Is it possible to change the world through beer? Dom and Latiesha Cook think so.
The Cooks founded Beer Kulture in 2017 in the Bronx. And now the Florida-based nonprofit organization seeks to change the craft beer conversation from within.
The craft beer world is dominated by white people, especially when it comes to brewery ownership. But the nationwide dialogue around police brutality and institutional racism also is percolating through the craft beer industry.
Beer Kulture fosters many of these discussions. And it's all for a simple reason, according to CEO Latiesha Cook: "What is sustainable that doesn’t have diversity?"
While 12.2% of the U.S. population is Black, a 2018 study by the Brewers Association found that Black people make up 19.3% of craft brewery employees and just 1% of craft brewery owners.
Of the 434 breweries in New York, just three are Black-owned. Both Harlem Brewing and Harlem Blue are contract breweries. Brooklyn's DaleView Biscuits and Beer is the only on-site Black-owned brewery in the state.
Efforts are now ramping up to make the beer industry more inclusive, both for potential brewery owners and employees — and also for prospective customers.
"Simply put, we are much better when we are diverse and inclusive," Cook wrote in an email. "It opens up the talent pool, provides us all with new ways of thinking, increases our chances for success monetarily and spiritually and, let’s face it, provides a wide array of opportunities for more flavorful and delicious beer!"
What drives the disparity?
The issue of representation and equality in the craft beer world is about more than beer — it’s about the American experience itself.
“The craft brewing industry does not exist in a vacuum,” said J. Jackson-Beckham, founder and inclusion and equity strategist of consultancy Crafted for All, offering consultation and training to members of the craft beverage industry.
The industry, Jackson-Beckham said, is “part of the broader cultural and economic climate of the United States, and so if it has disparities it’s reflecting disparities that are part of the greater culture. So I think to some degree this isn’t about something special happening in craft beer, this is simply a place where we’re seeing some of the broader dynamics of the U.S. play out.”
Mountains of statistics back her up.
The 2020 Economic State of Black America report, put together by Congress's Joint Economic Committee, states Black workers are twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers. Black Americans are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than white Americans. The median net worth of white families is $171,000, nearly 10 times the median net worth of Black families, which was only $17,150 in 2016. The median net worth of Black households is less than one year’s subsistence at the federal poverty level for a family of three.
Jackson-Beckham launched Craft Beer For All, now known as Crafted For All, in 2018, the same year she was named the Brewers Association’s first diversity ambassador. Last year she launched the nonprofit Craft x EDU, which works for equity, inclusion and justice in the industry and offers scholarships and professional development grants.
Meanwhile, Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, recently announced plans to launch the Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilled, named after the late pioneering English beer and whiskey writer, not the late pop music icon. The fund will provide scholarships for Black, indigenous and people of color in the brewing and distilling industries.
"Hopefully, with increased awareness and education, in a year we will have stories to tell about how these programs made a difference, and in five years, we will have a wide range of voices telling their stories," said Sofia Barbaresco, who chairs the New York State Brewers Association's inclusivity committee. "This is a long-term project that we are committed to. "
How did we get here?
Jackson-Beckham said to look to the origins of the craft beer industry in California companies including Anchor Brewing and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. It was a climate that saw the retrofitting and engineering of equipment because, as Jackson-Beckham explained, at the time “brewing equipment for the craft scale didn’t exist,” and that process required startup capital.
“We are still very much in the throes of the civil rights movement, people of color are not getting a bank loan in 1970 to start an unproven business model, redlining is still happening,” she said. “So early adoption would have been nearly impossible, simply just given the kind of political and economic climate in the U.S.”
Then there’s the issue of what sorts of alcoholic products were marketed to specific demographics.
“In some regards there’s also a bit of a history of beer as a specific kind of product in a lot of communities,” Jackson-Beckham said. “You also have during the 1970s and 1980s macrobrew companies very, very aggressively advertising and targeting malt liquor in 40-ounce bottles to urban populations. So it’s not like there is no beer drinking happening, there’s just a large disconnect between certain populations.
“And I think the popularity of craft beer and the barriers to entry in terms of entrepreneurship and the places craft beer takes hold, ... what you have is, I think, just a kind of perfect storm if that makes sense for a kind of cultural disparity that’s going to persist.”
One element she said she doesn’t focus on is price point. “We’ve seen, particularly when you look at spirits, that people will pay for what they want,” she said. “So there’s a little bit of a mythology that people of color are out-priced out of craft beer, but if you look at more broad consumption patterns, I think that doesn’t really hold water.”
There are four barriers to greater diversity in the craft beer world that are context-specific — resource, cultural, geographic and social — meaning there are no quick fixes, Jackson-Beckham said.
“I encourage people to look really closely at what’s happening in their location, in their region, in their cities or their neighborhood,” she said. “Start talking to people and get a sense of what those unique barriers may be. And then rather than trying to kind of bait people into your brewery by like, I don’t know, having a hip-hop night that nobody cares about, just focus on removing the barriers.”
