From Maine, With Love - An Allagash Brewing Podcast

S2 Episode 2: Crowns & Hops Collaboration Extravaganza

• Allagash Brewing Company • Season 2 • Episode 2

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In this episode, Rob Tod, our founder, and Brett, our hopefully enjoyable host, chat with Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter, co-founders of Crowns & Hops Brewing. What's bringing us together? The chance to dive deep into our recent collaboration, a crisp and curiously tasty beer called Cur-8. In this episode, you’ll learn how we met in the first place, how the beer came to be, and how its proceeds help promote racial equity in the craft beer industry.

Brett Willis:

This is for Maine with Love, an Allagash Brewing podcast where we talk about beer, our community here in Maine, and things that generally make us happy. And on this episode of the podcast, the second official episode of our second official season, we're talking with Benny Ashburn and Teo Hunter, co-founders of Crowns& Hops, a black-owned, veteran-owned and woman-owned craft brewery out of Inglewood, California. Now why are we talking with them? Because we just did a collaboration beer, it's called Cur-8, and it supports the cause of racial equity. It's a really cool beer with a really cool backstory. And, uh, for some reason in this episode, I decided to record my part from, uh, what sounds like the inside of a jet engine. So apologies for the audio that I produce, but luckily I don't have to do too much speaking because Benny, Rob, and Teo have so much more to say, so many interesting things to say. It's just was really awesome to be able to actually kind of get into a longer format with them to just chat about all about this beer and how it came to be and the potential that it holds. So if that sounds good to you, then give it a listen. And now we're officially alive. Very exciting.

Rob Tod:

Well then I'm gonna officially open a can of Cur-8

Teo Hunter:

Ooh. Oh man, this is nine in the morning, bro. Yeah, we cannot

Rob Tod:

Drink just you. It's you. Maybe it's 12. It's lunchtime for us. So<laugh>.

Teo Hunter:

Yeah.

Brett Willis:

Thank you. Thank you all for being here. This is so exciting to have you on. You're like our first. We've been talking about this for a while on the podcast of having, having, you know, having guests, having people who we worked with, having partners. And so I'm super excited that you two get to be the first. Yay.

Teo Hunter:

Amazing.

Brett Willis:

Thank you. Yeah. So the way we normally start it is actually with a question that has nothing to do with working. What we're gonna talk about, and it's a very brief question, but hopefully it's fun, and I'm gonna start with Rob cuz he's kind of done this before. You've done a fair amount of traveling, uh, in your time at Allagash. What is your favorite airport?

Teo Hunter:

Mm,

Rob Tod:

I think I'm gonna go with Logan.

Teo Hunter:

People are listening.

Rob Tod:

Logan, I'm gonna go with Logan. All right. I mean, great, great. Uh, food choices at all the terminals. Great beer choices at all the terminals. I think you can buy Allagash White in every single terminal at Logan. Now. That's good. So I'm going with Logan. It's my kind of my home airport.

Teo Hunter:

I was gonna say, I'm gonna speak on behalf of all the listeners that have no idea of where Logan is and what Logan is outside of Wolverine's real name.<laugh>. What is Logan?

Rob Tod:

Logan Airport, Boston. It's a good, good point. Ah. There you go. Yeah, Boston Logan, kind of, you know, it's not in Maine, but it's basically it's our backyard. Yeah. New England. It's so close. New England's our backyard, right?

Brett Willis:

It is, it is our backyard. All right, Benny, you get to be the second one. So I hear, uh, through the grapevine that you're a fan of pop music. So what is your, your go-to song that's gonna pick up your mood

Benny Ashburn:

Right now? My go-to is, uh, Miley Cyrus, um, bam. I think it's flowers. Is that her like number

Brett Willis:

One? Oh, I think my wife shared that one.

Teo Hunter:

I can buy myself flowers. I oh

Benny Ashburn:

Man, man, because I can, I get by myself. Flowers

Brett Willis:

<laugh>. My wife actually like two days ago, played that and she was like, she was like on the verge of tears. So you, you have a kindred soul.

Benny Ashburn:

It's very, it's very confidence building. I could do it myself, but I don't want to. But I can

Teo Hunter:

<laugh> when, when I tell you that that has to be the most unassuming thing about Crowns& Hops is that one of the co-founders literally can probably recite every top 40 pop song that there exist probably in the last decade.

