Recently I was contacted by one of my craft beer friends in
California about a brewery that I should check out based in North Carolina. The
beer world has no sense of operation, lol, as I am in Kentucky and my friend on
the West Coast had to clue me in on a brewery that’s pretty much next door to
me. Well, no one ever said the grapevine made sense. This being said, the name
of the brewery is Black Star Line Brewing and they are based out of
Hendersonville, North Carolina. And I have to tell you, I am highly intrigued
by many reasons but I don’t want to give you too much too soon. But I love
their thinking behind the brewery and the thought processes behind the beers
that are being brewed. The craft beer world is always recreating itself to try
to stay different, but what has not changed as much has been that of the diversity
of it. And I admire and love Black Star Line for challenging this.
But before I get into the “Give Me Five” questions let me
give you a little back drop to why I am intrigued and hopefully you will be as
well. As a Black person that often drinks craft beer, I often come across
pieces asking about where are the Black people of craft beer. It really is an
annoying question in my opinion, but it is one that we as Black craft beer
drinkers I think get used to over time. Fact is though, there are many that do drink
craft beer but those that are asking just aren’t aware in my opinion. However, not
having many faces in the front of the breweries and as visible is something that
I believe leads to this misunderstanding or lack of knowledge. Hopefully over
time this well change and with the likes of breweries like Black Star Line Brewing, I am optimistic about it being so. This all being said, let’s get into
the “Give Me Five” and learn more about Black Star Line Brewing.
1) When did the brewery become established?
Black
Star Line Brewing Company began in the mind of founder at the age of 15. L.A.
McCrae is a visionary who is often inspired by their dreams. They (their
preferred gender pronouns) had a dream about creating a 24/7 community center
that would incorporate aspects of entrepreneurship, collective work,
religion/spirituality, liberation, healing, organizing, performing arts, and
more. Over the years, L.A. has been working on manifesting this idea of “Home”
wherever they are. While an undergraduate student, L.A. worked to create the
community they had been dreaming about for years. Later, they co-created a
spiritual community, the Village Project S, in Southeast Baltimore County.
While living in Western Massachussetts, L.A. and their community created TRY/IBE,
which moved even closer to manifesting the full vision of home. It was while
L.A. was collaborating with a group of entrepreneurs in Knoxville (2014), that
the vision became refined.
While
in Knoxville, L.A. was engaged in several networking groups including the
Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, BNI, and the Total Networking Team (TNT). They
also founded the Knoxville LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Quickly, L.A. realized
that many of these meetings were happening and bars and breweries where there
was almost comical homogeneity behind the bars and making the beers. At this
point, L.A. noticed that the culture followed that of the mainstream culture
and that those who did not share this particularly demographic were often
invisible and absent. L.A.’s background in pastoral ministry, community
organizing, and collective economics led them to understand their dream of
creating “Home” in a new lens. The idea of having this place called “Home” was
to gather together those who were often pushed to the margins of society. To
create safe space, to hold sacred space, and to be Sanctuary.
At
this time, L.A. was working Downtown Knoxville (TN). Many entrepreneurs,
community members, and friends would gather in L.A.’s office on Friday
afternoons to unwind, share space, build in community, and “just be.” Folks
would remark that it often the only place they could be themselves and connect
with people from different walks of life. Essentially, L.A. and their entrepreneurial
colleagues had effectively laid the groundwork for “Home.” One Friday
afternoon, L.A. and Jon Coffee were talking about, what is now called our
“liberation libations” and having a vision of a bar named “Spiritz.” This would
be a “whosoever” bar that would exist at these various intersections. That
conversation happened in the Fall of 2014.
L.A.
fell in love and crossed the mountains from Knoxville into Asheville, NC. While
in Asheville, the dream and the vision began to come into alignment and
manifest into the seeds of the whosoever brewery, now known as Black Star Line
Brewing Co.
Over
the course of the next year, L.A. had the opportunity to share their vision of
Home with those who would listen. One person in particular, Steve Cooperman,
was inspired and helped L.A. refine the vision and make it actionable. By March
2016, Black Star Line Brewing Co. had been named and began to manifest! Over
the course of the next year and a half, L.A. and Steve would spend countless
hours designing the future, looking for funding for the vision, and incubating
the idea of a community center brewery.
