1st CT Black Female Brewer Collection Display Debuts at NHM

Join us at New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Avenue, in New Haven on Friday, July 30 at 10:30 AM. Alisa Bowens-Mercado, founder of Rhythm Brewing Co., the first Black, female-owned beer company in Connecticut, will be joined by family and friends for the debut display of items she recently donated to the Permanent Collection of the of the New Haven Museum (NHM).

Also the founder of Alisa’s House of Salsa in New Haven, Bowens-Mercado donated an assortment of artifacts documenting her two businesses. The display—which includes Rhythm Brewing Co. products, photographs, and promotional materials, and salsa-dancing shoes—will be on view in the Community Case in the NHM rotunda for the month of August. The NHM Community Case highlights individual stories that add to the story of New Haven.

Bowens-Mercado is the first professional craft-beer brewer in Connecticut. Her Rhythm Lager was inspired by her grandmothers, who motivated her to brew commercially and represent people historically overlooked in the brewing industry. The recipe is Bowens-Mercado’s own and includes hops from South Africa.