Black Calder Brewing Company GRAND RAPIDS, MI
MICHIGAN'S FIRST BLACK-OWNED BREWERY Michigan has developed a reputation as a mecca for a craft beer industry that has seen a wide variety of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs pop up all over the state. In fact, with more than 350 operating breweries in the Great Lakes State, statistically Michigan ranks among the leaders nationally-both in number of breweries and beer production. Yet for all the gaudy numbers — including economic impact — it wasn’t until 2020 that, thanks to the vision and dogged determination of Terry Rostic and Jamaal Ewing, the state now has what it has been sorely lacking in this burgeoning industry: a black-owned brewery. To say the two craft beer enthusiasts have paid their dues to realize a longtime dream would be selling them short. Rostic and Ewing, co-owners of Grand Rapids-based Black Calder Brewing Company, spent more than a decade visiting and supporting local breweries in west Michigan. “At the same time, we were constantly experimenting with our own home brews, said Rostic, a Grand Rapids native who has been mentored by many of the beer-crazed city’s brewery owners and friends, including Jason and Kris Spaulding of Brewery Vivant. COVID-19 put a wrench in their plans to open a physical location last year. Still, on Nov. 27, 2020 (Black Friday),
Black Calder Brewing Company, on an occasion it dubbed “The Blackest Friday,” released its first can, a Black IPA (seven percent ABV). Dry-hopped with mosaic and Idaho 7, it’s a dark beer with a light tan head that shows moderate to high hop aromas, citrusy notes and light caramel. The smooth, medium-bodied brew echoes caramel and toffee all the way through with a bittersweet and citrusy finish. Though it wasn’t the type of debut Rostic and Ewing envisioned, “It has been a struggle to launch during a pandemic, but we also see it as somewhat of a blessing in disguise,” Ewing, a Lansing native, said. “Our original plans were to launch with a taproom at the end of 2019, which would have been disastrous for us a few months later.” The duo is currently contract brewing with Brewery Vivant and Broad Leaf Local Beer, an arrangement that provides the flexibility the two need as they navigate the uncertainty of what’s still to come. Like a lot of business owners, Rostic and Ewing have been forced to adjust on the fly, but they say their ultimate goal has been merely delayed, not ruined. Plans remain in place to open a physical location in Grand Rapids this year. “COVID-19 has made us adjust our business plan and how we get beer out to the public,” Ewing said. “No one creates a business plan with 50%
22 | www.MiBrewTrail.com
Thanks to the vision and dogged determination of Terry Rostic and Jamaal Ewing, the state now has what it has been sorely lacking in this burgeoning industry: a black-owned brewery, Black Calder Brewing Company. (Photo Provided)
or less occupancy in mind or only outdoor seating in Michigan. We are fortunate to have industry support and local breweries like Brewery Vivant that want to see and help our dreams come true.” The dream began in 2016 when the two self-described “craft beer heads” met at a business meeting in Grand Rapids. They both quickly realized they had a connection that could lead
to something significant — groundbreaking even.
won. Since then, we’ve never looked back. Black Calder Brewing Company “We both had a passion for craft beer, was established to make great beer community and togetherness,” Ewing and provide a platform for innovation, recounted. “We didn’t see a lot of diart, culture, and inclusion through colversity in the breweries we frequented laborations in the craft beer industry.” or themes that were representative of our culture. We started kicking around Studying abroad and traveling the world has allowed Rostic to share his the idea of starting our own brewery culture while immersing himself in and, in 2018, we pitched the idea at a local business competition and we other cultures.
MI Brew Trail | Winter 2021
