Together, Cunningham and Gittens were two of Minnesota’s most prominent black brewers in an industry teeming with young white dudes. But sticking out like that was what eventually got them fired, according to a lawsuit Cunningham filed against Cold Spring last week.

Cunningham says that when he first started at Cold Spring in 2011, things were good. He and Gittens invented a bunch of tasty brews and oversaw the production of tens of thousands of barrels each year. Their direct supervisor, Cold Spring’s vice president Doug DeGeest, was friendly and encouraging as far as bosses went.

In 2014, Cold Spring hired a consultant, Charles Otterman. And that’s when shit hit the fan, according to the lawsuit.

Cunningham says he was introduced to Otterman during a meeting at the Cold Spring president’s house.

“After exchanging greetings and hearing [Cunningham’s Jamaican] accent, Otterman stated to Cunningham in a very condescending and patronizing tone, ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’” the lawsuit alleges. “Mr. DeGeest, who worked closely with Mr. Otterman and who was privy to Otterman’s thoughts and suggestions for the business, repeatedly told [Cunningham] that Mr. Otterman was a racist, that he was making racist comments, that he had racist attitudes toward [Cunningham] and Mr. Gittens, and that there were discriminatory decisions being discussed at Cold Spring.”

DeGeest was canned shortly after. The guy who replaced him allegedly hinted at Cunningham time and again that he was getting old enough to retire.

In 2015, just before Cunningham’s fourth anniversary with Cold Spring, he and Gittens were both fired as well, allegedly based on Otterman’s advice.

Cunningham was told that it was because the company hadn’t produced as many barrels of beer as it wanted to that year, and needed to cut costs. Nevertheless, he was instantly replaced by a white man in his 30s. Gittens too.

Cold Spring didn't have much to say in response to the lawsuit on Tuesday, except to deny Cunningham's allegations.