Cat Wiest, Yakima Chief Hops Copywriting Manager

Collaboration is central to brewing, it helps us explore ingredients, experiment with new processes, and expand our creativity. Connection is a key benefit of the Pink Boots Society, bringing members together to gather, learn, and build relationships with peers and mentors. Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day (CBD) highlights that spirit, bringing folks into the brewhouse to experience the craft from milling in through knocking out.

I’ve been a member of the Pink Boots Society since 2012, serving in various roles over the years. For better or worse, I am a natural “yes” person, which means I often take on volunteer work: serving my local community club, advocating for equitable rural food systems, or cataloging marine debris for NOAA. While I typically commit 2-4 years to each role, I keep returning to the Pink Boots Society. I led the San Francisco chapter, served on the Board of Directors, and now co-lead the PDX (Portland, Oregon) chapter. Pink Boots has profoundly shaped my career as a brewer – funding education, supporting me at a crossroads, networking opportunities, and friendships. So, I keep showing up.

Create Space

Each year, Sapporo-Stone Brewing hosts employee brew days, inviting women from roles throughout the company into the brewhouse. Small gatherings have grown into multi-day events with educational presentations and guest speakers. The goal remains the same – create meaningful experiences that celebrate women in brewing and the women of Sapporo-Stone. “In some years, we’ve prepped ingredients and helped with kegging, and other random brewery upkeep. More recently, we've focused on sensory analysis and exploring hops and hop blends, this is a highlight for attendees,” says Laura Ulrich, former President of the Pink Boots Society and Material Planner/Buyer for Sapporo-Stone Brewing. “Everyone loves experiencing the aromas and learning beyond the brewing process itself. The evolution of these events reflects both the industry growth and our commitment to creating meaningful, educational experiences for the women of Sapporo-Stone brewing.”

This year, Stone released two unique Pink Boots Collaboration brews: She’s the Brewer, a Double West Coast IPA in 16oz cans, and an exclusive draft release Tigresas del Sur, a pale ale with tamarind.

I was thrilled to contribute to the recipe design for She’s the Brewer - a crisp, clear, double IPA packed with hops. The Stone team invited me to San Diego, where I was able to get a pre-filtration taste. I am a diehard West Coast IPA fan (and critic), and She’s the Brewer delivers! It has enough body to support the higher ABV, and aside from some Magnum for bittering (swoon), it rolls deep with Pink Boots Blend. I could not be prouder of this high and dry West Coast expression of Pink Boots Blend, showcasing everything from big berry to pine resin to overripe guava. Slam dunk.

Photo courtesy of Sapporo-Stone Brewing

Photo courtesy of Sapporo-Stone Brewing

For the brew day, we came together in the small batch brewery at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station to create Tigresas del Sur, a pale ale with tamarind. The grist features Fonio, an ancient African grain, which is gently folded in during mashing. Fonio has a sand-like texture and a nutty flavor reminiscent of hemp seeds. Fritzi Lara Lino, Innovation Brewer at Sapporo Stone’s Escondido facility, wanted to play off the Mexican-inspired flavors to pair with their International Women’s Day Beer Dinner. “The idea for tamarind came out while discussing our favorite Mexican Agua Fresca with Liberty Station brewer Anali Saiz,” she says. They have a shared love for the fruit and its jammy flavor. The recipe uses tamarind in two forms – pulp for the mash, and freshly peeled pods in the kettle to create a sweet, slightly tart pale ale with date-like notes which was paired with venison and duck meatballs at the dinner.

The name Tigresas del Sur is a nod to the strong women of the Southern California brewery coming together to create this special beer. “Having the opportunity to connect with others, exchange knowledge, and share stories is very powerful. It creates visibility and a sense of community,” says Fritzi, who led the brew day with over 20 guest women in the brewhouse. She notes that “Creating safe spaces through collaboration brew days has made me a better person and a better brewer,” which is a feeling I can strongly relate to.

After mashing in, we get our hops prepped and head over to the adjacent conference room for sensory education and enrichment. Leni Dinklage, Sensory Scientist at Sapporo-Stone Escondido, goes through the off-flavors often associated with beer through a spiked tasting experiment. Leni’s presentation is fantastic and thorough, but concise enough to be an approachable introduction. For some of the women, this is the first time evaluating spiked samples. Leni states clearly that “Sensory is the last line of defense to ensure our product is true to target,” encouraging involvement on her regular panels.

