8 regional brewers join 'Black is Beautiful' Initiative
Photography by Michael Parente
Black is Beautiful Beer is a collaborative effort amongst the brewing community and its customers to raise awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged. Currently 1,120 breweries in all 50 states and 21 countries are participating in the campaign. Local breweries participating in the initiative include Abjuration Brewing, 11th Hour Brewing, Hop Farm Brewing Co., East End Brewing Company, Hitchhiker Brewing Company, Cinderlands Beer Co., and Butler Brew Works.
Burgh’ers Brewing has officially launched their new line of canned beers in celebration of their 10th anniversary and are marking the occasion by joining 8 other Pittsburgh-area breweries in the international ‘Black is Beautiful’ brew movement, with proceeds going directly to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh (ULGP).
”With the current tensions that are rising, we thought that it was of grave importance to start the Black Is Beautiful initiative” says Marcus Baskerville, the founder and head brewer of Weathered Souls Brewing Co. in San Antonio, Texas, and the man responsible for the Black Is Beautiful campaign. “We took a stout recipe and decided to call on our peers in the brewing industry to collaborate in unison for equality and inclusion amongst people of color.”
The effort is truly collaborative, not only because of the freedom each brewery has to put their own creative spin on the beer— Weathered Souls provides the recipe for their original imperial stout that individual brewmasters are free to modify to their own tastes— but because the initiative directly engages with each brewery’s local community. All proceeds from the purchase of these releases will be donated to local funds that support black lives, fight against police brutality, and advocate for reform and legal defenses.
For Neil Glausier, Co-Owner and Brewmaster at Burgh’ers, participating in the ‘Black is Beautiful’ campaign felt like an important message to send to their customers, and to Pittsburgh, given the current political and social crisis.
“We don't align ourselves politically as a business to any flavor, but we do stand ardently in support of human rights,” says Glausier. “I am fed up with the acceptance of violence being the default posture in interactions with law enforcement.”
In its collaboration, Burgh’ers has promised to donate 100% of the proceeds from its ‘Black is Beautiful’ beer to the ULGP and committed to the long-term work of equality.
Glausier says that he wanted to connect the clientele with an organization that had a reputation for making substantial change and provided assistance to communities of color. “UPGP has been doing just that since 1918. Not only do we want our donations to have a meaningful impact on our community, but we would like to promote this organization's mission to our guests so they can be informed of the need for continuing community support through more than just their purchase of a beer.”
The beer itself is sold with the initiative’s ‘Black is Beautiful’ label, but at Burgh’ers its taste is unique to the restaurant’s personal flair. Their version incorporates chocolate rye and midnight wheat malt that enhanced the chocolaty depth and rounded some of the roasty corners in the original recipe. They also substituted in Cascade hops for some Styrian Golding hops to get some very mellow resin and earthy flavor, as well as some Columbus hops to add a little herbal/spicy punch and understated lingering citrus, conjuring a very robust cocoa ganache profile that leaves the palate clean and soft without an acrid or bitter aftertaste.
The Burgh’ers line of canned beer comes at a time when taking things out and taking things home is especially important. The beer will be available for purchase at both Burgh’ers restaurant locations in Lawrenceville and Zelienople.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL PARENTE
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