Big business brewers have begun paying more attention to their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customers, and a beer targeted at gay consumption was released last year in Mexico, but next week the alcoholic beverage is going to take a big step out of the closet.
The Hillcrest Brewing Company, which is being touted as the "world's first out and proud LGBT brewery," will be opening in San Diego's vibrant Hillcrest neighborhood next week.
The Hillcrest Brewing Company -- HBC, for short -- will serve homemade microbrews on tap, as well as a rotating selection from other local micro breweries and wine. The grains and grapes will be paired with specialty pizzas baked in the brewery’s double-lined stone ovens.
The HBC will join the Mo's Universe family of LGBT-friendly establishments, which include Urban Mo's Bar & Grill, Baja Betty's and Gossip Grill. The owner of Mo's Universe, Chris Shaw, told San Diego Uptown News that they were selling so much beer at their three other locations, that when brewmaster David White proposed the idea for a brewery, they figured "why not start brewing our own?"
While a brewery makes perfect sense, why the emphasis on Pride? In a press release on the Mo's Universe web site, Shaw explains, “Our businesses have always been a place to come as you are and be who you are." The release further states that "the brewery follows closely in the footsteps 'but on high heels' of Queer Beer in Europe, Purple Hand & Salamandra Beers from Mexico and Gay Pride Beer from Vermont, all of which have been previously marketed specifically to the LGBT market... However, HBC distinguishes itself as the "Queens of Beer" and the first and only openly gay brewing company in the world."
Shaw, who has been building businesses in Hillcrest for over twenty years, added that he hopes the HBC will be a place where "our old friends can gather and feel like a part of a community."
You can learn more by checking out the Hillcrest Brewing Company on Facebook, and visiting the brewery, located at 1458 University Avenue, if you happen to be in San Diego.