Editor’s note: The New York City Brewers Guild voted to readmit Non Sequitur Beer Project (NS Beer) in April 2022. See below for a statement from the brewery.
The New York City Brewers Guild has revoked the membership of Brooklyn-based Non Sequitur Beer Project after allegations of sexual assault against one of its co-founders surfaced on social media.
“We are aware of the recent allegations against Gage Siegel of Non Sequitur Beer Project. These allegations directly contradict the core values and mission of the New York City Brewers Guild,” the guild wrote on Instagram last week. “In order to ensure a safe space for our guests, members and community at large, the guild has revoked the membership of Non Sequitur Beer Project; and they will not be participating in any upcoming guild sponsored events, meetings or collaborations.”
Two women have shared their personal experiences on Instagram in which they allege Siegel sexually assaulted them in 2019 and 2017. Both women pointed to Non Sequitur’s and Siegel’s posturing as allies for women in the beer community as a reason they came forward.
“I can’t let folks in my community go on without knowing what happened to me at the hands of someone so quick to make himself out to be a safe person in the community,” Ashley Croce wrote (Brewbound is sharing Croce’s name with her permission). “If Gage wants to position himself as part of the solution, he has to make amends for being part of the problem.”
Non Sequitur donates a portion of proceeds from each beer release to philanthropic organizations, including Planned Parenthood and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
In a July 26 post to Non Sequitur’s Instagram account following the first public accusal, Siegel acknowledged he had “been part of the problem that Non Sequitur advocates against.”
“I do not want this incident to reflect on Non Sequitur as an inclusive, safe space — but I know that doesn’t happen without serious work,” he wrote.
Siegel and Non Sequitur did not return requests for comment.
The Brooklyn craft brewery’s expulsion from the guild is one of the first punitive measures a brewing trade organization has taken against one of its members since Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet) and @EmboldenActAdvance brought women’s stories of abuse and assault to the forefront of the craft beer industry.
National not-for-profit trade group The Brewers Association (BA), which represents the country’s small and independent breweries, has not yet revoked the membership of any brewery accused of having a toxic work environment, nor has it ever expelled a member, a spokesperson confirmed.
The BA has acknowledged receiving three official complaints under the process it set up last year for violations of the code of conduct it introduced last summer. Before 2020, the BA had no recourse for censuring or expelling members.
In May, when Allan began sharing women’s stories to her personal Instagram account, Non Sequitur shared that the brewery donated to a fund created to assist Allan with legal fees should she face lawsuits for sharing information, RAINN, and Safe Horizon, a New York City-based organization that supports victims of violence.
“We have stood in support of women, of POC, of LGBTQ+ folx, and all people in the beer industry,” Non Sequitur wrote in an Instagram story saved to its highlight reel featuring its philanthropic work. “And our support does not end with platitudes, or with the safe space that we plan to create in our taproom and our workspace. We always put our money where our mouth is.”
In late July, Non Sequitur published a code of conduct, announced it had contracted WeVow as its third-party sexual harassment reporting partner, and shared its plans to host trainings for Safe Bars, an organization that trains staff to recognize and stop harassment at on-premise establishments. However, the move to WeVow came after Croce’s urging Non Sequitur to move away from its previous reporting system, which used a Google form that directed reports to an inbox Siegel shared, she said.
Siegel also noted that Non Sequitur planned to participate in the Brave Noise beer collaboration, which Allan co-founded in the wake of the beer industry reckoning with its history of gendered harassment, assault and discrmination.
To participate in the collaboration, breweries must publish a code of conduct and donate the majority of proceeds from the sale of their batch of Brave Noise pale ale to a non-profit organization that combats harassment, promotes women in the beer industry or supports service industry employees, among other causes.
Brave Noise’s organizers published the following disclaimer on the project’s website to state their right to exclude problematic breweries, such as Non Sequitur, from promotion:
“Brave Noise’s mission is one step in the direction of change within the beer industry. Though we cannot legally hold breweries accountable for any abusive acts, we do our diligence to discuss any allegations with breweries who have submitted to participate in the collaboration and provide them with resources and suggestions on how to take action. We can only do so much, which is why we need the entire beer community looking out for one another. If you see something, say something. If a brewery has recently been involved in an allegation and is working through the steps for change, that is ultimately our goal: change. We reserve the right to not promote any brewery on social media, the website, and any other distribution platforms for the Brave Noise collab until we know the right actions (yes, that was meant to be plural) have been made. Brave Noise is not a shield. It is a step in committing to long-term work.”
