Trustworthy Brewing brews batch for International Women’s Day
- Share via
Gone are the days when beer was traditionally seen just for flannel-wearing, beard-toting men, and a local brewery is trying to ensure that stereotype is banished.
This past Thursday, Trustworthy Brewing Co. held an event at its brewery, located at 156 W. Verdugo Ave. in Burbank, as part of a collaboration with a nonprofit called the Pink Boots Society, whose mission is to help and encourage women in the beer industry by providing educational scholarships.
Members of Trustworthy invited women in or associated with the industry to assist in the brewing of a hazy pale ale using a hop blend — a mixture of Loral, Azacca, El Dorado and Idaho Gem hops — developed by Pink Boots Society and Yakima Chief Hops, a Washington-based hops supplier.
Trustworthy purchased the hops blend to create a beer to coincide with International Women’s Day on Friday. The local business joined other breweries across the country in the effort.
Among those helping in the brewing process was Stephanie Jensen, a portfolio manager for Wine Warehouse, a local alcohol distributor that distributes Trustworthy’s beer.
She said she’s glad to see that more and more women are opening their own breweries or working in the industry in some capacity, whether as a head brewer, manager of a taproom or a distributor.
Additionally, Jensen said an increasing number of women are drinking various types of beers, thanks in part to the booming craft-beer scene.
“I don’t like the idea that women only drink wine, hard ciders or certain kinds of beers,” she said. “I drink and try a little bit of everything. It’s just great to see that it’s more accessible to everybody.”
Joining Jensen were Britney Carr and Caitlin Bradfield, home brewers and founders of a beer blog on Instagram called Beers A’ Go-Go. Their goal is to educate women of color about the beer industry and to empower those who work in the field.
The duo recently moved from Atlanta, Ga., to Los Angeles and they said they have not regretted their decision. Not only were they surrounded by hundreds of breweries in Southern California, they found themselves among other women who were just as enthusiastic about beer.
“I was used to going to meetings with just 10 other women, but in L.A., there was a roomful of women,” Carr said about attending her first Pink Boots Society meeting in Los Angeles. “It was awesome. Everybody there loved beer.”
Bradfield said light needs to be shed on the diversity in the beer industry and how beer isn’t meant for just one segment of people.
“Beer doesn’t just look for one type of consumer,” she said.
Michelle Stansbury, the taproom manager at Trustworthy, said she’s loved seeing the beer industry diversify throughout the years and is happy knowing that organizations like the Pink Boots Society and Beers A’ Go-Go are helping that diversity move forward.
“I remember being the only woman at breweries years ago, and now that’s changed,” Stansbury said.
“Seeing more people getting involved and making a name for themselves, trying to get other people into [the beer industry] and showing that it’s not just a men’s industry is really great,” she added.
