By following her truth -- she calls it Brewing it Forward --  Celeste has tapped into her passion for creating beers that infuse flavor, passion, and pride. She has used her influence to help open doors for a new generation of brewers and indy beer distributors She launched Harlem Brewing Company in 2000, inspired by her love of the craft and the Harlem community. She became the first African American woman brewer to launch a commercially distributed beer, and later went on to sell her beers in Walmart, the largest food and beverage company in the world.

She introduced her Harlem “Sugar Hill” Golden Ale, a nod to its famous neighborhood namesake, in 2001 and has since launched several Neighborhood Original recipes including her award winning Harlem Renaissance Wit, Harlem 125th Street IPA, and a hard cider - Harlem Strawberry Hill. In 2018, she co-launched the Rocky Mount Brewery, a collaboration project between Harlem Brew South and Spaceway Brewing in Rocky Mount, NC. To help address the challenges she sees with beer deserts (areas that lack opportunities in craft brewing), Harlem Brew South is currently renovating a historic tobacco warehouse to house its first taproom and teaching brewery. Her beers have been widely distributed throughout NYC, along the east coast as well as Japan and the UK. Celeste and her beers have received many awards including Entrepreneur of the Year from the Harlem Business Alliance, Best Brew NYC, Best Amber Ale - Beer and Bacon Fest, Emerging Entrepreneur Award - Clinton Foundation and the Local Hero Award from the Association of Resident Theaters. 

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Celeste has garnered international media coverage with features on TripAdvisor, Reuters, The Root, NBC, Fox News, MSNBC, Forbes and People Mag. When she’s not testing out new home brew recipes, you might find her in a garden training up hops or sharing a tasty Harlem brew! Stay tuned for her first book, which will be released by Quarto publishing in 2022.