When it comes to changing the narrative of who belongs in craft beer, Eugenia Brown, a.k.a. Beer Chick LLC, a.k.a. @blackbeerchick, views education as a cornerstone of the community.
Inspired by her own journey through the Cicerone program, Brown realized that having a credential attached to your name is not just a bonus for many BIPOC hoping to work in beer—because of the industry’s racist gatekeeping, it often feels like an unfortunate necessity.
With that in mind, she launched the “Road to 50” in summer 2020, with the goal of helping 50 Black women and women of color earn their Cicerone Certified Beer Server qualifications, the first step towards becoming a Certified Cicerone, or the craft beer equivalent of a sommelier. The Cicerone program quickly matched her initial 50 to create “Road to 100,” and expanded to those seeking their Level 1 rank. The initiative has only continued to grow from there: Road to 100 now offers mentorship programs from existing Cicerones to help coach those preparing to take the exam, and has even supported nearly a dozen more women as they reached their Level 2 certification.
Brown hopes that more large-scale institutions, like the Brewers Association, will observe the ways individuals like herself can make a difference, and implement organizational adjustments to create a more inclusive environment. Between her work in her local chapter of the Pink Boots Society and her mantra—“More Bridges, Less Barriers”—Brown has proven that one person has the power to inspire countless others to stop paying lip service to change—and to actually make a tangible difference.
Words,Beth Demmon