The Pink Boots Society is excited to announce and introduce the seven ladies that have been selected by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC) to receive a travel scholarship for the Beer, Brats and Beyond Cultural Exchange to Germany October 13-22, 2017.

Hailing from the United States, Canada, Peru and Australia, these seven women run the gamut from new to the industry to those having worked their way up and have opened their own breweries. Megan Garrity, Lauren Lerch, Annabel Meagher, Katie Smith, Bridgette Turner, Kate Streblenko and Tracy Vornbrock will be joining other Pink Boots members for this nine-day insider’s tour of the Bavarian brewing industry that aims to foster relationships between North American and Bavarian breweries with sessions, tastings and tours with women brewers.

Megan Garrity, the first of the three international members on the trip, is the owner/brewer of Greenga Brewing in Lima, Peru. There she handles not only recipe development, brewing and packaging but also does sales, distribution and social media for the brewery. Her location limits her resources, including access to Noble hop varieties like she’ll get to experience on the tour. She says, “Being able to not only visit the farm but also learn more about the traditions and characteristics will help me broaden the styles of beer I’m brewing.” Always looking to improve her knowledge and skills, she’s eager expand her network and to learn from the brewers she’ll meet on the tour, including seeing how the the open fermentation process that Sigi Friedmann utilizes in real life instead of just reading about it.

A brewer’s assistant at Red Rock Brewing in Utah, Lauren Lerch began as a beer store attendant in what she describes as a “casual job” and has worked her way up. During that time she says “I have become the first female Certified Cicerone® in Utah, a Certified Judge though the Beer Judge Certification Program and have judged at the North American Beer Awards.” In addition to brewing duties, she uses her certifications to educate the serving staff, creates beer descriptions for their menus, writes for Red Rock’s bi-weekly blog and assembles beer pairings. Currently enrolled at the University of Utah and pursuing a bachelor’s degree she would like to study brewing abroad and she says, “going on this immersion tour would prove invaluable when making a major life decision like studying abroad.”

Annabel Meagher, an international member hailing from Australia, is the co-owner and brewer of Himmel Hund in Melbourne. The brewery specializes in making German-style beers and the name is a partial homage to the high school exchange trip she took to Bavaria where she had her first taste of wheat beer, falling quite in love with it. About this trip she says, “I will no doubt learn so much about the Reinheitsgebot method of brewing and the best way to use my favourite ingredient (wheat). I have attempted to grow German style hops on a farm outside of Melbourne without great success so far and visiting the hop farms in Germany would no doubt give me some wonderful ideas on how to grow my own back home.”

Starting her craft brewing career with Twin Leaf Brewery as an assistant brewer/bartender, North Carolina-based Katie Smith has moved up into the role of brewer with Highland Brewing Company. She says, “Ever since starting my career, the brewery has always captivated me,” however, “With the fluctuating hours of my full time position at Highland Brewing it has been very difficult for me to be enrolled in a degree-seeking program where I could continue to grow and learn. This short immersion tour would be the perfect opportunity for me to learn so much in a brief period of time.” An active member of the Asheville, NC Pink Boots chapter she is looking forward to sharing her experience with other members once she returns.

The sole member of the group who works on the lab side of brewing operations at Jack’s Abby, Kate Streblenko has brought her degree in biochemistry and past experience as a lab tech for UMass Medical School to the world of craft beer. As the Quality Manager at this German-style, lager only brewery, she says “it’s my responsibility to ensure that these beers aren’t just tasty, but that they are true to style and feature many of the same characteristics as a true German lager.” In brewing some of their traditional styles they use decoction, a process that is not common among Massachusetts breweries. For Kate, “this makes troubleshooting issues and comparing notes with other brewers difficult” so during this trip she is looking forward to gaining an “understanding the traditional methods that helped shape these styles that can really help me have a better understanding of our own brewing techniques and results.”

