NEW YORK (Reuters) – Celeste Beatty, one of the first African-American woman brewers in the United States, sees craft beer making as a way to reconnect with her roots.
The flavors of the beers made by Beatty’s Harlem Brewing Co conjure up a proud tradition that was unwillingly left behind long ago when Africans were forced into slave ships bound for America in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
“Brewing beer was so deeply embedded in the African continent,” Beatty said. “Coming from Africa in the way we did, through slavery, we weren’t able to bring those traditions with us.”
Beatty found her passion when traveling to Zimbabwe and other African countries, where she discovered that women were often the keepers of the art of beer-making.
She returned to the United States inspired to enter an industry dominated by white men, and create beers, such as her Harlem Renaissance Wit, spiced with cumin, grains of paradise, orange peel and coriander, seasonings found in African…
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