After Leni completed the tasting, I set up two tables of hop cores, hop products, and sensory standards, then took the stage to talk about this year’s Pink Boots Blend and the women who grew its hops. We then engaged in hop sensory, making a mess of the cores, getting green sticky hands, and enjoying the hands-on opportunity. Heather Jackson of Jackson Hop joined me - her farm’s lot of Krush™ was selected for the blend. Heather’s presence really humanized the conversations around hop farming, giving insight and sharing anecdotes into an otherwise intangible experience.

Jackson Hop is known for its Idaho-7® Brand, so we had that variety available to evaluate in every format: whole leaf, T-90 pellets, Cryo Hops®, DynaBoost™, and HyperBoost™! Experiencing the same variety across leaf, pellet, and extract through sight, smell, and touch underscores the value of innovation and deepens understanding of the brewing process.

Sapporo-Stone’s Office Coordinator, Casey Harris, was on-site to facilitate Pink Boots membership for anyone interested in joining via Sapporo-Stone’s Women’s Impact Network (WIN). The mission of WIN is to ensure a workplace where identifying women thrive, developing resources and opportunities to further success, and celebrating accomplishments. Casey says six new members took advantage of the offer. “Working towards a shared objective by crafting this amazing beer, ideated by women, from hop farm to glass fosters unity and belonging. This beer is so much more than the sum of its parts,” she says of the brew day and the support offered by Sapporo-Stone and WIN. “This was my first collaboration, but I see many more in my future.”

Engage the Community

Sapporo-Stone is a large operation with a deep bench and access to resources that may not be familiar to smaller breweries. So how can you create a meaningful impact in your community on more of a grassroots scale? The Seattle Chapter of the Pink Boots Society has had incredible success over the years in pulling its community together and creating exceptional events and educational opportunities by collaborating across multiple businesses.

“Breweries have been very receptive to working with the chapter and opening their doors to facilitate multiple collaborations,” says Ali Himmel-Smith, Sales Manager at Four Generals Brewing Company and Seattle Pink Boots Chapter leader. The chapter actively coordinates multiple collaboration brews to boost accessibility for its membership, showcasing diverse businesses and accommodating members' varying schedules. “To meet on this personal level shows us that it isn’t just a big national thing that’s unreachable. It’s about giving individuals a spotlight.”

As progress highlighting diversity and working towards equity is in a constant state of change, it’s difficult to foresee how future initiatives that focus on creating opportunities for women, trans, and non-binary people will unfold. “When we see others do, we see that we can. One of our greatest successes is highlighting the intersectionality of our industries. That’s education,” says Venus Forteza, co-owner of Maize & Barley and former Seattle Pink Boots chapter leader. Venus acknowledges that the beer (and beverage) industry as a whole has suffered financially in recent years, and most businesses are doing whatever they can to stay the course of this long arc to recovery. “So how do we show more representation? Whether it’s women, BIPOC, or LGBTQ+ communities. That their tastes, the things they want, this industry, how do we show that we are them?”

Take Action

Are you a business owner looking to create space for a more diverse array of ideas, experiences, and palates? Take a moment to consider the voices highlighted above. Inviting employees from outside of production into the brewhouse, creating educational space, or curating tap takeovers featuring underrepresented brewery owners is a great way to uplift others. Create the community you want to see.

While Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day is traditionally tied to International Women’s Day (March 8th) it is important to note that the Pink Boots Society aims to support women, trans women, and non-binary individuals in the alcoholic and fermented beverage industries through education and showing support through a brew day can happen any time throughout the year!

Other dates or occasions that you may find meaningful:

  • March: Women’s History Month
  • March 8th International Women’s Day
  • March 31st: Transgender Day of Visibility
  • April: Diversity Month
  • May 17th International Day Against Homophobia
  • June: Pride month
  • July 14th International Non-Binary Peoples Day
  • August: Intersectionality Awareness Month
  • August 26th Women’s Equality Day
  • September 18th International Equal Pay Day
  • October 15th International Pronouns Day
  • November 20th Transgender Remembrance Day
  • November 25th International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women