Black-owned beer brand Soul Mega, founded by Elliot Johnson, has been one of the industry’s fastest-growing brews since its 2019 release.
In June, the brand won the 15th Annual Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream® Brewing & Business Experienceship. This national honor pairs one emerging craft brewer with mentorship from the team behind Samuel Adams, including Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch.
For Johnson, a former NASA employee, the win marks a significant step in turning a passion project into a sustainable business.
From Home Brewing To Entrepreneurship
Soul Mega began in 2011, when Johnson and his friend and fellow Howard University alumnus Jahi Wartts started brewing beer at home. As craft beer enthusiasts, they saw an industry with limited product diversity and ownership, with Black-owned businesses accounting for less than 2% of the craft beer industry.
Grassroots tastings and community gatherings helped build the brand in its hometown of Washington, D.C., before Soul Mega began commercial sales in 2019. Since then, the company has expanded across the Mid-Atlantic, securing retail placements at Whole Foods Market and Total Wine.
Johnson entered the competition with Metropolis IPA, Soul Mega’s favored brew. Its citrus and stone-fruit notes made it a strong contender, while the brand’s community-driven identity set it apart.
Turning Recognition Into Growth
The Experienceship offers coaching in procurement, supply chain management, finance and marketing, guiding emerging brewers on the business operations they need to grow beyond a local following.
Brewing the American Dream is among the organizations working to expand small business owners’ access to mentorship, business coaching and capital. According to the program, 80% of the businesses it supports identify as BIPOC. Over the past three years, 40% of applicants have also identified as BIPOC.
The award includes opportunities to work directly with the Samuel Adams team. Johnson will visit the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, collaborate with its brewing team on a special-release beer and attend the Great American Beer Festival in Denver with the team. The collaborative brew is expected to reach consumers in early 2027.
For Johnson, the win is about more than growing Soul Mega. It’s an opportunity to strengthen the business, expand its reach and help open doors for other Black brewers in an industry where they remain underrepresented.
The Black Wall Street Times spoke with Johnson about what the Experienceship means for Soul Mega’s next chapter and how greater support for Black-owned breweries can help reshape the craft beer industry.
The Black Wall Street Times: Soul Mega started as a homebrewing passion project. What moment made you decide this needed to be more than a hobby?
Elliot Johnson: The shift happened when people outside of our immediate circle started responding to the beer and, more importantly, to what the brand represented. We began homebrewing in 2011, but by 2017 we were hosting pop-ups and seeing people connect with Soul Mega as more than a product. They connected with the energy, the creativity and the idea that craft beer could feel more inclusive and culturally relevant.
That’s when I realized we weren’t simply making beer for ourselves. We saw an opportunity to build a company that could introduce new people to the category and create a brand that reflected communities the craft beer industry had often overlooked. I also come from a family of entrepreneurs, and I’ve always wanted to build my own business. I figured, why not start with something I was genuinely passionate about?
How did you feel when Soul Mega was announced as the winner of the Experienceship?
EJ: Honestly, it was a mix of disbelief, excitement and gratitude. We had spent years building Soul Mega while balancing careers, limited resources and all of the uncertainty that comes with entrepreneurship. In that moment, it felt like those years of work were being recognized.
I also felt tremendous motivation. Winning was a celebration, but it also validated that Soul Mega could become something much bigger. It immediately made me think about how we could use the opportunity to strengthen the company and put our version of culture front and center.
What was the hardest part of growing Soul Mega from a small local brand to now having placements in major retailers like Whole Foods and Total Wine across the Mid-Atlantic?
EJ: The hardest part has been building the infrastructure required to support the opportunities we have earned. Getting a placement is exciting, but keeping the product in stock, supporting the retailer, working effectively with the distributor and generating enough consumer demand to create repeat sales is the real work.
For the first four years, we self-distributed our beer. That gave us a strong understanding of account management because we developed direct relationships with the restaurants, bars and retailers carrying Soul Mega. As we have grown through the traditional distribution system, I’ve learned that distributor management must also become a core part of our strategy. Scaling is not simply about opening more accounts. It is about building sustainable demand and ensuring every part of the business can support growth.
How has being D.C.-based shaped Soul Mega’s identity, and why was it important to you to build the brand there specifically?
EJ: Washington, D.C. is central to Soul Mega’s identity. It has a deep Black cultural history, global influence, incredible creativity and a strong sense of community. D.C. is sophisticated, but it is also unapologetically itself, and I think Soul Mega reflects that same energy.
Building the brand here was important for several reasons. D.C. has always felt like a second home to me because of my family ties, my experience at Howard University and the relationships I maintained in the city after graduating. I also spent more than 16 years building my career in aerospace.
We wanted to create something that felt authentic to the city and to our lived experiences. D.C. has shaped how we think about our events, partnerships, design and even the way we communicate. At the same time, D.C. is a city where people come from all over the world. That makes it a natural place to build a brand with strong local roots and a much larger vision.
Why did you choose to present your Metropolis IPA at the Crafting Dreams Beer Bash? What do you think that brew represents for Soul Mega?
EJ: Metropolis IPA felt like the best representation of where Soul Mega is today. It is approachable enough for someone who may not usually drink IPAs, but it still has the character and complexity that an experienced craft beer drinker can appreciate. It has bright citrus, stone fruit and tropical hop notes, with a balanced finish.
