With the national discourse about race growing louder, Michigan's craft brewing industry is facing its own racial reckoning. Many brewers are providing diversity, equity and inclusion training to their staff to address these disparities, but one organization is planning to go a step further and bring discussions about racial justice and diversity to brewery customers throughout Michigan.

On a frigid mid-February Saturday, a small crowd gathers in a silent, snow-covered clearing in the woods. The atmosphere was more reminiscent of a far-off forest in northern Michigan than urban Detroit’s Rouge Park.

A 2019 survey of homebrew supply stores show total revenue reported by all shops nationally was down about 7 percent. More homebrew supply shops have opened nanobreweries with tasting rooms in recent years to diversify revenue streams.

Like many Michigan businesses, homebrew supply shops are struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these short-term obstacles, there may be hope for the homebrewing industry.