Sloop Brewing commits to diversity, inclusion with Open Waters Internship
September 25, 2020 Chris Crowell
Named for the boats that once moved people and cargo up and down the Hudson, Sloop Brewing was founded by President Adam Watson and Head Brewer Justin Taylor in 2011 in a Poughkeepsie garage. In 2018, Sloop opened a new, 25,000 square foot brewery in East Fishkill, N.Y., and now this fast growing brewery looks to open up the craft beer industry to more people via the Open Waters Internship — a program designed to promote diversity and inclusion in the craft beverage industry.
"We want to set a strong example in both words and actions," said Mariquita Reese, a Sloop brewer and chairwoman of Sloop's Diversity & Inclusion Committee, "We want to show that anyone can have a productive and fulfilling career in our industry. Our team is very aware of the lack of diversity in our industry, and we want to tackle it head-on. With this internship program, we hope to provide opportunities and training to people who may have previously felt excluded."
Sloop is fully committed to equipping their Open Waters interns with technical knowledge, valuable connections, and the expertise to empower them as future industry professionals. Sloop also hopes to dismantle barriers to entering the craft beverage industry and to pave the way for positive change in their interns, colleagues, and fellow breweries by introducing people with different backgrounds and perspectives to the world of brewing and craft beer.
"This all came out of conversations among the team as to what we can do as a brewery to better combat a lack of inclusion in the industry," said Justin Taylor, Sloop's head brewer and co-founder. "Brewing a beer to raise awareness and funds is admirable, but for us, getting involved looks a little different — we want to be hands on, and really make our brewery part of the change we want to see. 'Open Waters' has been part of our motto since the beginning, and we're committed to making craft beer a truly open and inclusive industry."
"Being accessible and inclusive have always been core values of our company and our brewing philosophy," said Adam Watson, president and cofounder of Sloop. "In a sense, this program is a natural outgrowth of those values. We're starting with a paid, part-time internship focusing on brewing, but we hope to be able to expand it down the line to cover all aspects of the craft beverage industry, not just brewing — and we hope it's the sort of program that other breweries see value in and start up as well."
The Open Waters Internship is open to anyone over 21; no prior experience or brewing knowledge is required. Interns must commit to at least 20 hours a week over a three month period, and applications for the first quarter, starting Jan. 1, 2021, are being accepted until Nov. 1, 2020. Applications received after that date will be considered for subsequent quarters.
A big kudos from CBB — the industry/world needs more intentional programs like this. Here's the application form for anyone interested.
Sloop Brewing accepting applications for Open Waters diversity-focused internship
Apply for Sloop Brewing's diversity-focused Open Waters internship program (now in second year)
FYI: Women of the Vine & Spirits awarded 74 scholarships in 2022 ($174,700 in total funds)
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