Diversity, craft beer, and the future of the brewing industry

WAMU 88.5 | By Jorgelina Manna-Rea

Published October 18, 2023 at 1:27 PM EDT

Father and daughter team, founder of Airport Craft Brewers, Africa's first airport brewery, Brian Skosana (L) and General Manager Cuthu Skosana (R) toast at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Sipping on a craft beer isn’t the same as cracking open a bottle of Heineken or popping the tab on a Miller Lite.

You can crack a cold one, pop plenty of bottles, and let the tap flow, but the world of craft beer is justdifferent. Whether it’s an ale, lager, stout, or sour, people all over the U.S. are trying their own recipes at home. Some turn them into businesses.

The number of craft breweries in the U.S. is at an all-time high according to the Brewers Association, with more than 9,500 across the country.

But the industry is changing.Organizations like Beer Kulture andThe Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling are funding technical scholarships for people of color interested in the business. Films like “One Pint at a Time” highlight the lack of diversity in the industry.

What does it take to be in the brewing business nowadays? How are people in the industry trying to make it more diverse?