The Pink Boots Society: For Women in the Beer Industry

By Karen Iwicki

Being a woman in the craft beer industry, I have decided to do whatever possible to promote the female side of craft brewing and perhaps the not so well-known contributions that come with it. During the last several months, I have come upon numerous craft beer lovers of the female gender both in and out of the beer industry. Today, you can find women in all aspects of the craft beer culture, from women who are employed within the industry, to women who homebrew, to women who just want to enjoy a good microbrew.

A member of the American Homebrewers Association, I also recently joined The Pink Boots Society, founded in February, 2008, by Teri Fahrendorf “to inspire, encourage, and empower women to advance their careers in the beer industry through networking and education.”

Members come from all facets of the craft beer industry—from brewers to writers and everything in between.  Currently there are almost 600 members.
In addition to facts about women and beer, the web site for The Pink Boots Society carries employment listings in the beer industry. New listings are always acceptable as long as they relate to beer and the brewing industry. You may send your listings to anita@pinkbootssociety.org.

Beer and beer-related events can be listed on the Yahoo groups forum for The Pink Boots Society at http://www.financegroups.yahoo.com/groups/pinkbootssociety .

On January 23 of this year, the first U.S. chapter of Barley’s Angels was born.  Barley’s Angels is the consumer leg of the society, “committed to involving women in the enjoyment of craft beer by creating environments where women can learn more about beer in a friendly, educational and supportive atmosphere, thus creating more women beer enthusiasts, and, ultimately, involving more women in beer and brewery-related careers.” In short, Barley’s Angels helps women become knowledgeable about good craft beer, and is open to all female beer consumers.

Members must be of legal drinking age in the state in which they reside. Meetings must contain some sort of educational element. For instance, food pairings, beer styles, and cooking with beer are all good topics that can be explored through this club.

Florida, Nebraska, Oregon, Argentina, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom all boast chapters. Details on forming a local chapter can be found on their web site at http://barleysangels.org.