Sarah Young: a lady who loves beer.
Before Sarah was a beer drinker, she mostly drank…
Orangina and Cheerwine (it’s a Carolina thing). Like most people I’ve naturally acquired tastes for different varieties of both beer and wine as I’ve gotten older. And yes, I started out on some of the lighter stuff…like SweetWater Blue for example…don’t judge! In college I drank a good bit of both Terrapin and SweetWater. Terrapin was still contract brewing (They didn’t open the brewery until after I graduated from UGA; such unfortunate timing!), but I remember liking the idea of supporting and drinking local beer.
I moved to Atlanta about six years ago and was frequently at SweetWater tours on Wednesday and/or Thursday nights. I think it was there that I fell in love with not only their IPA, but also the atmosphere of hanging out at a local brewery. Things kept evolving from there. A lot’s changed here in Atlanta since those days, and I’ve only been the Apostle of Ales for Wild Heaven since this past September, but prior to that I was working in the wonderful world of advertising and just got completely burnt out on it – WHCB just happened to need a sales/marketing rep. when I was looking for a change, so here I am.When she’s not drinking beer, she enjoys…
LOTS of water, I’m kind of obsessed with hydration. And I love me some wine, Malbecs are the jam. Beyond liquid interests, I dig the following: Crafting, calligraphy, being outside and/or near a body of water like the Gulf, the Hooch, a pool, whatever… good tunes/live music, traveling, grilling out, Georgia football, going to Braves games, taking my beagle babies on long walks, spending time with family, friends and my boyfriend/roommate, Matt.Her current drinking obsession and/or favorite beer(s) of the moment are…
Tank 7 by Boulevard, nothing fancy. I think I first had this last summer but I still crave it on the reg. I love the style in general. Super refreshing, but it packs a punch with the ABV. I like the Sneak Attack by 21st Amendment too (and I LOVE their packaging, total sucker for great design here). Oh and I have to mention I’m a pretty big Lagunitas fangirl. Got to go to the brewery last April and it was a reeeeaal treat!Her favorite place to drink is…
First thought is the beach but if we’re talking normal day-to-day life, our front porch has a swing so I’d say there. Very low-key. And the yard is fenced in so I love just sitting out there in the afternoon/early evening with my pups frolicking around. The street we live on in Grant Park is really quiet so I sometimes forget we live in a huuuge city, even with downtown right next to us. I think it was Big Boi from Outkast that said in an interview that one of the reasons he loves Atlanta is that ‘it’s not so busy busy busy all the time, you can speed it up or slow it down whenever’ or something like that. So to me, front porch drankin’ is ‘easy living’ as he calls it.Her favorite person to drink with is…
Matt, my boyfriend. Most of the time we like many of the same characteristics in beer. We actually bonded over a love of IPA’s when we first started dating four years ago. We definitely try to branch out and not get stuck in a routine when it comes to stocking our fridge. There are just so many good beers out there to try, it’s kinda overwhelming (I know; first world problems here). For Valentine’s Day, our idea of a date was going up to Augustine’s to get in on some of their Hopslam keg. So there’s that.About the beer culture in your area... What do you most like/loathe about the culture of beer? How do you see women represented locally, nationally, globally? What you’d like to less/more of?
I sort of feel like all the smaller craft breweries in Georgia are ‘all in it together’; we’re all about being neighborly. For the most part everyone’s doing their own thing within the market and together we’re giving consumers more unique local options, upping the beer game in the dirty south. Sure, I keep an eye on the competition, but I’ll never let any of those observations define what we’re doing. Being new to the industry I have a genuine passion to learn all I can and to appreciate different styles and breweries for what they are.
Everyone’s palate is different and people are going to like what they like either way… beer is obviously a very subjective thing. I happen to think we make some super tasty ones and some of the styles might not be as well-known to the general public so I think educating people (without a hint of condescension, can’t stand that!) on the differences between styles is huge.
Though I haven’t been doing this for very long I am noticing a bit more of a female presence in the industry as opposed to a few years ago. A good bit of my bar contacts are women and they’re coming up with some really cool bar programs which we’re thrilled to be a part of. I also know of other female brewery reps (I've only met one in person so far) but I do think it’s still more of a male dominated industry overall – I find myself being the only female rep at a lot of events around town. I think we’ll see a lot more female representation in the next year or two. And I have a feeling Georgia is a bit behind the rest of the US with regards to this subject.Can you tell us about women friendly spaces of note in your area (or wherever you travel regularly)?
I was at Wrecking Bar the other night meeting an old college pal for a drink and actually noticed that a lot of the patrons around us were women just having a beer after work, alone or with others. Their staff is full of pretty cool people too. It’s a really welcoming place for anyone. I’d also say The Porter, just a few blocks away. Those are two of my go-to’s where you see a lot of ladies getting their drink on in style.Is there anything else you’d like to add that we didn’t already talk about?
The Wild Heaven brewery will be open to the public in Avondale Estates this year, right off College Ave…official date is still TBD.
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Sarah with her beagle babies and boyfriend Matt. |
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. Are you game? To get in on the already evolving lineup of women, email me at heybrewtiful{at}gmail{dot}com with your story.
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