New Belgium Brewing, in partnership with HospitableMe, a firm specializing in diversity, equity and inclusion training, will launch the Poured For All Initiative this fall, a free safety and inclusion training program for all bars and restaurants aimed at welcoming underrepresented communities into craft beer.
The Poured For All Initiative’s overarching goal is to foster “more inclusive and welcoming environments in thousands of bars and restaurants,” including those that serve New Belgium and Bell’s Brewery offerings. The training will also be extended to the taproom employees of both New Belgium and Bell’s.
Via the Poured for All Initiative, New Belgium and HospitableMe will develop a custom training program that will empower hospitality staff “to better understand and exhibit inclusive behaviors that foster a truly welcoming space for all identities, including people with LGBTQ+, BIPOC and intersectional identities who are currently underrepresented in craft beer spaces and elsewhere,” the company said in a press release.
The program was spurred by the dwindling number of LGBTQ+ bars, which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In the 1980s there were an estimated 200 lesbian bars, but that number is now down to 15, per NBC and other news sources,” the company said in the release.
“For more than 30 years, New Belgium has invested deeply in coworker and community wellbeing, seeking to be intentional about hearing our most underrepresented perspectives. In that spirit, we’ve approached beer with the commitment to be ‘brewed for all,’” Courtney Simmons, New Belgium’s newly appointed director of diversity, equity and inclusion, said in the release. “But we have work to do in scrutinizing whether all the spaces we drink beer are truly welcoming for members of marginalized groups. This initiative is about putting our resources to work in fostering more welcoming bars and restaurants across the country with the lowest possible barriers to access.”
The training, which is intended to complement programs such as Safe Bars, will be available via HospitableMe’s digital platform, combining lessons with personal stories in order to help bar and restaurant staff members better understand the experiences of underrepresented patrons and create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and identities. The training program will launch this fall and establishments whose entire staff go through the program will receive a digital certificate and a window cling. Businesses interested in participating can follow this link to pledge to join the program.
“New Belgium’s training will be a great complement to the bystander intervention work we do at Safe Bars. I’m thrilled to see New Belgium continue to lead the craft industry by example,” Dr. J Jackson-Beckham, president of the board of Safe Bars and equity and inclusion partner for the Brewers Association, said in the release.
“Because this training will be accessible to all companies at no cost, it will have positive impacts reaching far beyond just New Belgium’s walls as we seek to make bars and restaurants more inclusive and welcoming for people everywhere,” Billy Kolber, HospitableMe co-founder and CEO, added in the release.
In addition to the new training program, New Belgium will re-release Biere de Queer purple ale, with all proceeds going to LGBTQ+ organizations in its home markets, including Blue Ridge Pride in Asheville, NoCo Equality in Fort Collins, and Frameline in San Francisco.
New Belgium is also donating $1 (up to $50,000) for every social media share of the company’s “Guide to Rainbow Washing” to advocacy accelerator Equality Federation. Rainbow washing is when brands or companies appropriate Pride or the rainbow Pride Flag or imagery in marketing, advertising, apparel, etc. to signal support for LGBTQ+ equality and profit from the community, while making little to no effort to champion or protect LGBTQ+ rights.
New Belgium was the first craft brewer to receive a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, as well as the first craft brewer to be named on the organization’s list of Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.