Where to Find Black Is Beautiful Beers in Los Angeles

Last updated Mar 27, 2022

Beer has been giving back lately.

First, there was the Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, the 2018 beer Sierra Nevada created to raise money for the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund, which ended up raising millions of dollars to help victims of the deadly Northern California fire that blazed the previous November. Then there was this summer’s All Together, Other Half’s IPA to support hospitality professionals amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a recipe that other breweries could use to create their own hazy or West Coast versions and donate part of the proceeds to the local charity of their choice, as long as it supported the bar and restaurant community.

Now, Black Is Beautiful is the latest beer being brewed for an important cause: to raise awareness to help fight the injustices faced by people of color on a daily basis and raise funds for police reform and legal defense funds. The project was created by Marcus Baskerville, the founder and head brewer of Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio, Texas, who decided on a high ABV stout to showcase different shades of black.

Brewers are encouraged to put their own spins on Baskerville’s open-source recipe, which helps drive the metaphor home, and it’s a truly delicious way to take a stand and show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The main goal is to raise awareness. Baskerville felt it was important to use his platform, especially as a Black business owner in an industry that has largely ignored or minimized people of color. “I was dealing with some of the frustrations that were going on with murders,” he told Forbes of what helped push him to create a collaborative beer. “Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. All of these situations that keep arising.”

More than 1,000 breweries in all 50 states, as well as 20 countries, have opted into the project, with 123 of them right here in California. While Weather Souls is raising money for Colin Kaepernick’s organization Know Your Rights Camp, each individual brewery is encouraged to choose a non-profit or cause of their choice, and Los Angeles County breweries are doing just that.

Hopped LA has all the info on which of our local breweries are making Black Is Beautiful, how they’ve tweaked the recipe, and what cause they’re donating to. In addition to those on the map, Crowns and Hops has put out a version that will benefit Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the Anti Police-Terror Project (their taproom isn’t open yet), and a number of homebrewers have made versions as well.

Here’s to sippin’ on good beer for a good cause!

Ambitious Ales

4019 Atlantic Ave | Long Beach

More Info

ABV: 11%

Their Version: An Imperial Stout aged one year in bourbon barrels. Thick, rich and bold with nuances of oaky vanilla and bitter dark chocolate.

Cause: 100% of the profits will be donated to the Okra Project, a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black transgender people through home-cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources.

Released: July 22

Availability: $10/16 oz. can