01 Sep Project Progress – Houston Homebrewer Rallies Friends to Carry the Torch of Anti-Racism in Beer

Secret Beach Inspired Ales has been working on a collab brew with Brew Bros and The Pint Exchange. Their goal is to continue making steps in the right direction for awareness of social injustices.

Secret Beach Inspired Ales, The Pint Exchange, and Brew Bros HTX present Project Progress – An inspired collaborative beer series dedicated to supporting local community organizations in the fight against systemic injustices such as racism, discrimination, exclusion, and police brutality. 

This week alone we saw history made when the NBA Playoffs protested by NBA players, coaches, and refs alike. WNBA, MLB, and MLS followed suit, protesting their games to challenge wealthy team owners to do more than “show support” for social justice causes. 

Put your money where your mouth is, right? That’s what the players were telling the team owners, and that’s what Jamie at Secret Beach, Odell and Marcus of Brew Bros HTX, and Luis and Kendrick of The Pint Exchange are doing.

Between Brew Bros and The Pint Exchange, these guys have been focusing on education and inclusion for a couple of years now. Collectively, they’ve been involved in half a dozen collabs recently, including the (postponed due to Hurricane Laura) historic collab with Ingenious and The Breakfast Klub.

Odell of Brew Bros HTX shared, “The Black is Beautiful initiative spearheaded by our good friend Marcus Baskerville of Weathered Souls Brewing is what truly inspired us. How would we continue to carry on the message of what Black is Beautiful represented? We didn’t want that positive momentum to end, so we decided to create something locally, for Houston.”

Odell was kind enough to share his take on being the only black man in the taproom a few years ago, and it opened our eyes as well as many other beer drinkers in Houston.

There’s just too much passiveness when it comes to race issues and human-rights issues, and Secret Beach wanted to use his brewing equipment and savvy to help do something about it, but it’s one thing to speak up for black folks. It’s a whole other thing to speak with them. While we don’t always agree with his methods, we commend his heart in all of this. We’ve been cheerleading for this guy’s inspired ales since day one, and here we are with the pom-poms on deck.

Jamey of Secret Beach explained, “What is progress? Everything currently happening in this country and around the world with regards to acknowledging and speaking up about things that have not so quietly been going on for centuries, and finally taking steps to address it.”

Kendrick of The Pint Exchange continued with a little teaser of the recipe, “For this first installment, we decided to brew a hazelnut porter. With notes of roasted hazelnuts, chocolate, and bourbon. Sounds good? You’ll have the opportunity to donate [and get some for yourself].”

Action speaks louder than words, right? If that’s the case, patterns should be like sirens. The patterns of these men using their platforms and passion for beer is ringing like a siren, and we love it.

Marcus of Brew Bros shared about where the guys would be donating the proceeds, “100% of the proceeds from Project Progress will be donated to Project Row Houses: ‘Project Row Houses is a community platform that enriches lives through art with an emphasis on cultural identity and its impact on the urban landscape.'”

Cool. Another great beer being brewed for an even greater cause. But where can I get it!?

“We’re scheduled to release Project Progress Hazelnut Porter on 9/5 at The Flying Saucer Downtown (705 Main St. Houston, TX 77002) beginning at 3pm. We hope that you are able to join us – there will be a few surprises for those who secured a can,” Luis at The Pint Exchange shared.

You can sign up here, and you’ll be contacted with more deets.

Some of us will be traveling and won’t be able to make it out there, but hopefully one of you join these guys and mule a can or two back for us!

The only way to have a movement is to keep moving. Moving forward. Progressing. It’s all love to these guys for their effort with Project Progress.

Beers to you, Houston.