The Pink Boots Society is excited to announce Wendy Gayl as the recipient of the Cicerone Beer Savvy scholarship!

While Wendy is fairly new to brewing, she has jumped into the brewing industry with both feet! She has spent more than a decade exploring and experimenting with food to fulfill her desire to make it a healing, enjoyable, and inclusive experience for all. That’s why when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she and her fiancé, Felipe Bravo, decided to combine their passions and talents into a new endeavor. They created the Fox Tale Fermentation Project, an explorative brewing project making beers ranging from fruited sours to vegetable ales and IPAs with a culinary twist. They aim to create an environment in which culture can grow—literally and figuratively. Check out the second episode of Altbrau Podcast featuring Fox Tale Fermentation to learn more about their adventures!

Wendy has also recently taken on two new roles within Pink Boots Society. She has taken on the role of Chapter Finance Liaison with the San Francisco Chapter as well as the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® Liaison!

Fox Tale Fermentation Project (Facebook) (Instagram)

Cicerone Beer Savvy is a comprehensive self-paced online beer training course that can be started whenever and wherever. This scholarship is perfect for any brewery owner, beer bar manager, bartender, server, beer writer, beer educator, beer distributor, brewery sales representative, or beer chef.

Petainer and the Pink Boots Society are excited to announce the recipients of the Petainer-sponsored Cicerone Level 1: Certified Beer Server Scholarships! This was the very first scholarship that was offered in Spanish, focusing on offering opportunities for members who live and work in Central and South America. Congratulations to Melanie McCullough and Zadkiela Rios!

Melanie is the Finance and Sales Manager Cerveceria Feroz in Panama, as well as partner with her husband and their friend/brewer. She has been focused primarily on the financial and administrative side of things as financial skills were her biggest asset to this new endeavor. However, she believes this is the right time to strengthen her abilities and obtain additional knowledge and handling of the product. She recently reached an important milestone by obtaining her Beer Judge Certification and feels that Cicerone Level 1: Certified Beer Server will be a great addition to strengthening her career and growth of the brewery. Melanie also worked with other local women to produce Neon Goddess as part of Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day!

Zadkiela is a Product Design Manager for Equipos Cerveceros Busa Inox in Chile. She is also a homebrewer and organizes craft beer and chocolate tastings. Zadkiela is as eager to teach as she is to learn! She has organized and presented for various brewing associations such as Sociedad de Cerveceros Casero Chilebruers, the Community of Mujeres Cerveceras de Chile as well as at seminars like the Seminario de Fermentados del Sur. She believes that pursuing opportunities to further her education will continue to not only educate herself more, but will allow her to gain more knowledge that she can share with other women in the beer community. She is very passionate about sharing knowledge and educating others – particularly with the ladies of the Community of Mujeres Cerveceras de Chile, of which she is a member.

The Certified Beer Server exam is a 60-question multiple choice exam, administered online. A grade of 75% is required to pass. Candidates must also pass a short quiz about the Cicerone program. Each payment allows two attempts to achieve a passing score. This is a closed book exam, candidates are not allowed to refer to any notes, reference materials or accept assistance or advice from anyone else while taking the exam. These two scholarships will be given with priority to applicants who live and work in South America and Central America.

Petainer has eight manufacturing sites around the world and strives to produce and supply products as efficiently and sustainably as possible. They are a responsible manufacturing business striving to meet the needs of their customers all around the world whilst reducing the carbon footprint associated with both their supply chain and that of their customers. Petainer’s ambition is to create a circular economy for PET resin, make sure all products are reusable or recyclable and transform waste into a valuable resource.

En Español

Petainer y Pink Boots Society se complacen en anunciar a las beneficiarias de las becas Cicerone Nivel 1: Becas certificadas para servidores de cerveza patrocinadas por Petainer! Esta es la primera beca ofrecida en español, enfocándose en ofrecer oportunidades para miembros que viven y trabajan en Centro y Sudamérica. ¡Felicitaciones a Melanie McCullough y Zadkiela Rios!

