National Black Brewers Association

08/02/2026

The NB2A is proud to partner with Get Hoptimized!

We’re excited to announce a new member benefit designed to help Black-owned breweries strengthen their marketing and grow their brands.

Through our partnership, Get Hoptimized is offering exclusive marketing discounts to NB2A members on a range of tailored marketing services.

Whether you’re a new brewery working to establish your brand or an established brewery looking to take your digital marketing to the next level, this partnership gives NB2A members access to professional marketing support at a discounted rate.

From marketing strategy and digital presence to creative services and more, Get Hoptimized can help you turn your brewery’s story into a stronger brand presence.

Your brewery. Your brand. Your story. Your growth.
NB2A members, this benefit is for you.
Take advantage of exclusive marketing discounts from Get Hoptimized and invest in the visibility and growth of your brewery.

More information on available services and how to access your member discount contact [email protected]

08/01/2026

07/23/2026

Using the NB2A and Roy’s Farm Velvet Cake collaboration as the dominant hops for their latest edition of their IPA series, Atlantucky poured NB2A second VP and beer pioneer Ale Sharpton the Lake Tobesofkee IPA in Atlanta.
Atlantucky co-founders and brewers Fish Scales and Skinny Deville categorize their newest beer as a Southern IPA; it’s bright with a light haze that goes down easy at a crushable 6.3% ABV.
Head brewer Scales says their ‘Lake’ IPA series pays homage to the beautiful Georgia lakes he’s visited throughout his life. Although they are usually double IPAs, this one shines with a less malty backbone to showcase how complex the Velvet Cake hops is.
“It’s my favorite Atlantucky beer right now, and that’s saying a lot,” says Sharpton. “It’s light bodied, not too sweet, citrusy and perfectly carbonated with notes of apricot, peach, and subtle grapefruit. Lake ‘Toby’ is a banger.”
Pronounced Lake toh-buh-SAWF-kee, this IPA is one of the ongoing list of beers crafted by various breweries throughout the nation showcasing the Velvet Cake hops, a special blend created by Roy Farms to help raise funds for NB2A.

Send a message to receive more information on how to get Velvet Cake hops in your next batch.
Cheers!

📸 by Ale Sharpton

07/15/2026

We're partnering with industry experts to bring more educational opportunities to NB2A members, and we want to make sure we're covering the topics that matter most to you.

What would you like to learn in our upcoming marketing webinar? (Date to be announced soon)

Please select the topics that interest you most:
🔸️Targeted Wholesale Advertising
🔸️Marketing Strategy & Planning
🔸️Graphic Design & Branding
🔸️Website Development & SEO

Have another marketing topic you'd like us to cover? We'd love to hear your ideas.

06/25/2026

Good beer. Great people. Meaningful partnerships.

Our partnership with Roy Farms is a special one. The creation of Velvet Cake Hop Blend will help create new opportunities for Black brewers while also bringing an incredible hop profile to breweries across the country.

It was an honor to share a Vine Street Brewing beer brewed with Velvet Cake Hops with our friend Joe from Roy Farms. Seeing this partnership come to life, one pour at a time, is what it's all about.

Looking forward to the new initiatives that this partnership will create.

For more information on Velvet Cake please contact Roy Farms or the NB2A.

Cheers to collaboration.

06/19/2026

06/05/2026

Please join us in congratulating Annie McGinnis on her appointment as President of the National Black Brewers Association!

As co-owner of Vine Street Brewing, the first Black-owned brewery in Missouri, Annie has been a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and community building within the craft beer industry. Through her leadership, collaboration, and commitment to creating opportunities for Black beer professionals, she has helped strengthen and grow the brewing community both locally and nationally.

We look forward to sharing the exciting new initiatives and opportunities ahead.

Congratulations, Annie!

*Website updates coming.

04/26/2026

A moment worth toasting. 🍻✨

Congratulations to the Barrels on the Bayou team on this incredible accomplishment—officially recognized by the City of New Orleans for making history with Louisiana’s first Black-owned beer festival.

What you’ve built is bigger than a single day. It’s a spark that’s going to keep catching, year after year. We’re excited to watch this festival grow, evolve, and keep pouring into the culture.

04/14/2026

Meet Velvet Cake- a new hop blend born from the hands of Master Brewers of the NB2A in collaboration with Roy Farms. Crafted during the 2025 harvest, it brings together layers of candy-like sweetness, tropical fruit, and a touch of resinous spice.

First pour available to taste at CBC this week in Philly. Beer created by and . Velvet Cake will be at the Crosby Hospitality Lounge where the hop blend will be available to rub and sniff.

This partnership marks a historic philanthropic initiative that provides both access to educational resoircesand capital for underserved and underutlizied small businesses amd brewers within the Black diaspora in the United States. A portion of the sales of this specialty blend will benefit the efforts of the National Black Brewers Association.


BlackBrewers

04/10/2026

We’re pulling back the curtain in Philly- where you'll get the very first taste of what we've been building behind the scenes.

If you plan on being at CBC, you won't want to miss this.