The measure. Bay Brewing Company and the Mass Brewers Guild are jointly launching an online resource to promote a more diverse craft brewing community
The new website includes toolkits and tips, partner access, and education to enable breweries across the state to work together to create a more diverse and inclusive industry
Boston, Mass. – After the Harpoon Brewery of the Mass. Bay Brewing Company, in partnership with the Mass Brewers Guild, hosted its first Hop Forward Equality Career Fair, the two organizations are teaming up again to help other local brewers adopt HopForwardEquality to transform their efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion .com.
The new website, unveiled to Massachusetts-based breweries last week, has one goal: to provide actionable, tangible steps the brewing community can take to begin or promote their work on diversity, inclusion, and justice. The website has resources for those who are just forming their internal D&I groups, those looking for best practices for the HR department to change corporate culture, as well as a suggested reading list and video library.
The respective committees for diversity and integration of the mass. Bay Brewing Company and the Mass Brewers Guild will serve the site’s editors – they curate, write, and regularly share news, ideas, and inspiration received from their partner organizations. Currently, the Boston site partners include Pride, the Boston City Diversity Bureau, Crafted For All, The Verna Myers Company, and YWCA Boston. The resources offered on HopForwardEquality.com will grow and develop over time as more partners sign up for the project.
Hop Forward Equality also offers training and education workshops led by diversity and inclusion experts. A job board will also be set up on the site and will be open to breweries advocating fair hiring practices to attract a variety of candidates and to expand the talent pools applying for brewery positions.
Brewers Association data shows that female consumers outnumber men in Massachusetts nationwide, and that craft beer drinkers are evenly split between boomers, Gen Xers, and millennials across generations – there are only a dozen minority breweries in Massachusetts and 80% of the craft beer industry. Beer’s consumers in Massachusetts are white. Employee data is not yet collected nationwide.
“We need to ask ourselves why and we need to do a better job that truly embraces and embraces our communities,” said Katie Stinchon, executive director of the Mass Brewers Guild. “This resource center was created out of a need to have a base for everything we’ve learned. It was supposed to answer the question I get most from members – where can I get help?”
“We’re not the experts, we’re our partners,” says Rich Ackerman, AVP Human Resources at Mass. Bay Brewing Company. “We have invested the time partnering with organizations to offer a wide range of information in different ways to meet brewery workers and owners where they are.”
Hop Forward Equality will also serve as the home for a local travel show, Black Brew Dialogues, hosted by Collin Knight, Roxbury native and founder of Live Like A Local Tours. Knight is a self-proclaimed beer freak and often describes himself as a “brother who loves craft beer”. Viewers will follow Knight as he visits some of the state’s most popular breweries for a behind-the-scenes look. He will hear its founding story, meet the owners and brewers, and then have an open conversation over a beer about this brewery’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. The first episode in the series will feature black-owned White Lion Brewing Co. and is slated for release this spring.
“It’s not easy to walk into a room and see that no one in the room looks like you. This is my typical experience when I go to a brewery,” says Knight. “I want to hear where the breweries are, where they are successful and where they are struggling with this work. Through this dialogue we hope to learn together about a few cold ones, grow and find answers. “
The show hopes to bring together two audiences: the craft beer lover who wants to enjoy the VIP experience of their favorite breweries who may not be aware of these differences, and underrepresented groups who may not see craft breweries as their next job or night out. The show will cover all topics of inclusion diversity from race to people with disabilities, gender, LGBTQ + to generational differences.
“We all need every role in our breweries to make real change happen,” says Ackerman. “We know it won’t happen overnight, but we hope Hop Forward Equality can help move the conversation and this work forward.”
About mass. Bay Brewing Co.
The measure. Bay Brewing Company, Inc. (MBBC) was founded in 1986 by beer enthusiasts who wanted more and better beer options. When the company was founded, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted the brewery Permit No. 001 as it was the first to brew commercially in Boston after a dormant period of about 25 years. The Mass portfolio. Bay Brewing Company now includes award-winning beers Harpoon, UFO and Clown Shoes, City Roots Craft Cider and Arctic Summer, a premium spiked seltzer made with her friends at Polar. In 2000 the company bought a second brewery in Windsor, VT. In August 2014, the Mass. Bay Brewing Company owned by the employees.
Via the Mass Brewers Guild
Founded in 2007 by a group of dedicated and passionate brewers, the Mass Brewers Guild was created to promote craft brewing and protect the interests of craft brewers across the Commonwealth. The association is membership based and open to all Massachusetts breweries licensed by the Federal Tax and Trade Bureau and the Commonwealth Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission of the Commonwealth. The nonprofit creates a community of brewers while shedding light on the wide range of breweries and styles available across the state. Through industry and educational events, the beer card for mobile applications, and the provision of resources and marketing support for brewers, the nonprofit is working to highlight Massachusetts as the top craft beer destination in the U.S. The board of directors also continues its work at the legal level and acts as unified voice of craft brewers on Beacon Hill. The Massachusetts Brewers Guild is a 501 (c) 6 not-for-profit corporation. Learn more at Massbrewersguild.org.