Ash Eliot, co-founder of Brave Noise and founder of Women of the Bevolution, an organization to support women in the craft alcohol industries, told Brewbound that she found Non Sequitur’s response so far to be lacking.
“Once stories were shared, we reached out on behalf of Brave Noise asking what actions and steps were being taken,” Eliot said. “In light of a second story being shared and the guild’s decision, which I hope more guilds start to do, I reached back out to Gage emphasizing that there needs to be more of a plan of action and steps forward, and Brave Noise will not be used as a shield.”
Guilds, trade organizations, and nonprofits rely on event-based fundraisers to fund their efforts. However, those groups were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because they could not host lucrative in-person events and were initially excluded from receiving support via programs such as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Another source of income is members’ dues, so revoking membership can put a guild at a financial disadvantage. That leaves guilds with moral and ethical quandaries when employees or owners of a member brewery act in a way that violates the organization’s ethos.
On its website, the New York City Brewers guild declares that it “believe[s] in the inclusion of all people, regardless of race, gender, sex, sexuality, economic class, nation of origin, age, faith, ability or identity.”
“In our guild meetings, collaborations, and sponsored events, we believe that the guild has a responsibility to create an environment that welcomes all people, including guild members, participating industry staff, event guests, volunteers, and non-industry staff,” the guild wrote. “Fostering such an environment is paramount to executing the guild’s mission of creating a community.”
The guild echoed that same language in its post announcing Non Sequitur’s expulsion.
“The mission of the New York City Brewers Guild is to advocate, promote and increase awareness and visibility of member breweries, while fostering a positive, diverse and ethical craft beer industry in New York City,” the guild wrote. “Our goal is to create a safe and welcoming environment in which the craft beer community, event guests, volunteers, industry and non-industry guests, and Guild members can build a more inclusive and engaging space to promote and advance craft beer.”
Editor’s note: this story was updated at 11:10 a.m. August 11 to reflect that Non Sequitur’s move to WeVow came after the urging of one of Siegel’s accusers.
UPDATE (August 13): Siegel issued the following statement to Brewbound:
“I and the business are taking these allegations seriously. As the allegations predate the business, the responsibility falls on me to take the steps and do the work towards resolution for the women involved. I have communicated with them both, and am actively working through the things they’ve asked for. I know that the work must continue, and I remain committed to a path towards being a more empathetic and compassionate individual.
“Non Sequitur remains committed to cultivating a safe and inclusive space in our recently opened taproom. We are committed to consistently reevaluating our policies and procedures to ensure we can live up to our shared mission.”
Siegel told Brewbound that he is “hopeful” the guild will reconsider Non Sequitur’s membership.
“We are in regular communication with the local guild and intend to take any additional steps they may request us to make,” he wrote. “I’m hopeful that as we move forward and I, as well as the business, do the work that they will reconsider our membership.”
Non Sequitur plans to brew and release a batch of Brave Noise, Siegel added.
“Yes, we will brew Brave Noise at some point in the future, however as our system in our facility is not yet online we do not have a date set,” he wrote. “Consistent with my core values, we have been working with charitable organizations and charitable beers from the outset of the business and as this is a cause we all believe in we feel it is the right thing to do.”
UPDATE, March 8, 2022: Non Sequitur Beer Project announced on March 7 that it will rebrand as NS Beer. “Non Sequitur Beer Project started out as a pop up endeavor, never meant to have a permanent home,” the brewery wrote on Instagram. “And it was a singular vision, certainly built with lots of help – but organized around one voice. As time has passed we’ve expanded our reach, brought on a brewer, more hands, put down permanent roots… the vision is and has been driven by a lot more hands and voices than just one.”
UPDATE, May 9, 2022: Following the brewery’s readmission to the guild, NS Beer issued the following statement: “We are grateful to rejoin the NYC Brewers Guild and support their mission of advocacy for our local brewing community. Through this process, we hope to show that Gage has taken responsibility and accountability for his past behavior, and that he has learned and grown to ensure that such harm will never happen again. Gage and the NSB team hope to be an advocate for positive change and a united path forward for the NYC beer community, and we welcome dialogue about the steps Gage and the company have taken. We strive to be a constructive example of what accountability can look like and encourage others to take responsibility for past wrongdoings that have caused harm.”