Hey what's going on it's Tennyson Donyea with NJ.com.
We're here at Montclair brewery where black cultures on tap.
We're going to talk to the owners about how their heritage
plays a big role in the way they operate their business.
This used to be a furniture restoration company before the
Sawadogo family opened Montclair brewery in 2018. It's a unique
spot to grab a brew here in North Jersey, infusing
ingredients from beer made in Africa with elements of black
culture found here in the US and abroad. Beer was always been
brewed in Africa by women. I like I say all the time. I'm
probably one of the first men from Africa that ever try
brewing beer because it's not accustomed to for men to brew
beer in those countries. So I learned to brew originally from
my from my mother.
Leo Sawadogo was originally from Burkina Faso West Africa. His
wife Denise has roots in Jamaica.
When we first opened the brewery, we wanted to make beer
that reflect both of us identity and both of us, you know,
culture.
The micro brewery and tasting room has more than 20 beers on
tap. You won't find them anywhere else. The black is
beautiful is made with baobop, which is a fruit from West
Africa. We brew with hibiscus which is grown in both of our
countries or regions. Popular beers include the black is
beautiful, the national emergency and the black mamba. A
dark lager named for late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Simply put
people come to Montclair Brewery for the beer stay for the vibe.
Every February we celebrate Black History Month with the
Black History Month series of beers for for any type of
holiday for like Jamaica Independence Day, we did a whole
celebration weekend celebration with reggae music, we'll have
our jam mango, IPA, and different things like that. So
it's important to do that.
The brewing process takes seven days to seven weeks depending on
the type of beer before batches 220 gallons, enough to fill 14
taps. Black-owned breweries are relatively rare. Although there
are more than 8,000 breweries in the United States, only 60 are
black owned, according to the New York Times.
My wish is other people from the same colors as us, you know,
join the brewing industry. It is very important. It is very sad
for me to walk at the Brewers conference and I'm the only guy
over there walking around or few of us.
However, in a year rife with racial unrest over the death of
George Floyd, the owner say they've seen an increase in
patronage. We were
flooded like that weekend. And then that week after where we
ran out of things because we had no idea that was coming. Yeah.
So all of a sudden everyone wanted to support like a black
owned business and
it's still going today.
Hope it continues. Yes, well, that's not right. Just a fit a
fad or trend. We need to make this a part of every day.
Thank you for joining us on black in New Jersey, a show
that's unapologetically black, unapologetically jersey. For
nj.com. I'm Tennyson Donyea. Cheers.