Barrel & Flow beer fest 'making a real impact' on the Black brewing experience

A few days before the Barrel & Flow festival, the event “Welcome to Pittsburgh: A Celebration of Black Culture,” presented by Crafted for Action and Velum Fermentation on the South Side, generated excitement.

Day Bracey, founder of Barrel & Flow, describes the festival as both a community and a movement.

“I’m pretty jazzed up it’s Barrel & Flow Week,” Bracey said. “Five years ago, this wasn’t possible.”

He’s especially thrilled about the collaborations, such as the one with TLC Libations, Pittsburgh’s first Black-owned women’s distillery, and the involvement of local food trucks.

“I am always in awe of where it goes,” Bracey said.

Jen Price, founder of Crafted For Action, based in Atlanta, said their mission is to create more opportunities for people of color and women in the craft beer industry, and collaborating with Barrel & Flow aligns with that.

“Barrel & Flow is making a real impact,” Price said.

It’s her second year attending, and she’s determined not to miss it again. “Out of all the almost 10,000 breweries in the U.S., less than 1% are owned by people of color,” she said.

Price also noted that women and people of color are the fastest-growing groups of craft beer consumers.

“So while we are in this space drinking and consuming, we are not owning,” she said.

The opening event took place at Velum Fermentation, a women-owned establishment run by Nate McLaughlin and his sister-in-law, Jenna McLaughlin. Price said they specifically chose it because it was women-owned and people want to see themselves in these spaces.

A native of Braddock, comedian and former caseworker, Bracey launched Barrel & Flow in 2018, though it didn’t fully kick off until 2021. As Bracey’s comedy career gained momentum, he realized that while venues were profiting from the audiences he brought in — thanks in part to drink minimums — neither he nor the audience was seeing the financial benefits.

“Why don’t I join my following with your product and cut out the middleman?” he said.

Bracey started collaborating with local suppliers like Velum and Eleventh Hour, bringing craft brews to new venues, theaters and community spaces.

“We reached a new demographic. The venues were making more money, the brewers were getting connected to new audiences, we’re working with musicians and cross-collaborating. We were able to build something that people weren’t doing, and I noticed we were the only Black folks doing it,” Bracey said. “Now we don’t pay for venues anymore. I used to beg people to be on stage as a comedian. Now people are seeking me out to bring the product and our following to them.”

When they looked at nationwide statistics, they saw that there are not many people of color in this industry.

“We thought, ‘Let’s bring more people into it,’ ” Bracey said. They created the festival to do just that. Bracey was able to make collaborations with Black artists and entrepreneurs at these venues and said, “Hey, have you thought about how the alcohol industry can boost what you are doing?”

“Catherine Trendz, who has a clothing company, is now doing a beer. She is selling her art. Her logo is on hundreds of cans that are going out to people. She doesn’t have to make or drink beer for her to grow her brand and company,” he said.

“I feel truly grateful,” said Imani Batts, founder of Catherine Trendz. “I never expected to have my own craft beer, so now that I am here, it’s incredible.”

Batts said that being in person, showcasing her work and showing who she is authentically has been great in bringing awareness to her brand.

“Sometimes I get so caught up with social media, but actually talking to my audience in person hits a little bit different. They really get to know me a little bit more,” she said.

Aaliyah Lewis, an artist whose work was on display at Velum, tried more abstract pieces that touched on pop culture for this exhibit.

“I think it is amazing to be in spaces that celebrate Black culture because you don’t see a lot of that in Pittsburgh,” she said.

When Bracey thinks about celebrating Black culture, he said it is important to celebrate its vibrancy and variety. He said it’s especially important in Pittsburgh, a place labeled as one of the worst places for Black folks to live in general, with a household income of $42,000.

“It is important to recognize the culture that is Black Pittsburgh often gets overlooked and suppressed, and gets appropriated,” he said. “There is value in Black Pittsburgh. That was the goal, to say to Black people, ‘There is $300 billion that we are spending so much money on, but we are not getting anything back. Let’s figure out how to get more money in our pockets from that.’ ”

Kevin Irvin, who is on the committee for Crafted for Action, is from the Mon Valley and lives in Atlanta “It’s important to me that where I am from, Black culture is highlighted,” he said.

Irvin feels there is a lot of strong Black historical culture in Pittsburgh and he thinks that is missing in Pittsburgh now.

“I want to uplift us culturally, and I think Barrel & Flow is the perfect event to do that,” Irvin said.

Barrel & Flow is Aug. 10 at The Stacks at 3 Crossings, 2875 Railroad St. in the Strip District. For more information, visit barrelandflow.com.