Episode 4-

Let's Talk about Black Brewing & Distilling

Spirits

African American foodways have not only influenced the way that Americans eat, but also how we drink as well. This episode will explore the stories and legacies of Black brewers and distillers. Mount Vernon's Steve Bashore shares the history of the enslaved-distillers who made George Washington's whiskey, historian Theresa McCulla recounts the story of Patsy Young, a runaway slave who was also a brewer, Victoria Eady Butler of Uncle Nearest shares her experiences carrying on the legacy of her Great-Great-Grandfather Nearest Green, and Kim Bryan of Harlem Hops tells us how she and her team are supporting diversity to the craft brewing industry.

In this episode, Deb talks to:

• Theresa McCulla, curator of the American Brewing History Initiative the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

• Steve Bahore, director of historic trades at Mount Vernon

• Victoria Eady Butler, Nearest Green’s great-great-granddaughter and master blender for Uncle Nearest’s Premium Whiskey

• Kim Harris, co-founder of Harlem Hops

Episode highlights:

The Early Evolutions of Brewing in the US 

• Early U.S. settlers drank beer as a form of hydration, Deb explains, particularly because they lacked access to clean drinking water. Brewing in the U.S. was, thus, a domestic chore primarily done by women.

• Brewing began to grow as a business in the 1700s, in which landowners, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, built their own brew houses.

• Theresa talks about the persimmon wheat ale, which has come to be associated with Monticello’s history, as being developed by Peter Hemmings, expert master brewmaster at Monticello who was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson.

Washington’s Whiskey Business

• Deb heads to Mount Vernon, where she talks with Steve about the history of distilling at George Washington’s plantation.

• Steve explains the process of making Washington’s whiskey, from cooking and fermenting grains that had been hand-ground in a mill to distillation in woodfired stills. All parts of the process were done by hand by Washington’s enslaved distillers, making gallons and gallons of whiskey.

The Story of Patsy Young

• Theresa tells the story of Patsy Young, a young woman who lived as a fugitive in the early 1800s after escaping enslavement in North Carolina. During the 15 years between her first and second escape attempt, she supported herself by brewing beer, baking cakes, and other trades.

Nearest Green, the Godfather of Tennessee Whiskey

• Victoria is the first African American woman master blender, and the first person to win master blender two years in a row at the American Icons of Whiskey Awards. She talks about her experience making whiskey, and describes the Lincoln County Process.

• The “Lincoln County Process” is a method of filtering whiskey through sugar maple charcoal, which Nearest Green helped perfect in 1856. At the time, the governor of Tennessee signed into law the stipulations required for a whiskey to be considered “Tennessee whiskey”: it must adhere to governing characteristics for bourbon, it be made in Tennessee, and it must go through the Lincoln County Process. “For us, that makes Nearest Green the undisputed godfather of Tennessee whiskey,” Victoria says.

• This same process was used to purify water in West Africa, she explains. 

Harlem Hops

• Harlem Hops is the first 100% African American-owned craft beer bar in Harlem. Kim talks about the story behind the bar and collaboration brews, the proceeds of which go to supporting Harlem Hopes, a scholarship fund for Harlem students who want to attend HBCUs.

• “It’s time for us as Black brewers and people in the industry to reclaim it and do it the way it was intended to be done and make sure that our voices are heard in this industry,” she says.