Melanie es socia y Gerente de Finanzas y Ventas de Cerveceria Feroz (Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá) junto a su esposo y su compañero/cervecero. Se ha centrado principalmente en la parte financiera y administrativa del negocio, ya que las habilidades financieras han sido su mayor activo para este nuevo esfuerzo. A medida que el negocio ha crecido, ella cree que es el momento adecuado para fortalecer sus habilidades fuera del área administrativa. Melanie alcanzó recientemente un hito importante al obtener su Certificación de Juez de Cerveza y siente que el Nivel 1 de Cicerone: Servidor de Cerveza Certificado será un gran plus para fortalecer su carrera y el crecimiento de la cervecería. Melanie también trabajó con otras mujeres locales para producir Neon Goddess como parte de Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day.

Zadkiela es Gerente de Diseño de Producto de Equipos Cerveceros Busa Inox en Chile. También es cervecera casera y organiza catas de chocolate y cerveza artesanal en el Club Cacao Magno. ¡Zadkiela está ansiosa tanto por enseñar como por aprender! Ha organizado varias presentaciones para diversas asociaciones cerveceras como la Sociedad de Cerveceros Casero Chilebruers, la Comunidad de Mujeres Cerveceras de Chile, así como en el Seminario de Fermentados del Sur. Ella cree que buscar oportunidades para avanzar en su educación contribuirá no solo para educarse más a sí misma, sino que le permitirá obtener más conocimientos que puede compartir con otras mujeres en la comunidad cervecera. Le apasiona compartir conocimientos y enseñar a los demás, especialmente a las damas de la Comunidad de Mujeres Cerveceras de Chile, de la que es miembro actualmente.

El examen Certified Beer Server es un examen de opción múltiple de 60 preguntas que se administra en línea. Se requiere una calificación del 75% para aprobar. Los candidatos también deben aprobar un breve cuestionario sobre el programa Cicerone. Cada pago permite dos intentos para lograr un puntaje de aprobación. Este es un examen a libro cerrado, los candidatos no pueden hacer referencia a notas, materiales de referencia o aceptar ayuda o consejo de otra persona mientras realizan el examen. Estas dos becas se otorgarán con prioridad a las solicitantes que vivan y trabajen en América del Sur y América Central.

Petainer tiene ocho plantas de fabricación en todo el mundo y se esfuerza por producir y suministrar productos de la forma más eficiente y sostenible posible. Son una empresa de fabricación responsable que se esfuerza por satisfacer las necesidades de sus clientes en todo el mundo al tiempo que reduce la huella de carbono asociada tanto con su cadena de suministro como con la de sus clientes. La ambición de Petainer es crear una economía circular para el uso de resina de PET, asegurarse de que todos los productos sean reutilizables o reciclables y transformar los desechos en un recurso valioso.

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce the very first Petainer-sponsored Cicerone Level 2 Scholarship recipient, Stephanie Alaniz of Oasis Texas Brewing Company in Austin, Texas.

Stephanie is already a Cicerone Level 1: Certified Beer Server and is thrilled to move to the next level with Cicerone Level 2: Certified Cicerone. She gained an immediate appreciation for beer with the Level 1 course and is looking forward to expanding her beer knowledge as well as educating others. Stephanie is currently a Beertender and hopes to someday become a Tap Room Manager at a Craft Beer establishment.

While Stephanie enjoys pouring beer, she is even more passionate about the culture and history of beer. Particularly, she is very interested in how beer compliments food, the many ways beer can be incorporated into food, and ultimately to how put a whole new outlook into both. She dreams of creating and hosting events where she pairs Pink Boots beers with complimentary food as well as having meaningful discussions with other women who share the same interests. Plus, she sees this as a great opportunity to help further the Pink Boots Mission and support the community. She believes with Cicerone Level 2: Certified Cicerone course, she will obtain the knowledge to organize, create and plan these events, making her dreams come true!

Certified Cicerone is the second level of certification. Those who achieve this certification have a solid and well-rounded knowledge of beer and beer service as well as basic competence in assessing beer quality and identity by taste. The four-hour exam includes written, tasting, and demonstration portions. It is given more than 100 times each year at sites across the US and Canada and also at other international sites.

The Pink Boots Society and D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. are excited to introduce the 2020 recipients of the Yuengling Women in Brewing Scholarships! Both scholarship recipients will receive up to $12,500 to further their education through one of these four programs: the University of the Sciences Brewing Science Certificate, the Cincinnati State A.A.S. in Brewing Science (with optional Sales & Marketing certificate), the Siebel Institute Concise Course in Brewing Technology, and eCornell University’s Women in Leadership Certificate. Each of these programs work to build on technical and leadership skills, as well as brewing education.

