Sacramento Chapter of the Pink Boots Society
May 31, 2017 04:36PM ● By Morgan Cásarez
Front: Ellen Sherrill and Kassandra Sutherland; Middle: Teresa Psuty, Kate Whelan, Lauren Zehnder and Jennifer Luckey; Back: Lindsey Nelson, Cynthia Lee and Amy Ruthnick
Craft brew is the craze on every beer lover’s lips, particularly in the Golden State, which boasts over 700 breweries from Mount Shasta to San Diego. More than 50 different labels call the Greater Sacramento area home, and as the local scene continues to grow, so does the number of women in a once male-dominated industry.
“I love getting to see more women interested in beer and brewing,” shares Kayla Brogna, a brewer at Chico’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “Although I loved the short lines for the women’s restrooms at festivals and beer bars when I first entered the industry, I love having to wait in line now and directly see how much has changed so quickly.”
Brogna helped affect change locally when, in May of 2016, she started the Sacramento Chapter of the Pink Boots Society (PBS), a network for women in the beer industry that provides educational opportunities and scholarships for professional advancement. Having previously been active in the San Francisco Chapter, she knew “many women who worked in the industry in Sacramento [and was confident] a local organization would benefit.” Reaching prospective members, however, was initially challenging.
“I met a couple of women at the first PBS meeting I attended who were so excited to talk to me and ask about what I do, but who were nervous to begin working on the production side,” she explains. “I was able to give them some encouragement, and years later they are still brewing and loving it! Seeing how I was able to make a positive difference for someone has made the rest of organizing this chapter worth every second.”
To date, there are more than 45 PBS chapters worldwide, including ones in Canada, Hong Kong, Chile, Australia and Spain, and membership is open to women in all stages of their brewing careers, including students and retirees. Locally, members include ladies from El Dorado Hills (Lauren Zehnder, taproom/sales manager of Mraz Brewing Company), Roseville (Amy Ruthnick, co-owner of Final Gravity Taproom and Bottle Shop; Jennifer Luckey, beer hall manager of Yolo Brewing Company; and Cynthia Lee, founder of Brewers Acts of Random Kindness and co-owner of Darkheart Brewing) and Auburn (Teresa Psuty, co-owner and brewer of Crooked Lane Brewing Co.).
PBS Sacramento Assistant Chapter Leader Lindsey Nelson also works as the marketing director for the Art of Beer Invitational, a celebration of craft beer, fine art and farm-to-fork cuisine benefitting local nonprofits. Now entering its seventh year, the event highlights the strong sense of community within the world of brewing—a world that’s thriving thanks to women defying the notion that producing great beer has anything to do with gender.
“Our initiatives help bring awareness to the various roles these women have in the industry,” she says. “They’re brewers, taproom managers, brewery owners, beer bloggers, sales reps. You name it, we have a member that does it. We’re helping change the perception that the only people who work in the beer business are flannel-wearing guys with beards.”
Since PBS Sacramento was founded last year, participation has grown steadily each month, with members taking advantage of seminars, social mixers, fund-raisers and brew days, which provide hands-on production experience at local breweries in a welcoming and collaborative environment.
“I think any time you have an opportunity to get women together in a professional and social capacity like we do, it’s a really powerful, incredible thing,” Nelson shares. “Each one of our members is doing amazing things, and to have the opportunity to celebrate that and bring visibility to [it] is really special.”