Alisa Bowens-Mercado

Alisa Bowens-Mercado is the founder and owner of the first Black-woman owned brewery in Connecticut - Rhythm Brewing Co. As of June 2022, Bownes-Mercado's brewery is also the only Black-woman-owned brewery in Connecticut.

Bowens-Mercado founded Rhythm Brewing Co. in 2018. Rhythm Brewing Co.'s supporters are colloquially known as "The Rhythm Nation." She also partnered with Samuel Adams on a sparkling lager called "Up Tempo" in February 2021. Along with 43 other women-owned businesses, Bowens-Mercado received grant money from the Women's Business Development Council's Equity Match Grant Program in April 2021.

In 2022, Bowens-Mercado and her brewery was named as one of the five finalists for the annual Samuel Adams Brewer Experienceship, which is a national mentorship program for brewing entrepreneurs that started in 2012.