Fair State will not be pouring at MBCC. We’ve decided to pull out of the festival due to Mikkeller’s handling of harassment and mistreatment of staff. We remain committed to equity in the brewing industry and realize we, like many others, have work to do. We are appreciative to those who have brought these concerns to the fore. We apologize for not acting fully in alignment with our values, and to our staff for allowing our decisions to undermine ongoing internal processes that seek to address our equity gaps.

Festivals and collaborations are an important part of the brewing industry, but they are one that people, including ourselves, tend to approach uncritically, with an eye towards gaining status or simply having a good time. We will be reconsidering how we say yes and when we should say no to collaboration and festival requests going forward. The old ways clearly only work for some of us, which isn’t good enough anymore.

Niko Tonks
Founding Brewer, New Product Development