Benny Ashburn:

Hundred percent.

Brett Willis:

That's amazing.

Rob Tod:

Maybe we gotta hang out cuz I need to get current with my music. I'm, I'm seriously, I'm back in the sixties and seventies, like Rolling Stones. Grateful Dead Led Zeppelin Slim, the Family Stone Steely Dan. Yeah,

Benny Ashburn:

I got you. When you're here, we'll do it. We'll do a miley marathon

Rob Tod:

And Phish. And Phish.

Teo Hunter:

Yeah. Phish actually has a very unique path to Allagash, so, uh, we'll maybe we can, uh, circle back on that later. Yeah,

Brett Willis:

That's interesting.

Teo Hunter:

For, for, for me, which is an interesting path.

Brett Willis:

Well, Teo, you're, you're up next actually, and I'm, I'm excited to hear yours. What is your favorite all-purpose hot sauce?

Teo Hunter:

Ooh, man. You know what, uh, my favorite all-purpose hot sauce, um, because I am a hot sauce connoiseur, um, I would have to say it is the house hot sauce from a cafe in West Adams called Highly Likely They're produce an in-house. And it, I wish I could tell you all the peppers, but all I could do is, uh, give it thenot, uh, of, of approval from a hot sauce connoiseur. Not too hot, not too spicy, but has enough kick on it to, uh, parallel with most, most things that are deserving of a hot sauce coupling, pairing<laugh>, highly likely hot sauce. There you go.

Brett Willis:

There you go.

Benny Ashburn:

So if I, if I said Tabasco is, is that not not hot sauce or what?

Teo Hunter:

You know, I'm, I'm a craft beer guy, you know, I'm Of course I'm gonna give you the crafty answer.

Brett Willis:

It's all good. Yeah,

Rob Tod:

We'll have to check that place out. We, we were probably right down the road

Teo Hunter:

From Matt right down the road

Rob Tod:

Lunch. Right,

Teo Hunter:

Right down the road last time. I would say I would, I would say, I would say a close second would be our, uh, our bookkeepers homemade hot sauce. Wow. She, she does a hot sauce with strawberries and ghost peppers.

Benny Ashburn:

So good. Oh my God, it's so hot. It's incredible. Peppers are we allowed to curse?

Brett Willis:

Intimidating pepper

Rob Tod:

<laugh>?

Brett Willis:

Well, I dunno. I think so. We can be, we just did, I dunno,

Rob Tod:

<laugh>

Teo Hunter:

Rob is drinking alcohol

Brett Willis:

<laugh>. That's right. The next, so now to get to the meat of the conversation. So I think to set the stage, you know, Teo you actually had a connection to Allagash before we met in person. Can you just briefly kind of tell that story to set a little stage for us?

Teo Hunter:

That's right. Um, well, that's where Phish comes in. Um, Ooh. So, uh, I would say about going on maybe about 15 years ago, um, uh, a designer buddy of my Matt Taylor of Varnish Studio, um, him and I were working on a project. I was working in the printing industry at the time, uh, doing packaging for Warner Brothers, Warner Brothers, music, paramount Universal. And, uh, we had both gotten tapped to put together a box set for the Phish Joy album. And, um, I was known in the industry for doing just far out just, you know, you think it to can produce it. And Matt on the, the reciprocal of that was the one who could design magic. He, uh, he has Grammys for designing for red hot chili peppers, my chemical romance, incredible designer. So we're working with, uh, we're working on this project and ironically we're working directly with Phish. Um, so no one ever approves the project on, on the first presentation ever. Sure. It just never happens. But we present to these guys, no bureaucracy, no, no red tape, just, you know, show us what you got in. This was amazing green light. And they gave us a green light on the first Wow. On the first pitch. Um, and, uh, you know, of course Matt and I just felt it was relevant to, to celebrate with some beer. I told him I'd run to the liquor store and go get a couple of green bottles, and he said, no, you will not. And he, um, then takes me to a place called Father's Office in Culver City. And, um, he decided he wanted to celebrate with something special. So he asked a bartender to pull out a bottle of Alley Gas Curio, which I had never heard of in my life. I didn't even know how to pronounce the, the word on the bottle, let alone, uh, identify it as a, a beer because it had a cork and a twist off top. I'm like, what? And, um, that was literally one of the first beers that really opened my, my mind and my palate to what was possible. So, um, Matt Taylor is now the designer of Crowns& Hops, uh, brewing company. He, he does the majority of our designs and we have Phish to thank, um, for not only Teo uh, getting bit by the crab beer bug, but also, uh, getting the first taste of Allade in my life.

