JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Beer that brings change.
It's the mission of the Black is Beautiful initiative, a national effort amongst the craft brewing community and its customers to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily
The movement was started by Weathered Souls Brewing out of Texas amid the rise in racial tensions nationwide following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
"With the current tensions that are rising, we thought that it was of grave importance to start the Black Is Beautiful initiative," said Marcus B, Founder of Weathered Souls Brewing.
"We took a stout recipe and decided to call on our peers in the brewing industry to collaborate in unison for equality and inclusion amongst people of color."
Aardwolf Brewing Company participated in the initiative, along with Shades of Hopz, a local group dedicated to promotion of diversity within the craft beer industry.
Janel Bacote of Shadez of Hops previously told First Coast Brews that she had a personal connection to the Black is Beautiful beer as she moved from San Antonio to Jacksonville.
Weathered Souls Brewing, who started the movement, is based in San Antonio.
"So the whole purpose of this initiative that was started by Weathered Souls in San Antonio, is one brewer decided to give away his recipe, which is huge. People don't give away their recipe," Bacote previously told First Coast Brews. "But the idea was that they wanted to bring together customers...and to kind of bridge the gap around ages and provide a platform to show how the brewing community comes together."
And the rest is history. Black is Beautiful Beer was brewed at Aardwolf using the official Black is Beautiful Recipe.
Fast-forward two years and Aardwolf is now releasing a barrel aged version of the Black is Beautiful Collaborative Stout. The brewery says the beer was aged in bourbon barrels and conditioned on cookie butter.
The release of the barrel aged beer will be released Sunday.
All proceeds from the beer will go to the Jacksonville Urban League; a nonprofit, special-service and advocacy organization that works to fulfill its mission of empowering communities and changing lives.
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