Issue #18: A Convo With An Influential Black Brewer

And their efforts to make the beer industry more inclusive

A few years ago, I had the great opportunity to chat with Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter for Beer Connoisseur Magazine.

They are co-founders of Crown & Hops Brewing, located in California, and they are huge advocates of the need for more BIPOC involvement in the U.S. craft beer industry. Craft beer is notoriously white but it is changing slowly thanks to the involvement of people like Ashburn and Hunter. 

Crown and Hops is a Black, female, and veteran-owned brewery that makes great beer! It also recently won the Samuel Adam’s Brewing and Business Experienceship, which provides mentorship from brewing experts at Boston Beer Company. 

It’s been fun over the years to hear them with one of my favorite media personalities, Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal. 

And today we’ll feature a new interview with Hunter. 

Growing the Black Beer Industry

In an ever-changing beer world, one where people might even be drinking fewer beers, it’s hard to keep track of what’s hot and what’s not. 

That’s got to be true for breweries too, hoping to catch the next hyped beer that will keep the hop heads happy. For Teo Hunter, the COO of Crown & Hops Brewing, it helps to be in California, the largest brewing market in the U.S. 

 And sure enough, Hunter said IPAs are still the hottest thing for beer drinkers. 

“Having access to many of these fellow award-winning breweries, collaborating with them, and sharing information on styles and brewing techniques gives us a national advantage that we don't take for granted,” Hunter said. “Crushable West Coast IPAs and Hazy IPAs between 6-8% ABV continue to lead the pack in terms of what's hot. 

“Due to the ‘hot’ weather in California and outdoor activities being a staple, these crushable IPAs speak to the independent craft beer point of differentiation across every format.”

The interview was just before IPA Day a few weeks ago, and The Dopest Hazy IPA I was sent to try was top of mind. It turns out it has a fun little story behind it that starts with Crown & Hops being the first out-of-market brand ever allowed to pour beer at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival. 

But with major sponsorships at the festival, there were advertising restrictions and Crown & Hops couldn’t hype their participation, which Hunter said brought the question of, “How will the world know that Crowns & Hops Brewing Company is the dopest brand on the planet?”

So they named the hazy IPA The Dopest. And it was the first beer to sell out at the festival, depleting all their kegs on the second day of the three-day festival. 

As a Black-owned brewery in a historically very white industry, Hunter and co-founder Beny Ashburn saw an opportunity to do more than just brew beer. They could help foster a segment of the industry with more diversity. 

In 2020, they launched the 8 Trill Initiative, providing resources and capital through a grant program for Black brewers in need. Last year, Hunter became a founding board member of the National Black Brewers Association. Major brewing companies, like Boston Beer Company, Allagash Brewing, and Russian River Brewing, are helping grow the diversity in brewing talent.

All of that is helping push Crown & Hops toward their goal of having 13% of all breweries be Black-owned. According to the National Black Brewers Association’s 2024 report, there are 86 Black-owned breweries, less than 1% of the 9,761 breweries in the U.S.

“A huge part of getting this done is in understanding what the obstacles are that cause there to be such a great disparity of Black-owned breweries in this country,” Hunter said. “Between the NB2A and the 8 Trill Initiative, we create a clearinghouse for understanding how and where to apply the solutions for maximum results.”

While the craft beer industry has hit a plateau as canned cocktails and seltzers continue to be a draw for drinkers, and there’s also the wave of N/A beverages and the trend of drinking less, Black-owned breweries are doing better than the overall industry. 

In 2023, Black-owned breweries increased production 16% while the overall industry shrank 3%. While that could be skewed a bit because 70% of those breweries produced less than 1,000 barrels of beer, those companies still outpaced similar-sized breweries by 9%. 

There should be plenty of opportunity too, as the report shows there are 16 million people of color, including 9.3 million Black people, who drink but don’t drink beer.

“Contrary to the statistics reported on the state of the U.S. brewing industry, Black-owned breweries collectively are growing 19% faster than the larger crafter beer trend,” Hunter said. “This tells us that BIPOC breweries are desired and as forecasted, can make an overall positive impact to the craft beer community as a whole. Our 8 Trill Initiative is excited to contribute to this tide that lifts all ships.”

Interesting Reads of the Week

Because the NFL is back: Find out how much the average beer costs at every NFL Stadium. Cincinnati comes in at a very reasonable $6.80. Down in DC though? $16.49. (VinePair)

Ever think a story about doors could be interesting? Well, this one at Mental Floss is! “The Secrets of 8 Amazing Doors.”

The US wine market is struggling, as the mega beverage company Constellation Brands cut its sales growth expectations. Likewise, Duckhorn Portfolio did as well. (Wall Street Journal) 

Wall Street Journal profiled the 35-year-old taking the helm at Red Lobster turnaround. The craziest thing in here is the debt the every day All You Can Eat Shrimp promotion racked up last year. 

Facing an anemic environment for sit-down restaurants last year, Red Lobster launched the $20 all-you-can-eat shrimp deal that generated crowds, but not profits. Thai Union said last November that the shrimp deal contributed to an $11 million quarterly loss for the chain, and earlier this year said it would divest from the chain. 

What we’re drinking

We’ve been sipping on a nice, crisp, limey and minerally Sauvignon Blanc from Rombauer Vineyards. 

I’m a big fan of Oktoberfest beers this time of year. So far, I’ve loved the versions from Brewery Vivant and Bell’s Brewery. Hopefully, I’ll get my hands on the Sierra Nevada one soon as well.