Minority Group-founded Breweries

[houstonbg]

Hi all,

I'm working on an article that I'll eventually submit for publishing on HBT and I'm looking for any breweries in existence today that were founded by people who "belong" to a minority group (per the social science definition of the phrase, that is, as a reference to categories of persons who hold few positions of social power).

Note: I have zero ill-intent here, and I'm trying to write this post as delicately as possible as I don't want to offend anyone by recklessly throwing around words, so please forgive me if anything rubs you the wrong way. You're free to message me if you feel I've made a gross misstep.

That said, any and all help is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, let me know.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Hello]

Oh I sure can't wait to see where this all goes. I don't see any significance in pointing out the ethnicity of a person who owns a brewery unless that is their niche; like an English brewery that somewhat recently opened. Either way, very curious to see the reason for the article and what it ends up being.

 

[houstonbg]

Oh I sure can't wait to see where this all goes. I don't see any significance in pointing out the ethnicity of a person who owns a brewery unless that is their niche; like an English brewery that somewhat recently opened. Either way, very curious to see the reason for the article and what it ends up being.

Yikes! That's not the intention at all.

It's about homebrewing being the perfect embodiment of the American dream.

 

[LandoLincoln]

NPR did it.

 

[houstonbg]

NPR did it.

Thanks for the heads up, LandoLincoln. Appreciate it.

 

[SlickTX]

I don't think you have to worry too much about being PC. In the NPR article that LandlLincoln shared was this nugget: "For the most part, you've got a bunch of white guys with beards making beer," says Yiga Miyashiro, a Japanese-American brewer with Saint Archer Brewery in San Diego."

 

[Xpertskir]

until which point my palate develops to be able to "taste the minority" in beer that I'm drinking I don't care. I'll let you know if it's a good or bad taste once I evolve.

 

[houstonbg]

until which point my palate develops to be able to "taste the minority" in beer that I'm drinking I don't care. I'll let you know if it's a good or bad taste once I evolve.

Even if you could "taste the minority," that's not the point of why I'm asking for input on minority-founded breweries, nor was that ever something I even had a flicker of a thought about.

As I said above, the point is to build up a list to pull from to add context to a single component of the article at large.

What's interesting, though, is that your response actually falls directly in line with a theme of the article (though I realize you were being flippant). The fact that your palate is unable to "taste the minority" speaks to the idea that beer is judged solely by whether or not it tastes good.

Whether the beer is a product of a homebrew from some impoverished old man in Appalachia or that of a large-scale brewery with a battalion of PhD brewmasters, when you take that first sip, none of that matters. It's simply good or not good.

Sorry if at any point I lead you to think I was trying to highlight minority-group founded breweries in an attempt to make the case that that fact alone has any impact on the quality of the beer.

 

[fuelish]

Whether the beer is a product of a homebrew from some impoverished old man in Appalachia ....

...don't know about their beer, but them mountain folk can sure make some might fine 'shine....so I've been told...just sayin'

 

[Talgrath]

Wow, try to do something positive about minority home brewers and everyone jumps all over you screaming about it. Never mind that showing that we aren't all a bunch of white guys with beards/scruff is a good thing or that maybe if more minorities knew about successful minority homebrewers they might be tempted to try their hand at it too, increasing the number of people in our hobby; nah, all that matters is that someone must be offended that you might highlight people because they are in the minority.

 

[b-boy]

v

Wow, try to do something positive about minority home brewers and everyone jumps all over you screaming about it. Never mind that showing that we aren't all a bunch of white guys with beards/scruff is a good thing or that maybe if more minorities knew about successful minority homebrewers they might be tempted to try their hand at it too, increasing the number of people in our hobby; nah, all that matters is that someone must be offended that you might highlight people because they are in the minority.

You got a problem with white guys with beards? I don't like your tone...

 

[grittanomyces]

Wow, try to do something positive about minority home brewers and everyone jumps all over you screaming about it. Never mind that showing that we aren't all a bunch of white guys with beards/scruff is a good thing or that maybe if more minorities knew about successful minority homebrewers they might be tempted to try their hand at it too, increasing the number of people in our hobby; nah, all that matters is that someone must be offended that you might highlight people because they are in the minority.

