Bloomfield brewery’s vocational program seeks to tap into diversity
Trace Brewing is a big brewery/ taproom and coffeehouse now under construction on Main Street in Bloomfield. Though the place won’t open until fall, already open is the application process for the brewery’s “vocational program” — a six-month paid position for someone to “gain experience in all aspects of the brewing process.” People of color, women and LGBTQ people are especially encouraged to apply, as one of the program’s objectives is to add diversity to an industry that increasingly needs and wants it.
The brewery’s principals began publicizing the opportunity this month and already have more than two dozen applicants.
“There isn’t a resume or experience we’re looking for. We’re looking for that passion,” says founder Dave Kushner, who also helped start Boston’s Remnant Brewing in 2018. He stresses, “Everyone is welcome to apply.”
The Lawrenceville resident is working with head brewer Brandon McCarthy, brewer Zach Colton and general manager Katie Rado. The idea also has the support of the city Urban Redevelopment Authority and Ridgeway Capital. The brewers alone, as Mr. McCarthy puts it, have “worked at 15 breweries for over 25 years combined experience — something like that.”
Mr. McCarthy didn’t graduate from high school or go to college, but because he had an interest in craft beer, he lucked into a job at
Church Brew Works and then moved to Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery.
“There are obstacles to get your feet in the door” for minorities, says Mr. Kushner.
Applicants need no degrees or craft beer knowledge. “Just want to learn,” he says. “What we’re trying to do is really reach.”
A one-time high school teacher, he’s putting together a curriculum with a wide range of books, websites and podcasts. The key is time spent working with him and his colleagues.
They plan to pick the first recipient this summer to start at the beginning of 2021. That person will be paid $15 an hour. That’s more, Mr. McCarthy points out, than he’s
made as an assistant brewer. But the point isn’t to work: “That person is there to learn.”
The aim is to offer both practical and theoretical experience, including bar and barista training, that can help the person move on to a job at another brewery. Then another person will be chosen. Mr. Kushner envisions a lineage of diverse brewers who got their start in Pittsburgh, and not necessarily just at Trace, as the brewery will share its curriculum with other breweries.
“We think there are thousands of breweries that are serious about diversity,” he says.
There has been a recent movement to bring more color to the craft beer, wine and spirits world. Earlier this month, Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver announced the launch of the Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, a nonprofit foundation that will award the Sir Geoff Palmer Scholarship for Brewing and the Nathan Green Scholarship for Distilling.
“The mission of the MJF is to open doors for people of color within the United States brewing and distilling industries by providing (1) scholarships to accredited brewing and distilling technical courses and ... (2) a level of mentorship support that will help our awardees become industry leaders of the future,” Mr. Oliver tweeted. Details this week at https://www.themjf.org.
He was the keynote speaker at last year’s Fresh Fest Beer Festival, the Black beer festival that started in Pittsburgh the year before. He’ll be part of this year’s digital version, to be held online Aug. 8. Find details and buy tickets at https://freshfestdigifest.com. Mr. Oliver will talk about the foundation and related efforts to bring more color to the craft drinks industry, which is what Fresh Fest is all about.
Trace Brewing is to open in the fall at 4312 Main St. in Bloomfield (15224). The space, originally a brass and bronze foundry, features an open 10barrel brewhouse, a bar serving beer and Redhawk Coffee, and an adjacent beer garden with a room for an openair fermenting vessel for wild ales called a koelschip. Learn more at tracebloomfield.com, which is where those age 21plus can apply for the vocational program.