A new beer is set to debut at Birmingham’s Good People Brewing Company near the end of the month. On March 30, a fudge brownie milk stout will be available on draft. The stout is a limited-edition collaboration between the brewing company and Ralph Marion, who runs the brand Beered Black Man and bartends at Hop City Craft Beer & Wine.

Chocolate is the main player in the fudge brownie stout. Good People’s head brewer Adam Klein says the process took three different angles to get the perfect balance: chocolate malt, cocoa nibs and cocoa extract.

“We added lactose to make it a milk stout so it has sort of a creamy texture,” said Klein. “We added 20 pounds of cocoa nibs from Olive and Sinclair in Nashville. And then we added pure cocoa for that extra big punch of chocolate on the nose.”

While chocolatey, the 8.5 ABV stout won’t be overly sweet. Marion says while crafting the recipe, he and Klein included some characteristics of the intense, deeper roast of an imperial stout, but rounded out the flavor for a smoother feel.

Good People's head brewer Adam Klein pours two snifters of the fudge brownie milk stout (Shauna Stuart for Al.com)

Slightly sweet with a light bitterness, the stout will pair well with savory and sweet dishes, and both Marion and Klein suggest foods that can hold up to the decadence of the beer, including desserts, burgers, steaks, and strongly flavored cheeses.

Those ready to taste the stout will have a chance to put those pairings to the test on Saturday, March 30th during the launch party at Good People, featuring food from the Hollywood Grill food truck.

After Saturday, the stout will also be available on tap at Jack Brown’s Burger and Beer Joint in Lakeview and possibly some other local restaurants and retailers in the future.

From family tradition to brewery

For Marion, the creation of the fudge brownie milk stout combines his love of craft beer with a family tradition.

The Birmingham native has worked behind the bar at Red Hills Brewery where he assisted with social media management and event planning. He was also a draft manger for the J. Clyde. Both of those experiences led him to build his brand, Beered Black Man, a site dedicated to his love of craft beer and his efforts to diversify the craft beer industry.

Marion’s first experience with beer was actually a funny childhood mishap. While visiting relatives in Selma when he was young, he accidentally took a swig of Budweiser, mistaking the red can for a can of Coca-Cola. From that day on, says Marion, he hated the taste of beer. That all changed in 2008, when he started going to the J. Clyde with friends. He’d always just go to the bar to hang out and eat, but one night, he decided to try one of the Alabama beer specials. That beer was Good People’s Pale Brown Ale.

“That was the first craft beer I ever had. And I never looked back after that point,” said Marion.

From then on, Marion’s love for darker and maltier beers grew, and he developed a fondness for stouts. So when he first thought of creating his own beer, he knew it would be a stout. Marion also knew he wanted to dedicate the beer to his great-grandmother and his memories of helping her bake brownies in the kitchen.

Ralph Marion shows a photo of his great-grandmother. "I've always kept a picture of her on my phone." (Credit: Tim Majors)

“That’s pretty much how the whole concept of the fudge brownie came about. When I was younger, we always made fudge brownies. And my great-grandmother was always a big part of who I am today, so I wanted to find a way to honor her,” said Marion. “We would always do at least two batches a month. It was just something we always did and I loved it.”

Last December, Marion reached out to Good People, who immediately jumped at the chance to work with him as the third anniversary of Beered Black Man approached.

“Ralph has a pretty good following and we thought it was a fun opportunity to stay involved with the local community,” said Klein. “He brought up the idea to make a fudge brownie stout based on his grandmother’s recipe. And we tried to take elements of his history and childhood memories and turned it into a beer. And I think we did a pretty good job with it.”

The first craft beer Marion ever tried was brewed by Good People. So, for Marion, working with the brewery to develop his first beer was a full circle moment.

“Good people has always been, in my sense, my home brewery. I always come here with friends. If it’s beer related and it’s not Hop City, it’s going to be here,” said Marion.

“Sometimes I feel bad,” said the Birmingham native, laughing a little. “Because I feel like I don’t give everybody else love. They’ve been like a second or third family for me.”

Beered Black Man

For years, Marion has been vocal about diversity in the craft beer world, and he created Beered Black Man to highlight the projects that he and other people of color were doing in the craft beer space.

“The image of craft beer is this stereotypical white guy, you know, in their late 20s or early 30s. Kind of a hipster persona. That’s what has been portrayed in craft beer for so long,” said Marion. “ I want to show that there are people out there that look like me doing this kind of stuff, and not just as a collaboration. As a career. There are black brewers out there. There are women brewers. There are people in the LGBTQ plus community that are in brewing. There’s Hispanics brewers. There are Asians. There are Native Americans. There’s so many different groups of people doing this kind of stuff that aren’t getting shown.”

The 32-year-old bartender says one of his longtime mentors has been Teo Hunter, the co-creator of Crowns & Hops, a black-owned craft beer brand and brewery based in California.

Ralph Marion in Good People Brewing Co. (Credit: Tim Majors)

“Because even though we all know that craft beer is for everybody, how often do we see those images?” said Marion. “I mean, hell if I'm here at Good People, or if I'm not working at Hop City, I might be the only black person that's been through those doors during those hours. So hopefully with what I'm doing with the brand and this beer it can bring up more conversations about those kind of things.”

The creation of the fudge milk stout is a check mark on an already eventful year for Marion.

Beered Black Man, which has over 2,000 followers on Instagram, has also caught the eye of Grammy-nominated rap group Nappy Roots, who have been working in the craft beer scene for more than two years and have a home brewery venture called Atlantucky Brewing. In 2017, Nappy Roots released two limited-edition beers at Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing which nodded to their Georgia and Kentucky roots and last May, they expanded the opportunity and launched two more craft beers. They are also developing a craft beer reality show and travel series. Last month, the group debuted Kentucky Mud, their one-day limited-edition brand of chocolate milk stout.

In February, the group paid Marion a visit at Hop City on their way through Birmingham from Tuscaloosa. After a round of beers and conversation, the group started talking about plans to return to the Magic City to learn about its rapidly growing craft beer scene. And Marion is looking forward to being an ambassador to showcase his city, aptly nicknamed “Beermingham,” when they return.

“I actually met artists I listened to in middle school and high school. And it was cool just to sit down and talk with them. And talk about making things better in the craft beer industry,” said Marion. “I was just smiling from ear to ear. It’s cool to be able to have that moment in my life.”

Ralph Marion holds a snifter of fudge brownie milk stout (Credit: Shauna Stuart for Al.com)

And as Beered Black Man enters its third year, Marion is looking forward to keeping the momentum.

“It’s just a blessing on its own. I’ve put in a lot of work and lost lots of sleep. I’ve sampled a lot of beer. I think my kidneys and liver are probably screaming at me to stop,” he joked. “But I’m excited about what I’m doing and hopefully this journey doesn’t stop.”

Ralph Marion and Good People Brewing will host a launch party for the fudge brownie stout starting at 12:00 p.m on Saturday, March 30th. For more information, visit Beered Black Man and Good People Brewing on Instagram.