Black
Star Line Brewing Company has an “official” birthday of May 17, 2017. May 17
was chosen symbolically as this is the date of the Brown v Topeka Board of
Education decision that declared “separate but equal” as unconstitutional.
Similarly, Black Star Line Brewing Co. radically proclaims that “separate but
equal” is not acceptable in the brewing industry either. The name “Black Star
Line” comes from the historical legacy of the company started by Marcus Garvey
of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The brewery “dropped its
anchor” in Hendersonville, NC on October 12, 2017.
2) How did you come about starting the brewery?
L.A.
started the brewery by answering the calling to ministry at a very young age.
For the founder, this is not just about making great beers this is about
connecting with people at the core of their souls so we can practice collective
healing and liberation. This is a whosoever bar and brewery where all are
welcome. L.A. is self-taught and listened to the guidance of their family and
ancestors as they designed recipes and followed their intuition. They refined
their skills and continued to seek advice and wise counsel from new found
friends in the brewing industry. Without a doubt, the brewery could not have
been started without the mentorship of Steve Cooperman and the tutelage and
friendship of Joe Dinan and Lisa McDonald of Sanctuary Brewing Co..
3) What makes the brewery unique?
There
are many ways that Black Star Line Brewing Co. is unique!
- We are the founders of the #sweetbeermovement that intentionally offer sweet and less hop forward beers to appeal to those who are not usually craft beer drinkers and to offer beers that are in alignment with the palettes of those from the African diaspora
- This beer is inspiring and motivating a movement of folks who had never supported craft breweries, who were not fans of craft breweries, and who felt as if craft breweries did not represent them and their communities.
- Our commitment to supporting the transformational healing and liberation for our people and communities is demonstrated by our community engagement work, our monthly offerings, and our dynamic collaborations through 314 West.
- We are inviting socially conscious economic development with an empowerment focus.
- People really enjoy and appreciate the intentionality with each brew process, the naming, and the ritual of giving birth to new brew babies.
- We have grown out of the roots of a rich historical legacy.
- Our products uniquely stand apart from others in the industry while maintaining a high quality
- It is the first out, Black, queer woman owned and operated brewery.
- People are excited about the Black Star Line brand as a grassroots movement that is birthing an unapologetically Black and queer brewing operation that has the potential to be the largest employer for Black LGBTQ folks in the region and thus providing pathways out of poverty for those involved.
- We’re both a “least of these” brewery and a “whomsoever” brewery
The value our products/services give the customer groups
- 1: A sense of individual and collective community tastes reflected in each of the brew cycles
- 2: An opportunity for clients and businesses to participate in a movement of collective economics and liberation for marginalized and disenfranchised individuals and communities
- 3: A sense of belonging, value, and life-affirming products and spaces in a broader movement to create healing and empowerment zones
Products are different from competitors this way:
- 1: Sourced from people of color communities first, no-harm, reduced-to-no waste processes and products
- 2: Business, as well as its leadership, partners, investors, and collaborators, are radically committed to social justice, healing, and collective liberation as evidenced by corporate and individual work and donations
- 3: Opportunities for education and intellectual emancipation with each product – sharing historical facts and opportunities for direct engagement – create #blackbrewculture area with market, such as tap handles
What Makes Us Unique
1. Social and Economic
Justice Focus
The social mission of Black Star Line Brewing Co. is core to what
makes us unique.
We believe in “Ujamaa”, which is the ability to “build and
maintain our own stores, shops, and other business and profit from them
together.” Ujamaa is the fourth principal of Kwanzaa and a reminder about
collective living and interdependence. Cultivating collective opportunities and
prosperity (financially, spiritually, and otherwise) are the goals of Black
Star Line Brewing Co. It is our intention to partner with local businesses and
organizations to assist job-ready candidates in creating financial stability
and economic freedom.
All employees, particularly those who have been left behind due to
politics of pigment, would be paid a true living wage - no less than $15/hour
and then adjusted for inflation. We also hope to provide a robust benefits
package with certification and degree assistance programs. In addition, the
brewery staff would not discriminate based on criminal records which are often
barriers to employment and economic liberation in people of color communities.
In addition to filling a need in the community, we will be strengthening our
brand.
A percentage of proceeds will be donated to local community
initiatives and/or organizers that have a social and economic justice focus.
