Celebrate Black History Month with some beers this year.
Beale Street Brewing Co. has just released a new beer, Soul Stew, and reissued a 2020 collaboration, Black is Beautiful, with Soul and Spirits Brewing Co.
First up is Soul Stew, a brown ale with vanilla, coffee, and cinnamon. That coffee is the Onyx blend from Memphis-local J. Brooks Coffee Roasters. The coffee is a mix of Sumatra Mandheling and Mexico Turquesa coffees.
Soul Stew is brewed with Madagascar vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks to “round out this amazing, complex Vanilla Mocha Brown Ale.,” Beale Street said in a statement. In all, the beer brings a hint of “toffee and peanuts in a round and creamy body” that “leaves a nice, lingering caramel note in the finish.”
That’s what’s inside the can. Outside the can is art that will reside in garage beer-can collections for years to come. Watch for them on eBay in 2042 and say, “I remember that. Wished I would’ve kept those.”
The pint cans (tallboys, basically) feature “social influencers and unsung heroes that made a lasting impression on the Bluff City.”
They feature former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton in a photo from his exhibition boxing match with former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier in 2006. Another can features Memphis Minnie with her guitar. Another has Robert Church, the South’s first Black millionaire. The final can has country singer Charley Pride, decked out in his baseball uniform during his stint as pitcher for the Memphis Red Sox.
“Memphis, considered a melting pot of the Delta, saw many people migrate for the vibrant music scene, rich culture, and thriving cotton industry,” Beale Street Brewing said in a statement.
Soul Stew brings 6 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). It’s available in a four-pack of 16-ounce cans. The company said it pairs well with “Memphis Soul Stew,” by King Curtis and “He’s In the Ring (Doin’ the Same Old Thing)” by Memphis Minnie.
San Antonio’s Weathered Souls Brewing Co. started the nationwide collaboration of its Black is Beautiful beer last year in the aftermath of the public killing of George Floyd. The effort was to raise awareness of the “to the injustices that many people of color face daily,” according to the beer’s website. Portions of the sales of the beer were to go to local organizations working for equality or those working for police reform.
Several local breweries collaborated here to make their versions of Black is Beautiful from a stout base issued by Weathered Souls. Each collaboration tweaked the beer to make it their own. Beale Street Brewing paired up with Soul & Spirits, Memphis’ newest brewery, for a 2021 version of Black is Beautiful.
“Our mission is to bridge the gap that’s been around for ages and provide a platform to show that the brewing community is an inclusive place for everyone of any color,” reads a statement from Beale Street Brewing and Soul & Spirits.
Their version of the beer is an imperial stout with cherry notes. Then, it’s loaded with Madagascar vanilla beans and toasted coconut to create a “Coconut Macaroon Imperial Stout.”
This version of Black is Beautiful clocks in at 9 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). It’s only available in Memphis in four-pack pint cans or small kegs. The breweries say the beer pairs well with “Respect Yourself” by The Staple Singers and “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown.