McCrae, L.A.
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Brewers Association
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Harry, John
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Johnson, Paula, Curator
label: Collection Interviewer
content: McCulla, Theresa
label: Collection Creator
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection
label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection / Series 1: Born-Digital Interviews
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 655.43 Megabytes (Total Running Time: 01:04:56, audio/wav)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2020-09-10
container: label: Container
content: Item NMAH-AC1595-BDA0053
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audio
label: Type
content: Megabytes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Oral history interview with L.A. McCrae, founder of Black Star Line Brewing Company, in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Topics covered include McCrae's early encounters with craft beer at DuClaw Brewing Company in Maryland; their study of liberation theology and urban ministries; and deciding to open a brewery dedicated to the "Sweet Beer Movement," producing beers with sweeter flavor profiles rooted in African and indigenous fermentation practices in a brewery dedicated to hosting customers and workers who were queer, trans, undocumented, and/or people of color. McCrae also talks about their struggles to secure financing to open Black Star Line Brewing Co. in 2017 Hendersonville; the ways they designed the taproom to make it a welcoming and safe space; their approach to recipe development; and the racism and violence leveled at their brewery and its employees, which culminated in the brewery's eviction and closure in 2018. Since the brewery's closure, McCrae pursued a doctorate of public health and studied to become a clinical alcohol and drug counselor.