A brewery in Dutchess County is starting a paid internship program to promote diversity and inclusion in the craft beverage industry.
Sloop Brewing Company in East Fishkill is launching “Open Waters,” a part-time internship program intended to fill what are anemic ranks when it comes to women and non-white hires and owners. The internship idea sprung from conversations over the summer about whether to participate in the “Black is Beautiful” initiative — a collaborative effort among the brewing community and its customers, in an attempt to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. There is a basic stout recipe upon which breweries could build to make the beer their own, and donate 100 percent of the beer’s proceeds to local foundations that support police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged. Mariquita Reese is a Sloop brewer and chairwoman of Sloop’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Reese says Sloop Brewing would hire one intern per quarter, with the first one to start in January. The application deadline is November 1.
