CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- He is one of the only Black craft brewery owners in Illinois.
"I like beer. In the back of my head I wanted to own a bar, I thought I wanted to own a bar, and actually I don't want to own a bar," said Charles St. Clair.
Insead, St. Clair started up Black Horizon Brewing in Willowbrook.
In light of the calls for social justice and racial equity this year, St. Clair – along with 30 other brewers - collaborated in coming up with a special blend.
"That would be the 'Black is Beautiful' beer. Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio, Texas came up with the idea of doing a collaboration with multiple breweries, around the United States, in light of everything that's going on - the protests, the Black Lives Matter, communities that are in distress," St. Clair said.
The $7,000 raised from the batch, plus another $3,000 from the brewery – means a $10,000 donation to Chicago’s “By The Hand Club for Kids” which supports children on Chicago’s South and West sides from childhood to adulthood.
"After school activities for the kids, tutoring, trips. I'm a huge, huge fan of early intervention and giving kids an option and saying, 'There's something other than this and there is a light at the end of the tunnel,'" said St. Clair.
Promoting racial equity through beer is Black Horizon Brewing in Willowbrook.