15+ Charlotte breweries are serving new Black is Beautiful beer for social justice
More than 600 breweries across the world — including several in Charlotte — are participating in Black Is Beautiful, a new collaboration “brewed to support justice and equality for people of color” started by San Antonio’s Weathered Souls Brewing Co.
And of all the local breweries taking part, one has a special connection.
Zach Holt has been with Resident Culture since the brewery opened almost three years ago, but his introduction to the industry came when his father, Mike Holt, opened Weathered Souls Brewing Co. in 2016. Holt spent a lot of time around Marcus Baskerville, the brewery’s head brewer, co-founder and the man behind the Black Is Beautiful initiative.
“I was basically a shadow on Marcus’ shoulder,” Holt said. “I did everything he did, and that got me really interested in the brewing side of things.”
So when Holt’s dad called to tell him about Baskerville’s Black Is Beautiful initiative before it went public, he told Amanda and Phillip McLamb, founders of Resident Culture Brewing Co. They agreed to participate and also sent the details to other local brewers. Now, more than 15 Charlotte-area breweries are participating (see the full list below).
Starting Black is Beautiful
Baskerville initially came up with the Black Is Beautiful initiative after protests in San Antonio following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota, and he wanted to use his business platform to help his community.
Breweries participating in Black is Beautiful all brew the same base beer (an imperial oatmeal stout). However, Baskerville is encouraging brewers to put their own spin on the beer. He has also allowed breweries to choose where the proceeds from the beer’s sales go, provided that 100% of those proceeds go “to local foundations that support police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.”
Baskerville did more than just teach Holt about the technical aspects of brewing; he also shared his experiences as a person of color in the brewhouse. Baskerville is Black, and Holt is biracial.
“There are a lot of expectations people have when they walk into a brewery, and Marcus tends to break those walls down, which I really like and respect,” Holt said.
Before launching the initiative, Baskerville had a goal in mind of having 200 breweries join. The total count now, which is being updated at BlackIsBeautiful.beer, stands at more than 600 breweries — though brewers aren’t the only businesses jumping in to lend support.
Hop, yeast and grain suppliers have offered discounts, and in some cases free ingredients. Midwest Barrel Co. has offered Willett bourbon barrels at their cost for breweries who wish to age the beer. Brooklyn Brew Shop even offers a gallon-sized homebrew kit for homebrewers looking to brew the beer.
Steps toward change
But all of this is just a start. Baskerville hopes the breweries that have joined the project continue to take steps toward ending inequality.
“What I think breweries can do for the long-term commitment is making actual commitments to the organizations that they’re giving their money to,” Baskerville said. “Also, another way to help is opening dialogue with their employees of color, or starting equality classes for their breweries.”
Baskerville applauds breweries like Pennsylvania’s Tired Hands Brewing Co., which has an internship for people of color. Through this internship, the brewery introduces the interns to the beer industry and helps them find a job in it.
Zach Holt agrees that hiring more people of color would go a long way in creating a more inclusive beer industry and helping it grow. And like Baskerville, he thinks the Black Is Beautiful project can help. “What Marcus is doing is only a step,” Holt said. “It’s a great idea, and it’s a great way to help out, but it doesn’t stop here. Breweries can’t just do a collab and stop. They should take this to heart and really think about why this beer is important and what else it can do for our breweries and our industry as a whole as far as growing in our diversity. I think that creating awareness for customers and letting them know that there are people in this industry that look like you, it goes further than just the beer.”
Charlotte breweries participate
Some breweries in Charlotte are already starting to think about ways to help beyond the collaboration.
Instead of donating proceeds from the beer, NoDa Brewing Co. will make a $10,000 donation to Emancipate NC. Town Brewing Co. will brew Black Is Beautiful with Protagonist Beer Co., and the brewery will also soon introduce a new annual release called Many Faces. All of the net proceeds from this year’s West Coast IPA will benefit the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild’s diversity scholarship program, which provides funds for people of color and women attending the guild’s Craft Brewers Conference. The brewery’s distributor, Artisan Beverage, will donate its own proceeds to the program, as well.
The Unknown Brewing Co. will re-release its Love Without Boundaries shirts, which debuted for Pride month last year, and donate proceeds from sales of the shirts to Emancipate NC.
While Baskerville’s Black Is Beautiful campaign has exceeded his expectations, he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
“We’re going to let this go as long as possible,” Baskerville said. “Obviously inequality isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
The following area breweries will brew Black Is Beautiful. Many are still in the process of choosing charities or finalizing beer ingredients, but we’ve noted those below where applicable.
Charity: TBD
Ingredients: TBD
Charity: TBD
Ingredients: Weathered Souls’ recipe
Charity: Black Lives Matter
Ingredients: Weathered Souls’ recipe, plus a batch with raspberries in lactose.
Charity: Ignite NC
Ingredients: Weathered Souls’ recipe
Charity: Young Black Leadership Alliance of Charlotte
Ingredients: Vanilla Salted Caramel and Pistachio Gelato from Popbar
Charity: Heal Charlotte
Ingredients: Coffee
Charity: Emancipate NC
Ingredients: 10% Dark Mead
Charity: Emancipate NC
Ingredients: Black Pilsner with Zuper Saazer hops.
Charity: Young Black Leadership Alliance of Charlotte
Ingredients: Additional oats, plus vanilla, cold-brew coffee, cocoa nibs and cinnamon
Pilot Brewing & Percent Taphouse
Charity: Charlotte Mecklenburg County Branch of NAACP
Ingredients: Cocoa Nibs and Toasted Coconut
Protagonist Beer Co. & Town Brewing Co.
Charity: 100 Black Men of Charlotte
Ingredients: Toasted Coconut and Vanilla
Charity: TBD
Ingredients: TBD
Charity: Action NC
Ingredients: TBD
Charity: TBD
Ingredients: Caramel and Black Lava Hawaiian Sea Salt
Charity: Greater Charlotte Rise
Ingredients: Peanut Butter and Cocoa
Charity: ACLU of North Carolina
Ingredients: Weathered Souls’ recipe, brewed with Durham’s Epiphany Craft Malt
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 11:24 AM.
