Friday, June 28, 2013

Ladies Who Love Beer {roundup}

A week at the beach was a beautiful way to pause and reflect on this here blog and its evolving network of craft beer enthusiasts. We've got some stellar changes in the works, including guest authorship, Facebook admins from your neck of the woods, and new features including your city "On Tap." In the absence of 4G and smart phones and other things that allow me to feed my obsessive internet presence (not to mention a plentiful supply of good company and good beer), a week without internet also got us completely off schedule with the lineup of ladies for our regular feature on women and beer.

Wanna help get us back on track? Email heybrewtiful{at}gmail{dot}com with your hand raised. In the meantime, it's been a great couple of months with some awesome contributors from May and June. Here's a roundup of my favorite quotes from the ladies featured in the last two months.



Caylee Betts
"What I’d really like to see more of is the same importance and credit given to growers and specific hop fields. In the Washington wine industry, some vineyards have such prestige that they nearly the sell the wine by just being mentioned on the label. Certain growers are Washington wine legends. And the consumer is aware of some of the greatest vineyards. Lately, I’ve seen consumers much more interested in hop varietals; Citra, Cascade, Centennial, Sorachi Ace, Simcoe, Sauvin, etc. I think, for Washington, this could lead to more beer, more jobs, and more interest in the central/eastern part of our state. [...] It would be fun to give wine country a run for their money with a badass hop/beer country!"
Tara Tolliver Shortt
"We all know that beer has traditionally been a guys drink of choice. While I can see slow changes, I would like to see it socially “acceptable” for women to be proud of drinking beer. Why is it OK to bring a house warming gift of a bottle of wine, and frowned upon if I brought a six-pack of my favorite brew? I wish beer was looked upon as being more sophisticated and not necessarily as cheap and low income. I wear a beer stein charm around my neck. I usually get a 50/50 reaction. 50% WOW that’s cool, what kind of beer do you drink? And 50% eye roll."
Heather Erickson
"I have been home brewing for a little over three years now. What started as curiousity in my friend's garage has now turned into a full fledged passion. I have brewed over two dozen different styles of beer, entered Pro Am competitions, and have won a silver and bronze medal for my beer. What I like about brewing is the creativity that goes into a batch. Much like an artist creating a painting or a sculpture, I feel that brewing is my kind of art. I enjoy pushing the envelope and creating concoctions that aren't mainstream."
Hops Diva
"I’ve been drinking craft beer in Atlanta for 17 years. There are still some events where the men outnumber the women, but there are a lot more women who appreciate good beer today. The Georgia Ale and Lager Sirens (GALS) started three years ago and while I’ve made some great friends through the organization, I’m not sure their mission of "Infiltrating the Sausage Fest of Beer" is as necessary now as it would have been maybe ten years ago. In my neighborhood alone there are at least four bars/brewpubs that are owned or co-owned by women."

Sande Edwards
"Some beer drinkers get a little snobby when it comes to beer. Craft beer is in it's infancy, especially here on the East coast so it's kind of understandable that people want to feel special about drinking well made beer and being part of the craft beer scene so they like to "drop some knowledge" on the uneducated, but let's not be pretentious about it people."
Lacey Pyle
"I would like to see regular beer tasting events in Forsyth County with the kahunas to say, "This is a beer tasting. No wine, no saki, no apologies; just beer." Take it up a notch: host craft beer from local breweries at great venues. Elevate brewing for the craft that it is and get brewpubs to network with local hobbyists. Some people assume beer lacks the credibility of wine--and Beer Geeks can change that. There's something to be said for a beer palate the same way there is for wine, coffee, cheese, and tea."

Want to read more? Check out the March and April archives of Ladies Who Love Beer.

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