Lauren Stone, of Left Hand Brewing Company in Colorado, has been in the brewing industry for four years. She began as an intern on a ten-barrel system developing comprehensive knowledge of the brewhouse and cellar. After her internship, she moved to a thirty-barrel brewhouse with a three-barrel pilot system. During Lauren’s two-and-a-half year period at this brewhouse, she worked her way from assistant brewer to head brewer. While she was in this role, a number of her recipes took home state awards! When Lauren moved to Left Hand Brewing Company, she was one of the quickest team members to make it through the company’s brewer certification program. 

As someone who has been in a leadership role already, Lauren is looking forward to the Women in Leadership certificate to build on the skills she has already begun to develop, and she’s looking forward to exploring alternative ways to approach problems she has faced in the past. Lauren spoke about her passion for the Pink Boots Society and this course saying, “I think it’s extremely important to have women in leadership positions as role models to encourage other women to be a part of the beer world. I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and experiences with others, especially if it means it will have a positive impact on other women.” Lauren’s passion and goals for women and the brewing industry as a whole, are just a small portion of why she was selected for this fantastic opportunity.  

The other recipient of the Yuengling Women in Brewing Scholarship is Caroline Wallace of the Texas Brewers Guild. Caroline has been with the guild for the past five years, making moves working up front and behind the scenes. She wears many hats, as the deputy director of a statewide organization, including social media, working conferences and festivals; all the way to legislation outreach. Caroline has worked on implementing an annual statewide beer festival, and changing state beer law for the good of the breweries! She has had the honor of representing craft beer at a state and federal level. But before she began the fight for breweries everywhere, Caroline was the co-author on two history-based beer books and an avid byline for a women-run beer blog.

Caroline is also planning to take the Women in Leadership course through eCornell University. As a previous chapter leader, Caroline knows the value of the Pink Boots “pay-it-forward” requirement and is excited to be a part of sharing the knowledge with other women in the brewing industry. Caroline discussed this in her application by saying, “I believe this scholarship, in particular, comes with an invaluable opportunity and heightened responsibility to assist, inspire, and educate fellow members.” Caroline’s due diligence when looking into this course was just a fraction of why she was considered for this scholarship.  

In addition to taking courses that make up the Women in Leadership certificate, each of the ladies will each receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots when they fulfill the “Pay It Forward” requirement associated with their scholarships.

The Pink Boots Society is excited to announce Andrea Sheehey and Maria Del Puig Vencente as the latest National recipients of the Crafting a Strategy Scholarship. In addition, the Philadelphia chapter also offered this scholarship to a member and awarded it to Alyssa Shoemaker.     

Andrea Sheehey of Mighty Squirrel Brewing Company was recommended for the Crafting a Strategy Scholarship due to her ability to absorb information and make it useful to herself and others. As a certified beer server and beertender around Massachusetts, Andrea has developed a skill of being able to read people and share her beer knowledge. She was a fitting choice for this scholarship as someone who enjoys learning and sharing information. Andrea looks forward to using her access into Crafting a Strategy to be able to take her career to a new level. In addition to the education she will have access to, the forums included will allow her to build an array of connections.

Maria Del Puig Vencente is the owner of Cerveses Lluna in Alcoli, Spain. Maria fell for craft beerduring her chemical engineering studies. While she was interning she cycled through the departments in an industrialized brewery. Crafting a strategy would help Maria be able to access information which would not only help in her pursuit to open a tap room portion of her brewery. But, has the potential to help with the non-profit legalization work she is doing in Spain. Maria is an active member in the craft brewers association. She also sits on the Pink Boots Spain Chapter’s board as the  financial secretary and manager.

Alyssa Shoemaker studied at the American Brewers Guild and is already a woman in a leadership position as Pharmacy Manager. Her goal is to open her own brewery in York, PA. Crafting a Strategy will help Alyssa reach her goals because it is easily accessible and has a wealth of information. As a novice in the industry, and in a geographic location that is not particularly conducive to frequent industry networking events, and other shared resources accessing and utilizing the content from Crafting a Strategy will be a vital stepping stone for Alyssa as she works towards opening her own microbrewery.

