Michigan’s craft beer scene is about to get its first Black-owned brewery.
Beer fans Terry Rostic and Jamaal Ewing, are the owners of Black Calder Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The two bills Black Calder as the first Black-owned beer company in Michigan, and they are releasing their first IPA on what they call “The Blackest Friday” on Nov. 27.
“Black Calder Brewing Company was established to make great beer and provide a platform for innovation, art, culture, and inclusion in the craft beer industry,” Rostic said in a news release. “We appreciate the significance of being recognized as Michigan’s first Black-owned brewery. It’s something Michigan, and the craft beer industry has been longing for, but it’s not the only thing we want to be known for.”
Their motto is simple: Make dope beer for dope people.
Even though the Black Calder’s physical space will open in 2021, you can purchase the Black IPA exclusively at Broad Leaf Local Beer in Kentwood.
“The craft beer industry was full of flavor, community, and creativity,” Ewing says in a statement. “The passion that brewers, owners, and staff put into creating a unique experience was refreshing. What we didn’t see were diversity and themes that spoke to the culture that we represent.”
The brewery plans to branch out into distilling and winemaking eventually.