Making a mark in culture and craft beer, Chicago-based Moor's Brewing wins Samuel Adams competition

Chicago Tribune

18 hours ago

'I think it was important for us to be Black,' said Jamhal Johnson, co-founder of Chicago's local Moor's Brewing Co. 'We put a Black man on the beer can.'
For Johnson and longtime friends Damon Patton and Anthony Bell, that's been one part of a well-considered growth and branding strategy for Moor's Brewery Co., the Chicago Black-owned brewery the trio co-founded in 2021. Last month, they won the Samuel Adams 2025 Brewing the American Dream competition and will receive a year of financial assistance and mentorship from the brand, a key player in the craft brewing space. They plan to use it to aid in their mission of popularizing and mainstreaming Black-owned craft beer.
Black-owned breweries account for less than 1% of all breweries in the United States, according to the National Black Brewers Association. Both Samuel Adams and Moor's have invested in changing that; the network of brewers that Samuel Adams mentors is nearly 80% Black, brown or female-owned. Two years ago, another Black-owned Chicago business, Funkytown Brewery, won the competition.
'I think the scene is vibrant here in Chicago,' said Patton. 'It's here to stay. It's only gonna get bigger, quite frankly, as more Black owners enter the space.'
Moor's Brewery Co. launched Juneteenth 2021. Their first beer, a session ale, which has its flavor based in the citra hop, was a quick success.
'It has an obvious citrus taste to it,' said Patton. 'We wanted to do something light, drinkable for the summer to celebrate Juneteenth.'
Moor's was a passion project and none of them had experience in the brewing industry, but from the beginning, they had high hopes. Within six months, Moor's had an estimated 100 retail accounts. By Juneteenth 2022, they had entered the New York market. Now they have 600 accounts, including Whole Foods, Michelin-starred restaurants and their original client, A&S in Hyde Park and Matteson Wine and Spirits.
They have expanded to a lineup of six core products — an imperial porter, IPA, session ale, Kölsch, helles lager and a pilsner — as well as several limited-edition beers and a nonalcoholic chai infused with mango and hemp-derived THC.
'For a craft beer, it's really about the love of developing a new product,' said Bell. 'From our vantage point, it's just as much of an art as making a painting.'
In order to grow and experiment, they opened a taproom at Diversey House in the Logan Square neighborhood in 2025, where some of those limited-edition brews can be found.
'We're definitely looking towards the growth of Diversey House,' said Bell. 'And towards developing some wonderful experiences for people to enjoy, here in Chicago.'
From the start, they've been marketing to a clientele that has traditionally been underserved.
'Just looking at the landscape of the traditional craft brewing space, it was mostly geared towards beer enthusiasts,' said Johnson. The team felt that the general public, in particular Black Americans, needed a brand they identified with.
The Black man on the beer can comes from a painting by Hendrik Heerschop called 'The African King Caspar.' The founders connected to the portrait on an aesthetic level; it was both timeless and familiar. They added a crown, giving it a more modern flair.
For this year's Juneteenth, the co-founders celebrated their fourth anniversary at Diversey House, where they host events and offer special brews tied to Black history.
'We did a series that was for Patsy Young,' said Johnson. 'She was a former slave who earned her living brewing beer … Highlighting history adds to the story and makes the beer more of a conversation piece rather than just a beer.'
They're making their own mark in culture and history, too.
Bell remembers listening to hip-hop songs that reference the beers the rappers were drinking, like Beck's or Heineken. According to the owners, Moor's has been featured in songs by local musicians and on TV. Most notably, their beer can be seen being drunk by the cast of Lena Waithe's 'The Chi' in a recent episode.
National attention has been growing at a steady and natural pace. With Samuel Adams' support, they hope to expand at the same careful rate. Moor's won the Brewing the American Dream competition with their Kölsch beer. It's a Munich-style light beer that Patton describes as a 'fastball down the middle.'
'They brought a beer that was not as mainstream as an IPA and folks loved it,' said Jennifer Glanville Love, brewer and director of partnership of Boston Beer Co. and Samuel Adams.
Glanville Love said Moor's winning brew was a lighter take that was delicious and well-constructed. But in addition, it was their story and their business plan that garnered them the most votes at the contest.
'The place they're in, the passion they have, the way they've grown so methodically, it all resonated,' Glanville Love said. 'The timing is perfect.'
Samuel Adams and Moor's will be collaborating on a beer to be announced later.
Next Juneteenth, things could look very different for Moor's, as they look to expand their footprint in Chicago and the rest of the country. For their fifth anniversary, they plan to hold their biggest-ever Juneteenth celebration in 2026.
'Juneteenth means freedom,' said Bell. 'Think of that notion of freedom and what would you do with that freedom — we encourage being free and expressive in any realm, it could be dancing, painting, singing… or, yes, beer.'