Ideally, these monies will flow to support other micro-enterprises through the
314 West collaboration.
The brewing operation will help establish us as a hub for social
justice activity in WNC. Our tasting room, Larry’s Lounge, will be a unique,
multicultural, progressive gathering spot for activists, artists, educators,
community organizers, and others that uses the model of the successful,
ever-expanding DC-based Busboys and Poets: a social justice concept restaurant
and bar. We will host regular social and cultural events such as performances,
live music, speaking engagements, meetings, drum circles, fundraisers, more.
Our goal is to promote cultural diversity in Hendersonville & Burke County,
to create a more unified community. We intend to be a safe space, a sanctuary,
for all movements, organizations, and activists. We will welcome people “home.”
We will also partner with other minority owned businesses and
organizations to create a professional network. We will create a robust
professional organization, in collaboration with our community partners, to
serve as a clearinghouse, mentoring, networking, and referral organization.
Western North Carolina does not have a Black or LGBT chamber of commerce. We
aim to take the lead in cultivating community and professional excellence
through this grassroots movement of collective economics, liberation, and
community building. At our core, we take community development seriously and
encourage other local businesses and business owners to do the same. We are
invested in community, in the building up of people who have historically been
torn down, and in the liberation of souls. To that end, we are founding the
“Black Brewers’ Guild” and hosting the first gathering in the Fall of 2017.
2. Historical Legacy
A strength of the business is the historical legacy that the
brewery builds upon.
First, we will be the first Black queer woman brewing operation.
The brewery name comes from the Black Star Line (1919−1922), which was a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey,
the organizer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and other
members of the UNIA. The shipping line was created to facilitate the
transportation of goods and eventually African Americans throughout the African
global economy. The Universal Negro Improvement Association gave birth to
movements and organizations around the country such as the Montgomery
Improvement Association. Black Star Line Brewing Co., models itself after the
ideas of the early UNIA and the modern-day movement for the liberation of Black
lives, the Black Lives Matter movement.
3. Quality & Uniqueness of Products
Several factors contribute to the quality and uniqueness of BSLB
products.
We will focus on unique flavors, styles and aromas that are not
available anywhere else in the area. Natural herbs and fruit flavorings will be
used to give a twist to basic beverage flavors. When possible, local herbs will
be used. We will also make efforts to source materials, equipment, and
ingredients from other marginalized folks across the United States. We will be
the first brewery in the area that is producing and serving indigenous
African-style beer and our version of pulque, and one of the first producing
ginger beer. Pulque is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the
agave plant. This sacred Aztec drink is traditional to central Mexico, where it
has been produced for millennia.
We will also focus on developing beers in the style of indigenous
cultures from around the world as we use the beers as an opportunity for
cultural education. One of the major aspects of the craft beer world is
community. People enjoy their favorite beer with friends and family. We are
seeking to continue in that tradition and make the circle even wider by
inviting the community to be a part of the brewing process.
With the “open” brewery and tasting room, community members will
be able to see each stage of the brewing process as we cultivate Umoja (unity)
and Ujima (collective work and responsibility). Additionally, the members of
our brewery incubator will have the honor and privilege of being a “guest brewer”
and seeing their beers on draft each month.
Our production process will also be unique. The process will
combine time-honored art of classical craft brewing with carefully applied
state-of-the-art modern methods. Our beers will be handmade from an all malt
mash in our uniquely built brew house.
In addition, we will be the only pico-to-nano sized brewery in
town and one of very few pico breweries in existence.
A nano-brewery usually uses a 7.5 barrel system, 1/3 to 1/10th the
size of a microbrewery, and produces beer at the rate of a few batches a week,
which puts the total output of a nano-brewery at 1,000 barrels per year. A
pico-brewery is even smaller. The common definition for pico-brewery is a
brewery that uses a 1-3 barrel system to produce 200 to 1000 barrels a year.
This means a brew pub and nano-brewery produce about the same volume of beer
each year. We intend to grow to the size of a microbrewery within 3 years.
As we have realized, there is a gaping need in the craft beer
community for small start-up breweries and craft breweries with a 7.5 barrel
system or less. We intend to take Ujima seriously! We will assist other small
(specifically pico and nano sized) breweries as they are in the dreaming,
designing, and launching process of their business through our Business
Incubator program.
