In the past week, I’ve collected 5 different examples of the “Black Is Beautiful” worldwide collaboration beers. My goal has been to shoot a video review of each one on consecutive days. Well, that idea has been slowed considerably. While I’ve gotten pretty quick at editing and posting videos, it’s writing the related article that gets spaced out. That’s okay, it’s a pleasant burden to bear.

As beer fans know, Black Is Beautiful is a collaboration based on a recipe provided by Weathered Souls Brewing of San Antonio, TX. Nearly 1,000 brewers in all 50 states and a few dozens countries have joined in the project, pledging their proceeds to local foundations supporting equality and inclusion.

My first of these beers was made by Foreign Exchange Brewing, in cooperation with Church Street Brewing in Itasca. Proceeds are earmarked for the Restore Aurora Fund to restore and rebuild the Aurora community, and to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

The beer is described as being conditioned on “Ugandan Coffee from Endiro Coffee, a blend of Ghanaian & Mexican Cacao, and a touch of Saigon Cinnamon.

My tasting notes: There’s a nice coffee and cocoa nose right under the cap. A dark brown pour with a thin and fizzy head. The cinnamon comes up in the nose a bit later. Overall, the smell is mildy chocolate, without excess roast. Cinnamon is the first taste impression. Then there’s a light coffee soda taste, and cocoa toward the back.

The overall result is a simple combination of tastes that might become more complex if I let the remaining cans age a while. Hey, I got a 4-pack, that means three to set aside and see what happens.

I would also note that on the video, I mentioned that I have sometimes been reluctant to engage in “slacktivism:” urging others to support some cause that I do not have the resources to devote to it myself. That seems about as effective as “online petitions”. But for each of the beers in this series, I’ve put my own money into this, and into the causes each beer supports.