{"id":261007,"date":"2026-08-07T14:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/261007\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T14:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:10:11","slug":"barrel-flow-fest-returns-to-pittsburgh-with-record-number-of-black-owned-breweries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/261007\/","title":{"rendered":"Barrel & Flow Fest returns to Pittsburgh with record number of Black-owned breweries"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday afternoon, two days into Barrel & Flow<\/a> week, founder Day Bracey slowed down to sip a lemon poundcake kombucha.<\/p>\n

At Velum Fermentation\u2019s \u201cDitch Day\u201d \u2014 an event that encourages \u201cgrown folk to put in PTO, come together and chill\u201d on a weekday, co-founder Nate Rogers said \u2014 locals and out-of-towners filtered in to play Connect Four and UNO, order Southern-style food from the North Side\u2019s Roux Orleans and sample collaboration beverages brewed for this year\u2019s festival. Among them was Bracey\u2019s lemon poundcake kombucha, created by Velum and Pittsburgh bakery Meek\u2019s Sweetz Baked <\/a>Treats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought about a sweet vanilla booch, but it works so well. But this festival seeks to serve everybody, drinkers and non-drinkers alike,\u201d Bracey said, before joking that his official role was \u201cfreelance drinker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ditch Day isn\u2019t only about skipping work, but one of many events built around the sense of community that has become Barrel & Flow\u2019s defining characteristic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t look at this as a party, but as a family reunion,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2018 as the nation\u2019s first Black beer and arts festival, Barrel & Flow has grown into what Bracey described as a movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an economic generator,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do a great job of bringing people into this city and putting that money back into the hands of Black folks and allies here in this region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ninth Barrel & Flow Fest kicked off on Wednesday with events<\/a> running through Sunday. This year, Barrel & Flow launched a Barrels Festival App<\/a> with real-time event information and a vendor list.<\/p>\n

The main craft brew festival, Barrel & Flow\u2019s largest-ever, takes place Saturday at the Stacks at 3 Crossings in the Strip District. The event features craft beer, wine, spirits and other beverages \u2014 \u201canything in a barrel,\u201d Bracey said \u2014 from more than 35 Black-owned breweries and distilleries, along with art, live music and a family-friendly S.T.E.A.M. education (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) tent.<\/p>\n

Other local collaborations include a pilsner by Pittsburgh\u2019s Cinderlands Beer and Washington, D.C.\u2019s Soul Mega. A beer cocktail called \u201cThe Algorithm\u201d celebrates Pittsburgh Tech Week, made by Black BrewHouse, Windy Bridges Brew, Pittsburgh\u2019s first Black-owned brewery, and TLC Libations, Pennsylvania\u2019s first Black woman-owned craft distillery.<\/p>\n

Barrel & Flow has grown significantly since the first Pittsburgh event in 2018.<\/p>\n

Bracey, a Braddock native, created the festival after traveling the country as a comedian and being told, \u201cif you want to make it, you need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

While hosting a long-running podcast, \u201cDrinking Partners,\u201d with fellow beer enthusiast Ed Bailey, Bracey began to connect with local brewers. Recording the first episode at Brew Gentlemen in Braddock, he expected to hear about competition among the breweries, but the owner encouraged him to visit others around Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really did change my outlook on my whole career,\u201d Bracey said. \u201cI went from trying to be the funniest, loudest person in the room, to \u2018Hey, how do we collaborate with each other?\u2019 The brewing industry understood that a rising tide raises all ships \u2026 and that\u2019s where this festival came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoping to sell 500 tickets in 2018, they sold 1,200 \u2014 and soon ran out of tasting glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the first lesson that we learned,\u201d Bracey laughed.<\/p>\n

Organizers had to make an impromptu trip to Restaurant Depot, and after that, improvise with Dixie Cups.<\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh desperately needed this,\u201d Bracey said. \u201cThis is the worst place in the country statistically for Black-owned businesses. There\u2019s report after report about how this is one of the worst places in the country to live as a Black person in general. So the city needed this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe filled a need Pittsburgh had,\u201d he added. \u201cBut it turns out we filled a need people around the world had.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the last year, Barrel & Flow Fest has expanded internationally, with Bracey heading to Spain alongside five Black-owned breweries to represent the United States at Barcelona Beer Fest. In April, a sister festival, Barrels on the Bayou, debuted in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

While Bracey was proud of both the local and Pittsburgh showing at the inaugural festival, it was also clear that the communal aspect translated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe connected the Black community to this $1.7 trillion industry that we\u2019re in, but it had that Southern flair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At Ditch Day Thursday, Nigel Woodberry had come straight from the airport and stashed his luggage at Velum before ordering a hazy IPA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my mecca every year,\u201d he said of Barrel & Flow.<\/p>\n

Woodberry discovered the festival through Bracey\u2019s podcast and has come every year since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember getting off the airplane,\u201d he said. \u201cI went straight to the hotel where they were doing the symposiums. And for me, at the time, I was like, \u2018Oh my God, all these Black people in beer!\u2019 It was a huge deal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by Barrel & Flow, he started his own podcast \u201cBeers with Nigel,\u201d where he interviews guests from around the world. \u201cI swear we talk Barrel & Flow every episode because it\u2019s such a big deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During covid-19 shutdowns, Woodberry widened the net, even convincing a London-based brewer to join him at Barrel & Flow in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a family reunion. That\u2019s what it is,\u201d Woodberry said.<\/p>\n

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