You seem to be the only one screaming.

I hope to live in a world that's color-blind and doesn't try to define us by our differences, no matter whether we're in the minority or majority.

As the craft beer scene grows and continues to become more diverse, so too will the ones who decide to homebrew, and even start a brewery.

Minorities don't feel excluded any more than my older family who only drink macro beers are excluded. They're under-represented because quite frankly, craft beer drinkers/brewers are still a minority ourselves, a minority that happens to be dominated by the nerdy bearded white guys who've been the early adopters of the trend. Nothing wrong with that, we're just first to flavorful beer party.

Of course there are some socio-economic factors as well (craft beer and brewing are expensive for less-fortunate groups that are heavily represented by minorities), but that's a different discussion altogether.

That's not to say you're wrong for highlighting any success stories there, but chill out if people who only want to judge beer by it's own merits. That's much more in line with Dr. King's dream.

 

[Flipadelphia]

Epic facepalm to the responses in here when the guy was just asking for some help. Wow.

 

[Talgrath]

You seem to be the only one screaming.

I hope to live in a world that's color-blind and doesn't try to define us by our differences, no matter whether we're in the minority or majority.

As the craft beer scene grows and continues to become more diverse, so too will the ones who decide to homebrew, and even start a brewery.

Minorities don't feel excluded any more than my older family who only drink macro beers are excluded. They're under-represented because quite frankly, craft beer drinkers/brewers are still a minority ourselves, a minority that happens to be dominated by the nerdy bearded white guys who've been the early adopters of the trend. Nothing wrong with that, we're just first to flavorful beer party.

Of course there are some socio-economic factors as well (craft beer and brewing are expensive for less-fortunate groups that are heavily represented by minorities), but that's a different discussion altogether.

That's not to say you're wrong for highlighting any success stories there, but chill out if people who only want to judge beer by it's own merits. That's much more in line with Dr. King's dream.

Certainly beer should be judged on its merits, not on who brewed it, however there are some comments on the thread (that was a bit shorter at the time of my writing) that veered towards the negative about the very idea of highlighting or discussing minorities in brewing.

 

[houstonbg]

That's not to say you're wrong for highlighting any success stories there, but chill out if people who only want to judge beer by it's own merits. That's much more in line with Dr. King's dream.

I don't know if this was directed towards me or Talgrath, but if it was towards me, I'm confused.

No where have I said I want to judge beer by the race, religion, or gender of the brewery's founders.

When you stated, "I hope to live in a world that's color-blind and doesn't try to define us by our differences, no matter whether we're in the minority or majority," you literally voiced the exact sentiment I wanted to convey in this article about how homebrewing perfectly embodies the American dream because beers are judged on whether they're good or not.

That said, I'm going to reach out to moderator and request this thread be locked. It's be derailed and taken down a path that I don't think can be recovered from.

I clearly failed at expressing myself well, so rather than this thread turn into a playground for people to lob insults at one another, I'd rather nip this in the bud so I don't feel like I laid the foundation for what can only divide people (at the rate this is going).

 

[Flipadelphia]

I clearly failed at expressing myself well, so rather than this thread turn into a playground for people to lob insults at one another, I'd rather nip this in the bud so I don't feel like I laid the foundation for what can only divide people (at the rate this is going).

You expressed yourself just fine. It's pretty easy to tell who began derailing this thread for absolutely no reason. Good luck and I hope you find the info you're looking for.

Shame on you (couple folks).

 

[TxBrew]

The brewing experience differs from person to person, region to region, culture to culture.

The OP is doing research on a particular facet of brewing they, and I, find interesting. They have every right to do this.

If you do not want to participate in this thread don't.

 

[brew_ny]

If you do not want to participate in this thread don't.

that's not so hard eh?

 

[chewse]

The brewing experience differs from person to person, region to region, culture to culture.

The OP is doing research on a particular facet of brewing they, and I, find interesting. They have every right to do this.

If you do not want to participate in this thread don't.

Well said! I too am interested in the research results of the OP.

 

[flars]

New Glarus. Founded by two women.

 

[JonGrafto]

New Glarus. Founded by two women.

This is incorrect.

New Glarus was founded by Deb Carey and her husband Dan in 1993.