Breweries across the country have been increasingly stepping up to remove barriers in tasting rooms and beyond. This summer, more than 1,000 breweries from all 50 states and 20 different countries answered the call from San Antonio's Weathered Souls Brewing to collaborate on the Black is Beautiful beer project. The project seeks to raise awareness about injustice and raise funds for organizations working for equality and standing up against police brutality.
Encouraging inclusivity in New York
At the beginning, Dom and Latiesha Cook began spreading the craft beer gospel by simply buying beer and then giving it to Black people they encountered in the streets. They expanded their outreach through events, publishing a book that introduced historic beer styles, and then through partnering with breweries to raise money for different neighborhood organizations.
"When you talk about reaching new fans, we were doing it," Latiesha Cook said. "Literally, converting people who have never even heard of craft beer to be craft beer lovers."
And the New York State Brewers Association is looking to do the same. For the brewery-supported advocacy and education group, it is about looking inward, asking questions, and then working to devise solutions, said Paul Leone, the group's executive director.
"We’ve come to realize that our marketing and advertising efforts are not reaching people of color, and that’s something we have already changed in our efforts to be more inclusive," he wrote in an email.
Addressing the credit gap
Barbaresco worked in the beer industry for eight years before joining the board of the NYSBA.
She agrees with Jackson-Beckham that the lack of diversity in beer is "a systemic problem" that isn't limited to just the beer industry.
"Throughout history, there has been discriminatory legislation that has impeded female and minority ownership and created a wealth, credit and trust gap that will be difficult to overcome," she wrote in an email.
Many of the barriers are economic, she said, but there are many cultural hurdles, as well.
"It can cost millions of dollars in capital investment for build out, along with being a highly regulated industry that often faces scrutiny from local officials and requires a deep and nuanced understanding of local, state and federal ordinances," Barbaresco said. "It’s simply not an easy industry to break in to. There is a reason that there is a saying, 'Want to make a million dollars in craft beer? Start with two million.' "
A major way to alleviate many of those cultural barriers to entry is to create spaces that all people feel comfortable in, she said. Barbaresco cites her own story in the beer industry. She started working in a brewery taproom and discovered a sense of community.
"But how is that community being cultivated? Breweries often don’t have advertising budgets, or even dedicated staff to develop outreach strategies," Barbaresco said.
Yet, Barbaresco is exceedingly hopeful about the future of the New York beer industry, especially since, "we are just at the beginning of an era for craft beer — most breweries in New York state have only opened in the past five years, so we are still shaping that culture and deciding what it’s going to look like, and who is going to be included."
Through the NYSBA inclusivity committee, she is gathering input from member breweries and crafting conversations about what must be done to encourage change.
Breweries concede they are falling short
On a local level, many brewery owners are brainstorming and instituting ways to reach new people. But the efforts are made more difficult by the reality of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the need to keep a business afloat while a portion of the economy remains shuttered in New York.
Jen Newman opened Young Lion Brewing in the state's Finger Lakes region in June 2017. She said she followed the example of many women in beer to start a brewery, including Dawn Schulz, who co-owns Prison City Pub and Brewery at the other end of the Finger Lakes.
"I’m excited for the day that craft beer is as typical in a woman’s hand as it is in a man’s hand," Newman said. "We aren’t there yet, but we're making progress."
For Canandaigua's Young Lion, that means making the taproom experience welcoming. She said the brewery is also is working on strategies to connect with various community groups in an effort to expand the people it reaches.
"A diverse environment, just as in business and life, fosters better beer," Newman said.
Swiftwater Brewing opened in Rochester's South Wedge neighborhood in early 2015. Swiftwater owner/brewer Andy Cook wants his brewery to be "proactively inclusive."
"We haven't gone out and done enough outreach for the people who don't seek us out," Andy Cook admitted.
While struggling with the challenges of the pandemic, Andy Cook said he wants to empower his employees to speak on issues they're passionate about and he is encouraging them to organize events and forge new partnerships.
Swiftwater would like to host kitchen takeovers in the future to feature minority-owned restaurants. There also are plans to host events for different neighborhood groups or organizations that support people of color.
"We've donated to a lot of charities and most of them help our neighborhood," AndyCook said. "Many have been aimed at the Black community or minority communities. But we haven't really done a lot of stuff proactively and that's our next step. A lot of stuff we're talking about right now is staff-driven. The goal is more innovative outreach."
Barbaresco said the longevity of the industry is dependent on reaching new audiences. And conversations about diversity can lead to new customers.
"A diverse workforce is more resilient and adaptable, an asset that is increasingly valuable in a rapidly-changing world," she wrote.
"Diverse perspectives create better products that appeal to a wider range of people, which leads to more business. Taprooms are also hubs for local communities, an important third space for people to informally gather, share stories and unwind. A more welcoming and inclusive space is better for business, and it’s better for communities."
Contact Will Cleveland at wcleveland@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @willcleveland13, Facebook @willcleveland13, and Instagram @clevelandroc. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
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