This Navy veteran made history from what was once purely an interest of his.
According to WTVM, an affiliate of ABC, Robert Young is the founder of Tapped 33 Brewing — the first Black-owned brewery located in Augusta, GA.
The inspiration to launch his own company — named after the connection between Augusta, James Brown’s birth year, and the end of prohibition — came after Young returned home from his deployment, where he attempted to craft beers in Prague, the outlet details.
From there, the vision to be a brewer was born.
In the early stages, he created beers in his home, leading him to thousands of cans of beer.
“It was a dream, now it’s coming true as cliché as it might sound but I really feel like once you put in the hard work once you dedicate yourself to something it’ll happen,” Young shared, according to the outlet.
He added, “I had this epiphany moment where I was like ah this works. Just seeing it in cans and seeing it on the shelf it’s surreal, it’s a blessing and it’s one of those things that I can’t put it into words.”
It’s no secret that there is a small percentage of Black-owned breweries. There are less than 1% of craft breweries owned by Black Americans in the U.S., according to the National Black Brewers Association. Young aims to serve as an example that Black brewers can excel in the predominately white market.
“Representation of black people in the brewing industry is not a lot so I wanted to create a product that I could influence my culture,” he explained.
While Young has taken his dream project from experimenting in his kitchen to supplying customers with his beer via taps at local bars, he hopes for Tapped 33 Brewing to be on store shelves in the future. According to the outlet, it seems to already be in the works.