If you are thinking of the beer from New Glarus called Two-Women, then the history of that beer being a collaboration of two Craft companies both led by women, Deb Carey from New Glarus Brewing and Weyermann Malting. Annemarie Weyermann passed away in 1996 and her daughter, Sabine Weyermann took over the participations and now leads the company.

 

[ktblunden]

Three Weavers in Los Angeles was founded by Lynne Weaver and Alexandra Nowell.

EDIT: Not sure if women meet the definition of minority for your purposes, but they are definitely underrepresented in brewing.

 

[kingwood-kid]

What about white guys without beards? Are we a minority? Or more pertinently, does one have to be involved in owning the brewery to count for your study, or does someone like Brooklyn Brewing brewmaster Garrett Oliver count?

 

[worlddivides]

To be honest, I can't think of any breweries founded by minorities. If you want to talk about wineries, though, I can think of several. But here in California I see quite a few "minority" home brewers from time to time. As an example, just a few weeks ago, there was a homebrewing demonstration at my LHBS and, of the homebrewers there, there were 2 Indian-Americans, 2 Asian-Americans, 1 African-American, and a few people of mixed ethnicity.

Of course, none of them owned breweries, so I'm of no help there.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I once went to a brewfest where ther was represented a Nigerian fellow with a start-up brewery. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the beer, nor have I seen it on any shelves since that day. It was obscure and fantastic and really took me by surprise. It's been too long since and I've lost the name. They were in fact Nigerian and it was a brewery start-up in Oklahoma. Hope this helps, some.

 

[chewse]

"In a quaint garage on a quiet street in a beautiful and serene subdivision on the outskirts of Toledo, Ohio, inconspicuously lies the home of Toledo’s newest craft brewery. This is no ordinary brewery, however. This is the home of the first minority-operated brewery in the city – and quite possibly the state. On Friday the 13th, we were fortunate enough to sit down and enjoy a beer with Toledo’s newest craft brewer; Chris Harris of Black Frog Brewery."

 

[JCC]

Not a minority, but Throwback Brewery was founded by women. Great beer, and they seem to be doing well too.

 

[LandoLincoln]

What about white guys without beards? Are we a minority? Or more pertinently, does one have to be involved in owning the brewery to count for your study, or does someone like Brooklyn Brewing brewmaster Garrett Oliver count?

Yes, white guys without beards are a definite minority in beer brewing. As well they should be.

SHUN. SHUN THEM. SHUNNNNNNN. [waves finger]

 

[flars]

This is incorrect.

New Glarus was founded by Deb Carey and her husband Dan in 1993.

If you are thinking of the beer from New Glarus called Two-Women, then the history of that beer being a collaboration of two Craft companies both led by women, Deb Carey from New Glarus Brewing and Weyermann Malting. Annemarie Weyermann passed away in 1996 and her daughter, Sabine Weyermann took over the participations and now leads the company.

That's what I get for reading a beer label a few months ago. I blame it on a faulty mind. So it's mind fault not mine fault.

 

[progmac]

this is an interesting topic and something that i've thought about a lot. i'm glad to see the thread take on a more positive tone after a rocky start.

 

[jsun]

I find it interesting when non-disenfranchised groups (notably, heterosexual white males) get up in arms about minorities getting attention for entering their playground. The recent example that comes to mind is Michael Sam...you have all these people complaining about how he shouldn't get attention for being the first openly gay NFL player. And now we have people here saying that we shouldn't give extra attention to minority brewers in a hobby/industry dominated by white males. Makes you wonder what it is they REALLY have an issue with...

 

[houstonbg]

Three Weavers in Los Angeles was founded by Lynne Weaver and Alexandra Nowell.

EDIT: Not sure if women meet the definition of minority for your purposes, but they are definitely underrepresented in brewing.

Not a minority, but Throwback Brewery was founded by women. Great beer, and they seem to be doing well too.

Women are part of the definition. Circling back to my original post, I am going off the social science definition of minority group, which states that "minority" refers to categories of persons who hold few positions of social power.

In the world of beer, women most definitely fall under that definition.

 

[houstonbg]

I find it interesting when non-disenfranchised groups (notably, heterosexual white males) get up in arms about minorities getting attention for entering their playground. The recent example that comes to mind is Michael Sam...you have all these people complaining about how he shouldn't get attention for being the first openly gay NFL player. And now we have people here saying that we shouldn't give extra attention to minority brewers in a hobby/industry dominated by white males. Makes you wonder what it is they REALLY have an issue with...

Hi jsun,

While the theme of your comment is noble, I don't feel it's productive to this thread. Now, I am in no way trying to dictate what you can and cannot say, I just think there are better places to talk about that and this thread is not one of them especially considering we just got this thread back on track after being derailed.

I mean no disrespect, and I'm open to chatting with you via private messages about what you said if you're interested? Let me know. Thanks!

 

[Homercidal]

I find it interesting that people try to ignore the FACT that people are different, rather than celebrating those differences. Yes, there are stereotypes, and yes there are people who use those stereotypes to insult or demean people who are different from themselves. I think the intent is a major consideration. It can also be easy to insult without meaning to.

But it seems impossible to find humour in ANYTHING these days without being labeled a racist or bigot. Even if a person held the minority person in high regard and cared for them as much as any human cared for another human, a slight comment nowadays brings down the wrath of Hell upon them.

Imagine if a black brewer won awards for a Watermelon Wheat. Of COURSE the thought of the classic black people love watermelon stereotype is going to go through a lot of people's minds. It's not a thing the careful person is going to say out loud, because it's derogatory. An Asian brewer might be made fun of for brewing a rice lager. (Which makes no sense because a LOT of beer is made with rice, but that kind of supports my point...) It's the same thing.

These things will pass over time. Young people are more tolerant than their older generations. The hate will tend to die off, but it will be replaced by other forms of hate. It's who we are, for the most part. It starts to get into a debate forum discussion at that point.

But, the point I make is that the stereotypes are not inherent in the minorities themselves, but in the racists, bigots, and bullies. Beer is a great way to show how invisible the race and gender is. Any person, regardless of minority, can become a world class brewer if they are only smart enough, talented enough, driven enough, and given enough of a chance.

And here is the problem. The beer won't tell who made it, but there could be barriers to bringing a brewery to the market based on race or gender. There could be barriers based on race to moving up the chain to becoming a brewer. There could be perceptions from the populace, in some areas, that could form a barrier to growth or acceptance. If people harbor those biases and know the owners, brewers, or whatever, are a despised minority, then they will not support that establishment with their dollars.

It really is an interesting subject. I am curious about the proclivity of brewers to be white, with beards. It's like today's stereotype similar to Jewish people and financial institutions, Chinese laundry services (Ancient Chinese Secret!), etc.

 

[jsun]

Sorry for going off-topic.

 

[houstonbg]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed positively to this thread. I truly appreciate the help.

I've gone ahead and put together a spreadsheet of all prior mentioned breweries that were either founded by those in the minority, or whose brewmaster is in the minority, and reached out to them with a single question.

This list includes New Glarus Brewing, Three Weavers, the Brooklyn Brewery, and Throwback Brewery.

I'm working on reaching out to Black Frog Brewery now, but I'll have to do that via their Facebook page. The website that they have set up is barren.

 

[alewhatcuresyou]

Tying race to anything nearly always ends up being more about race than than anything else, And the one to make it an issue nearly always ends up being the one with an issue.

 

[SupervisingChildren]

As someone who majored in sociology, I find this thread of interest as when people have the skills and drive to succeed, great beer is possible! Keep up the work OP!

 

[divrguy]

Great story here about Theodore Mack Sr. & The Peoples Brewing Company.

http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/Theodore_Mack_Peoples_Brewing.htm

Also this one in Oakland.

http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_...ck-owned-microbrewer-brothers-brewing-company

In a quaint garage on a quiet street in a beautiful and serene subdivision on the outskirts of Toledo, Ohio, inconspicuously lies the home of Toledo’s newest craft brewery. This is no ordinary brewery, however. This is the home of the first minority-operated brewery in the city – and quite possibly the state.

http://www.brewreviewcrew.com/black-frog/




Cheers!

 

[jtratcliff]

Golden Road in Glendale, CA was also co-founder by woman: Meg Gill