Hellbent Brewing, Métier Brewing, Perri Rhoden, and Boon Boona Coffee join forces to support the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
Located in “... one of the most diverse areas of Seattle, where 22 languages can be overheard …”, the staff and ownership of Hellbent Brewing Company offer their thanks and gratitude to those who have supported them before the global pandemic and during. Through the pandemic the brewery and staff have engaged with customers fielding questions ranging from health and safety protocols to the latest dispute between the nation's law enforcement and those they have sworn to protect. It is the latter that the brewery feels is the most important to answer, and they aren’t doing it alone.
The murder of George Floyd and so many others gave that mission new urgency.
image sourced from Hellbent Brewing company
As a brewery taproom, the ownership recognizes the lack of diversity within the rank and file who own or operate an independently owned brewery in the United States. But that hasn’t stopped them from creating a welcoming space for businesses which support low-income and other worthy causes. This is also why the brewery is pleased to announce a cooperation with four minority-owned businesses - Métier Brewing Company, artist Perri Rhoden, Boon Boona Coffee, and Weathered Souls from San Antonio, Texas.
Starting with Weathered Souls Brewing, Hellbent Brewing Company answered the call to brew a beer, based on a simple stout recipe, with the soul purpose of inspiring a conversation about racial inequality in the United States. Introducing the Black is Beautiful brewing project.
The Black is Beautiful initiative is a collaborative effort amongst the brewing community and its customers, in an attempt to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. 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. We are asking for all breweries and brewers far and wide to raise a glass with us in unison and participate in this collaboration.
Joining over 1000 breweries across the country and the world, Hellbent sought the help of local breweries Métier Brewing Company, artist Perri Rhoden, and Boon Boona Coffee, to help them start a conversation locally. Here is Metier and Perri Rhoden’s stories.
Métier Brewing Company, a brewery in contrast.
Located in Woodinville, Washington, they started Metier Brewing Company with a mission of inclusiveness and support for all minorities not just associated with race. With a goal of raising money to support people or color, people of creed, and people of race, the brewery’s ownership is in stark contrast to the percent of minority ownership. Truly, when one takes a step back, most breweries are white-owned and most times, lack the labor representation of its community composition. Here, in their own words, is their mission statement.
We believe great beer, paired with dialogue, connection, and action, can strengthen our community. As one of the few black-owned breweries in the country, we know representation matters. From our kid-pet-and-event-friendly taproom in Woodinville’s Artisan Hill District, to the vendors and charities we partner with, to the artwork on our beer labels, we are expanding the craft beer space so more folks see themselves reflected here and feel welcomed. We hope MBC inspires others to continually stop and consider who is missing or not represented. At MBC, we aim to play our part in growing a nurturing and inclusive craft beer community. Imagine MBC as My Beloved Community. .
image “Baby D” sourced from Perri Rhoden’s artist page, please visit and support this local artist.
Joining Metier Brewing Company, local Seattle artist Perri Rhoden contributes, a unique label that continues the conversation. Here she is, in her own words.
Seattle native, Perri Rhoden, has been honing her creative practice as an abstract artist in Seattle for the past 8 years. She has evolved from a traditional figurative painter to her newfound passion as a mixed media artist and emerging muralist. The presence of the female form is still present in her work however the exciting illustrations occurring around, on top, below, and through the female form is what has elevated her perspective and ability as an abstract artist.
Her current creative techniques combine stylistic lines, patterns, and organic shapes on canvas, using graphite, fabric, feathers, color pencil, lace, watercolor, acrylic, and gold leaf to create layered dimensional patterns reminiscent of textile design. Truly, her list of materials is as infinite as the ideas within her imagination.
Finally, Hellbent sought out local roaster, Boon Boona, to provide something unique to this collaboration. Boon Boona Coffee was founded in 2012 in Seattle by Efrem Fesaha. We got our start sourcing and distributing unroasted green coffee beans from Ethiopia throughout North America.
In 2016, we expanded into roasted coffee from Ethiopia and Rwanda.
In 2019, we opened our brick and mortar location in Downtown Renton, where we roast and offer a cafe experience for our community.
With coffee farmers across many African nations we look to develop long lasting relationships and support the sustainability of their crops. Boon Boona Coffee is the bridge between African specialty coffee and You.
Four businesses, with a goal of bring another shaft of light against the darkness of inequality, you are cordially invited to support them with the release of “Say it Loud: Stout and Proud”
Hellbent_SEA
Brewed to be a pale, amber-colored ale with a smooth mouthfeel and, like the color within, a flavor that makes you think twice about what you see. Using coffee from Boon Boona, the beer takes on notes of “toasty molasses” before they blend together the beer with chocolate additions. The result is a beer that confuses the senses but like the neighborhood and the world, is unique.
Owing their inspiration to Weathered Souls, Hellbent Brewing has selected the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, as beneficiary of proceeds generated from the sale of “Say it Loud: Stout and Proud”
The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) empowers African Americans, as well as other diverse underserved communities, to thrive by securing educational and economic opportunities.
As the second-oldest civil rights organization in the state of Washington, ULMS is one the region’s essential economic first responders, helping families cope with challenges through a variety of programs designed to support and encourage self-sufficiency in all aspects of life. ULMS also serves as a liaison between community members, local businesses, city and county government, and other service based organizations that share our concern for the welfare of the Black community and other disadvantaged residents in the Greater Puget Sound area.
The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization in the heart of Seattle’s most diverse neighborhood, the Central District.
Released this past weekend, “Say it Loud: Stout and Proud” is now available for purchase at Hellbent Brewing Company, Métier Brewing, and Boon Boona Coffee.
For more information on Hellbent Brewing Company visit them at 13035 Lake City Way NE in Seattle or at http://www.hellbentbrewingcompany.com/. Boon Boona Coffee is located at 724 S 3rd Street, Ste. C, in Renton, WA. For more information on Boon Boona visit https://www.boonboonacoffee.com. Métier Brewing is located at 14125 NE 189th St suite b, in Woodinville, WA and can be reached at https://metierbrewing.com/. For more information on artist Perri Rhoden visit https://www.perrirhoden.com/artistbio. Finally, visit https://urbanleague.org/ if you’d like to learn more about the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.
About Hellbent Brewing Company
Hellbent started with three of us – Jack Guinn, Chris Giles and Randy Embernate – longtime friends and restaurant industry veterans. For us, starting Hellbent was the natural (and the coolest) thing to do, growing directly out of our experience and our love of beer. For years we home-brewed and toiled over our business plan. Then, we met Brian Young – award winning brewer, co-owner and fast friend – who turned out to be the missing link. Within a couple months, we were on the hunt for the perfect location.
We wanted our brewery in Lake City, where Chris and Jack already called home, to contribute to the growing beer scene here. When we stepped into the old CM Hopkins building for the first time, we knew we had found our venue. Starting right away, we gutted it and began the transformation, building with reclaimed wood, steel, good humor, and a fair amount of muscle.
Finally, after years of fierce determination and hard work (including seven months of construction), we opened our doors in the thick of microbrew country. We didn’t do this alone. We are humbled by the support and kindness of our friends and family that helped us along the way. So, to our beer-loving brothers and sisters of the Pacific Northwest, cheers and welcome to Hellbent!