A craft beer bar in Virginia was where Bridgette Turner started down her craft brewing path. Six years and hundreds of beers later she knew she wanted to become a more knowledgeable bartender. She says, “After some soul searching, I made the decision to attend brew school at Brewlab Ltd in Sunderland, England.” The 12-week course taught her traditional brewing processes and lab skills, gave her the opportunity to write and brew her own recipes and volunteer at eight British breweries. Bridgette returned to a cellar person position she had arranged in advance, eventually moving on and up to a brewer position, before taking her current position as the lead brewer with Solace Brewing Company. She’s thrilled with her new role but says, “Yet again, I always find myself thirsting for more. More knowledge, more beer, and more travel. The scholarship opportunity in Germany provides all those things.”

The third international member, Canadian Tracy Vornbrock entered into the brewing industry just a year ago. She embarked on a Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program and is currently at Tool Shed Brewery full time as a summer student where she has been trained in brewing, cellaring, packaging and quality control. She says, “Besides having a passion for beer, what drew me to a career as a brewer was to be part of an industry that continually challenges the conventions of what has been done in the past. The Alberta beer industry is experiencing a massive boom in part due to the relaxation of production limits and an end to archaic liquor laws.” Once finished with school she hopes to open a 3bbl nano-brewery, applying her brewing experience as well as her experience on this trip to “be a loud voice and lead the Alberta beer scene in a new direction, one where beer and brewing come first, not one of flashy advertisements and sexist marketing.”

In addition to attending the tour, each scholarship recipient will receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots upon fulfilling the Pay It Forward requirement associated with the scholarship.

The nine-day, Beer, Bratwurst and Beyond tour will make stops at small and independent breweries located in towns such as Munich, Franken, Spalt and Niederbayern. It will highlight many women owned and/or operated breweries (Sister Doris, Meinel sisters), communal brewing traditions, new school craft producers and a few abbey breweries. The tasting sessions, tours and cultural events aim to deepen and enhance the participants’ knowledge of brewing traditions and technologies as well as dispel old stereotypes. In addition to the breweries, stops will be made at German hop farms in the heart of Hallertau where participants learn about the traditions of Noble hops.

Barth-Haas Yakima Hops Academy Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Jacqueline (Jackie) Beard of Bale Breaker Brewing is the recipient of the 2017 Barth-Haas Yakima Hop Academy scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Jackie to receive this scholarship because they feel it would increase her hop knowledge, an area that in an overall impressive collection of knowledge she lacks due to being a recent transplant from the wine world. With her strong science background they feel she “is capable of soaking up every word from the class and really doing some great things with it.”

Jackie’s science background is strong indeed – a B.S. in Environmental Science and a Certificate in Winery Technology as well as positions with Cascade Analytical as a chemist and at Chateau Ste Michelle, Canoe Ridge Winery as a laboratory supervisor. She made the move to beer in October 2016 as the sensory and microbiology lead at Bale Breaker. It’s a multi-faceted role in which she coordinates beer tastings, trains the employee panel, analyzes the impact of numerous brewing process changes, completes routine microbiology and chemistry analysis, analyzes data trends and is in charge of developing a wastewater treatment plan to reduce the brewery’s water impact.

Jackie describes the curriculum of the Barth-Haas Hops Academy as “having me pretty much drooling over the “Hopsessed” hop-specific sensory training, the chemistry knowledge imparted in the “Hops” and “Hops in the Brewing Process” curricula, and the sustainability section.” She’s also looking forward to learning more about the science and business of hops to maximize their use in Bale Breaker’s beers and to apply to sensory trainings for the staff.

Barth-Haas Yakima Hops Academy is a two-day onsite course in Yakima, WA consisting of presentations by hop and brewing experts and top researchers and growers that will cover topics including new trends in hop breeding, hop chemistry, hop quality and brewing techniques as well as new hop varieties, products, usage and analytical and sensory evaluation techniques to gauge hop and beer quality. The course also includes tours of the Haas hop farm and production facility, where attendees will experience the hop fields and witness all components of hop production from whole hops to CO2 extract, as well as a guided tour of Haas Innovations Research Brewery.

