Women of the growing Utah chapter of the Pink Boots Society gathered at the Roosters B Street Brewery in Ogden on March 8th, International Women’s Day, to brew an empowering beer they dubbed “On Wednesdays We Wear Pink Boots.” The Pink Boots Society is an international organization dedicated to supporting and enabling women to succeed in the beer industry. The annual Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day encourages women from all chapters to celebrate Women’s Day by brewing a beer that incorporates a special blend of hops supplied by Yakima Chief Hops. They donate $3 per pound of hops sold toward the fund for the Pink Boots scholarship program. This year was the first time I was able to participate in the “girl power” brew day. Working alongside so many amazing women was a truly inspiring experience!
When Lauren and I started this blog, the world that opened to me was beyond anything I could have imagined. I was an outsider with a love for beer and a desire to share that love with others. What I discovered was an amazing community of fellow devotees, and among them, a sorority of fearless women who dare to walk a bold path into a domain dominated by men. Without judgement, they embrace one another and never hesitate to extend a hand to their sisters in beer. They have welcomed me into their fold, and I have felt the restorative nature of belonging to this tight-knit circle of incredible women. The love they share seems truly unconditional.
Brew day held the promise of spending International Women’s Day with this group of badass ladies as well as the opportunity for me to participate in my first ever start-to-finish brew in a commercial setting. It was as exciting as it was uplifting. We all took turns pushing buttons, turning dials, opening and closing valves, and adding ingredients while head brewer of Roosters 25th Street, Jacquie King Wright, supervised the process. I’ve been on plenty of brewery tours, but rarely have I witnessed first-hand the magic in action. Sharing this act of creation with my friends was a unique bonding experience. Nobody was left out, and each of us can claim motherhood of a brand-new beer being.
This year’s Pink Boots Blend consists of Loral, Mosaic, Simcoe, Sabro, and Glacier hops. To showcase the fruity, citrus, and earthy flavors of the hops, the Utah chapter opted to create a cold session IPA. “Cold” means that all the hops are added after the boil – in the whirlpool and dry-hopped after fermentation. In total, this 30-barrel batch of brew contains a whopping 66 pounds of the Pink Boots hop blend, but it won’t be bitter. Hops added post-boil, during the cold side of the process, add flavor and aroma, but not a lot of bitterness. The grains used in the mash include 2 Row and caramel malt, wheat, and oats. We also used some hibiscus in the whirlpool to give the beer a light pink hue. Special thanks to Kiitos Brewing for donating the hibiscus, Red Rock Brewing for donating 22 pounds of the hops, and of course to Roosters for hosting the brew!
The name of the beer, On Wednesdays We Wear Pink Boots, is a reference to the movie, “Mean Girls.” The fierce label art was a collaboration between Roosters CFO, Julie Kirkland, and her daughter Lily. This will be a 4% ABV draft beer, but we love the fact that some of the beer will be canned and proudly displaying the awesome label. Look for the beer to be finished and ready to drink the last week of March. It will be available at Roosters locations and various bars, restaurants, and breweries around Utah. Take a sip and make a toast to Utah’s women in beer.
At the end of the day, with our beer safely fermenting away in its tank, I sat down to relieve my tired feet and back. They ached in a way that made me smile as I reflected on a day of companionable labor, laughter, hugs, and high-fives. The time well-spent had left behind a satisfying sense of accomplishment and the warm glow of amity between the ladies of the Pink Boot Society, Utah Chapter.
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[…] brewing process. I brewed with the Pink Boots Utah Chapter back in May as I detailed in my article, On Wednesdays We Wear Pink Boots, but that system is larger and more automated, and there were a lot more ladies helping that day. […]