Friday, March 1, 2013

A lady who loves beer: Erin Lundmark

While most of her free time is spent drinking in her basement (and with six taps, who can blame her), this lady spends the rest of her waking hours working with her husband Mike on their soon to open startup, Jekyll Brewing in Alpharetta. In addition to being a brewery owner, a Steeler's fan, and a mother of three (is it three kids, or three bulldogs?) this lady loves her beer and her dance moves, and is ready for more of both. Clearly we need to hang out. 

This is Erin Lundmark, and she loves beer. 

Before Ms. Lundmark was a beer drinker…
In college, I worked in a bar that specialized in what were the beginnings of the craft beer industry. Zooky's Sports Tavern in Fallston, PA. I actually met Michael there. He worked there also and the owner, who planned on opening a brewery at the time, took him along to the craft beer convention in Chicago in ‘94. Years later, my husband and I became home brewers and now brewery owners. 

When she’s not drinking beer, she enjoys…
Talking about drinking beer. No, just kidding. I love my kids, my three bulldogs and of course my partner in crime Michael. Right now, that’s what keeps me busy. I wish I had time for more.

Her current drinking obsession and/or favorite beer(s) of the moment are…
Stouts and Porters are my favorites, but right now I’m loving Bell’s Smitten Rye Ale and I also scored a six-pack of Hopslam that I’m nursing.

Her favorite place to drink is…
I do most of my drinking in my basement. We bought our house because the basement is fully finished to look like an old world pub. We love it!! Six beers always on tap!!

Her favorite person to drink with is…
I’ll drink with anyone that wants to join me, but be forewarned, I have a sudden need to shake my booty while drinking. 

What do you most like/loathe about the culture of beer?
I like the camaraderie of the beer culture. I haven't personally experienced any camaraderie on the commercial side, but the homebrew community has been fabulous with their support of our start up. And I like seeing the larger craft breweries work together on beers. I loathe when people don’t want to take the time to educate themselves on different beers. For example, when people that say won't try a Dunkel because, "they don't like dark beer" when it actually is a very refreshing drinkable beer.

How do you see women represented locally, nationally, globally?
I think in the state of Georgia, women are making a name for themselves in the beer culture. We have a large number or women home brewers and at least one brewery that is majority women owned. Southbound near Savannah I believe has two women that are part owners*... at least that's what I understood from my initial reading into them. (*Carly Wiggins is listed as both the cofounder and Marketing Director for Southbound Brewing.)

You said there's a lot of women brewers in the state. I've only personally met a few. Have you met or had interactions with Georgia women brewers through competitions or home brew clubs? 
I've met a few, but I guess I've based this info on what I've learned from Josh, our brewmaster, who works at Brew Depot. I've asked him before if he has a lot of women buying supplies and he said that there were a fair number. It looks like GALS is a decent sized group.

What you’d like to see less/more of?
I’d like more beer please.

Can you tell us about women friendly spaces of note in your area (or wherever you travel regularly)?
In Suwanee we have one growler shop, Best of Brews (and technically it's in Duluth) that’s owned by a couple and the wife is in there all the time hanging out and talking beer. But like I said, I don’t get out to drink much.

Is there anything else you’d like to add that we didn’t already talk about?
Come visit Jekyll Brewing in Alpharetta. Opening soon! (shameless plug) 

To connect with Erin, follow her on Twitter @erin_lundmark or make plans to move into her basement. I vote for the latter.
Are you a lady who loves beer? Do you know someone who is?

Hey, Brewtiful is looking for women home brewers (and their accomplices), female beer aficionados and connoisseurs, ladies working in the beer biz who know their stuff, broads who love their local beer haunts and the brew they serve, and ladies who bake, cook, or otherwise experiment with beer to share their stuff in a guest post or short feature on hey, brewtiful.

Why? Because I'm a lady, and although I can see a female presence in growing numbers all around me, it feels like women are under represented in mainstream beer culture. I see women hefting growlers home in vacant car seats, sharing home brew hijinks over samples of beer, drinking more discriminatingly, and otherwise owning the beer culture for themselves. And I want these women to be more visible, to know more about what makes them tick, and what ticks them off. 

Are you game? To get in on the already evolving lineup of women, email me at heybrewtiful{at}gmail{dot}com with your story, you perspective on and involvement in beer, brewing, etc., your favorite beer(s) of the moment, and what you see, or would like to see more or less of in the beer culture around you. I want to know what you're drinking. What the beer culture is like where you are. What got you interested in brewing, in beer. 

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