Brett Willis:

Amazing.

Rob Tod:

Yeah. It's funny because, uh, uh, Phish, I got a long history with Phish cuz I went to school in Vermont in the eighties, and that's when they were getting started and they literally, they used to play our dining hall and just a couple doors over, we have a framed like concert, uh, I don't know, concert poster. It's just, it was hand drawn by a, by a student where I went to college and it was was Halloween night. They played our dining hall, I think it was like 1987 or 1988. And I used to see them all the time on campus, on other college campuses in Vermont. And I'd go up to Burlington and see'em at the front. And yeah. So I I I, I go a long way back with that band. So that's a, that's an interesting connections. All kinds. Connections,

Teo Hunter:

Connections, connections. And to bring it even more full circle, Matt Taylor of Varnish Studio is the designer of Cur- 8, um, yes. The collaboration beer. So it truly is a full circle moment.

Brett Willis:

Yeah. That's so awesome. So, so let's, let's kind of continue on with that journey. So then, you know, have this experience many years go by. So then Rob Benny and Teo, how did we first get involved working with each other?

Teo Hunter:

Man? The middle of the pandemic pretty much right?

Rob Tod:

Was a podcast in the Pandemic. Yeah. And, and I, you know, Teo and I were were you on that one too, Benny?

Benny Ashburn:

I don't think so.

Rob Tod:

Might have just been me and Teo<laugh> and, and, uh, but yeah, I mean, I, I've got, uh, my relationship with LA goes a long way back. My mom grew up in la uh, my grandparents, uh, you know, lived out there. So I visited, all my cousins were out there for, so I visited all the time when I was a kid. And we've been selling Allagash in the LA market for at least 15 years, and I love it out there. So I'm out there all the time. Mm-hmm.<affirmative> and I, I was basically like, Teo, let's get together for a beer. Because when this pandemic ends, I'm gonna start with my regular cadence of LA trips, you know, mostly during the winter when I'm trying to escape from the, the, the tough Maine weather. Um, but I was like, yeah, let's grab a beer next time I'm out there.

Teo Hunter:

You know, the funny thing about it is like, you know, we're in la so rarely do we geek out on talent, you know? Um, but what we do geek out is on people in our profession, people, um, sure. In, in the culinary arts. Um, because a a as you all know, like you put your heart out, you put yourself out, not only, um, you know, with, with the things that you say on social media, but the liquid that you put out as well, you're, you're, you're putting yourself out there. So, you know, for Rob to, to connect with us, you know, based off of what Benny and I are doing with a trail and racial equity and craft beer, like talk about a geek out moment. I mean, I called Matt, I called Benny, I'm like, I remember that. Don't believe

Benny Ashburn:

I, I remember him like, my God, you know, who I met. Just, and then, you know, I just, it was like so exciting. I mean, for me, I came, this story starts years ago, and I'm kind of, I'm, I was a little later to the, um, Allagash party, but I remember those moments when Teo first connected and was like, yo, and you know what's crazy, because that was the first beer that I had, and then I talked to Rob and it was so exciting. So I, you know, I'm a student of this and I think I've been, been watching and learning and getting excited every time Teo gets excited and then to come how many years later and now we're, we're brewing a beer together, joining First Forces to make real change and is, is really exciting. And it, it says a lot to how important and how collaborative the craft beer industry is. So,

Brett Willis:

Totally. So I think the next step is kind of the barrel and flow fest. You know, like that kind of kicked off this particular collaboration. Can you kind of talk about how that came to be and maybe a little bit about the Fest itself?

Benny Ashburn:

Yeah. I mean, well shout out, shout out to Barrel and Flow. Shout out to Fresh Fest the original Yeah. For our one. Even creating a space where you put black breweries together with some of these more established, uh, beer brands. Right. I mean, I think it starts there with just collaboration. Yeah. Um, a lot of these smaller breweries don't really have the opportunity to brew beer on a larger scale. You know, a lot of them are contract brewing or doing home brewing. So this festival was one of the first opportunities for a large number of the black-owned breweries to come and, you know, be able to pour their beer together. And I think that's how we connected, um, in year three. I mean, what is this year three of the festival? I think, I don't know either way. That's right. We finally connected and here we are today, uh, with Allagash and Teo can tell you more though.

