ST. LOUIS — Several St. Louis area breweries have joined in on a national initiative to bring awareness to racial injustice.
The ‘Black is Beautiful’ initiative was started by San Antonio, Texas brewery Weathered Souls Brewing.
More than 600 breweries across the country are participating.
According to its website, the Black is Beautiful initiative is a collaborative effort among the brewing community and its customers, in an attempt to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. Its mission is to bridge the gap that's been around for ages and provide a platform to show that the brewing community is an inclusive place for everyone of any color.
Here's what Weathered Souls Brewing asks of participating breweries:
- Donate 100% of the beer's proceeds to local foundations that support police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged
- Choose their own entity to donate to local organizations that support equality and inclusion
- Commit to the long-term work of equality
Founder and head brewer, Marcus B, said he has personally dealt with the abuse of power by police officers and the recent turmoil has hit home for him.
“As I write this, I contemplate how the country can move forward, how we as the people, can create change, and what it will take for everyone to move forward with a common respect for one another. For us, we feel that this is our contribution to a step.
Sometimes that’s all it takes for change,” he wrote on the website.
Weathered Souls has listed a recipe for other breweries to make or put their own twist on.
2nd Shift Brewing will donate proceeds to Black Lives Matter
4 Hands Brewing Company will donate 100% of its proceeds to ACLU of Missouri.
Earthbound Beer will make Weathered Souls recipe but add coffee and vanilla. It’ll donate the proceeds to Campaign Close the Workhouse.
Side Project Brewing
Shared Brewing
Main & Mill Brewing Company
Perennial Artisan Ales said it’ll donate to the ACLU of Missouri. It also said Omega Yeast donated yeast for two collaborative brews coming up.
Schlafly will make Weathered Souls' recipe and will release 4-packs of 16-ounce cans by mid-July, a spokesperson said. It'll donate proceeds to Arch City Defenders and ACLU of Missouri.
Wellspent Brewing Company said it is brewing an imperial stout and will donate 100% of the proceeds to Action St. Louis. Nonprofit, Action St. Louis, was founded by activists after the killing of Michael Brown.
