Adena Brewington-Brown seemed destined to join the homebrewing community.
Her North Carolina family, which is a mix of African Americans and the Croatan group of Native Americans, has been brewing for as long as anyone can remember.
Brewing is part of her last name, and she grew up in Philadelphia’s Brewerytown neighborhood.
And so Ms. Brewington-Brown has partnered over the last year on several brewing creations with Carly Chelder, co-owner of Tannery Run Brew Works in the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler. There wasn’t much access to craft beer during her childhood, Ms. Brewington-Brown said, an “experience” she is trying to bring to more people.
“I think that sometimes, when people have just had commercial beer, their palates haven’t been exposed to all that craft beer has to offer — even utilizing them for pairings with foods, figuring out some of the nuances associated with the different styles of beer,” she said.
Thousands of Pittsburghers were able to get that craft beer “experience” Saturday afternoon at the fifth annual Barrel & Flow Fest, with dozens of distinct creations like those offered by Ms. Brewington-Brown and Ms. Chelder – the wheat beer Beautiful Morning and an IPA called Hazy Afternoon.
The festival, held this year at The Stacks at 3 Crossings in the Strip District, works to get more people of color involved with the beer industry and uplift Black-owned businesses. It featured more than 30 Black-owned breweries, with the smell of fresh barbecue in the air and music playing from two stages.
Ms. Brewington-Brown said it was worth the cross-commonwealth drive because the festival “tries to highlight people from different backgrounds” when it comes to craft beer.
“This is a great outlet and medium for us to come and network together, but also to be exposed to the general craft beer community,” she said.
Ms. Chelder said Tannery Run opened three years ago, and she’s active in the Pink Boots Society, a non-profit that helps women in the brewing industry.
“It’s just great people, and I think diversity in craft is very important,” she said. “And that is what drove me to bring this collaboration to light.”
The two Philadelphians weren’t the only ones traveling a long distance to get to the Steel City.
Alfred Rotimi, the owner of Joyhound Beer Co., made the four-hour trek from Baltimore. He said he’d been invited to come, and was excited to show off his brews – in particular the Tail Wagger, an American golden ale made with 70% pilsner malt from Delaware.
“It’s just very flavorful while also being extremely drinkable, easy drinking,” he said. “I can’t stand a beer that’s not drinkable, I don’t have time for that. I just want everyone to have a really good time drinking.”
Mr. Rotimi began brewing in 2013 during his junior year of college, after realizing he wasn’t fully enjoying his studies in neuroscience, psychology and biology.
“I got kind of, I guess, jaded, burnt out on the lab work side,” he said. “I felt like I didn’t really like it that much. I wanted to be my own boss, and I already liked brewing, so I decided to give it a shot.”
He added that “it’s great to build community” at the festival, as fans get to drink the latest creations from their favorite brewers, and brewers themselves get to meet and share information.
“You get to meet a lot of people who know a lot of stuff, and can really help you go further,” Mr. Rotimi said.
Beer wasn’t the only thing on the festival’s menu, though. As part of its “collabs” program where businesses work together, the Strip District distillery Kingfly Spirits paired a drink with bourbon and orange liqueur with cookies from small-batch baking company Suite 82.
Jewel Edwards, of Downtown, runs Suite 82 while also working as a patient care liaison for nutrition at UPMC. She said it was her third year participating in the festival, which provided her an opportunity to potentially gain more publicity and baking clients.
“This is actually me going into my entrepreneurial journey,” said Ms. Edwards, who has been baking professionally on and off for 25 years.
Jon Moss: jmoss@post-gazette.com; Twitter: @mossjon7; 412-263-1542.
First Published: August 13, 2022, 11:46 p.m.
