The craft beer community is supporting those rallying against racism and violence with “Black is Beautiful,” a collaborative brewing campaign to “bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily,” according to the effort’s originator.
Weathered Souls Brewing of San Antonio, Texas, recently launched the campaign, offering up a base recipe for an imperial oatmeal stout and labeling graphics for other breweries to create and sell the beer. The campaign’s website, BlackIsBeautiful.beer, asks participating brewers to:
- Donate all sale proceeds from the beer to “local foundations that support police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.”
- Make a donation to a local organization supporting equality and inclusion.
- Commit to the “long-term work of equality.”
“Our mission is to bridge the gap that’s been around for ages and provide a platform to show that the brewing community is an inclusive place for everyone of any color,” Weathered Souls co-founder and head brewer Marcus Bakersville wrote on the website. “We are asking for all breweries and brewers far and wide to raise a glass with us in unison and participate in this collaboration.”
CT craft breweries sign on
More than 1,000 breweries across the United States and in 19 countries in total have registered to participate in the Black is Beautiful effort. In Connecticut, thirteen breweries have signed up to make and sell Black is Beautiful beer. Bookmark this page. As more CT Breweries sign on we’ll keep a running list. This page was last updated Thrus 7/15/2020:
- Armada Brewing, East Haven
- Front Porch Brewing, Wallingford
- Half Full Brewery, Stamford
- Kent Falls Brewing Co., Kent
- Labyrinth Brewing Co., Manchester
- Little House Brewing Co., Chester
- Lock City Brewing Co., Stamford
- Luppoleto Brewing Co., Windsor Locks
- New England Brewing Co., Woodbridge
- Rhythm Brewing Co., New Haven
- Still Hill Brewery., Rocky Hill
- Tox Brewing Co., New London
- Two Roads Brewing Co., Stratford
Join the Black is Beautiful beer movement
To register to brew Black is Beautiful, and download the recipe and graphics, go to BlackIsBeautiful.beer.
If you own a Connecticut brewery or retailer that makes/sells Black is Beautiful beer, please contact us thru our contact page on our website. CTBeer.com will proudly promote your commitment to the cause on our social media channels at @CTbeer. Please include:
- Name of your beer
- High Resolution and social media image of the beer
- Brief Description of your Beer
- Social media handles where we can tag you
The CTBeer.com community can show its support for the campaign by buying Black is Beautiful beer, taking photos of you and others drinking it, and posting them on social media with #BlackIsBeautifulBeer.
Breweries can put own spin on beer
Although the effort focuses on one cause, head brewer Bakersville asks that breweries feel free to personalize it.
For example, he tells brewers to freely tinker with the base recipe — featuring black, chocolate and chocolate rye malts — to make it their own. For example, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reports that Cavendish Brewing Co. in Gastonia, N.C., will brew a batch with raspberries in lactose while Triple C Brewing Co. in Charlotte will add caramel and Black Lava Hawaiian sea salt.
The label graphics created Black is Beautiful leave room for breweries to add their own logos and other information. The campaign website also offers discounted label printing for breweries.
Similar brewing collaborative initiatives have helped raise awareness and money for various causes in recent years. Sierra Nevada offered a recipe to brewers in 2018 to support communities devastated by recent California wildfires. Earlier this year, Other Half Brewing Co. in New York spearheaded a collaborative brew of All Together beer to support the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 crisis.
