Hella Coastal – Mario Benjamin & Chaz Hubbard
#043 – Today we are talking with Mario Benjamin & Chaz Hubbard of Hella Coastal, Oakland’s only Black-owned brewery – and 1 of ONLY 60 Black-owned breweries in the entire country. They started brewing in the backyard as part of the dad’s club at their kids’ elementary school. The dads would come together and that sparked Mario’s and Chaz’s competitive nature. Everyone liked their brews and that gave them the confidence to take it to the next level. From the beginning, they knew they wanted to do something different.
“And then we realized that on a larger scope of things is that we will essentially be trailblazing, to bring our liquid to the table. Instead of sitting at the round table, we wanted to create a table for ourselves so that other people can be part of this movement.”
Community is very important to Mario & Chaz. They were able to get their business off the ground by collaborating with others. With no facility of their own, they partnered with Aram Cretan at Federation Brewery (Episode 20). This allowed them to avoid the high upfront costs that serve as a barrier to entry. In addition to the financial benefits, collaborating with other breweries allows them to learn from more established brewers.
“Whenever we did collabs, still currently to this day, we’re picking their brains, you know, we’re asking them questions, we’re asking how they do this, why they do this, what would they change about their brewery if they can build it again.”
Mario & Chaz are very grateful to everyone who has helped them and are passionate about doing the same for those coming behind them. They are sharing resources with other aspiring brewers as much as they can to make sure they are not reinventing the wheel. They want the newbies to do it faster and even better than them.
Be sure to listen to the whole interview to hear why it is so important to make friends with and collaborate with your industry peers.
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