The hands-on brew day allowed women to learn the brewing process and create a special-release beer, set to be tapped in late April.
Every March, in honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, the Pink Boots Society sponsors a collaboration brew day. Pink Boots Society is a national organization for women in the fermented and alcoholic beverage industry. The organization advocates, educates and provides opportunities and scholarships for women in the beer industry.
Ally Perry is the Wyoming Chapter Leader of Pink Boots Society, and she is also employed with Roadhouse Brewing. Along with Rachel Hanson, a brewer at Snake River Brewing, Perry recently helped lead two all-women brewing days at Roadhouse and Snake River.
A crew of more than 10 women met at the Roadhouse Pub and Eatery, and immediately got to work pouring Cascadia malt into the mill to break it open and release flavors. Once the ground malt was transferred to the mash tun, Roadhouse Head Brewer Max Shafer gave an introduction to the brewing equipment and a quick overview of the whole process. We also heard from Drew Herron, the head of quality assurance at Roadhouse, about tasting profiles and the different sources that breweries draw from to get certain flavors in beer.
The group consisted of bartenders, brewers, and women who wanted to learn more about the process. Sam Sanders, an assistant brewer at Square State Brewing in Rock Springs, attended and brought with her some cans of the finished product from their collaboration brew day in February: a peach wheat beer perfect for patio sipping.
Perry has been in the craft brewing industry for four years. She attended the Roadhouse collaboration brew day in 2019 when she was an assistant brewer at Wind River Brewing in Pinedale.
My job [with the Pink Boots Society] is to encourage and inspire women in the fermented alcohol industry to join the Pink Boots Society so that they can have access to all of the resources and scholarships that Pink Boots offers. My own personal goal is to educate and let the community participate in all aspects of the brewing process.
Ally Perry
The special-release beers are a small and limited batch; Roadhouse made five barrels which is equivalent to about 155 gallons. The Roadhouse brew, a hopped lager, is set to be finished in mid to late April. Hansen led a crew at Snake River Brewing in creating a west coast dry-hopped pilsner, also set to be released at the end of April. A portion of the beer sales will go to Pink Boots Society to help them fund scholarships for women in the industry. Keep an eye on their social media for the official release date and get your growlers ready to fill.