Additionally, it is our intention to be able to produce raw
materials on urban farms as well as the equipment small brewers need. In later
years, we will partner with business schools, technology institutes, and
organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women
Engineers, and the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and
Technical Professionals, Inc. It is our goal to make craft brewing more
accessible for those who have a passion and Nia (purpose) to create
opportunities for marginalized and disenfranchised persons to enter the
industry. Therefore, costs must be reduced. By producing items like hops,
berries, and grains, not only will we be able to offer more jobs with pride and
educational opportunities, but also affordable ways to brew. Moreover,
collaborating with engineers and holding contests to design more affordable
small batch systems that are employing green technologies, is not only a “win”
for the start-up but a “win” for our environment.
It is our goal to continually reduce our carbon-footprint, while
building community: doing something that we love. We encourage and invite our
local brewers and businesses to think about ways that we create “low waste” and
“no harm” brewing systems.
It should also be noted that apprentices will have an opportunity
for a robust on-the-job training program, access to experienced industry
leaders, and use of the Sanctuary at the Lake in Lake Lure for resting,
centering self-care as a testament to our company’s commitment to emotional
justice and radical self-care.
4) Where do you envision the brewery heading in the future?
It
would be our expectation that the operation will meet production demands for
the first 18 to 24 months. After that, additional production, sanitizing (low
waste), canning, and bottling, facilities would be secured. We are hoping to
secure a flagship location in Charlotte, North Carolina. This facility would be
large enough for us to scale up our production, as well as provide space for
our wine and whiskey (in future years).
By
year three, we would hope to be in a position to not only be growing our own
hops, but to also be selling them to other local and national breweries. By the
end of our 4th year, we hope to begin planting for a Black Star Line wine small
batch line. By the end of year 5, it is our hope that we can begin making small
batches of whiskey and other liqueurs.
We
believe that the model can be replicable in other cities. For instance, in
Baltimore City, the model lends itself to a partnership with the Baltimore
Blacks in Wax Museum, beers would focus on Baltimore and Maryland natives such
as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and so forth.
It
would be our hope that this model would be developed first in cities where
there are large people of color populations. Similar to the Busboys and Poets
model in Washington, D.C., this brewery, coffee house, bookstore, bar concept
partnered with social justice activism and a living history project, is
absolutely essential to creating Black enterprise in economic depressed areas.
Through the various partnerships BSLB would forge, these economic depressed
areas would be turned into economic empowerment zones and stations of
liberation and hope.
The
first cities targeted for expansion would include Knoxville, Memphis,
Nashville, Baltimore, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Oakland, Atlanta, and DC.
One
of the judges at Brewbound mentioned that our plan was aggressive. Indeed it
is! We are aggressively pursuing our liberation and manifesting vibrant
communities with hope!
5) How many offerings does the brewery provide?
We’re
pretty ambitious brewers! To that end, we have over 25 recipes on rotation! Our
tap room can, hold 14 beers at a time. For our Grand Opening, we’ll have the
following beers as our lineup:
- Honey Cream Ale
- The Lorde Honey Pilsner
- Creamsickle Ale (Vanilla, Orange, Honey Ale)
- Dat Dere Ginger Beer (Flagship)
- Stokely Stout (Flagship)
- Amber’s Ale
- Pullman Porter
- Lil Sneak Hot Honey Saison
- Prusia IPA
- Karma Citra IPA
- Smokey’s Table Porter
- True Tale Pale Ale
- Momma D’s Brown Ale
- Black Belgian Triple
6) Conclusion
Black Star Line Brewing has a lot going on for sure and I say if you find yourself down in this part of North Carolina and Appalachian country then jump on board and cruise on through and not only may you find some pretty good beer, but you may gain some other knowledge on things which you may not be aware. Thanks for checking out another "Give Me Five" and here is one more link to their site for you to check out: https://www.blackstarlinebrewing.com/! Cheers, and Keep Getting Your Beer On!
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| L.A. McCrae - Black Star Line Founder |
Footnote: See more on Black Star Line Brewing from this piece done by Vice which provides another nice rundown of the brewery and served as the piece that got my interested initially: https://www.vice.com/en_us/topic/black-star-line-brewing-company.