This opportunity will propel Alyssa to be a more successful business owner and better brewer, so down the line when she is running a successful business with an amazing product, encouraging her team to exceed their goals, she will also advocate for her community and also inspire and assist other women in the industry. 

Crafting a Strategy is a global online learning platform. There are over 150 digital content pieces including podcasts, webinars and case studies geared toward the business needs of brewing entrepreneurs. These scholarship recipients will have access to the content for a year of learning. As with all Pink Boots Sociarships, these ladies will do a pay it forward, sharing the information from the course.

The Pink Boots Society is excited to announce Rebecca Carpenter of Turtle Swamp Brewing as the latest recipient of the Road to Cicerone® Course Scholarship.  Rebecca was selected by the Pink Boots scholarship committee, composed of women in different parts of the industry. Rebecca has already passed the Cicerone level 1: certified Beer Server, This showed the committee her drive and ability to self motivate, which are important traits when working with online courses. 

Rebecca has been with Turtle swamp for about a year and a half, in this time she was promoted from beertender to tap room manager. With the promotion Rebecca went from being the person given the descriptions; to being the person who helps write them with the brewers. She had the self awareness to be able to reflect on herself that this was an area of her position she strives to be better at, and this course will do just that. 

In Rebecca’s position she helps portray the vision of the brewers to the beer lovers who enter the taproom. This means she often works with the brewers on tastings, collecting knowledge about their releases for the taproom staff and patrons alike.  This year she even worked with them on a pink boots collaboration day brew! 

The Road to Cicerone® course  is a collection of beer styles and processes, which will help the reader prepare for the Certified Cicerone® exam. The course is a mixture of books and quizzes. The course books will teach and lend insight into reasons and processes. For example, the brewing process of the course book will help Rebecca to better understand the brewing process and how the brewers came to their decisions. The keeping and serving beer course will help with the front of house, ensuring nothing is being improperly handled between the brewery and the taproom.

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce Sarah Scullion of Beyond the Pale Brewing Company as the first scholarship recipient of two thousand and twenty, the Oregon State University Beer Quality and Analysis series.  

Sarah was chosen as the recipient of this scholarship, due to her role as quality analysis and quality control. In this role Sarah has learned many things at the job site which has given her the background to be able to take this opportunity of a more formal learning style and build upon what she already knows. Sarah took her background in Microbiology and created and laid the framework for the brewery lab. This course will not only ensure Beyond the Pale is running the best quality and analysis it can. But based on how active a member Sarah is, she will also provide information back to her chapter and help other women with better quality and analysis.  

Sarah has been a member of the brewing industry since two thousand and eighteen and strives to keep learning, whether it is in the lab or general brewing skills. She has submerged herself in all aspects; from brewing to marketing. Prior to joining the brewing industry Sarah was a homebrewer and looks forward to the Oregon State University Beer Quality and Analysis series  teaching her more about both quality analysis and brewing as a whole. 

The Oregon State University Professional and Continuing Education Beer Quality and Analysis series series in a hybrid course of six-week online tutorials concluding with one week on-site at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. This scholarship is designed for brewery owners and managers, Quality Control/Quality Assurance personnel, and anyone that requires technical training to complete their tasks in the brewhouse, cellar or packaging hall. 

In addition to attending the course, Sarah will receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots when the Pay It Forward requirement associated with the scholarship is fulfilled.

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce Kyrié Benson of John Haas inc. from Selah, Washington as the Cicerone® Beer Savvy National scholarship Recipient. As well as Caitlin Hill from Hop Culture Farms and Brewing Co. in Colchester, CT as the Connecticut chapter scholarship recipient.

Kyrié is a production coordinator at John I Haas. This means she is one of the amazing people making sure the breweries get their hops, one of the four essential brewing ingredients. Whether it is putting together packing lists, answering phone calls, greeting people or setting up safety protocols, she will get it done.  Before Kyrié moved to the behind the scenes she worked at the beer shoppe in Yakima helping to connect people with great beer. Yakima Valley is a huge location for hops and often has travels coming into the area.   

Kyrié has been all over the world for beer festivals, from multiple locations across America, to parts of New Zealand, Australia and Ireland. She hosts The Hoppy Wanderer podcast about her journeys and can be found on Spotify and Castbox. 

