Shine a Light: Rock Leopard Brewing
photo courtesy of Rock Leopard Brewing
Few breweries have suffered as a result of COVID as much as Rock Leopard Brewing, but this hasn’t stopped founder Stacey Ayeh from using his brewery as a platform to champion causes he believes in.
Around ten minutes into my chat with Stacey Ayeh, the charismatic and passionate owner of Rock Leopard Brewing comes about as close as anyone I’ve had the pleasure of meeting to summing up exactly what craft beer means.
“Craft beer is a space to make a difference. To me when you talk about craft beer, it infers something that is greater than the liquid in the glass. It infers doing right by your staff, not cutting corners with your production process, so why shouldn’t it also be a means to try and achieve something?”
Achieving positive change is something Ayeh has made a pivotal part of the identity of his brewery in its short lifetime. As a prominent black-brewery owner, Ayeh has championed diversity through collaborating on Step Up, a Stout with Manchester’s Cloudwater Brew Co that raises money to help “those facing society’s biggest hurdles”. Teaming up with four other gypsy brewers also contract brewing out of Missing Link Brewery, he’s taken part in Other Half NYC’s All Together Initiative to raise money for Hospitality Action. Most recently, he has brewed How Are You On Your Good Days, an 8% DIPA brewed in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
“On a personal level if I see something that is unjust I won’t stay silent,” he tells me. “If I can get involved and try and help then I will. I don’t see why that can’t be a part and parcel of my business.”
It’s an admirable statement, particularly for a brewery that has been so heavily impacted by the events of the last few months. After brewing with Cloudwater in February, demand for Rock Leopard’s brews soared and the brewery was just beginning its first major foray into the on-trade when pubs were forced to close. Luckily, Ayeh has been able to call upon the support of loyal bottleshops such as Hop Hideout, allowing him to continue brewing throughout the pandemic.
photo: James Beeson
One such beer is Savage Scene, a 4.9% ‘Inner City Pale’ that forms a part of Rock Leopard’s core range of beers. Hopped with Mandarina Bavaria, Nugget and Cascade, and fermented out with a clean yeast strain its classically West Coast in style. To taste, it’s clean, restrained and balanced, with big tropical top notes and aromatics of citrus fruit and pine. Even in an era dominated by juice bombs, it’s exceptionally drinkable, with just enough bite to feel like a throwback to a bygone age.
If Savage Scene feels like a slight throwback, then How Are You On Your Good Days is a full on wave of nostalgia. A proper, old school West Coast DIPA, it’s a supercharged version of the brewery’s core range Distant Cousin of a Mu Mu Cat, hopped with Centennial, Columbus, Azacca and Mosaic. Despite its strength, there’s minimal alcohol burn, with grapefruit, tangerine and pine on the palate.
photo: James Beeson
True to form, Ayeh has little interest in discussing tasting notes, instead regaling me with the story of the beer’s name, taken from a speech by US black-right’s activist Jordan Jr (AKA Pharaoh Almighty). Jordan Jr. was arrested after peacefully protesting and kneeling in front of riot police in Charleston, South Carolina, and Ayeh has pledged to donate a portion of the beer’s profits towards his bail fund (the remainder will go to community-based non-profit initiative Sistah Space in Hackney).
“Drinking beer and talking about beer is great, but I can only talk so much about beer itself until I get bored,” he says. “I want to talk about other things when my mind is it that loose state after a few beers… I want to talk about things that we can do to make a positive difference.”
The combination of exceptional West Coast style beers and strong sense of social responsibility is a powerful marriage, and speaking to Ayeh, you get the sense that in Rock Leopard here is a brewery that truly believes it does not and cannot exist in a vacuum, and that is surely something worth celebrating.
James Beeson is an award-winning beer writer and photographer. To see more of his work follow him on Twitter and Instagram for links.