Teo Hunter:

Yeah. I mean, we, we had been in conversation for going on two years, you know, so, you know, I think one, it was really amazing for Rob just to be curious, um, to really, uh, maintain a conversation and show that, um, that willingness to, to, to stay connected and to understand how he could contribute to solutions that we were coming to understand, you know? Yeah. So, you know, that, that, that was amazing. Um, and also a testament to, um, when you really decide to culminate that relationship in our industry with the collaboration, it's done based off of something more than just two breweries, seeing each other from across the country saying, Hey, we wanna compound our, our communities. It's more than that. It's, it's meaning we learned each other. We learned what our, our teams, uh, believed and, and what they were, um, you know, what was fundamental to them and us and, and where the common ground was. So, you know, barrel and flow allowed for us to culminate that and then really have a launchpad for what we're doing with Cur-8 now.

Rob Tod:

Yeah. And like, like Benny said, it's just amazing how collaborative this industry is. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about these collaborations is you really, it's a huge opportunity to share culture. I mean, we're not just, you know, um, creating a beer and selling it, you know, we're really spending time immersed in each other's cultures and, you know, it was awesome to have you all back here, um, just a few months ago. And yeah, you know, it, it's just like a, a a lot of, we've worked with a bunch of breweries with collaborations and you know, whenever we do these breweries, they open their doors and we can chat with their marketing department, HR department, mechanical department. And, uh, you know, that's one thing we had a lot of fun with you all when we did this collaboration, because I, I think you had the opportunity to, to bounce around from department, department here at the brewery. Just, you know, get a feel for, for how, how we do business and get a feel for our culture. And then, and then, you know, we get a lot of that in return too. It's, it's been, it's been really cool working with you all, you know, sharing your culture. And we've got a ton in common, you know, like on the surface, like what do we have in common? Like, uh, uh, a black-owned brewery 3000 miles away, that's, uh, pretty recently got their start. Um, we're in, you know, Portland, Portland, Maine here. Um, we've been around for almost 28 years, you know, 120,000 barrels, but turns out we've

Teo Hunter:

Eight years in a game.

Rob Tod:

<laugh>. Yeah. It's

Teo Hunter:

Crazy. Jesus, bro, you are, you are literally what we refer to as an OG<laugh>.

Rob Tod:

And it's funny cuz like in some ways I feel like I'm just, I'm just starting out. But in some ways I do feel like I've been doing it for a lifetime. But, you know, we got a ton in common. Our, our, our purpose is to brew with integrity and build community. And, you know, not only do we do, we brew and we work to do it with excellence, but, you know, community is such an important part of what we do in such an important part of what all our 150 employees do every day. And that's obviously a huge part of your company. You, you all are very mission driven. And I, and I think that's one like really important connection that Allagash and Crowns& Hops has.

Benny Ashburn:

You know, I think another really important, uh, connection, and Rob this is to your credit, it's, you've been doing this for 28 years, but your passion and excitement for it is equally as matched to ours. Having only done it for a few years. You know, and I think that's what's so exciting about this is we're working with a team that still really cares about making beer and, and creating community in a space that still has a lot of work to do. Like, you are so excited, I can't wait to see you this week because you're so excited to, to show up and still pour your beer and talk to people and ask questions and be curious. Hence, Cur-8 curious. I mean, it's, it's very impressive 28 years later. Uh, and really inspiring, honestly.

Rob Tod:

Well this is, this is the kind of thing that that makes it, you know, keeps it exciting. Yeah. Keeps it exciting for me. Projects like this, it's gonna be a blast. I can't wait to be out there. It's gonna be fun hanging out and talking about the beer and pouring the beer,

Teo Hunter:

