Eight trillion dollars.

This almost unfathomable sum of money could be added to the U.S. economy in the next 30 years if not for racial disparities baked into social and economic structures, according to The Business Case for Racial Equity a Strategy for Growth, a paper Ani Turner wrote for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The number left an indelible mark on the minds of Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter, co-founders of Inglewood, California-based Crowns & Hops Brewing, one of only about 60 Black-owned breweries in the U.S. (According to the Brewers Association (BA), the total U.S. brewery count stood at 8,341 through June.)

We found it to be such an incredible stat, Hunter said. Looking at our own industry and seeing how there was a lack of diversity, it just seemed like a really good opportunity for us to build the strategy around.

Ashburn and Hunter today announced the launch of the 8 Trill Pils Initiative, a fund that will support Black entrepreneurs in the craft brewing industry. Craft brewery owners and employees are notoriously homogeneous, a fact that has been further underscored by the reckoning taking place across the country this summer following protests against systemic racism.

In her paper, Turner defined the categories in which racial inequity needed to be achieved to unlock economic growth: healthcare, education, criminal justice, housing and employment/entrepreneurship. As craft beer entrepreneurs themselves, Ashburn and Hunter knew they could make an impact under that tentpole.

We know first hand some of the struggles, pitfalls that come with building a craft beer brand, and we know how hard it was to identify some of those resources, be it financially or just simple educational opportunities, Ashburn said. With 8 Trill Pils Initiative, we want to create and support that resource for other breweries, specifically Black-owned breweries.

The fund kicked off today with a $100,000 grant from Scotland-based BrewDogs development fund, which also provided funding to Crowns & Hops last year.

As a global craft brewer, it is our responsibility to use our voice as a force for good, BrewDog co-founder James Watts said in a press release. In the case of racial equity, that means literally opening and supporting more Black-owned breweries like Crowns & Hops so that Black people are not only represented in the business of beer, but are also successful.

Since June, several initiatives have been launched to diversify both owners and employees in the beer industry. Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver announced the Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, which will provide educational grants and scholarships for Black, Indigenous and people of color. Constellation Brands announced its venture capital arm would invest $100 million in Black-owned beverage alcohol startups over the next decade.

Last month, craft beer lifestyle brand Beer Kulture reorganized itself as a nonprofit organization to introduce craft beer to communities of color, which would bring about a necessary change to the drinker base. Crafted for All, a platform founded by Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, works to promote inclusion and equity in craft beer workplaces.

National trade group the BA announced it would draft a new code of conduct for members after being criticized on social media for its inaction in the wake of racist incidents at member breweries.

Ashburn and Hunter see 8 Trill Pils as a complement to these projects, one arrow in a quiver aimed at a more inclusive industry. Using their experience as entrepreneurs, they want to ensure that more business owners in beer who look like them can find similar success.

There is a lot of attention and energy spent around diversity and inclusion in a model that is already there, Hunter said. Im not sure theres been as strong a conversation around racial equity, which is ensuring that Black-owned breweries are successful.

When you look at this country, Black people do make up more than 1% of the country, so in not just our industry, but in industries all over the United States, we need to be looking at how we achieve racial equity as a way of the strategy for economic growth, industry growth, he continued. By doing that we ensure that Black patrons are able to immediately recognize themselves in a brand, in a product and in ownership.

Even a single-digit percentage increase in Black-owned breweries would be significant, Ashburn said.

Its really crazy when you think about 8,000 [craft breweries], and then you think about 63, which is the number of Black-owned breweries, she said. Even if we were to go up by 4%, 5%, it still makes a marginal difference in comparison to where were at right now, so we definitely want to see more Black-owned breweries successful Black-owned breweries and business models and the various points of entry to craft beer.

Crowns and Hops won the 2019 Brewbound Pitch Slam competition at Brewbound Live in December.

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Crowns and Hops Brewing Launches 8 Trill Pils Initiative to Support Black-Owned Craft Breweries - Brewbound.com