay for range from $9,000 to $16,000. The foundation currently has funds for about 10 recipients. To measure progress, Mr. Oliver said, the foundation will follow the trajectory of each grant winner. “This coming year if we give out six or so scholarships, in 2021 we’ll want to follow those people through and be a connection center for them.” The foundation will present the scholarship as awards for the applicants. “In the communities of people of color, the vast majority of people never win anything or even had the idea in their life that they could win anything.”
If you brew it, they will come
Marcus Baskerville, founder and head brewer at Weathered Souls Brewing Company, said he never expected over 1,160 breweries to join his Black is Beautiful campaign. “I told my business partner I thought we would have around 200 or 250 breweries or somewhere around there. I think we hit that number within the first three days so to see this number where it is, it’s nice to be able to surpass goals,” he said.
Included among those breweries are Crowns and Hops, who chose to brew their Black Is Beautiful stout with pecans, and Garrett Oliver and Brooklyn Brewery, currently barrel-aging their version for release this winter. Bell’s Brewery in Michigan, Sweetwater Brewing in Georgia and Perennial Beer in St. Louis are amongst the over one thousand participating breweries. Each brewery that brews a Black is Beautiful beer then selects a local organization dedicated to racial justice and equity to be the recipient of a portion of the proceeds. The goal is for the project to be ongoing, and will eventually include distilleries that are aging their versions as a spirit now.
“The brewing industry has made history—there are 1,100 separate businesses that are involving themselves to move commerce to support equality and social justice,” Mr. Baskerville said. “That has never been done in any industry. I would definitely say these initiatives are going to make the changes in the brewing industry permanently. As long as those things continue to happen we’re definitely going to see some real change around here.”