You know, something that I think is, is really cool. It's, um, you know, we talk about all the similarities and, and, and obviously it's a beautiful way to establish a bridge when you have common, common, you know, threads. Um, but another aspect of it is to see how different we are. And what that says to, to Benny and I is that the opportunity for a Crowns& Hops to exist and flourish is wide open. It's, it's the opportunity to show something different in this community is something that really will be a catalyst for expanding the community. Because, you know, Allagash being around for 28 years, I can only imagine how many brewers have looked at the Allagash model and said, I wanna be just like this. Cuz I see myself in it. I recognize it. This is the culture I grew up in. This is, this is home for me. That's not necessarily Benny and i's experience, you know, n not to take away from how welcoming and amazing it is, but it, it's not our culture. So when we get home, it's like, you know, what we, we deserve to, or we, our community deserves to see their culture and, and what home looks and feels like in their neighborhoods in the form of a brew pub of, of a craft brewery. And and I think that really speaks to the opportunity that not only Rob is, is recognized in us, um, but just the opportunity that we have to really expand the love of craft beer to, to communities that have not seen themselves in it up until this point.

Rob Tod:

Yeah, no doubt. And, you know, at the end of the day, that's, that's good business. I mean, I, I, it's just, it's important to me just like fundamentally for everyone to feel welcome to our brand and our experience. Whether they're, you know, getting an allagash in LA in Chicago, in Portland, whether they're working here at the brewery, whether it's someone showing up at our tasting room. I want people to feel welcome to the experience. And that's a big part of what this beer is all about. And, you know, for both Crowns& Hops and Allagash, that's good business. Uh, you know, the more people we can welcome to this experience, the more beer we can sell, and then the more good we can do. I mean, we have a strong philanthropy program here at the brewery. We give 1% of our revenues to the local community every year. And, you know, at the end of the day, the more beer we sell, the more we're gonna be able to give back.

Teo Hunter:

Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah,

Brett Willis:

And I mean, to the point of like, Teo, your story kind of speaks to this too, is like, craft beer is so much of a word-of-mouth business where so much of it is based on your friend recommending something to you, a trusted person recommending something to you. And so like being able to have more people who look like you, who do the same things you do to represent that. And so you can see that and spread the word, like it's such an accessible and exciting and deep subject. Yeah. So it's like, hell yeah, let's bring that to more people. Let's let people, more people start this incredible journey. And so yeah, it's just, I'm, I'm, I'm getting pumped up. I've just been sitting here nodding my head for like a half, half hour.

Teo Hunter:

It's gold. Baby

Rob Tod:

<laugh>. Yeah.<laugh>

Brett Willis:

Can't stop. Alright, so to to get us to the, to uh, sort of the main event, Cur-8 the beer, what is Cur-8?

Teo Hunter:

Rob? You do the honor. I feel like I've been, I've been fumbling this a bit outside of just saying it's fuckin' delicious<laugh>. Um, that's

Rob Tod:

What I was gonna say.

Teo Hunter:

<laugh> tee it, tee it up for us. RT

Brett Willis:

<laugh>.

Rob Tod:

It is delicious. I mean, I'm drinking one right now. We did really nail it. And it's, it's kind of two unlikely beers being blended together. It's, it's a pils, it's, um, your 8 Trill Pils blended with our Curieux. So of course pils, you know, very, very sessionable beer and, uh, your all's pils got a really, uh, nice hop character to it. Curieux, you know, it's a, it's a 10% barrel-aged beer. It's got a lot of sweetness, doesn't have a whole lot of hop character to it. Um, and I don't know, like I wouldn't, these two beers wouldn't jump right into my mind as as like having a good marriage. But they do. And you know, some of it really came out of just the, just the story of, uh, you discovering Curieux, you know, early in your craft beer experience. I love pils, beers and, and, and so does Jason(Allagash Brewmaster). And you know, I'd had your 8 Trill Pils and I think you all might have even thrown that out as a suggestion. But,

Teo Hunter:

