Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway discusses a landmark project that has transformed a lesser-known miracle grain from Western Africa into the up-and-coming superstar of sustainable beer
Three decades ago, Garrett Oliver took the rank of Brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery. In celebration of his 30th anniversary, you unveiled the pioneering ‘Brewing For Impact’ initiative. Can you tell us more?
Brewing for Impact’ is an international collaboration that brings breweries together to showcase the power of an ancient, climate-resistant grain, fonio. The initiative is deeply rooted in Garrett’s belief that beer can unite people, cultures and tradition; it not only honours Garrett and his career with Brooklyn Brewery, but also embarks on a collaborative exploration with breweries worldwide – spotlighting the versatile, West African grain and its untapped brewing potential. Over the course of this year, we have launched limited-edition fonio-brewed beers with the likes of Maison Kalao, Thornbridge, Omnipollo, Carlsberg, our own, and Russian River, and with Chinese brewery, Jing-A, and the iconic Irish Stout brewer, Guinness, still to come.
Fonio has been cultivated in West Africa for over 5,000 years. For those who’ve never come across it, what makes it so special?
Fonio is drought resistant and requires no irrigation, pesticides, or fertilisers – making it a more sustainable choice of grain. Fonio also has remarkable flavour and brewing qualities, and the process of making beer with fonio is exactly the same. We’d love for brewers all around the world to start using fonio, and we hope that ‘Brewing for Impact’ increases its exposure to those working in the industry and to the consumers who enjoy drinking beer.
What would be your own personal favourite from the seven, and why?
That’s tricky- it changes with every release since they’ve all been quite different, but all equally delicious. For now, let’s say the 100 percent fonio Carlsberg collaboration. That one is super unique, as it has the look of a champagne or sake, but it’s a lager beer with notes of apricots, white peaches and melon from the fonio. It’s almost like a blend of sake and sauvignon blanc. A delicious expression of the flavors fonio can bring to brewing.
If what you’ve started truly catches hold in the brewing industry, how significant could the flow-on effect be for the thousands of smallholder farms across West Africa?
The effect could be life-changing for them. If, as an industry, we start using large quantities of fonio, this will re-empower local, family and often female-led farms by providing a vital source of income from a grain that was historically devalued by western colonists, but that is uniquely suited to grow in the harsh environment of sub-Saharan Africa. Growing fonio also helps to revitalize the soil, bringing increased sustainability to these small farms that are on marginal land. That’s the kind of impact we’re pushing for and hoping to achieve with our partners.
In turn, should fonio become a mainstream grain in future brewing, can you frame, for us, the potential impact this could have on the industry itself?
This initiative is a step in the right direction towards broader adoption of fonio as a desirable grain for brewing. However, using fonio will make brewing beer a more sustainable process and create a circular economy for communities globally. Not to mention, fonio has the potential to open up innovative opportunities in the market and in the product itself. There’s a whole world of flavour and versatility you can get from one singular grain of fonio – the potential impact could be huge, why not explore it?
Taking the grain on tour
Brooklyn Brewery and its Brewmaster, Garrett Oliver, partnered with seven brewing giants around the world to release limited edition beers throughout 2024, all highlighting fonio’s remarkable qualities and potential to drive positive change…
Brewery: Maison Kalao
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Released: April
Where better to kick-off the collaborative series than folio’s own homeland, with Senegalese based brewery Maison Kalao. Its founder Raphaël Hilarion and Brooklyn’s Garrett Oliver (pictured middle below) joined forces to create the Brooklyn A Dakar Pilsner – a fonio-forward lager that’s beautifully refreshing and perfect for the Senegalese climate
Brewery: Thornbridge
Location: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England
Released: May
Garrett first fell in love with beer in pubs, drinking pints of traditional British cask ale. He and the Thornbridge team, led by Head Brewer Rob Lovatt, blended tradition, innovation, and more than 15 years of friendship to produce a fonio-driven cask beer (below)
Brewery: Omnipollo
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Released: June
Omnipollo co-founder Henok Fentie was a huge fan of the first beer Garrett ever brewed for Brooklyn (Black Chocolate Stout). Together, they reimagined the original recipe with fonio’s remarkable flavour to create the ‘Blacker Chocolate Stout’ (below), with focus on Fonio’s versatility and sustainability
Brewery: Carlsberg
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Released: July
Carlsberg is one of the most instantly recognisable beers in the world – and long-time friends and co-conspirators of Garrett and the entire Brooklyn crew. Together, they created a first-ever beer using 100 percent fonio grains, without any bittering hops or barley. The result: a perfectly clear drop resembling champagne in appearance.
Brewery: Russian River Brewery
Location: Santa Rosa, California, United States
Released: August
Russian River Brewery owners Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo are long-time friends and collaborators of Garrett’s, swapping knowledge – and sometimes, tankers of experimental beer – across the US. Together, they came up with a beautiful, Belgian blonde ale to celebrate fonio and their shared commitment to excellence
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Location: New York, United States
Released: September
It’s not officially a world tour without a hometown stop. Garrett and the Brooklyn team drew on their previous fonio experiments to create a tasty new pale ale to embody the Brewing For Impact ethos and continue innovating with the super grain
Brewery: Jing-A Brewing Co.
Location: Beijing, China
Released: October
Jing-A is a standard bearer of the surging Beijing brewing scene and one of Garrett’s home bases when he travels to China. He and the Jing-A team, led by founders Kris Li and Alex Acker, put a fonio-powered spin on the classic West Coast IPA style and released it just in time for Jing-A’s landmark 8×8 Festival, a gathering of local and international brewers to collaborate and celebrate
Brewery: Guinness
Location: USA & Ireland
Release: November
Guinness has forever been one of Garrett’s favourite ‘off the clock’ beers. The final launch in the series introduces the Guinness ‘Fonio Stout’, which promises an innovative twist on not just one of the world’s most famous beer brands – but a drink that possesses a rich 200-year history in Africa itself
