Brewbound 2023 Beer Champions of the Year: The National Black Brewers Association’s Founding Members

Brewbound [00:03] I am Brewbound managing editor Jessica Infante, and with me today is Kevin Asado, the inaugural executive director of the National Black Brewers Association, or the NB2A. Kevin, welcome. How are you?

Speaker 2 [00:16] I am fantastic, yes. So good, good, good, good to be here. Um, man, that was quite the intro. I'll tell you, I like that though.

Brewbound [00:23] Oh, thank you, thank you. Well, I'm thrilled that you're here. So, you know, we are so excited to share that the NB2A and its founding members are Brewbound's Beer Champion of the Year. The Beer Champion Award started in 2020 to celebrate individuals and groups who work to improve conditions across the industry, and the NB2A is the first ever trade organization to support African-American brewers and brewery owners with their needs and issues. With their needs and issues, which can differ from those of the industry at large. So, to me, this was a no-brainer. I am so excited to, to be honoring you guys with this award and just congratulations.

Speaker 2 [01:02] Thank you so much. I mean, it's, uh, it's quite an honor to be actually be bestowed this. Award and this recognition, make no mistake there. Um, we don't think that we're doing anything, uh, that someone else wouldn't have done in the future. We're just the lucky ones to actually bring it together today. So make no mistake, we are thrilled to pieces that you recognize the work that's being done. Um, not just by this organization, but our entire community that's, you know, making up this organization there. So thank you so much for the recognition. This is huge that the the brewing community at large recognizes the impact and how powerful and how important this is. So thank you so much.

Brewbound [01:39] It's so important. I mean, and I pulled this from your website, but you know, less than 1% of craft breweries in the US are owned by African Americans, and there's no single entity to help them. So, Why don't you tell us, rather than me quoting your website to you, tell us a little bit about, you know, the initial goals for the organization in its first year, because I'm sure they'll evolve and change over time. But, but for right now, what are you hoping to accomplish in year one?

Speaker 2 [02:06] As you can hear, the reason why we started, right, there's just such a gap between whether it be the current drinking population of African Americans that represent about 8% of the drinking population. And then if you look at perhaps the total demographic of blacks in the US, you know, it's about 13%. Just to have less than 0.1% just seemed like such a disparity, and we don't know what the right number of brewery ownerships should be today, but suffice it to say I think it's something north of where we're at today, right? So, um, That's what our efforts are here to do, you know, that's the benchmark that we'll measure ourselves on, you know, can we increase the number of black brewery owners in the US? But beyond that, you know, we're definitely looking to celebrate the history and the legacy and the accomplishments of black brewers in the beer community, and that's a key, key factor. You know, we didn't just happen upon this business. We've been in this business for quite some time, so that's, you know, a very important piece. The other piece is we also want to be a clearinghouse and of resources. So as organizations, companies, you know, well-wishers or even supporters of any sort say, hey, I want to be able to support and provide some tools or I want to be able to tap into a community of black brewers because either I have a resource or I have opportunities. For them, we want to be that definitive resource for not just our black brewers but for all those that are interested in supporting what we do. So you know that's another key component there. And then a significant piece is going to be supporting legislative acts, you know, whether it be activities that the brewers Association is working on. You know, we'll essentially kind of pick up where they leave off or things that are specific to our community. We'll definitely, you know, drive home some legislative practices that make sense for our community as well. So lots going on.

Brewbound [03:47] Yeah, well, I mean, beer is so different from other, other industries because of that regulatory component, and it's not easy to get into as an industry in general. And there's, you know, there's many things that make it hard. So I'm so glad that you guys have come together to help this really important and very necessary group of people enter into the ranks of brewery ownership. So that said, you know, there are plenty of, you know, members of your founding class who are dear friends of Brewbound, like, you know, the crew at Crowns and Hops, who is, I don't think I'm breaking any news here. It should all be public knowledge by the time this airs, but who, uh, you know, Benny and Tia are one of our, uh, rising stars for the year. You know, you've got a lot of members in California, which is where we'll be for the conference, uh, but what, what other parts of the country are you, are your members strongest in?

