The Black Is Beautiful initiative is a beer collaboration aimed to raise awareness to the injustices against people of color. The initiative was spearheaded by Weathered Souls Brewing Co on June 1 following of the killing of George Floyd and the systemic racism that continues to plague the U.S. In exchange for the free Black Is Beautiful resources, Weathered Souls is asking participating breweries to donate a portion of proceeds to support police brutality reform and legal defense for those who have been wronged.
Black Is Beautiful builds on the success of the All Together, Sonoma Pride and Resilience Butte County Pride collaboration beers that raised money for victims of COVID-19, Sonoma County Wildfires and California Camp Fire, respectively. Weathered Soul contributed the base recipe, KD Designs contributed the label artwork and Creative Mango will print the labels at discount. As of July 17, there were 1,017 participating breweries from 50 states and 19 countries participating in the collaboration.
Eager to contribute in my own way, I brewed the Black Is Beautiful homebrew recipe for my first iteration of Mountain Stout and donated to the Idaho affiliate of American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) and Inclusive Idaho.
ACLU “realizes the promise of the United States Constitution for all and expands the reach of its guarantees”. The organization fights the most pressing civil liberties issues of our time, including human rights, immigration, LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, criminal justice, security and privacy, voting rights, capital punishment, disability rights, free speech, HIV, juvenile justice, national security, prisoners’ rights, radical justice, religious liberty, smart justice and women’s rights.
Inclusive Idaho aims to create a more inclusive Idaho through advocacy, education, programs, community events, policy and legislation reform to solve the societal barriers of belonging and advancement for minority groups, women, people with disabilities, refugees and those with marginalized gender and sexual orientations.
I made some minor changes to the Black Is Beautiful recipe based on ingredients I had on hand. I used Thomas Faucett Pale Chocolate Malt and Briess Midnight Wheat for 100% of the dark malts, subbed Mecca Grade Rimrock Rye Malt for flaked barley, Yakima Valley Hops Sabro for Cascade hops and Imperial Yeast A10 – Darkness for White Labs WLP001 – California Ale yeast. I also scaled the recipe down to 4.2% ABV for ease-of-drinking (especially over the summer), including the reduction of IBUs from 65 to 58. For target water profile, I used Bru’n Water‘s Black Full profile which required additions of gypsum, calcium chloride, epsom salt, canning salt, slaked lime, baking soda, chalk, and lactic acid to my distilled water source profile. I mashed at 158°F for 90 minutes for a dextrinous wort and will ferment at 62°F for approximately two weeks before cold crashing, carbonating and canning. A portion of Black Is Beautiful will be aged with JavaPresse Brewer’s Choice Blend cold brew coffee and maple syrup concentrate to recreate one of my favorite Breakfast Stouts (more on that later).
My version of the Black Is Beautiful (Mountain Stout #1) recipe can be found here: https://share.brewfather.app/3LMbr6oWAn1QTS
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