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Welcome to Burum Collective; a virtual space for people working in the beer, wine and cider industries. An online community blog and forum for networking, learning and supporting each other!
Burum Collective is something I have been thinking about building for the past 2 years, but 2020 has really highlighted the importance of businesses and individuals in the food and drink industry maintaining an online presence. Whether that’s through social media, newsletters, virtual tasting sessions or interviews.
I started to consider the possibility of there being a platform where events or projects could be advertised for free and where the work of individuals could reach a wider audience. A space that could provide the opportunity to meet new people within your own and similar fields. Somewhere safe and judgement free where you can learn or ask questions that you maybe don’t feel comfortable asking in real life.
I started working in beer as a bartender in 2018, the job was supposed to just be part time while I retrained from my previous career. Very quickly I completely fell in love with both beer and the people I would meet: other bartenders, brewers, professional tasters or craft beer fanatics. Beer is the first industry I have worked in where I have felt comfortable and like I have the space to grow. This is an experience I want to replicate with Burum Collective.
However, as with all industries, discrimination is rife and our community spirit does not exempt us from sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and classism, to name but a few.
It is not always obvious, and it is not always loud, sometimes it is from customers and sometimes it can be from co-workers. If we view our industries at face value; they look pretty white and male-centric. The only way that we can get people to change their minds about who the drinks industry is for, is to give people within minority groups a platform. If you are never being represented then how do you know if the industry you are interested in is going to be a safe and welcoming environment for you to have a career in? Being a queer person within the drinks industry, it doesn’t serve me well to just hope that the change will happen; I want to help make that change happen. Not just for me, but for everyone.
“Prejudice can be unintentional and unfortunately intentional. However, it's up to us to challenge it and shift the narrative in order to reclaim the hospitality industry as a welcoming place for all people.”
Cha McCoy, Cherry Bombe Drinks
Generalisation is also a problem we face and this is something I imagine we have all been guilty of. When you first start out you begin meeting other people in your industry, some of who have some pretty staunch and powerful opinions. These are the people who like to talk loudly about the fact that they think that rosé is for people who know nothing about wine, that cask beer is the only and purest form of beer. They say that supermarket alcohol is garbage, that beer could never be as complex as wine or that cider is just overly sweet and fruity nonsense.
Latching onto the opinions of the people you meet when you first start out is an easy trap to fall into. We’ve all been there. You are trying to develop your palate and be able to hold conversations with customers or colleagues; so to repeat what you have heard from someone else is easy and far less scary than giving your actual opinion.
About a year and a half ago, in an attempt to be funny, I announced to my peers that if I were single and were to go on a date with a brewer and they told me that they mainly brewed pale ales then I would immediately ask for the bill. I said this because at the time I thought pale ales were dull, lifeless and, to be honest, kind of pointless. Since then my palate has developed and I have drunk countless pale ales that I have adored. If we were to look at our palate simply like completing levels of a video game, then I just hadn’t gotten to that level yet. My understanding of the amount of work that goes into brewing has changed drastically and my statement did a huge disservice to brewers. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologise to all brewers for being so obtuse.
If you don’t let go of the fences you have built up around yourself you could rob yourself of the opportunity to discover ciders that could easily be mistaken for champagne, pinot noirs that taste like a spoonful of the best cherry jam you have ever had in your life, or a really solid, perfectly balanced and refreshing pale ale.
I want Burum Collective to be a relaxed and positive space, free of judgement over what we choose to drink. Incomes and the financial stability of our industries, which were already tough, have decreased drastically this year. Whilst furloughed I have discovered the joy to be had from a bargain bottle of rosè with a large splash of lemonade and some ice (plus mint if you’re feeling fresh, thank you Rosie Rosé). I also rediscovered Aldi’s £1.25 grapefruit IPA that is absolutely class. I would recommend it to anyone who is not able to drop a lot of money on beer right now.
I want to balance this, with an understanding of the implications of buying cheaper products, by using this platform to start the bigger conversations that need to be had. Inequality is rife and it is vital we champion better labour practices, quality of products and fairness in sales, whilst also challenging the social and economic barriers in place that make this inaccessible to so many. There is a privilege that comes with being able to buy ethically. I want to create the space that allows us to, constructively, start looking at how to make our own industries fairer and easier to access.
I created Burum Collective because I want to see what we can achieve together. I am not saying I have the answers to these issues but I believe that if we start a wider communication then we can start to tackle them, all while learning with and from each other. If any of this resonates with you and you want to help build this community, all while basking in the rays of good vibes with a beautiful pét nat in one hand and a tinny of Aldi grapefruit IPA in the other, then consider signing up or following us on social media.
I am really looking forward to meeting you all,