Uh, yeah, it, it was, it, it was, it was really organic. And I mean, when you, when you think about the, like we talked about brewing a few different recipes and, and I'll be honest with you, Brett, like, none of them really stuck. Like, it was like we, we, we, we kept tossing ideas and hops and, and it was like, in my mind I'm like, yeah, but allagash like, in my mind, like, Allagash is not where I'm running to for an ipa, you know? Yeah. And then when you think about us, you know, I think, you know, our whole concept is expanding people's palette and, and giving someone gi giving the community something that they may have never had before. And, and I, I, I don't know, it was when Jason brought up something about blending, and I recently just one late night, you know, had a triple and had a Pilsen and, you know, I was like, why not? You know, I, I know I'm not gonna finish a, an an 11% beer, you know, but, but you know, I, I wonder what it would taste like if it were more effervescent, if it were, you know, if it were, if it had more bubbles, if it, uh, were cut a bit, you know, and wasn't so, um, you know, uh, you know, such a concentrated form of the beverage. And it was delicious. So when we threw it out there, um, and, and, and let's be clear, we didn't just throw this recipe together. Benny and I actually traveled and we, and we blended down several different iterations of this to, to, to decide. I mean, Benny's palette had to love it as well. You know what I'm saying? I think Benny almost represents, you know, the new craft beer consumer in, in, in our process. And if Benny loves it, then, then, then we know that the community's gonna love it.

Benny Ashburn:

I'm happy to not be the expert in the room because the majority of the people that drink our beer aren't. And the, these beers need to be approachable. And, you know, I think as long as we're hitting the craft beer connoisseur, the, the people that really love it, but also making the, the beer available and approachable for people like myself who's still learning, I think that's when we've done a really good job. And this beer is, is really incredible. And I think it's also symbolic, right? Like eight tris for us is, is our flagship. It's more than just beer. It's bigger than beer. Uh, it's where we started. And I think it's the same thing for Curieux. Everyone knows Allagash and they know Curieux. So for us to re, you know, give the, the, the opportunity to blend these two is quite unique. I mean, Rob, I don't think you probably ever imagined in a billion years that you'd be blending your Curieux with anything<laugh> over the last years.

Rob Tod:

I, I didn't. And you know, when, when we, when we first started, uh, I think right after you blended, uh, pils in a tripel, you sent some of the 8 Trill Pils out to us, and Jason and I blended it in his office and we're like, wow. Like this is, this could really work. And yeah, we, we, we put, we, uh, kind of premade some, some different blends and then, uh, Teo and Benny came out. We tried'em all, uh, with a, with our pilot crew, with Jason, um, you know, Teo and Benny, uh, a couple other people from our crew here. And I think we nailed it. And you can really, yeah, taste, you can get the aroma of both beers in this beer. You can get the flavor of both beers. It, it, it really works. And I'm telling you like we're s i, I see it here in our tasting room. I, cuz I'll have a beer after work all the time here, and I'll come in on the weekend. People are leaving with this beer. They're trying this beer and they're fall in love with it. And there's a lot of it going out the door. So, I mean, we're, we're doing a lot of good with this beer, and it's been a lot of fun, but it's also really good. We nailed it.

Teo Hunter:

You know, I, I I think it's really important to distinguish something as well. Um, one of the things that Benny said was approachable beers. And, and I think it's important to understand that approachable doesn't mean boring, you know, it doesn't mean without complexity. Um, what this beer is, is approachable from the standpoint that you wanna enjoy more than two pints of this beer. You wanna enjoy multiple pints of this beer. And for us, there's a lot of beers, you know, not throwing shade, but you cannot drink more than 10 ounces of it based off of how it performs on your palate based off of, um, you know, if you have issues with, uh, acid reflux, whatever the case might be, this is a beautifully complex beer and it's delicious. And, and I think, you know, to that point, you know, it really speaks to our mission of expanding the palette. Um, if you've never been given something that, that stretches the parameters of what you believe is possible, then why would you seek it out? And that's kind of our, that, that, that's a part of our ethos is what are we doing to expand the palette of the people.

Brett Willis:

Totally. And I think it's y you know, this is a really nice segue into the, like, you know, it is approachable. It's for so many people. I also just like noting from, from what everyone's talking about, like this was not a, a linear process. It was not like, cool, let's work together. Cool. All right, we're working together. Here's the beer. It's done. Like, there was so much sort of patience and just of cultivation and I think it's just, it's, it's a testament to all of you of sticking with it and just seeing what happened. And then we have this result that's unexpected. Awesome. You know, Matt Taylor on the design absolutely nailed it. It looks so good that gold is like on nothing I've ever seen on another can. So vibrant. And so then we come to kind of like the crux of it too. That it's doing something, it's doing some good. So I guess, you know, Benny and Teo, can you talk about, you know, the 8 Trill Initiative and kind of what, what is, what is happening on the back end with this beer?

Teo Hunter:

Well, well, well first of all, we do have to credit, the lobster rolls that Benny and I inhaled during this process. Man, please. Oh my God, can you bring some when you come?