The name Metropolis also speaks to the brand. Soul Mega was built in Washington, D.C., but we have always imagined it as a beer for modern cities and culturally connected communities everywhere. It represents our belief that great beer can be bold without being exclusive. It can be flavorful, creative and premium while still inviting more people into the experience.
Winning a prestigious national competition like this matters not just for Soul Mega, but for Black brewers across the industry. In this specific moment, how does it feel to have that win—and that representation—acknowledged and celebrated on this stage?
EJ: It feels incredibly meaningful. Representation matters, particularly in an industry where Black founders and brewers remain underrepresented. To have Soul Mega acknowledged on a national stage sends a message that our ideas, businesses and perspectives belong at the center of the industry’s future.
At the same time, I never want the conversation to stop at representation alone. Visibility is important, but Black-owned brands also need access to capital, distribution, mentorship, and long-term strategic partnerships. Those resources turn a moment of recognition into a sustainable business. I am proud that people can see themselves in this win, and I hope it encourages more Black entrepreneurs to enter the industry and build brands on their own terms.
Soul Mega sits at the intersection of beer, culture and creativity. What does that look like for the brand’s future, and for larger partnerships or collaborations?
EJ: For us, beer is the entry point, but the larger vision is to create experiences and partnerships that bring people together through culture. That could involve music, food, active lifestyles, visual art, fashion, travel or storytelling.
The best partnerships for Soul Mega are not simply logo placements. We are interested in collaborations where both brands create something meaningful together and introduce their communities to a new experience. As we grow, I see Soul Mega collaborating with hospitality groups, cultural institutions, artists, chefs, musicians and other consumer brands that share our values. The goal is to build a beer company that can participate naturally in culture without losing focus on product quality.
Beyond the beer, you’ve built experiences around music, art and community. Which of those events or moments best captures what Soul Mega is trying to do culturally?
EJ: MEGAFEST probably captures the vision most completely. We created it as a celebration of beer, music, food, art and community. It gives people who may not consider themselves traditional craft beer consumers a welcoming, culturally familiar way to engage with the category.
What makes the event meaningful is the diversity of people it brings together. Some attendees come because they love craft beer, while others come for the music, the networking or the overall experience. They all leave with a deeper understanding of Soul Mega and the community around the brand. That is what we are trying to do culturally: create environments where people can discover something new, connect and feel like the experience was designed with them in mind.
Beyond this win, what unique challenges or opportunities have you encountered as a Black-owned brand in an industry still working toward more representation?
EJ: I cannot speak for every Black-owned brand, but I can speak from my experience building a craft beer startup. One of the most interesting challenges was entering the industry and learning it from the ground up. The beer industry has not traditionally catered to minority audiences, so we also needed to educate communities about craft beer and how it differed from what they were accustomed to drinking.
That is actually part of how Soul Mega began. Our first event was essentially a day party built around a guided tasting and educational experience featuring several of the homebrews we had created. People may also view Black consumers as a niche audience, even though Black culture influences music, fashion, food, entertainment and consumer trends globally. That perception can limit how retailers, investors and potential partners evaluate the opportunity.
The opportunity is a large, diverse group of consumers looking for brands that feel culturally relevant and authentic. Soul Mega can introduce new consumers to craft beer while still making products that appeal to the broader market. We don’t see those goals as conflicting.
What are you most hoping to learn from Jim Koch and the Samuel Adams team during your time at the Boston Brewery?
EJ: I am most interested in learning how they built the systems behind the brand. Samuel Adams has grown nationally while maintaining a strong identity and reputation for quality, which is incredibly difficult. I want to understand how they approach production planning, distributor relationships, sales strategy, brand building and innovation at scale. I am also interested in how they evaluate opportunities and decide where to focus their resources.
As a founder, it’s easy to spend all your time solving the problem right in front of you. I am looking forward to learning from people who have already navigated many of the stages Soul Mega is preparing to enter.
Can you give any hints about the direction you’re considering for the specialty beer collaboration with Samuel Adams?
EJ: We are still early in the process, so I do not want to get ahead of the collaboration. What I can say is that I would love to create something that merges Soul Mega’s identity with the Boston Beer Company’s rich history and technical capabilities. We want to create something flavorful and distinctive, but still approachable enough to bring different types of beer drinkers together. The storytelling will be just as important as the recipe.
Ideally, the final beer will feel like a genuine exchange between the two brands rather than one brand simply placing its name next to the other.
For the beer enthusiast starting their homebrewing journey and hoping to be in your shoes one day, what advice can you give them?
EJ: Start by learning how to make the beers you already enjoy drinking, but do not assume that making great beer is the same thing as building a beer business. They require very different skills. Drink craft beer. Learn about the different styles, visit your local beer bars and breweries, and ask questions. Developing your palate and understanding why you enjoy certain beers are key to becoming a better brewer.
Build relationships before you need them, and pay close attention to the people who consistently support your work. I would also tell them not to wait until everything feels perfect. Soul Mega started with curiosity, experimentation and a willingness to keep learning. The journey will change, but having a clear sense of why you are building the brand will help guide you through the difficult parts.
