Two Locals Brewing Company is an up and coming black-owned brewery starting up in Philadelphia, and they’re aiming to change the beer scene in the city.
We recently talked to Rich and Mengistu Koiler, two brothers who grew up in West Philadelphia, and the “Two” behind Two Locals Brewing.
The brothers are aiming to become the first black-owned brewery in Philadelphia. They are looking to open close to West Philadelphia where they were raised but could open in South Philly or North Philly depending on what spaces are available. To start, they plan to utilize a 7 BBL brew system. The goal is to have 6 beers on tap at first, then expand to 10 as they ramp up beer production.
Below is the conversation we had with the brewery to learn even more:
BIPA: What stage are you currently in?
Two Locals: We are currently looking for a location so we can get licensed, and we are also trying to raise funds. On our website, we have pre-orders for merchandise and are open to investors. We also had many events we poured at, and were focusing on getting our name out there and having people taste our beer. Prior to COVID-19 we had launched an IndieGoGo campaign and raised almost 8k. But we decided it was best to give back because we couldn’t make any moves due to COVID-19 and we didn’t know who gave us money and had lost their job.
During the pandemic, we went back to the drawing board and had work done on our brand imaging to refine it. We hired a brand imaging company to refine the logos and refine the image.
BIPA: How did you become initially interested in craft beer? Who all is involved in the brewery?
Two Locals: Us two brothers are the two locals. We have always liked beer and drank beer, especially craft beer. We have always talked about owning a local bar or maybe a brewery. We have been homebrewing since 2016 when Rich bought a 1-gallon homebrew kit for us to try and we made our first beer, an Irish red ale. It turned out well, and we kept going. We sampled what we made with our friends and then poured at non-profit events.
BIPA: What breweries have had you back and helped you on your journey?
Two Locals: We just brewed with Love City Brewing and Harris Family for the Black Is Beautiful collab beer, to be released in mid-July. We have Brewery ARS to thank for answering questions for us as well. And also Chimney Brewery in New Jersey, we have a Black Is Beautiful collab with them as well. But for that collab, we are aging that on whiskey oak barrels for a year and will release next year on Juneteenth. The message in this beer is to show that it takes time for change.
BIPA: What styles of beers will you focus on?
Two Locals: We really want to focus on classic styles. When we first open we will have 5 Core beers: Stout, Brown Ale, Ipa, Pale Ale, and a Belgian Wit. We want to really experiment with stouts, lagers, and IPAs.
BIPA: Anything else our readers should know about Two Locals?
Two Locals: We just collaborated with Love City and Harris Family on Black Is Beautiful beer. Also, we may launch our IndieGogo again shortly, so we will make an announcement to let people know.
Other than that, we are Two Local guys who really have a passion for brewing beer. We really want to bring the beer to Philly, and add diversity to the craft beer scene in the city. Our goal is to create a space for the community, made by people from the community.
The brothers plan to operate on an 80/20 split between in house beers, and distribution/canning. They also intend to be active in their community through local events and festivals whenever possible.
We will share more details as they have updates to their space and anticipated start date of brewing. For more information on Two Locals Brewing, check out their website and also their Facebook and Instagram.
