As part of our IWCBD, we’re creating a beer in honour of Katherine Johnson, the extraordinary Black mathematician whose brilliance helped shape some of NASA’s most historic achievements. We’ve named this beer Hidden Figures, not only after the film that brought her story to wider attention, but as a reminder of how many women, especially Black women, have contributed to history without receiving the recognition they deserved.

Katherine Johnson worked at NASA during a time when both racism and sexism were deeply embedded in American society. As a Black woman in the 1950s and 60s, she faced barriers that were designed to keep people like her out of scientific and technical fields. Yet she pushed through every one of them.

Her calculations were integral to the success of the first American orbital flight, to the Apollo missions, and to the safe return of astronauts. When John Glenn insisted that Katherine personally verify the computer’s numbers before he would agree to launch, it was a moment that showed just how essential her expertise was.

But Katherine Johnson didn’t just break barriers in mathematics, she broke them in culture. She challenged the stereotype that women weren’t suited to technical work. She challenged the stereotype that Black women didn’t belong in scientific spaces. And she did it with excellence, courage, and quiet determination.

Her legacy reminds us that talent exists everywhere, but opportunity does not. And that industries only grow stronger when they make space for people who have historically been excluded.

By naming this beer Hidden Figures, we’re offering a small tribute to Katherine Johnson’s impact. We hope it serves as a reminder that the brewing industry, like NASA in her time, still has work to do in breaking down barriers, for women, for people of colour, and for anyone who has ever been told they don’t belong in the brewhouse.

Our hope is that this beer, and this day, help shine a light on the “hidden figures” in our own industry, the women whose contributions deserve to be seen and celebrated.