Carlson says he initially got the idea to open a brew school after hearing his daughter, who is biracial, mention that she wanted to make beer. At the time, he didn’t know of any entities that would explicitly make that possible for anyone outside of the perceived majority of beer drinkers — older white men. Although they aren’t Black Detroiters, Carlson and his co-founders have hopes of diversifying the local beer space from their Selden Street location.
When you inquire about Black women in the local beer community, many point to Barb Baker, who’s enthusiastically referred to by her social media persona,. You can find her online sharing what kind of brews she’s drinking, posting funny, relatable stories about being a woman in a male-dominated industry and documenting her latest tastings and brewings at local or far-out breweries.
Baker says she initially connected with Fermenta’s founders in the same way she does with lots of other folks — by talking about her love of beer. She realized early on that social media would be a crucial way to find folks who have the same interest as her and got active on Instagram as, where she educates folks and takes them along on beer tasting journeys virtually.
Many of the Black women who entered the beer industry with Baker weren’t in a rush to monetize their work or establish themselves as thought leaders in the space like many of their male counterparts. In some ways, the white male image of beer that prevails exists because white men capitalized on that initial swell of interest in craft beer and essentially ran to the front of the line. As an experienced beer coach, Baker knows that there are many ways to engage with the beer industry.
Now they have a name, a podcast, and over 800 members online. Detroit is still the headquarters, though, and the modern-day social club frequently gathers to partake in beer, whiskey, and cigars around the city. Brewz Brothaz hosts meetups and bottle shares, which are exactly what they sound like: Attendees bring bottles they haven’t yet gotten to or don’t want to partake in alone and taste them with a group instead.