When beer considers diversity, it often leaves out one of society’s most marginalized groups: disabled people. Craft brewers rarely build taprooms to accommodate a range of accessibility needs, and many other beer venues are equally off-limits.
Vinny Rosario, head brewer at Moonwake Brewery in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, did the opposite. Rosario saw the need after a friend had a stroke and the pair visited London’s Bermondsey Beer Mile, where steps are common to enter buildings, bar tops are high, and disabled toilets are used as stockrooms.
At Moonwake, Rosario ensured that an elevator to the taproom was installed—even though it came with a £20,000 ($25,000) tab, the majority of the budget when the brewery was building out the space at the end of 2021. This was essential to make the taproom, located in an area full of cobbled streets and short pavements, accessible to a much wider swath of drinkers, welcoming people who often feel excluded from craft beer spaces. Recently, Moonwake’s taproom was booked for a wedding reception based on its accessibility, and Rosario notes that he sees more elderly customers than in most beer venues, where the age range typically sits in the 25-to-40-year-old demographic.
Beyond facilitating a modern, accessible taproom, Rosario, a Kiwi of Goan heritage, has also earned special acclaim for his beers since the brewery launched last year. Moonwake won the Best Newcomer prize at the 2022 Scottish Beer Awards and the New Brewery of the Year award at the 2022 Brewers Choice Awards. Standouts among its recent releases include Midnight Bath, a session New England IPA; a collaboration with Azimut Brasserie in Bordeaux; and a Vienna Lager brewed with Ukraine’s Varvar, which helped raise funds for those affected by the war.
Rosario’s achievements are only matched by his modesty—his work is utterly worthy of celebration, though, especially as brewers of color in the U.K. like him are, sadly, still outliers. But he’s shown how to thrive by creating spaces and products that champion the underdog.
Words,David Jesudason