While it seems like breweries are popping up on every corner in the U.S., diversity remains a problem in the craft beer industry. Less than 1% of the nearly 8,500 craft breweries in America are Black-owned, according to a 2019 Brewers Association survey. Because Black-owned breweries represent only a fraction of the industry, many brewmasters and business owners have faced equity challenges. Against the odds, Black-owned craft breweries are occupying a lane that the industry can’t ignore. The breweries that do exist are expanding rapidly and are producing some amazing brews and convivial atmospheres to boot.

Atlantucky Brewing, Atlanta, Georgia

Started by Grammy-nominated hip-hop group Nappy Roots, this brewery opened in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood in 2022. The name, “Atlantucky,” celebrates the group’s roots in Kentucky and settling in Atlanta. The brewery took home a bronze in the Cream Stout category in the 2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Hippin’ Hops Brewery & Oyster Bar Atlanta, Georgia

The first Black-owned craft brewery in Georgia, this spot opened in 2021 with rousing success. The brewery has two locations in Atlanta and is expanding to Charlotte, North Carolina in late 2022. The original spot has indoor and outdoor seating with a beer garden and more than 10 beers on tap.

Beale St. Brewing, Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis’ first black-owned brewery, started with four beers in 2020. With a love and curiosity for cooking and enjoying spirits, owner Kelvin Kolheim started home brewing. That hobby quickly became a passion and turned into producing brews that are available locally in Tennessee and Mississippi.

Harlem Brew South, Rocky Mount, North Carolina

What began as a satellite extension of Harlem Brewing Company, which was founded in 2000 in Harlem, is now a small-batch production facility producing beers in eastern North Carolina. The future site of the taproom is a historic building site of Operation Dixie, an early successful organized labor vote by Black leaf tobacco workers that secured better working conditions and pay.

Weathered Souls Brewing, San Antonio, Texas

Weathered Souls’ co-founder and head brewer, Markus Baskerville, is known for creating the Black is Beautiful initiative in 2020, a collaborative effort by the brewing community to raise awareness about the injustices that people of color face in everyday life. With plans to expand to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2022, the brewery will bring ales and IPAs to the Queen City.

This story was created by Detour, a journalism brand focused on the best stories in Black travel, in partnership with McClatchy’s The Charlotte Observer and Miami Herald. Detour’s approach to travel and storytelling seeks to tell previously under-reported or ignored narratives by shifting away from the customary routes framed in Eurocentrism. The detour team is made up of an A-list of award-winning journalists, writers, historians, photographers, illustrators and filmmakers.

This story was originally published August 08, 2022 9:00 AM.