TANNINS & TERPENES ISSUE
“Up through the Civil War, Black people did all the brewing in the United States. Brewing, distilling, this is really hard work. And it was done by enslaved people.” - GARRETT OLIVER
aklEAF.COM
34
Garrett Oliver Brewmaster | Brooklyn Brewery >> READING THROUGH the stories in last month’s Equality Issue, two things became clear: On one hand,
an inspiring number of amazing people and organizations fight tirelessly against systemic racism and inequity to ensure that the future of the Cannabis industry doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past. On the other hand, the industry has a long road ahead if we’re going to achieve real equity.
Sept, 2020
S
ince this is our annual Tannins and Terpenes Issue, the Leaf editorial team saw an opportunity to view the equity issues facing the Cannabis community through the lens of its closest analog - the alcohol industry. For that task, I called on an icon from my time in the beer industry: Garrett Oliver. As the brewmaster at the helm of the legendary Brooklyn Brewery out of New York City, Oliver has been one of a small but slowly growing number of Black brewers working in the United States. Since entering the industry in 1989, he has become one of the most prominent brewmasters in the world, of any race or gender. But it hasn’t been easy. “For a long time, I was the only Black brewer that anyone saw or knew,” Oliver said over a Zoom call in August. With a laugh, he recalled moments when racial preconceptions led people to assume that he held a subordinate position at his brewery. “They would come to the brewery and they would walk right past me, and shake the hand of my (white) assistant, Kurt, and say, ‘Hello, Garrett,’” Oliver said. “And Kurt would point at me and say, ‘Garrett’s over there.’” Considering Oliver’s achievements, that’s a staggering mistake to make. He edited the “Oxford Companion to Beer” and authored “The Brewmaster’s Table,” considered by many to be the definitive guide to pairing beer and food. He even earned a James Beard award for his trailblazing work in the craft beer industry. The man sweats excellence. In July, he announced his most ambitious project yet - the formation of The Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling (www.themjf.org) - named after the legendary beer and spirits writer of the same name, one of Oliver’s early mentors. Here, their core mission is “funding the technical education and career advancement for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the brewing and distilling industries.” Few people are better equipped to address where the beer industry has been and where it needs to go in its search for equality than Oliver. Over the course of our conversation, it became clear that the beer and Cannabis communities share an uncannily similar history, and both must cut the same path into the future.
