|
Black Frog
Brewery
is the newest edition to the craft beer scene in Toledo. In
the very recent months, Toledo’s beer scene has really begun
to take shape and catch up to neighboring Cleveland,
Columbus and Cincinnati. With breweries such as
Maumee Bay
Brewing Company,
Great Black Swamp Brewing Company, and the coming-soon
Black
Cloister Brewing Company,
Black Frog
Brewery
will be welcomed into a community that is primed and eager
for even more amazing craft beer.
For better or for worse (you can be the judge), one of the
defining features of Black Frog Brewery, aside from the
fantastic beers they brew, is the fact that Black Frog will
be the first minority owned and operated craft brewery in
Toledo – and quite possibly the entire state of Ohio. Chris
Harris, owner of Black Frog, will immediately be placed into
the extremely exclusive group of minorities and people of
color who own, operate and brew beer on a professional
level.
Chris Harris, a veteran of the United States Armed Forces,
is truly the American Dream for so many home brewers. His
beginnings into the art and craft of brewing beer were truly
humble. Harris began his brewing journey on the
user-friendly Mr. Beer machine.
|
Harris’s Humble Brewing Beginnings Started on a Mr.
Beer Kit.
The moment his taste buds encountered his homemade
creation, he was hooked. He instantly started
upgrading his system and began brewing every chance
he could; experimenting and tinkering with recipes
all the while. Co-workers began sampling his beer
and requesting more and more of it; so much that he
began wondering if he could translate his passion of
home brewing into a legitimate profession.
|
 |
As we sat with Harris hared some of his brews with us – his
very special cream ale – which was quite delicious on a
beautiful summer evening. Harris just recently took the
plunge: filing paperwork, buying a brand new Blichmann
System - Black Frog’s Blichmann Brewing System – and, most
importantly, hand-constructing his nano-brewery with the
help of his father, in quiet Holland, Ohio.
We talked at length about the importance of his status as a
minority entering the world of craft beer. His minority
status is, in part, the foundation of his brewery’s name –
Black Frog.
At one point in our conversation, Harris turned the
interview tables on us and said “Let me ask YOU - Why do you
think I named my company Black Frog?”
We sort of sheepishly and nervously answered “Well, Toledo
is the Black Swamp….we are called Frog Town…and…well….you’re
black…” We all shared a laugh and he excitedly confirmed our
hypothesis. He wanted to integrate all of the local culture
and history of Toledo with his minority status in an attempt
to create an all-encompassing company – which we thought was
a great homage to both the city and his identity.
You will notice on the Black Frog Brewery logo that there
are honey bees in addition to the frog. Another interesting
twist to make Black Frog Brewery unique is that every recipe
(Chris Harris emphasized ‘EVERY’) will integrate honey! That
is sure to be a sweet spin on his brews! (Sorry, I
had to.)
It is not debatable that craft beer, for whatever reason, is
dominated by white males. In fact, we discussed with Harris
a previous article we had written concerning
WHO is the
Craft Beer Drinker and
why he thinks the environment in craft beer is the way that
it is. We also discussed how NPR
wrote a fantastic piece on the topic,
which highlighted the fact that there are only a handful of
people of color who are professionally involved in craft
beer.
Michael Ferguson of BJ’s Restaurants, Andres Araya of 5
Rabbit in Chicago, Omar Ansari of Surly, and just a few
more, round up the minorities that represent professional
craft beer.
We find that so striking and so critically important to
discuss, and Chris Harris had some fantastic insight on the
matter. He carefully and respectfully postulated that the
reasons for the lack of minority involvement in craft beer
may be a lack of knowledge of craft beer.
We acknowledged that African Americans do indeed enjoy beer,
but many African Americans (especially those living within
inner-city areas) quite literally do not have access to
craft beer.
Most carry-outs that serve the inner city do not stock their
shelves with craft brews, and craft beer, typically, is not
really targeted or marketed to the inner-city population.
Harris also acknowledged the socio-economic factors that
could potentially distance minorities from craft beer: craft
beer sells at a higher price-point than many other beers,
and many families and individuals of color (again,
especially in inner-city communities) simply do not have the
monetary access to higher quality beer.
We asked if he had any unique strategies to market
inner-city populations. While he did have some interesting
ideas (farmer’s markets, festivals, inner-city bars, etc) we
had a laughable moment when Harris jokingly exclaimed that
just because he is a minority does not mean he will be
brewing malt liquor and distributing in 40-ounce bottles.
Some beer drinkers state “Beer is Beer, everyone can enjoy
it.” While true, we feel that statement is ignoring the
issue at hand. What is it about craft beer that is so
ethnically homogenous and so (assumptious-ly)
unintentionally exclusive to white males? If you have a
response to this, please leave a comment on our wensite.
One of the best sentiments Chris Harris shared with us was
the opportunity he has as an African-American brewer to
reach an entire new audience of beer drinkers and bring them
into the craft beer community. He feels that the craft beer
scene at large will benefit from inviting new types of
people to the bar, and that when the environment becomes
more diverse, everybody wins from a business and consumer
standpoint.
Though Chris Harris and Black Frog Brewery are still in the
planning stages – and he has an incredibly busy summer ahead
of him – we truly feel that he has a great chance to be a
major influence in not only the Toledo craft beer scene, but
the craft beer scene throughout America.
Ed. Note: Cory Smith and Ron DeGregorio may be contacted at
their website –
www.brewreviewcrew.com.
|
