Hoppy Days

Eval ’99 and LaTisha (Stewart) ’99 Silvera launched their brewery, Brockton Beer Company, three years ago with a diverse group of friends, and on any given day, their brewpub might be playing R&B, ’80s pop or Cape Verdean music. “Our founding team is Jamaican, Irish, Trinidadian, Mexican, Filipino,” says LaTisha, who grew up in the city of Brockton, which is almost 51% nonwhite — a majority-minority city. “We want anyone when they enter our taproom to breathe, relax and feel included, regardless of their professional and cultural backgrounds.” 

The couple met at Bentley, where they both majored in Computer Information Systems (CIS), and they dated and got married after graduation. LaTisha bought Eval a home-brewing kit shortly after the birth of their second child in 2008. The idea to create a brewery came over board game nights with other parents, during which they’d take turns sharing new craft beers. At the time, the city was undergoing a revitalization and welcoming new businesses, and the friends jumped at the chance to participate with a new brewery. “It was all about creating a community that just didn’t exist in that space,” Eval says. 

LaTisha and Eval were both working in tech jobs, but when they dipped their toes into the craft brewing industry, they put their full Bentley experience — in marketing, finance and systems thinking — to use, reaching out to others in the industry for help. “CIS taught me the ability to look at any problem and understand it to make an informed decision,” LaTisha says, “or to seek out more information to ask more questions.” The craft brewing industry embraced them from the beginning, they said; those who were established in the field were excited to help get a more diverse operation off the ground in an industry that is overwhelmingly white. Among those offering assistance was Trillium Brewing owner Esther (Rothstein) Tetreault ’99, MBA ’03, who shared startup stories and lessons learned and helped them procure brewing equipment. 

The beers that Brockton Beer offers are as diverse as their founders, including Yasuke, a Black Kölsch made with dark malts that won a silver medal at the Denver International Beer Competition last year; and Soul Maker, an Imperial IPA with South African hops made in collaboration with Widowmaker Brewing for Black History Month. Furthering the sense of community, the brewery has spearheaded the Culture on Tap festival, bringing visiting breweries from all over Massachusetts together with diverse assortments of local restaurants and musicians. “For those from outside who might not know Brockton, we want to show you what it’s all about,” Eval says. “And that we’re proud of it.”