Each year, the Pink Boots Society hosts their national conference, gathering together members from different chapters across the globe, all representing various areas of the fermented/alcoholic beverage industry. The conference includes educational seminars and celebratory events and serves as an opportunity for women in the industry to build relationships and continue learning from each other.

Not only do we partner with the Pink Boots Society each year on our Pink Boots Blend, but many of our YCH staff are also members of the Pink Boots Society. A few of them attended the 2022 conference in February and we asked them to give us the inside scoop and share a few highlights from the event! Check out what they had to say about their experiences below.

**Side bar: the 5th Annual Pink Boots Blend has already sold out!!! For those still wanting to create a Pink Boots Blend brew, there are still previous crop year blends available via our online store at yakimachief.com!

Kelly Lohrmeyer

Field Marketing Manager – West

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE

Attending the Pink Boots Conference was an amazing experience. The Backdrop of Charlotte NC “Queen City” made it even more magical. As I descended upon the city, I was excited to catch up with old friends and make new ones. The Opening Night did not disappoint. Walking up to Camp North I felt magic in the air. The white string lights were glowing, and the energy in the air was magical. Shanleigh, Tessa, Ashleigh and I all stopped to snap a candid photo in front of a happy mural made by Gray Lew (AKA: GrxyLxw / @grxylxw on Instagram. Check her out!) We then proceeded into the VIP room to the biggest Charcuterie Board I have ever seen! This night was filled with catching up, checking out local art and dancing to live music. Setting the backdrop for what I knew would be an amazing conference!

FAVORITE SEMINAR

The Conference itself was chalk full of talks. No matter what topics you were looking for, whether it was Technical, HR, Marketing or DEI to name a few, you were able to find a track that suited your needs. I, along with a full house, attended Lifting Lucy: Lessons in Increasing Access for BIWOC as they shared their knowledge and experiences in Beer. I appreciated the stories each women chose to share. I appreciated the offerings of ways to be inclusive in a genuine way. I genuinely want to be better at seeing all sides of humanity and the way we move through our lives. My Biggest takeaway was learning how to ask questions to help lift others up. Please take a moment and check out Lifting Lucy. Together we can be better and the women behind this project are here to lend a helping hand. I applaud these women for starting this organization. I am excited for what is to come as we strive to make the world a more inclusive and equitable space.

FAVORITE BEER(S) YOU DRANK

To end, it wouldn’t be a beer conference without beer!! I was fortunate to be able to head to Charlotte a month early to brew some special beer for our Soluble Hop Compounds Session. Free Range Brewing and Resident Culture came through strong! Erica Woodcock and Carleigh brewed a lovely Hazy IPA featuring HBC 586 and Cryo Pop® Trial Blend 602 “You Can Have Hazy” or “YCH Hazy” for short. Erin Jordan and the crew at Resident Culture did a single hop beer featuring Cryo Pop® Original Blend in their “Forever Alone” series. Both beers showcased the tropical, peachy and bold aromas of Cryo Pop® Original Blend. Grab some while it lasts.

Cheers to all you Fearless Ladies, you are truly the inspiration behind why I continue to be a part of this industry.

Ashleigh Hayden

Field Marketing Manager – East

FAVORITE SEMINAR

My favorite session was “How to Organize a Successful PBS Collaboration Brew Day.” Board Members and Collaboration Brew Day Committee Members brought the fun with capes and money guns, all while walking us through the success that brew days have brought the Pink Boots Society.  This team has made a lot of great tools to help you market your collaboration brew day.  After you register for the brew day, you will get access to logos, social media templates, and ideas to enhance your brew day.  I am excited to help coordinate a brew day next year with everything I learned.

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE

Our team had the opportunity to present on Beer Soluble Hop Compounds as one of the sessions at the conference.  Two years ago, I listened to a webinar on this topic and left determined to join the YCH team.  The opportunity to stand in front of my peers and talk about this industry-changing topic was a full-circle moment for me.  A brewery taproom manager came up after the session and said that our presentation made her want to look at brewing and other back-of-house job opportunities.  This will stick with me.  There are so many beautiful parts of our industry, and women belong in all of them. This conference was filled with inspiring moments, and the overwhelming sentiment of belonging is what I left with. 

FAVORITE PERSON YOU MET

Kindsey Bernhard is a beer writer for PorchDrinking.com, podcast host of Boys are from Marzen, and a Taproom Manager of Hi-Wire Brewing in Louisville, Kentucky. I have been a listener of the podcast, so meeting her was a bit like meeting a celebrity for me.  If you haven't already listened to Boys are from Marzen, it is a podcast featuring interviews with women who work in the craft beer industry in all shapes and forms.  My favorite episodes have featured industry greats like Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham, Julia Herz, Jen Blair, Tamar Banner, and Lee Lord.  Women are out there improving the industry every day, and it is nice to have a place to go to hear those inspiring stories.

FAVORITE BEER YOU DRANK

I had so many great beers in Charlotte, but I particularly enjoyed Resident Culture’s Elastic Love, a West Coast Double IPA with Amarillo®, Simcoe®, and Citra® Cryo Hops® Brand pellets!

Shanleigh Thompson

Regional Sales Manager – Western Canada

FAVOURITE SEMINAR

I was lucky enough to attend Brittany Waiss from Kettlehouse Brewing which focused on how to build an HR program without HR infrastructure. I truly believe that having the tools in place for even the smallest breweries to be able to manage HR problems and deal with human resources is imperative to have a successful, supportive environment to work in for everyone. Brittany did a really amazing job of breaking down what HR was, and how it was utilized in a brewing capacity. The seminars that were really impactful to me really focused on DEI initiatives. I think they should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind at this moment, and how we should be building a more inclusive industry. I’m so glad that Pink boots supported these women and developed these seminars for us this year.

FAVOURITE EXPERIENCE

The entire conference was incredible, in that it was very laid-back and we were able to really get to know many of the attendees due to it’s very small size. I think one of my favourite events was the resident culture after party with the beers that were created by the female brewers at Resident Culture. I loved how they took the time to write the after party to recognize and highlight those female brewers for their work and accomplishments. I also just really enjoyed getting the time to spend with my teammates here at Yakima Chief Hops.

FAVOURITE BEER

Our single hop beer with Resident Culture and using exclusively Cryo Pop® as the whirlpool and dry hop was absolutely fantastic. I also want to mention the West Coast double IPA that was on chapter in Resident Culture happy hour called “Elastic Love”. It was out of this world!

FAVOURITE BEER

There were so many impactful women during this conference, it’s really hard to pick from just one. Laura Ulrich is an incredible woman and it was a delight to get to know her better throughout the conference. Lindsay from Draftlab has impacted my life since the early days of my brewing career, and has created a software that has absolutely revolutionized the brewing industry; having that one on one time with her was really wonderful. Our keynote speaker, Celeste Beatty from Harlem Brewing Company is also an incredibly impactful individual, and learning about her story through her keynote address, and then having the time to spend with her afterwards was really fantastic.

Overall I found this and incredibly rewarding experience. The discussions were interesting and very different than what I’ve experienced at previous your conferences. Looking forward to the next one!