Guardian Brewing Company Joins “Black Is Beautiful” Beer Collaboration To Fight Racial Injustice

Located on the north side of San Antonio, Texas is Weathered Souls Brewing Company, a small locally-minded brewery with a big heart and a crew to match. Among that brewery crew is Founder and Head Brewer, Marcus B. He spearheaded an international call-out to actively support our local POC communities while doing the thing we do best…making beer. This collaboration is call “Black Is Beautiful” and Guardian Brewing Company exudes great gratitude to Marcus for starting a unique campaign and sharing it with the world. In their own words,

“‘Black Is Beautiful’ is a collaborative effort to raise awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged. The Black is Beautiful initiative is a collaborative effort among the brewing community and its customers, in an attempt to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. Our mission is to bridge the gap that’s been around for ages and provide a platform to show that the brewing community is an inclusive place for everyone of any color.”

Guardian Brewing Company heard the call and has joined hundreds of breweries in making a beer that will contribute to the cause. By participating in this project, Guardian is committing to:

• Donate 100% of the beer’s proceeds to a local foundation/organization that raises awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and supports equality and inclusion
• Commit to the long-term work of equality

Several partners joined Guardian Brewing to help fight against racial injustice by contributing their special ingredients in the creation of a beer like no other. Each were just as committed to the collaboration and eager to participate in something good for the community. We want to give special thanks to the following folks and their companies who donated ingredients so that we could make a beer worthy of this project:

Jared Marr, his family, and the crew at Bluestar Farms for donating 210 pounds of local blueberries for our beer (Fennville, MI)

Jeffrey Bloem, Founder & Maltster of Murphy & Rude Malting Co. (Charlottesville, VA) for donating all the gorgeous black, chocolate, and Caramel 120 malt for our recipe. (Side Note: Jeff went to Hope College. It is a beautifully small world.)

Crosby Hops (Woodburn, OR) for donating all the Cascade hops needed for our 6-barrel recipe

Choosing an organization for donation was not an easy task because there are so many great options; however, the crew at Guardian Brewing decided to commit as locally as possible and chose the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) in Holland, MI. LEDA “works to dismantle barriers to ensure people of all ethnic backgrounds have equal access and opportunity to participate fully in the life of the community.” Their focus on racial diversity and inclusion education for POC is exactly the kind of programming we need in these uncertain times. Guardian Brewing is grateful for the work that LEDA does for West Michigan.

So what can you expect from Guardian’s version of Black Is Beautiful? This collaboration beer features lactose and 210 pounds of local, sweet blueberries from Blue Star Farms (just down the street from our brewery!). The beer has a roasted and sweet aroma from the multiple varieties of dark malt used and flavors of baker’s chocolate, coffee, and blueberry milkshakes. At 6% ABV, this beer is easy to enjoy on its own or with our blueberry ice cream.

We will tap Black Is Beautiful at noon on July 29!

Guardian Brewing Company is grateful to be able to take part in this cause and promises to continue to do its part to help the community. We hope you enjoy our version of Black Is Beautiful, and we thank you for taking part is something really meaningful.

To learn even more about the collaboration and the breweries involved, please visit the Black Is Beautiful page.