Speaker 2 [04:33] Oh my goodness, it's surprising. We have great presence in so many locations New York, Georgia, uh, Michigan, Ohio, just, it's bizarre how some of these places just have just a concentration, but When they're so spread out, you don't know that there's a concentration of black brewers in that space there. So it's not until you actually have these conversations where you pull some of them in together, you start realizing, wow, wow, hey, I'm not only here in the state, I'm only just a few miles away, or this portion of the country. Don't get me wrong, you know, while we don't have black breweries in every portion of the US, you know, that still, you know, is our opportunity, and you know, maybe that's something that we can correct moving forward, but you know, The major cities, the major metropolitans, and you know what I love about this is not that it's limited to only major cities and metropolitans. This is actually how craft beer really resonates best with that community, right? If you're in an outlying area, a real rural local area, you become that community center of sorts there, that community meeting place, and that's precisely where some of our breweries are thriving, you know, that's Where I'm seeing the success, and that's where I'm seeing really those color lines really start to get blurred there, you know, if you are in some of these remote, you know, areas, our breweries are being supported by all walks of life, and that's the beautiful component there. So, um, we have some work to do, but we do have definitely a couple of hotspots.

Brewbound [06:02] Awesome. I mean, craft beer is certainly at its finest when, you know, breweries can act as community gathering places, and that's You know, one of my favorite things about the industry for sure, and the industry really is, you know, there may be almost 10,000 breweries, but it is still very small, uh, for the most part in that it's very tight knit and everybody kind of knows each other. So, you know, what kind of support have you received from the broader craft beer industry so far since your introduction in the spring?

Speaker 2 [06:29] Uh, great question. First of all, um, let me start with the one big, big supporter. When you think of craft beer, I'm sure you can go down to the actual breweries, and so I'll hold that for a quick second, but then let me just go to a fellow association, and that's the Brewers Association, right? You know they are the total umbrella for all craft beer, and you know, Bob Pease and his team have not only welcomed their, you know, us into open. there but have supported us tremendously whether it be presence and getting us into the Great American Beer Festival, presence at their annual conference there. These are significant presence and partnerships in addition to some of the other resources that, you know, that, you know, just too many to list at this point, but you know they see the value of what we're doing and they see the natural brotherhood or fraternal order that can. Live and how these two organizations can mutually coexist while still being independent of each other there. So you know our brewers are part of the larger brewing community. We may just have some systemic challenges that are, you know, that are unique to our organization or our membership, and that's why we can still benefit from all the work that the brewers have done. So the brewers Association is absolutely well received there. From a larger standpoint, I cannot be more proud of the partnership that the Boston Beer Company has, you know, right out of the gates. They were the first and foremost, a partner from an actual brand and producer standpoint. So thank you, Boston Beer Company and the entire team behind that. Um, they have not just provided money, they have provided just a tremendous amount of educational resources and additional, um, Connectivity to lend their resources to our community, whether it be hosting our board meeting or you name it, um, there, there are so many tools that they've made available and could not be prouder with that. And I, I do think that it actually helped spur some of the dialogue and perhaps, you know, move the needle to get partners like My goodness, Molson Coors, Diageo, uh, the, the, these are, you know, Alleghas that came out and openly said, hey, we want to support what you're doing, but more importantly, we believe in what you're doing. So we, we absolutely appreciate, you know, the Boston Beer Company with their initial effort, but absolutely also appreciate all of our existing business council members there, including, um, you know, because as we talked about, this is a highly regulatory, you know, environment, and now we even have that three-tier system. And you know, having the National Beer Wholesalers Network support us and outwardly, you know, inviting us to their conference there has been just well received, and I think the piece that continues to shock me, and I say shock only because There has not been any negativity. There's just this growing Circle of influence and people that are saying wow, yeah, I'm on board. So you know when we start talking to more and more people about what we're doing and we're getting more press and as that dialogue and these circles start expanding, this is when we start, you know, there's a group called Care Solace that's around mental health, and when you think about, you know, brewery ownership or just, you know, some of the challenges that are uniquely black, well, clearly there's some, some benefits to have some, you know, mental health supports there, and that organization came through to support us. And then any of the allied trade partners that we've seen come on board, you know, there's just been such an outpouring, whether it's a line cleaning service or you know, distribution services there, you know, freight forwarders. We are so, so, so pleased so far with the acceptance from All walks, you know, even suppliers, you know, hop suppliers and whatnot there. So early on, and I, I know it's still very early on, we aren't even at a year yet technically, and we've had great, great, great, uh, public acceptance.

