Beer is a conversation starter, and Marcus Baskerville and the National Black Brewers Association want more Black people to do the talking.

Baskerville is the director of brewing at Weathered Souls Brewing CO. and a founding board member of the NB2A. He is part of the association’s charge to foster inclusivity and Black representation in the brewing industry.

His brewing journey began with a gift that sparked a sibling rivalry between him and his brother. While the brewmaster admitted that his first batches were ‘horrible,” it sparked something in him.

Baskerville followed a new finance position to San Antonio, TX, where he became active in the local brewery and homebrewer’s community.

He recalled a moment of inspiration that came from having the chance to listen to Annie Johnson on the Brewing Network. Johnson represented a lot in the brewing community as the first Black person, woman and LGBTQ-identifying person to win Homebrewer of The Year.

Baskerville admitted he was contemplating quitting putting efforts into his craft until he heard her speak.

“Hearing somebody that looks like me, someone from the same areas of diversity as me. Someone Black. I finally saw somebody that had reached that pinnacle of what beer was, and it motivated me,” he told Blavity.

That motivation turned into a beer that Baskerville still has on his taps today. He continued to make a name for himself in the San Antonio brewing community, introducing local bars and restaurants to new beers.

Baskerville chose to open his first brewery in the quest for something that gave him more creative control. In 2016, he and his partner, Mike Holt, opened Weathered Souls Brewery in San Antonio. In 2022, they added a second location in Charlotte, N.C.

Marcus Baskerville

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