USA, NC: Brewer known for co-creating the Black is Beautiful initiative to open a production facility in Charlotte

Marcus Baskerville, the San Antonio brewer known for co-creating the Black is Beautiful initiative that swept the country last year, will in 2022 open a brewery and incubator in Charlotte, North Carolina, news site Axios Charlotte reports.

The Harriet Baskerville Incubation program — the creation of which Baskerville hinted at in when he spoke to the Current last month — aims to give traditionally underrepresented people a start along the road to a career in craft brewing.

The incubation program is an homage to Baskerville’s grandmother, who used to brew during prohibition, Axios Charlotte reports. Harriet stopped brewing because someone fell off her roof and she didn’t want to go to jail. Baskerville didn’t learn this story until he started brewing a few years ago. “I’m glad to pick up where she left off,” he told the news site.

The incubation program will be 100% based in Charlotte’s South End, and will give BIPOC and women access to equipment and information about beer that they normally wouldn’t have access to, Baskerville said.

Co-founders Baskerville and Mike Holt opened Weathered Souls here in the Alamo City in 2016. It quickly grew in popularity and has since earned several accolades, including “The Best Craft Brewery in the Country” by Hop Culture Magazine.

The pair plans to open the Charlotte facility in April 2022.

09 October, 2021