There are more than 5.4 million people of South Asian heritage in the United State, yet as brewers, brewery owners, and beer drinkers go, South Asians make up a tiny fraction of the 22.2 billion dollar craft beer market.

This panel - which is moderated by Ruvani de Silva and includes Sarah Nadeem, Ajay Nagarajan, Bhavik Modi, Ravi Patel, and Aadam Soorma - will consider the cultural and historic barriers that have kept South Asians from drinking craft beer and the specific challenges that face South Asians trying to enter the beer world, both as drinkers and as industry professionals. The conversation will also cover exciting potential that people of South Asian heritage can bring to craft beer and ways that breweries can make their spaces more welcoming to South Asian staff and patrons. This will probably be the first ever beer event panel made up entirely of South Asians in the beer industry and will offer unique insights into the South Asian experience of brewing and drinking craft beer.

Ruvani de Silva (Moderator) (she/her) is a travel-loving beer writer with bylines including Good Beer Hunting, PorchDrinking, Beer Is For Everyone, Texas Highways and VinePair. She writes about beer in Central Texas and beyond, and is a vocal advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in beer. As a British South Asian woman living in Texas, Ruvani brings a unique voice to the world of craft beer. She is also the founder of #SouthAsianBeerClub. Find her on Twitter and Instagram as @amethyst_heels, and read her articles at CraftBeerAmethyst.com.

Bhavik Modi is the Co-founder of Azadi Brewing.

Sarah Nadeem is a Craft Beer and Horror Blogger and Partner in Misfit Outpost Brewing.

Ajay Nagarajan is the CEO at Windmills Brewery. From buying a “Mr. Beer” home brewing kit at a 7-Eleven store in Dallas more than 15 years ago to transitioning from a technology career to setting up Windmills in Bangalore, India and back again in North Texas with Windmills at Grandscape, Ajay’s career has been eventful to say the least. Managing brewpubs and restaurants across countries, Ajay’s career has been eventful to say the least. Managing brewpubs and restaurants across countries, Ajay tries to bring the best of both of both worlds together by cross pollinating ideas and cultures. windmills-usa.com and windmills-india.com.

Aadam Soorma is the head of marketing and guest experience at Trace Brewing in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He guides the brewery's day-to-day digital strategy, including content distribution and brand expression across all web and social channels. Before Trace, Aadam's weekly beer column at VeryLocal (dot) com won the 2020 Western Pennsylvania Press Club 'Golden Quill' Award for Excellence in Non-Daily Written Journalism. He received his MS in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and his BS in magazine journalism from Ohio University.

A first-generation Indian American, Ravi Patel is the founder and owner of Other Desi Beer Co., which he established in 2019. Other Desi proudly brews beers using South Asian flavors and themes. Every year, a portion of the profits are donated to a charity selected by Patel.