De-Pale the Ale: Preserving Black Brewing Culture Through Beer Festivals

Black beer festivals in the United States are dynamic sites where geography, culture, and economy converge to challenge exclusion and reimagine representation in the craft beer industry. This paper explores how these festivals operate as culturally significant and economically generative spaces that reframe the dominant narrative of craft beer as a white, male-dominated field. Drawing on concepts of cultural capital, tourism geography, and urban economic development, the paper positions Black beer festivals as platforms for reclaiming brewing heritage, fostering community, and advancing racial equity within cultural economies. Beginning with a historical overview of Black American brewing traditions and their suppression through colonialism, Prohibition, and systemic racism, the paper traces a lineage of cultural erasure and resistance that informs the present-day significance of festivals like Blacktoberfest in Atlanta. Through this case study, the analysis reveals how Blacktoberfest embodies localized place-making and global cultural expression, serving both as a space of celebration and as a catalyst for economic participation and social inclusion. Ultimately, the paper argues that Black beer festivals are not merely leisure events but geographies of empowerment, where the cultural, spatial, and economic dimensions of Black life are made visible, valued, and central to rethinking the contours of American craft beer culture.