From Other Half Brewing's "All Together" initiative at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to support hospitality and beer industry workers who were impacted by closures, to Sierra Nevada's "Resilience" effort in 2019 in support of the Camp fires in California, to today's efforts by Weathered Souls Brewing (San Antonio, TX) and the "Black is Beautiful" initiative in support of social justice efforts nationwide, socially conscious efforts are a part of the fabric of who these brewers and businesses are.
With a vision to amplify their voice through beer in support of social justice efforts, the "Black is Beautiful" initiative was born in 2020 amidst a chaotic backdrop of racially motivated violence in the country, a pandemic, and a tumultuous political environment. Marcus Baskerville, owner and brewer at Weathered Souls Brewing (San Antonio, TX) has now found himself piloting a collaborative effort bringing beer to consumers with a message of hope for change. With participating breweries in 22 countries, 50 states, and 1,177 breweries globally, Black is Beautiful was designed to raise awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and raise funds for police brutality reform, and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.
As a form of corporate social responsibility, Black is Beautiful sets the table for this exclusive 1881 Series: What's on Tap episode where we will dive deeper into why breweries have signed on to participate in this initiative and engage in a wide range of socially conscious efforts.
Featuring Black is Beautiful initiative founder and Weathered Souls Brewing founder, owner, and brewer, Marcus Baskerville, as well as Black is Beautiful initiative participants and UConn Alumni owned breweries - Labyrinth Brewing Company (Manchester, CT) - Adam DeLaura '11 (BGS) and Still Hill Brewery (Rocky Hill, CT) Laura Amenta '02 (BUS) with co-owner and head brewer Scott Barbanel, we will get to know a bit more about this incredible initiative, how it started, where it is today, and why these local Connecticut breweries all jumped in to participate.
Moderated by UConn's Satell Fellow in Corporate Social Responsibility and Associate Professor in Business Law, Stephen Park, we will also take a closer look into many of the individual practices that Still Hill Brewery and Labyrinth Brewing are working on to be good social partners to their local communities and why they do it.
Meet your panelists:
Episode 2 - The Art of Beer Tasting - Learn to Taste Like a Pro
Join Advanced Cicerone® Max Finnance '15 (CLAS) of Artisanal Brewing Ventures as he guides us through a beer education and tasting, featuring beers from the ABV portfolio, which you can find nationwide at your local craft beer store/liquor store.
Click here for the list of featured beers.
Episode 1 - How Breweries Pivot in a Pandemic
If you have questions or require additional information for any of these three events, please contact Josh Proulx, Director of Alumni Engagement via email.
All Zoom information would be provided upon registration.
These events may be recorded for UConn and UConn Foundation promotional materials.