Brewbound [10:25] That's amazing. Now, how long has, has this organization been, you know, a dream or an idea? How long has this been in planning?

Speaker 2 [10:34] In planning that, I don't know. Um, I will say though, December of 2022 is when the Articles of incorporation came into effect, um, and then building all the infrastructure needed to actually build an organization to make it credible, reputable, sustainable, um, those are all things that kind of carried us into Um, you know, they had their first board meeting in February and then they brought me on board to actually do the nuts and bolts of actually standing up the organization, and that started in May. So, you know, the work started in December. Prior to that, I get the impression, and I only say I get the impression because I wasn't part of all the dialogue that took place, but there have been several attempts of bringing this group of people together, and it just, for whatever reason, just never, you know, kind of had. You know, the staying power or couldn't get together there. So I do really appreciate the efforts of Kevin Johnson and maybe it's his background in political, you know, in being a former mayor or maybe being a team leader. And of course, you know, the relationships that have him, you know, bringing some resources to the table here, all of that really, you know, this organization really needed, you know, someone with that vision, with the level of resources and Frankly, feel that charisma, if you will, right, to galvanize everybody to come together and say, all right, this is legit, this is for real, this isn't just one of those things that happened in the past. No, we're doing this. And so, you know, Kevin Johnson was pretty instrumental on really bringing this to life. So hats off to you, KJ. Appreciate

Brewbound [12:04] it. Kevin, absolutely a force. So that makes so much sense to me. So, for other people throughout the industry who maybe haven't gotten involved yet, how can they do that? What support do you need from the rest of the beer industry to, to continue moving forward?

Speaker 2 [12:20] Great. Another great question there, Jess. Um, first thing is, become a member. I think that's the one thing that people always kind of, you know, get surprised at when I tell them, I go, yes, this is the National Black Brewers Association, but you can be a member. We are an inclusive organization there and so you don't have to be black and you don't have to be a black brewer to boot, you know, you could just simply be a supporter. A supporter of what we're doing or a supporter of you know the cause that we're trying to, you know, realize there. And that said, you know that allows anybody from any walk of life to be a member there and you can go to our website nb2A.org and on the top right corner has a very clear join now button there and it's a very simple prompt to join. But even if it's not membership, you know, I talked about being perhaps that clearinghouse of resources, right, to give an avenue to organizations or individuals that say, you know something, I have time, I have services, I have other stuff that I can provide beyond financial resources. I'd like it to go to someone, you know, that's from your community. We can absolutely facilitate that. We've been very fortunate to have a partner in Triumph Brewing that had some brewing equipment, didn't know exactly what he wanted to do with it, donated a 10 barrel brew house. We were able to source alongside with the Michael James Jackson Foundation. find a healthy recipient and bring that to life and the MB2A help facilitate the cost and whatnot. So that's a perfect example of being able to take some equipment, find a worthy recipient, and our organization can help facilitate the cost or ultimately the implementation, but that is, you know, what I'll go back to. Maybe it's accounting services, maybe it's, you know, graphic design services that have been really, you know. Pleased to hear that there are people that are, you know, maybe on the sideline of not producing beer but have supportive services, and we can absolutely find those, you know, uses and benefits there. So it can come in any form, you know, any way, just raise your hand and shoot an email our way.