Caitlin Hill of Hop Culture Farms and Brewing Co in Colchester, CT was chosen by the Connecticut selection committee for this scholarship because she shows a true interest in learning more about the best practices for pouring and serving beer as a front of house employee. In addition, she has a strong desire to increase her knowledge of beer styles not only to better herself, but to share her knowledge with the customers that visit the brewery every week. 

Prior to working at Hop Culture, Caitlin worked for Narragansett Brewing as a promotional rep in the state of CT, pouring at various beer festivals and hosting tastings at bars and package stores across the state. Before working in the industry, Caitlin volunteered for the CT chapter of Girls Pint Out as chapter leader, planning and executing monthly events to educate women who loved beer just as much as she did!

Caitlin currently works as a beertender at Hop Culture Farms and Brewing Co in Colchester, CT where she works behind the bar, serving patrons and educating guests not only on the beer, but also on hop farming and the different varieties that are grown on the land. In addition to working at Hop Culture, Caitlin also serves at the current Brew Day Liaison for the CT Pink Boots Chapter.

The Cicerone BeerSavvy® Course is a comprehensive self-paced online beer training course designed to enhance knowledge of brewing techniques, beer styles, understanding flavors and off-flavors, food pairings and the language to clearly discuss beer. The course is beneficial for many people who work in the beer industry including those who are educating others about beer.

In addition to attending the course, each of the ladies will each receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots when they fulfill the Pay It Forward requirement associated with the scholarship.

The Pink Boots Society is pleased to announce the recipient of the December 2019 Crafting a Strategy scholarship recipient; Danella Soeka of On Tap Branding based out of Denver, Colorado. 

Danella established On Tap Branding in 2014, which works with business owners, primarily breweries to establish and grow a marketing plan. This can be a large array of items from analyzing market landscape and competition to building strategic plans, graphic design and website development. Even taproom internals such as establishing apparel and retail fulfillment.  

Danella is a perfect fit for the Crafting A Strategy Scholarship based on her drive and ability to help others. This scholarship will give her another set of tools to work with what she already has to be able to help her clients with.

Danella is a fairly new member of the Denver, CO chapter of The Pink Boots Society, however she has already jumped right in taking the spirit to heart by volunteering for the GABF merchandise table as well as, working to connect with more members and finding ways to keep members of the Denver Chapter engaged.  

Crafting A Strategy (CAS) is a global online learning platform that will be available to the scholarship recipients for one year. Used in universities and breweries all over the world, CAS has over 150 digital content pieces specific to the business needs of brewing entrepreneurs. These include podcasts, webinars, case studies, white papers, instructional videos, blogs, and a professional forum. Scholarship recipients will also receive a weekly CAS newsletter with industry analysis, advice, and links to new content and forums.

In addition to attending the course, each of the ladies will each receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots when they fulfill the Pay It Forward requirement associated with the scholarship.

The Pink Boots Society of North Carolina is proud to announce that Amber Rosado of Bond Brothers Brewing in Cary, North Carolina is the recipient of the UNC Charlotte Craft Beer Business Essentials scholarship.

Amber is currently pursuing her Bachelors’ degree in Business Management from Appalachian State University, and is excited to learn how to apply her business education to the beer industry.  She began working with Bond Brothers two years ago as an event staff member. She quickly moved into bartending, and ultimately Assistant Event Coordinator, and her presence is having a positive effect. Her boss, Laura Eischen says, “She has excelled in her job duties and has positively impacted multiple areas of the brewery I had not anticipated. She came on board having already completed her Cicerone Beer Server Certification. Amber takes her beer knowledge very seriously and I am impressed with her desire to advance her knowledge within the industry as well as maintain awareness of current trends.”

Amber earned her Cicerone Beer Server Certification when she was only nineteen years old, “I was intrigued by the science and talent it takes to create all these different styles. I passed the test by just the books due to not being of legal age to properly taste and understand every style.”

The Craft Beer Business Essentials Certificate is designed as an accelerated curriculum to provide homebrewers, entrepreneurs, and business professionals with the foundational business knowledge, tools, resources, skills, and networking opportunities to be successful from the initial stages of creating their business plan all the way through to making a profit and increasing distribution.