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Chris Harris of Black Frog Brewery
"Minorities as a whole are underrepresented in the craft beer industry, and this seemed like an opportunity to shine some light on the fact that there’s more of us drinking craft beer than what most people think."
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Harris said he hadn’t met any of the other black brewers prior to the festival, but that when he did, he immediately felt a sense of camaraderie among them. “When we all got together, it was like meeting long-lost family,” he said.Fresh Fest was wildly successful, attracting about 1,200 visitors when Bracey and Potter expected 700, tops. Both organizers say that they’ve received incredible feedback about the event, and that they’ll definitely follow up with another festival in Pittsburgh next year. And along with the brewers and collaborators, they hope that the festival’s impact will demonstrate that there’s an essentially untapped craft beer market."Hopefully the people in the industry will see that there’s more people of color drinking craft beer than they thought, and maybe they need to start targeting those people… It could only be beneficial to them."
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