Brewbound [14:19] Awesome. Triumph is one of the first craft breweries I ever went to.

Speaker 2 [14:22] So, oh wow, yeah, that's right. You're in the Northeast. So yeah, absolutely, yeah,

Brewbound [14:26] yeah, funny, I grew up in New Jersey and uh they have been, you know, a New Jersey craft beer. Like institution forever, yeah,

Speaker 2 [14:36] yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we appreciate Adam Reshnitz and his help with, uh, you know, and donating that equipment there. That's huge kudos.

Brewbound [14:45] Great. Well, what can we expect from the NB2A in 2024?

Speaker 2 [14:49] My goodness, uh,

Brewbound [14:50] so much, I know, right?

Speaker 2 [14:52] Yeah, I mean, the workload is about yay big, the time is about this big, so. You know, uh, Kevin Johnson said this almost jokingly when he, you know, the entire team was reaching out to me and I was interviewing for this. He's like, hey, we're gonna do 3 years' worth of work in one. Like, sure, everybody says that, no problem. Um, the pace by which this is moving and the things that we're doing, that is 100% true. I think, you know, some of the key things that you'll see us moving forward is our priority is, you know, to continue to grow membership, right? We want to make sure that we have a definitive list of all the black breweries that are out there, right? You know, there's some that still haven't recognized themselves or been identified, but also, you know, building that membership is still continues to be the priority. But as I talked about growing the image and you know, supporting the legacy in history, you know, we do that by doing events like focusing on October 10th and getting National Black Brewers Day. You know, this year we set out with a goal of hitting, you know, 10 jurisdictions that were recognized October 10th, and the significance of October 10th, that is the day that the first African American brewer. was open, you know, Ted Mack Sr. in Oshkosh, Wisconsin opened up the very first black owned brewery. So we want to make sure that we continue to pay homage to that particular date and we do that, like I said, by having jurisdictions recognized October 10th as National Black Brewers' Day. Well, we started off with a goal of 10. We blew through that goal and hit 18 just in year one. With that 18 and the recognition and the press that we got, we now have partnered with the National Black Caucus of State Legislators to make this a federal piece. So what we were just working and hoping for from a local piece ended up being a federal effort there. So we're going to make this a true federal national holiday. And then the other key things that you'll see us, we're going to continue with Black is Beautiful. We had so much success in the first few years with the collaboration efforts there created by Marcus Baskerville out of Weathered Souls in which the proceeds at the first time went to a social injustice, a local social injustice cause of your choice, but you know. Garnered or collected 1600 breweries to brew this beer and put those proceeds back towards a social injustice cause of your choice. We're evolving that program to still having it. We changed the recipe this year. It's a hazy IPA, and we're going to push that piece out there in which the proceeds are now are coming back to the NB2A. But some of the things that we're doing, we, we have some partners in the way of, you know, partners like Whole Foods that have said, Hey, look, I like what you're doing with this thing. I want to make sure that we're a big supporter and have this, you know, product available in a national retail chain. And so you're going to continue to see a lot of what you saw this year, but just exploded much bigger and broader.

Brewbound [17:36] Awesome. I, I did we just make a little news here? I don't think I knew about, you know, Black is Beautiful 2.0, so you and I are going to talk a little bit more.

Speaker 2 [17:44] But we have some more to talk about.

Brewbound [17:46] Well, all of that sounds incredible, and I am exhausted on your behalf personally because 3 years of work in 1 year sounds like a lot, but you know, it's been 6 months, and I feel like you guys have already done 3 years' worth of work. So the dedication is impressive. Yeah, we're so excited for you guys. You're so needed. So we're just Thrilled that you're able to join us both for this video, but also at the conference and in all the things that I know we've collaborated on together already. Uh, thank you so much and congratulations from all of us to all of you.

Speaker 2 [18:21] Thank you, Jess. Thank you, Brew Brown. I really appreciate all the support. And yeah, let's, uh, Take a minute to celebrate what we're doing, and then we'll get right back to working and getting it done. So thank you so much.