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

YCH HOPS Hop and Brew School ® Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Stacey O’Connor of Fish Brewing in Washington is the recipient of the 2017 YCH HOPS Hop and Brew School ® scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Stacey to receive this scholarship because they feel that although she is a “relative newcomer” she is quite determined and motivated. Additionally, “the course will provide her a foundational understanding of hops that will lend well to her brewing success.”

Stacey’s start to brewing, buying a kit online and brewing what she describes as “one very awful batch of beer on my stovetop” could have stopped her in her tracks. Instead she says that, “even though the beer was terrible I loved the process and I knew I could do better.” To improve she bought books to educate herself, joined a homebrew club and began brewing as often as she could. That determination to learn, improve and grow not only improved her homebrew but ultimately landed her a job in the professional brewing arena.

Fish Brewing head brewer Pat Pearson became acquainted with Stacey at Olympia’s local homebrew club where she impressed him with her knowledge and drive. In April 2016 he offered her a position as a cellar person for their 120bbl system where she took on the heavy lifting involved in the cleaning, kegging, bottling, wet and dry-hopping beers and harvesting yeast strains of many first positions. By the end of the year she had displayed her abilities as a quick learner and proven herself, earning a promotion to assistant brewer. She is now in charge of shift brewing on 120bbl brew days and on her own on the 45bbl system and according to Pat, “is an indispensable part of our team.”

YCH HOPS Hop and Brew School ® is a two-day onsite course in Yakima, WA that will cover topics including new trends in hop breeding, hop chemistry and brewing techniques. Guest speakers include award-winning brewers from across the United States speaking on hop usage, recipe formulation and brewing methods. Local hop farmers will also be in attendance to address the numerous growing aspects of hops from yields and aroma characteristics to new, up and coming proprietary varieties. The course also includes a ranch tour, where attendees will experience the hop fields and witness hop picking, drying and baling, as well as a guided tour of YCH headquarters, where they will observe the receiving and warehousing of the hops.

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

Siebel Concise Course in Brewing Technology Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Erica De Anda of Freewheel Brewing Company is the recipient of the Siebel World Brewing Academy Concise Course in Brewing Technology scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Erica to receive this scholarship because her application shows “she has a real drive to give back and teach others. Her ability to organize and run a brew day indicates that she is really dedicated to taking her career to the next level and this course will definitely advance her career.”

Three years ago Erica took a risk to work at a brand new brew pub. At the time she says, “I knew nothing about beer except that I did not like it, it was bitter, and left my mouth dry.” The turning point was one day when she had a sip of Petrus Aged Pale  and thought “What is this golden, slightly tart, slightly oaky, liquid they are calling beer?” She felt compelled to learn how it was made and says, “I started to show up to the brewery early in the morning, I swept floors and did grain outs in exchange for brewing education, and then worked my serving shifts where I constantly picked our beer buyer’s brain.” Since then she has moved her way up, working for Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Armstrong Brewing and now holds an assistant brewer position with Freewheel where they focus on brewing traditional English ales. Even with all of those accomplishments she is getting by on a brewer’s salary and describes being awarded the scholarship for this extensive course as “life changing.”

The Concise Course in Brewing Technology is an intensive, online three-month course that utilizes a mix of textual instructions, streaming video presentations narrated by some of the best instructors in brewing, and synchronous chat sessions between students and faculty. Students will gain the knowledge and confidence to work effectively in the world of commercial brewing in this course that covers topics ranging from business of beer, alcohol and health, CIP programs and Quality Assurance/Quality Control.

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

10th Anniversary Conference Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Danielle Byers of The Rare Barrel in CA is the recipient of the 10th Anniversary Conference scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Danielle to receive this scholarship as she “has shown major involvement in a start-up brewery and is focused on creating and fostering community, which is one of the greatest purposes of the upcoming meeting.”

Danielle is the Sales and Marketing Coordinator for The Rare Barrel and is looking forward to attending the conference, saying that it will allow her to “acquire more information and get a variety of perspectives about approaching distribution, as we begin to increase our direct to retail sales throughout California and potentially distribute outside of California in the next year.” She also anticipates the knowledge gained by attending public relations and marketing/social media workshops will assist her in the management of all of the media for the brewery.

