Over the past 7 years, Crowns & Hops Brewing Co. founders Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter have disrupted the status quo of the craft beer industry, and built a brand that is bigger than the beer. They have become leaders and an influential voice in the craft beer industry and are the first Black-owned, Woman-owned and Veteran-owned brewery based out of Inglewood, CA.
A stark fact at the heart of craft beer is that fewer than 1% of breweries are Black-owned. In 2020, the brand launched its non-profit “8 Trill Pils Initiative,” which focused on taking actionable steps to provide capital, resources, and opportunities for Black-owned craft beer brands. Through the initiative, they raised a $100,000 development fund which they awarded to five Black-owned craft beer brands in December 2020. With the 8 Trill Initiative, Crowns aims to provide financial support and resources to Black-owned craft breweries to help achieve 13% Black-owned breweries in the beer industry.
This year, they’ve partnered with Allagash Brewing to make Cur-8, a crisp and tasty blend of Crowns & Hops 8 Trill Pils and Allagash Curieux, with all proceeds going towards Crowns’ 8 Trill Initiative.
Crowns isn’t just stopping with the 8 Trill Pils Initiative. They have an eye on an old recreation center in Inglewood, Hunter’s hometown, with plans to re-establish it as the family-friendly community space it was previously. With a target date of this fall, the 14,400-square-foot space will feature an on-site brewery, full service restaurant and communal meeting space designed by Ashburn and Hunter as a place for the community to gather and feel welcome, see and feel themselves inside their culture.
In an interview with LAWeekly, Ashburn said, “We can be the first to set the tone for what those family friendly community spaces should look and feel like. It was really important for us to come into the neighborhood where Teo was born and reach out to the residents,” she continues, “People don’t always understand exactly what a brewery is, so it was important for us to share with them that it’s not just a space to consume alcohol. We have a community outreach program and we personally went door to door to all of our neighbors that are close to the establishment, introduced ourselves and answered questions they might have. It’s owned by a Black man and a Black woman, and we are part of this community.”
Crowns makes it a point to remind people that they are deserving of the very best products and experiences in life, and that we must always show up as our authentic selves. The brand motto “OWN YOUR CROWN”, is meant to encourage excellence, cultural ownership and authentic representation of self.
This beer is the lead product and name sake of Crowns & Hops’ non profit “8 Trill Initiative,” and was brewed to drive awareness to the ultimate benefit of achieving racial equity. Clear, light golden yellow color with a light floral aroma. Mild biscuity flavor, mild hop profile.
5% ABV
BPLB Hazy IPA offers the tropical and stone fruit notes you’ve come to expect with a Hazy IPA. The beer is designed to have an incredible mouth feel and aroma punctuating the hops and process culminating in a bouquet of tropical fruit forward flavors. This beer represents the movement Crowns started 7 years ago.
6.5% ABV
This floral IPA is bursting with notes of citrus and sweet fruit balanced with mild woodiness and pine. The hazy is double dry hopped similar to HBCU & BPLB DDH offering a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. This beer is the DOPEST!
6.5% ABV
Inglewood Juice Juicy IPA is full of tropical notes and a traditional hop signature made popular by the West Coast IPA. This beer was brewed for the people of Inglewood CALIFORNIA. A city full of diversity, swag, hustle, resilience, progressiveness and love.
7% ABV
HBCU HAZY IPA is the perfect blend of hops to create the most tropical fruit forward Hazy IPA with medium bitterness. The double dry hopping punctuates the hop character just enough to be pronounced with a smooth body and mouthfeel. This beer was made for crushing!
7% ABV
The West Coast version of Crowns’ HBCU DDH IPA. The West Coast version of this beer delivers a clean, crisp mouthfeel compared to its juicy IPA big brother with a slightly higher perceived bitterness, in true West Coast style tradition.
7% ABV
Peach Cobbler Tart Ale is brewed with peach puree, graham cracker, vanilla and cinnamon. Mama’s Peaches is dedicated to Hattie Slack, a Louisiana woman who brought her 3 children to Los Angeles during one of the largest migrations of Black people from the deep South to the West Coast.
6% ABV
Crowns’ seasonal version of their base stout recipe with notes of coffee and cocoa, combined with pecans, vanilla and maple.
6% ABV