Rob Tod:

Geez. I dunno if they taste as good after spending seven hours. Delicious. The overhead compartment.

Benny Ashburn:

We had lobster for breakfast, we had lobster for lunch. We had lobster for

Teo Hunter:

Dinner, man. I was, I was like, Benny, I was like, I want to be allergic to lobster. By the time I leave Portland, Maine, that's how much lobster I want to eat. So, uh,

Rob Tod:

So thank you, Roger. Well, I mean, that's what happened to me. You know, I'm allergic to lobster<laugh>. I, I ate it for 27 years and then when I was starting, I had a buddy of mine, he actually helped me stand a couple tanks up in the early days cuz we basically did everything. And I used to trade him beer for lobster, and I think I just ate too much lobster and literally, like, I was eating it and the next day I ate it. I was allergic to it. I haven't had a lobster in, I don't know, 25 years, 27 years.

Benny Ashburn:

That's crazy. I'm so sad for you.,

Brett Willis:

Yeah.

Teo Hunter:

I I'm sorry, I, I I digress. We, we were talking about, uh, 8 Trill Initiative. Benny, if you wanna a Yes. Kick that off.

Benny Ashburn:

Yes. So we started the 8 Trill Initiative in 2020. Um, you know, with the, with the, with Covid, with the murder of George Floyd. Um, we knew we had to do something, um, as one of, you know, the leading black-owned craft beer brands to use our product and our, our mission to drive racial equity and real change. Um, the WK Kellogg Foundation, uh, has a business case for, for racial equity. And in it, it states that our, we stand to gain$8 trillion to our national G D P if we focus on the pillars, uh, around racial equity. So we created 8 Trill Initiative, uh, launched our 8 Trill pils, uh, and then we also launched our 8 Trill fund, which is, uh, a grant program of fund that we award to five black-owned craft beer businesses to help them in the business of beer. Uh, in 2020, it was, it was very successful. Um, Montclair Blueing, which was one of our top, uh, recipients, was able to buy a canning line. And that canning line allowed them to survive covid, you know, it, it, it helped them package their own beer and now they're in Whole Foods and distributing in a lot of other retailers. Um, but it's opportunities like that where we know as examples ourselves of how hard it is to raise capital, how hard it is to get the resources and tools you need to build a successful business. That we knew we had to do something beyond just helping ourselves. We had to help other people. And I think, you know, after that first, uh, grant release, we kind of took a break, right? Because I think we saw the power of what we were doing, and we, we wanted to be more intentional about it, and we wanted to include partners that we knew would also be excited to be part of this initiative. So, fast forward to two years later, when you bring up the concept of patience, I think it is about patience. It's about relationship building, and we've spent years building and cultivating our relationship with Allagash so that both brands can benefit from this collaboration in a really successful way.

Teo Hunter:

Yeah, I think we also, um, wanted to figure out ways for other people in the brewing industry, uh, regardless of size, uh, for other people that were outside the brewing industry, who cared to ladder into something that was focused on a national, um, uh, goal, uh, which is obtaining racial equity, which means to diminish the disparities in communities that allow for people to reach their maximum potential. And if there are barriers and, and, and blocks to that potential and, and that pot, you know, achieving that potential, then we should work collectively to diminish those things. And, um, we created a program called the 8 trillion Allies Program. Um, this again, uh, was through various conversations that we had, uh, throughout the brewing industry with, with, with professionals who wanted to understand, okay, if we do something, how do we understand the impact? How do we understand, um, the success rate? You know, because after all, this is about a, about business. And, um, collectively with Ali Gash, we were able to culminate that into a program called the 8 trillion Allies Program, which allows for, um, us to, uh, brew a beer under that, that banner, um, a portion or all of those proceeds going to the 8 Trill fund. And or someone can simply just be a contributor to be an ally in the 8 Trillion Allies program. And that could be anybody from a Nike to a, you know, to a, an Allagash brewing company to a larger brewing company. But if they see the goal and they see the impact, then we should create something that can build year over year. And for us to create metrics that can be measured so we actually understand what the impact is. Um, the, the, the, the goal of the 8 Trill initiative is to accomplish 13% black-owned brewing companies in this country, and 13% is representative of the amount of black people in America. So we feel like that's a, a, a goal. It, it, it's a huge goal. Um, but it's a goal and it's something, uh, it's a better way of framing it rather than framing it in a negative, which has been to, you know, the point less than 1% black own breweries are less than 1%, so, right, right. We, we love the gold and, and, and we're happy to, to do, uh, this inaugural collaboration with,

