19 Nov Brave Noise – A Beer Crying Out for a Safe Beer Community
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
A new beer called Brave Noise hit the draft lines at Metazoa Brewing last week in Indy, a hazy pale ale with el dorado and Pacific Gem hops (amongst others). It’s toothy from the oats and bitter as well as juicy, making it a great beer, but it’s raison d’etre goes well beyond satisfying beer drinkers.
Brave Noise is a national collaborative effort to “advocate for safe spaces and inclusive environments by requesting breweries be transparent with their policies and commit to long-term work.” More than 150 commercial breweries across the US and Europe have joined the effort, as have more than 300 homebrewers or homebrew clubs.
Even though Metazoa is currently the only Indiana brewery or homebrew club joining the effort, there’s still time for clubs and breweries to join the endeavor. Go to the Brave Noise website and fill out the appropriate form, including how your establishment or bylaws work to be inclusive and safe, and you will receive the commercial or homebrew recipe and access to the graphics and label.
image credit: Metazoa Brewing
Metazoa has committed to donating 10% of the profits from Brave Noise (in addition to the 5% they donate to animal rescue) to the Julian Center, “the largest non-profit organization supporting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other life crises in Indiana.” The Julian Center was founded in 1975 and offers a safe place and programs for over 6000 Hoosier individuals and families each year. It costs more than $12,000 a day to operate Julian Center, so the money raised through the Brave Noise collaboration will make a definite difference in the lives of this at risk group.
Angela Smith, manager of the Metazoa taproom, talked to me about the project. She told me, “We first heard about The Brave Noise movement from the chatter on the internet from Brienne Allan (aka @ratmagnet) asking if anyone in the brewing industry has experienced sexual discrimination and her asking breweries to collaborate, nationally, by brewing their own beer named Brave Noise to shine light on these issues. The question was quickly asked, what would it take for us to join this movement since half of our brewers are female. I’m happy to say it took seconds for everyone to be on board.”
Angela added that the importance of the project can’t be over stated, “Gender discrimination, racism, sexual assault, and harassment are a real thing. It happens every day. Many of us have experienced it and feel helpless to change it. I’m proud to say that Metazoa takes these issues seriously and want to create a safe place for our employees and patrons alike. This is also a way to bring further awareness to the issues that women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ experience daily. I hope that many more breweries join us in this collab and help make a difference in creating a safe place for everyone.”
Metazoa is currently slammed brewing beers for everyone who wants to drink them, so canning Brave Noise isn’t in the planning. However, new equipment is going in at their production brewery in Strawtown. This may indicate that canning of IPAs and other intricate beers could be amenable to canning in the future.
Get down to Metazoa and drink this beer 1) because it’s great, 1a) because it’s for a great cause and to increase awareness. And bring your animal, they recognize the importance of inclusiveness too.
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