MILWAUKEE — Music, art, and beer. All three were featured Saturday during the Black, Brown and Brews event at Sugar Maple in Bay View.
"We're just educating people on beer, having fun with them," said Rich Bloomfield with Funkytown Brewery.
Funkytown Brewery was one of several brewers who participated in the first-of-its-kind kind event in Wisconsin. Breweries from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin were featured. The goal was to introduce Black and Brown-owned breweries to Milwaukee.
"It just bringing attention to Milwaukee that there are diverse breweries out here," said Bloomfield.
According to the Brewers Association, just 1% of craft breweries across the country are Black-owned. Organizers hope this event inspires greater diversity in Milwaukee's rich beer history. The event also gave back to the community with proceeds going to support True Skool, an urban arts organization here in Milwaukee.
"We're here facilitating a space for Hip Hop and creating a dope environment for people to socialize," said Dominique Whitehurste. His art was featured during the event. "The inspiration behind a lot of these pieces were having representation of Black and Brown women and men of all forms and all places around the world."
It's an event where organizers will support and encourage Black and Brown entrepreneurs in the community. They hope to host a similar event in the wine and spirits space in the future.
