• by Danielle Oster , Staff Writer, October 6, 2023

Two regional breweries partnered to brew up a way to address a lingering lack of diversity in the beer industry.

Indeed, that business “was very intentionally built and designed for white males… the marketing aspect, as well as access to the industry,” Jamal Robinson, sales and marketing director at Connecticut’s New England Brewing Company (NEBCo), told CPG Insider. “The places where craft beer [historically] were sold were not accessible to Black and brown communities.

He added, “I don’t know that it’s been held in place intentionally, but to address the problem brewers have to stop it and turn it in a different direction, or break the wheel altogether.”

While many breweries were inspired to take steps toward diversity in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Robinson said “The whole movement, or the intensity behind it, has softened since 2020. That’s a big part of why we started Change in the Air” – NEBCo.’s foundation committed to addressing diversity in the industry, which Robinson founded and leads.

NEBCo. and Vermont’s Lawson’s Finest Liquids teamed up to release Change in the Air, a tropical blonde ale with mango, brewed with Citra and Mandarina hops, whose flavors were inspired by Robinson’s Jamaican heritage. The can is decorated with art from New Haven-based Black artist Allen Jackson (AKA Dooley-O).

Proceeds from the sale of the beer will go to the Change in the Air Foundation, and the CT Brewers Guild African American Brewers Scholarship, designed to support African American students participating in a brewing science certificate program at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

“Our Good Brews for a Cause initiative is focused on creating special limited release beers and small-batch collaborations that raise funds for causes we care about,” Lawson's Finest Liquids founder Sean Lawson said in a statement.

The beer was released last month ahead of the Change in the Air Festival, an upcoming event at Bear’s BBQ in New Haven on Oct. 14, featuring music, arts, food vendors and, of course, beer.

Robinson said the event was designed to be more inclusive and welcoming for people of color than the typical beer environment, with “a brewery mixed in with Black-owned food vendors,  mixed in with Black or brown artists or local vendors.”

He added, "It’s bringing craft beer into that space, rather than the other way around,” he added. “We need to diversify where people are drinking craft beer and what that looks like.”

Robinson said that the scholarship reflects just one point of entry into the industry, and represents a commitment that’s not for everyone. Once the foundation hits its five-year goal on fundraising for the scholarship, it plans to explore potential partnerships to establish an internship program or other paths of entry into craft beer that don’t require the full commitment of an academic program.

“Having diverse solutions and results are inherent to creating diverse situations,” Robinson said. “If the industry is based on one general feel or culture, it’s going to cap out somewhere without diversity.”