The 10th Anniversary Conference is a one-day event taking place in San Diego that will have multiple prominent industry speakers presenting seminars and participating on panels with topics ranging from sensory to social media to sustainability. The conference will kick off with a keynote from Megan Parisi, Head Brewer at Samuel Adams, and be followed the next day by the first ever Pink Boots Beer Festival. The festival will feature a large and diverse selection of the best beers in the industry, many brewed by Pink Boots Society members with the proceeds benefiting the scholarship program.

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

Business of Craft Beer Education Camp Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Sarah Swafford of 21st Amendment Brewery in CA is the recipient of the 2017 Business of Craft Beer Education Camp – Connoisseur Camp scholarship, a partnership with San Diego State University College of Extended Studies and Karl Strauss Brewing Co.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Sarah to receive this scholarship because she is “working hard to gather an impressive education to set herself above the game and committed to lead projects to empower women within the brewing industry as an active member of PBS.”

Sarah works for 21st Amendment Brewery as an Area Sales Manager covering San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa and is studying to take the Certified Ciceroneⓒ exam later this year. Last summer she took Intensive Brewing Science for Practical Brewing through UC Davis Extension, paying for the course out of pocket, saying “it was worth every penny.” She feels the Craft Beer Connoisseur Camp is the perfect opportunity to further her career path, one which includes passing all levels of the Ciceroneⓒ exam, overseeing the development of an Education Department at 21st Amendment and moving into a bigger role with the Pink Boots Bay Area Chapter.

The week long on-site intensive Business of Craft Beer Education Camp – Connoisseur Camp is designed for brewery owners, brewery managers, bar/pub managers, sales representatives and those studying for Ciceroneⓒ or BJCP exams. The program will dive deep into the history of beer and beer styles with over 55 hours of intensive instruction including tastings, sensory panels and field trips to local iconic San Diego breweries. Participants will also learn about draft systems, tour program management and learn about off-flavor during hands-on sensory panels. After the intensive study, attendees will also have a day to explore all that beautiful San Diego has to offer.

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

UC Davis Intensive Brewing Science Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Cat Wiest of Seabright Brewery is the recipient of the University of California, Davis Extension Intensive Brewing Science for Practical Brewing scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Cat to receive this scholarship because although she has no formal training she is a “hands-on brewer, hard worker and a quick learner” that they feel will embrace the UC Davis course and use the knowledge to take her brewing to a new level.

Cat began her professional brewing career in 2012 in what she describes as a “happy accident.” She says, “My career started in a large production brewery. No one cared if I had an education or not – we were desperately understaffed, and I was able to work hard enough for two people (I was hired for my background in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry).” After a year and a half at Pyramid Brewing she moved on to Speakeasy Ales and Lagers where she spent two years before joining Seabright Brewing last spring. From cellar operations to third shift brewhouse operator and now to head brewer, Cat has steadily worked her way up the brewing ranks.

Cat has many goals and is making “pretty good beers and customers review them favorably. I want to make great beers. I want to make consistently great beers. I want to create award winning beers.” While education isn’t the only way to get there, that’s what is next in her sights. “Brewing is science and I want to be dragged through the beer science coals. I want to go through the Davis program.”

University of California, Davis Extension Intensive Brewing Science for Practical Brewing course is a five day on-site course that offers an intensive introduction to the sciences of brewing, engineering and brewing practice. Attendees will learn the technological and biochemical aspects of the entire brewing process from world renowned instructors Drs. Charles Bamforth and Michael Lewis. Topics of the interactive lecture sessions cover all aspects of brewing from raw materials to fermentation to quality control and sensory evaluation.

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

Oregon State University Beer Quality & Analysis Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Audrey Ragle of Carton Brewing Company in New Jersey is the recipient of the Oregon State University Beer Quality & Analysis course scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Audrey to receive this scholarship as they feel she “is motivated to further her career through education” and “has a lot of ambition, dedication and commitment.”

