Creature Comforts’ Brew for One philanthropic initiative has launched Fonio lager, made with cultivated grasses found in West Africa.
The beer is available in cans and on draft in Georgia and can be bought on draft in Tennessee and South Carolina. In metro Atlanta, Fonio lager can be found at Ale Yeah Craft Beer Market, Green’s Beverages on Ponce de Leon Avenue and Buford Highway, Hop City Krog Street, My Friends Bottle Shop, Red’s Beer Garden and the Deli at Grant Park Market.
As part of Brew for One, proceeds from sales of Fonio lager will benefit the Michael James Jackson Foundation, a nonprofit that awards scholarships to people of color in the brewing and distilling industries. Brew for One organized a Feb. 28 panel discussion on the craft of brewing, diversity and the industry’s future that featured Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver; Our Culture Brewing co-founder Isaiah Smith; and Fenwick Broyard, senior vice president of Athens-based Creature Comforts’ commercial operations.
Oliver started the Jackson foundation in 2020, and so far it has funded 58 scholarships. “We’re looking to bring new faces into the beer industry, and help expand craft beer,” he said. “It’s just great seeing these people show up in spaces where, for many, many years, I would literally be the only African American brewer that most people had seen.”
Fonio lager is a result of Smith encountering Oliver at the most recent Craft Brewers Conference.
“He had an excellent presentation, along with some samples of the Fonio Rising pale ale from Brooklyn Brewing,” Smith said. “After hearing the story around fonio, and tasting the beer, I knew that this grain was something special. Eager to brew with it, I figured who better to learn from than the man himself, who has really been the grain’s earliest champion in the beer industry. After talking to Garrett about the opportunity, Fenwick Broyard had the excellent idea of making this a part of the Brew for One program.”
Fonio has a fruit-forward flavor and distinctive aroma, “so we really wanted to highlight that,” Smith said. “We decided that a lager would make the perfect vehicle, because there isn’t anything to hide behind, so nothing could get in the way.”
The West African fonio grasses make “beautiful beer,” Oliver said, and provide “an amazing income to small farmers in that part of the world.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Smith said that Our Culture spent the past two years working with Creature Comforts and transferring knowledge and skills through the creation of a residency program.
“Our Culture brings fresh eyes, energy, perspective through innovation and a unique understanding of underserved markets in craft beer,” he said. “Creature Comforts brings technical excellence, along with the highest quality standards to make some of the Southern region’s best beer.”
Our Culture has released three beers in collaboration with Creature Comforts over the past two years and now is looking for a distributor, Smith said. “We have some hills yet to climb, but our brand and mission has resonated a lot with consumers in our home markets.”
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