PBS News Hour

GEOFF BENNETT: A new craft beer company in the Bay Area is on a mission to diversify the brewing industry and create change in its local community.

Laura Barron-Lopez has the story.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Here in Wine Country, craft beer served up by a brewing duo that's breaking barriers.

CHAZ HUBBARD, Co-Owner, Hella Coastal: There you go, sir.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Hella Coastal is the first Black-owned brewery in Oakland California, and one of the fewer than 1 percent of Black-owned breweries nationwide.

CHAZ HUBBARD: Cheers.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Community, equity, and of course, a shared love of good beer are the heart of the business for founders Chaz Hubbard and Mario Benjamin.

The pair turned their home brewing hobby into a business in 2020.

CHAZ HUBBARD: We kind of had like a competition between each other, like who can kind of make the best beer.

We also always had this entrepreneurial spirit between each other.

One day we, were brewing together, home-brewing, and kind of brainstorming, like, well, we're doing this right here.

We're making beer.

It's fun.

It's enjoyable.

We love the craft.

Like, why don't we try to start a brewery together?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That meant breaking into a space where 94 percent of brewery owners are white, according to a 2021 survey.

MARIO BENJAMIN, Co-Owner, Hella Coastal: Some of the breweries that we have gone to, we realized that the beer is great, but, sometimes, the energy just didn't feel as receptive.

I mean, we were like the very few and far between, as far as who we see as -- not only as a consumer, but as who's going to be represented front of house, who's serving.

That's what we have realized that there is a sense of community, but there needs to be some improvement.

And we need to disrupt what was essentially who the beer drinker looks like.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Their beer, like every other, is born out of simple ingredients, grain, hops, water, and yeast.

But timing, temperature, and fine details make every pint unique.

MARIO BENJAMIN: These right here are the fermentation tanks that our beer is going to be going into.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: This work takes patience.

It can take weeks to finish one batch and a delicate, measured touch to keep the taste fresh and consistent.

So, when the beer goes through the fermentation process, what happens?

MARIO BENJAMIN: The yeast is -- essentially is what converts the sugar into alcohol.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Through every step, Benjamin and Hubbard look to highlight their Oakland roots, representing their community in flavor, name and design.

MARIO BENJAMIN: This is our latest release that we did, So, Oakland Haze is a shout-out to the Oakland A's.

And then this one is the one that we did for Black History Month and also Women's Appreciation Month.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Called 3900 'Til Infinity, this beer pays respect to a long history of Black female brewers that goes back centuries, with a special message: Beer is Black history.

CHAZ HUBBARD: It was 3900 B.C.

in Mesopotamia where the first beer recipe is supposed to be conceived by a Black woman, just kind of to knock down those barriers of folks thinking that it's just like German and European.

And we want to make sure that people know the real history of it.

It's not just about Black History Month and beer, but it's also like, yo, like, we do this, we have been doing this, we're going to continue doing it.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: They're also looking to the future, to build generational wealth for their kids and equity for other Black business owners, like creative director Julia Vann, the designer behind many of Hella Coastal's bright, bold labels that evoke Black culture.

MAN: It was literally just making beer at home.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Right now, they're renting space in a taproom downtown, but hoping to one day open a brick-and-mortar that can be more than just a spot to grab a drink.

CHAZ HUBBARD: But we want to do is be the creators of that space, create something where folks in our community, allies also can come to and feel welcome, and can be their true, authentic self in a brewery.

MARIO BENJAMIN: And one thing that we want to do in our space is to not only make it inclusive, but we also want to make it a place where people can come in, learn about beer, have different beer styles, but, at the same time, have guest speakers, have artists, have art on the wall that's representing the community and highlight organizations, nonprofits, initiatives that's really resonating to -- not only to us, but just to the community in general.

CHAZ HUBBARD: Come on in.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: At Sonoma County's craft beer festival, they're again serving to a largely white clientele flanked by white brewers.

But customers showed an appreciation for the flavors... WOMAN: It's good.

It's very refreshing.

And it's not too citrusy.

But it's nice.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: ... and the message.

MAN: They're like, it's the only Black brewery in this place.

You should go check them out.

And I was like, oh, say less.

I'm going there.

CHAZ HUBBARD: There you go.

Cheers.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Fresh beer and fresh faces in an industry they're working to change.

Cheers.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez in Oakland, California.