'We need action': Portland symposium, film premiere to benefit National Black Brewers Association

Production still from the "One Pint at a Time" documentary film.

Production still / Courtesy, Aaron Hosé Corey Hinton, beer historian and co-founder and brewmaster of Georgia-based Soul Brothers Brewing Co., was interviewed for "One Pint at a Time," a documentary that will have its Maine premiere on Saturday, July 20.

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By Renee Cordes

Members of the National Black Brewers Association are coming this weekend to Portland for a symposium and the Maine premiere of a film about the Black experience in the craft beer industry.

Orange Bike Brewing Co., a gluten-free craft brewer in the city's East Bayside neighborhood, will host the event Friday and Saturday in partnership with the Third Place, a Portland-based nonprofit, Black Travel Maine and clothing retailer Toad & Co.

More than 150 people are expected to attend, benefiting the National Black Brewers Association, a nonprofit formed in 2022 to boost the number of African-Americans in the industry at all levels of production, especially owners and brewmasters.

Starting with a Friday mixer and "bottle share," the confab runs until Saturday with a screening of “One Pint at a Time." The film, an hour and a half long, has been featured at more than 130 film festivals worldwide since its release in 2021.

Aaron Hosé, the film’s writer, producer, director and editor, was born in the United States and raised on the Caribbean island of Aruba. Now based in Orlando, Fla., he told Mainebiz that the idea for the film was inspired by a 2014 trip to Asheville, N.C., where he caught the “craft beer bug.”

While visiting new breweries in "Beer City, USA," was a highlight for him and his wife, they were surprised to find that they were often the only people of color in taprooms.

“This realization made us uncomfortable and curious about the homogeneity in the craft beer scene,” Hosé told Mainebiz. “Driven by this curiosity, we set out to make the documentary as a way to highlight the overlooked stories in craft beer, particularly those of Black brewers and entrepreneurs who, as we discovered, have deep connections to ancient brewing traditions in the African continent. Our aim was to shift public perception and challenge the stereotypes of who makes and drinks beer."

'Call to action'

Out of 9,691 breweries nationwide, less than 1% — a total of 86 — are Black-owned, according to the National Black Brewers Association in its "2024 State of the Black Brewers" report. It also shows that out of the six New England states, only two are home to Black-owned breweries — Connecticut with one and Massachusetts with four.

Kevin Asato, the group's executive director, told Mainebiz that he hopes those those who attend the Portland event see it as a "call to action" to view the film, interact with members of his organization or read their report.

"There's an absence of Black people and culture in the beer industry," he said. "The challenge or reasons for [that] limited presence are identified, and now we can take action to overcome those challenges."

Asked what Maine can or should do to promote more diversity in its brewing industry, Asato suggested “pulling community, local business and government resources together to ease the barriers of entry with opening a Black-owned brewery.”

He also urges existing breweries to look for ways to collaborate with Black brewers, saying, “The exchange of ideas and camaraderie born from this opens the pathway for more interactions which accumulate to eventually become a standard way of working."

Asked about bringing more diversity to Maine's craft brewing industry, Orange Bike Brewing founder Tom Ruff said he is "incredibly hopeful" despite the absence of a Black- or Brown-owned brewery out of more than 165 in the state.

"Without hope, we have nothing," he said. "But it's more than hope — we need action. We need organizations and individuals to stand up for what they believe in. It's about human decency and understanding right from wrong."