Since brewing has predominantly been a white male-oriented industry, one of the finest minority brewers, Garrett Oliver, has decided to bring about change. He has introduced a scholarship fund that would help other minority brewers study the art. The scholarship presents them with a way to support themselves financially when being prepped for this course.
The famous brewmaster from Brooklyn Brewery, Garrett Oliver, has mentioned that the non-profit Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling will base itself on two awards- Nathan Green Scholarship for Distilling and the Sir Geoff Palmer Scholarship for Brewing.
What Is Garrett Oliver’s Mission?
Garrett Oliver has since then tweeted that the main mission of the MJF is two-fold. One, it provides scholarships that would allow people to take up courses in the distilling and brewing technical field. And second, it would inspire students to take up mentors who would help them ascend the ladder in the brewing industry. To put it in simple terms, this scholarship is going to open a lot of doors for minority students.
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Oliver said he had pondered about this idea for quite some time- almost over a year. The main point of contention was whether he would be able to spare the energy and time that went into launching this scholarship. He knew the responsibilities attached to this scholarship would be huge. Oliver obviously had another option of simply dispensing the $30,000 as a scholarship monetary unit. But that wouldn’t really serve the purpose. And 2020 brought about a huge change in that plan. With COVID, the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the subsequent BLM movement through the country, Oliver didn’t want to wait any longer. He said he believed that time was of the essence, and he had to strike when the iron was hot.
Including Minority Brewers In The Beer Industry For A Better Future
Oliver mentions that all these subsequent incidents did spur him into action. He further admitted that he would have taken some more time to ponder upon it had it not been for the recent incidents.
Sir Geoff Palmer, on whom one of the grants is named, is one of the most distinguished personalities in the field of brewing. He is also Professor Emeritus at Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1998, he received the Award of Distinction from the American Society of Brewing, something Garrett Oliver considers to be the Nobel Prize for Brewing. Nathan Green, on whom the other grant is named after, is famed for being Jack Daniel’s first brewer specialist. He was also a former slave.
Garrett Oliver is one amongst many who is trying to diversify the beer industry. Let’s hope the inclusion of minority brewers will make way for a better future.
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