Brett Willis:

I'd add one more thing, and just that, like, in that reframing, I've heard you say this before, um, Teo of just like, thinking of racial equity not as assistance, but as investment. And it's just such a powerful way to think about it, of like, this is going to benefit everybody. And so it's just such a, it's a powerful thing to be able to kind of be a part of, but I think that's kind of what we had. Is there any other, is there any other thing we want to add? Is there any other little sign off? I mean, obviously go by the beer. I can tell you where it's available. California, Florida, Georgia, New York, and in our tasting room here at Allagash for a limited time, uh, speaking to the taste and flavor of that beer. It's actually been kind of flying off the shelves, so maybe not available here for much longer, but check the, uh, allagash.com/beer-finder or allagash.com/locator. I think you can find beer through both of those.

Teo Hunter:

That locator can also be found on a Crowns& Hops page. Perfect. Um, it goes directly to the locator. So, um, you know, whether or not you, whether you ladder in the allagash or the Crowns& Hops, you have an opportunity of identifying where this delicious Well, how, how do we frame it, Rob? Uh, curiously delicious fly. Yeah.

Brett Willis:

Crisp and curiously tasty.

Teo Hunter:

There we go. Oh my God. Incredible

Brett Willis:

<laugh>.

Rob Tod:

It's drinking. Good. We're pumped. And the, the staff, whole staff here at the breweries pumped. This was a real popular one for sure.

Teo Hunter:

Yeah. And, and look, the, the whole foods that we're gonna be doing, um, uh, a tap takeover and we'll just call it an education for, uh, for, for the purposes of, of being able to communicate it effectively. Um, you know, we're gonna have several Crowns& Hops, beers. We're gonna have several allagash beers. Uh, they do fresh, they, they, they actually shuck oysters in the back at, at, at, uh, at um, whole Foods as well. So we'll be able to throw some oysters back and also have an incredible fried chicken sandwich to, to, to, to crush with it. Bro, when I tell you it, we're, we're gonna, you're gonna, we're gonna have to do a follow up to this podcast just to talk about how incredible the experience was and, and hopefully shut down Whole Foods footage. Yeah. We could get some footage of Rob, uh, dancing to, to the DJ we, we have coming through. Um, perfect.

Rob Tod:

Which Whole Foods is

Benny Ashburn:

That? The Whole Foods Culver City. And this particular location is kind of like the central point between Jefferson Park, you know, Le Meck Park, uh, Culver City. So you get all the really, you know, cool new hip cra craft beer drinkers, you know, shopping on their, get their groceries, and then going over to the bar and having, having a drink. So this is Gonnas gonna be a

Teo Hunter:

Lot of fun. It's, and it, and it's about two miles south of father's office. Yeah. So maybe

Rob Tod:

We should get a beer. I'm gonna be torn though. We could, we should either go to Father's office or The Cozy

Teo Hunter:

Oh, you already know the cozy for the, the, the cozy is getting checked, bro.

Rob Tod:

<laugh><laugh>,

Teo Hunter:

The Cozy. Teo and Rob hanging out at the Cozy End.

Rob Tod:

<laugh>. There we go

Teo Hunter:

More to come sign

Rob Tod:

Me up. Oh, man.

Brett Willis:

Well, Benny, Teo, Rob, thank you so much for taking the time to just chat about this, you know, it got me excited all over again and, uh, can't I just really pumped to be able to share this beer and, uh, yeah. It'll be cool that you guys all get to hang out in a couple days.

Benny Ashburn:

Yay.

Teo Hunter:

Yay.

Rob Tod:

Thanks. See you in two days.

Benny Ashburn:

Thank

Teo Hunter:

You. Cheers, family. Awesome.

Benny Ashburn:

Cheers.

Rob Tod:

Thank you. Cheers. All

Brett Willis:

Right. Get you out later.

Speaker 6:

This has been an Allagash Brewing Production. If you have something you'd like us to talk about on the show, send us a message@podcastallagash.com.

Brett Willis:

Thank you for listening.