It Happens Here: Diverse Families Come Together To Form Brockton Beer Company
BROCKTON (CBS) - Five Brockton residents want to be the catalyst for change and they plan to do that with the Brockton Beer Company, the city's first craft brewery.
"It's really a great story about diversity and families coming together and trying to make a contribution to their community," co-founder Ed Cabellon told WBZ-TV.
Cabellon said ten years ago, five Brockton families, including his own, were bought together by their preschool-aged children. Over time, the parents developed their own friendships through school and sports.
"I got a Suburban. I know it was always full of kids going back and forth to soccer games and hanging out at tournaments, babysitting. We became a family," co-founder Rowan Olmstead told WBZ.
To wind down from long days on the soccer field, the adults started 'Friday Game Night,' even playing virtually during the pandemic. One night they brewed up their own idea business idea - the Brockton Beer Company.
"I have a background in home brewing and that really got us excited about the possibility. Why don't we take this on? The city needs it and we reflect the city," explained co-founder Eval Silvera.
The friends are an example of Brockton's diverse community. Together, they represent Haitian, Puerto Rican, Filipino, French-Canadian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Mexican culture.
"It really is everything that Brockton encompasses. What we can really say about craft beer is that it's always a sharing experience, and I think now more than ever people need to come back together and be able to share," said co-founder Latisha Silvera.
According to the Massachusetts Brewers Guild, the Brockton Beer Company is one of six Black-owned breweries out of 210 in the state.
The Brewers Association says nationally, one-percent of brewery owners are Black. For Brockton Beer Company, there's been some challenges along the way, like the financiers who told them craft beer won't sell in Brockton.
"For me it wasn't a surprise right. It's always negative. Why do you live in Brockton? Why don't you live here? Why don't you do this? And its like no, cause the city's great and I met fantastic amazing people. But on the industry side, it's been nothing but open arms. It's been like a family," said co-founder Pierre Alexandre.
While construction downtown continues, the founders have been collaborating with other local breweries like Vitamin Sea, Crue Brew and Widowmaker. Their latest creation Soul Maker is a New England style double IPA, brewed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and released with a vinyl record that pays tribute to soul music and Black history.
"There's so many cultures, ethnicities in this city. It's a great small picture of the world," said Olmstead.
Brockton Beer Company's downtown location is slated to open this Fall on the corner on Main and Frederick Douglas Avenue, around the corner from the Liberty Tree, a local stop along the historic Underground Railroad.
For more information visit their website or Instagram page.
