We may be old, and at times cranky, but us COM are still hip to some of the things going on in the world today. Before Aretha* was singing about it, our parents were teaching us about respect. Respect your elders, your teachers, women, anyone that has a job because you sure don’t, you little Freddy the Freeloader**. Oops, getting a bit too specific here. Anyway, the point is they were beating that idea of respect into us, figuratively most of the time, literally occasionally, and it stuck. Am I digressing here again? Nope, I am segueing.
I reviewed a beer a little while ago called Brave Noise from Sawdust. https://comdb.ca/reviews/they-are-making-a-brave-noise/
Our Editor picked up on this and made a few comments on the organization which sparked my interest so I checked into it. Brave Noise is “advocating for safe spaces and inclusive environments by requesting breweries be transparent with their policies and commit to long-term work to eliminate discrimination in the beer industry.” They provide templates for codes of conduct, training, and other resources to help breweries improve the beer industry. There are a number of breweries that we review and enjoy who have signed on to Brave Noise including Bellwoods, Bobcaygeon, Collective Arts, Elora, Goose Island, Katalyst, Muskoka, Nickel Brook, Prince Eddy’s, Sawdust, Sleeping Giant, Trestle, Waterloo, and Wellington. I may have missed a few because across North America, with a few across the pond, there are 261 breweries to date who have joined the cause.
What started as a simple question, “Have you ever experienced sexism in the beer industry” has turned into a movement. Member breweries are brewing a collaborative beer called Brave Noise to bring attention to this movement and their commitment to it and to raise some donations for worthwhile charities. If you see a Brave Noise beer try it out, you will be drinking a good beer and helping a worthy cause at the same time. See below the link to the Brave Noise website.
https://www.bravenoisebeer.com/
On a related note, our favourite retailer, The Beer Store, has also focused on this issue with an active 30 point Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging program. That kind of leadership goes a long way towards driving a change of culture in the industry as a whole.
Kudos to the Beer Store, Brave Noise, and all the Brave Noise member breweries for taking a stand on discrimination in the beer industry.
*Editor’s Notes: Aretha Franklin released the song “Respect” in 1967.
**Editor’s Note: One of the characters that the comedian Red Skelton played was Freddie the Freeloader. The reason that Freddie was a freeloader (a hobo) was that he had an allergy to work in any form.
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