Craft beer’s typical swiftness to launch collaborative initiatives in the wake of one-off catastrophes, like the Sierra Nevada-helmed Resilience (for victims of the 2018 Camp Fire) and All Together (launched by Brooklyn’s Other Half to support hospitality workers during COVID-19), is unquestionably commendable. But Black Is Beautiful, while sparked by a single horrific event (the murder of George Floyd), was created to combat a much more insidious and ongoing problem: pervasive, systemic racism, and the toll it takes on Black people and people of color in the United States.
Marcus Baskerville, creator of Black Is Beautiful and co-founder/head brewer at San Antonio’s Weathered Souls Brewing Company, understood it would take more than a one-time collaboration to combat longstanding and ongoing injustice, something he’s experienced first-hand as a Black man in America. But even he couldn’t predict how quickly his idea would spread. Since launching in early summer 2020, Black Is Beautiful’s Stout recipe has been brewed by over 1,100 breweries in all 50 states and nearly two dozen countries worldwide, with proceeds going to various legal defense funds, organizations dedicated to combating police brutality, and nonprofits doing antiracism work.
Baskerville expressed surprise at the level of participation, calling it a “humbling experience,” especially as it has evolved beyond beer. Distilleries, coffee roasters, wineries, and others have joined the cause, and he says even organizations like the San Antonio Spurs and Walmart have contacted him to support Black Is Beautiful. But rather than focus on the (well-deserved) accolades pouring in, Baskerville is looking to the future. “With 8,500 breweries in the United States, obviously we can keep pushing this further,” he says. “That’s what my main goal is.”
Words,Beth Demmon