Audrey’s path to brewing began while pursuing her geology/environmental degree where she was introduced to home brewing by some of the graduate students in her department. The brewing bug quickly took hold, leading to her purchasing her own home brewing kit after graduation and shortly thereafter upgrading her equipment to do all-grain brewing. That experience helped her to land her first job in the industry, with Carton Brewing as a part-time tour guide and bartender. From the beginning they intended that she would be in charge of the brewery’s future QC/QA program because of her science background. A year later she was promoted to Tasting Room Manager, a full-time position, followed by a transition to the production floor in early 2016 and then on to the position of Brewing Scientist in the spring of 2016.

In her current role Audrey says, “I now juggle the responsibilities of being a full-time production team member and single-handedly being in charge of the quality program.” Her motivation to grow “involves a lot of reading, learning, networking, and, when the opportunity arises, attending a course or workshop.” She has been on Oregon State’s mailing list for some time and has longingly looked at courses so when this scholarship came up she was eager to apply knowing that the education would benefit both her and her brewery’s lab.

OSU’s Beer Quality and Analysis Series teaches the fundamentals of basic beer analysis and microbiological techniques and their roles in the brewing process based on the official ASBC Methods of Analysis used in QA/QC labs worldwide, providing attendees the knowledge and tools to analyze and evaluate beer to influence quality control in a production brewing setting.

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

Cicerone BeerSavvy® Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Kate Irving, owner/brewer/operations manager of Hopkinsville Brewing Company, is the recipient of the Cicerone BeerSavvy® scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Kate to receive this scholarship because they feel that “as she is already in the thick of running a nano-brewery, she is in great need of this knowledge.”

Kate’s 2.5-bbl nano-brewery in Hopkinsville’s Downtown Renaissance District is a small operation and as such she wears many hats: managing the day-to-day operations of the brewery, planning the production schedule, handling quality control, managing administration, training and payroll as well as devising and implementing the company’s branding and marketing campaigns. Her main career goal is to expand to a 7- to 10-bbl system in the next five years and in order to do so, taproom sales will need to increase.

She knows that making sure she and her eight-member staff are knowledgeable about beers will be integral to that. Kate says, “I’ve found that many of our customers want to talk about beer – and although I’m extremely knowledgeable about our own eight beers, I don’t know as much as I should about beer in general. I believe taking this course and passing the exam will improve our overall level of service, and since the majority of our servers are female, I’ll be in a position to encourage and help them achieve their own certifications.”

The Cicerone BeerSavvy® Course is 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, Kate will receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots when she fulfills the Pay It Forward requirement associated with the scholarship.

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Laura Boada, brewer at Zambo Creek in Quito, Ecuador is the recipient of the Fremont Brewing Company Five-Week Apprenticeship in Brewing & Beer Production scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they are excited to award Laura with this scholarship that they feel will be “an opportunity of a lifetime” for her and will help to enrich the beer culture and community in South America.

Laura currently works for Zambo Creek, the only microbrewery in Quito where the beer is made by women. She has been there for two years and says, “I do almost everything from the purchase of raw materials, equipment design, brewing, refinement and bottled of the final product. Also I am in charge of sales at fairs and festivals and I am supplier in bars in the city.” The raw materials that are used by most craft brewers in Ecuador are imported and that’s something that Laura is seeking to change by connecting with local farmers. Laura is not only looking forward to learning more about the brewing process during the apprenticeship but also experiencing Fremont’s model, one that has high environmental and social responsibility. She says she “would like to know and implement it in my brewery in Ecuador.”

The Fremont Brewing Company Five-Week Apprenticeship in Brewing & Beer Production will focus on all areas of the brewing industry including: cellar work, the brew house, beer production, lab work, yeast work, QA/QC, sensory analysis, packaging and an overview of sales and marketing. It will culminate on International Women’s Day, March 4, 2017, when the Laura will lead the Big Boots Brew (BBB), an international Pink Boots Society fundraising event, at Fremont Brewing.

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