You can find an article by writer Lisa Morrison in at least one beer publication every month. She is everywhere. And that’s a good thing! On the one hand, I like to think of Lisa as just a beer writer, not a female beer writer. On the other hand, though, Lisa is at the forefront of embracing women’s “herstory” of beer and empowering women to be part of the modern beer world. So I am proud that she is a female beer writer.
I have read many an article that Lisa has written, but for whatever reason, her article on female brewsters that appeared in the Winter issue of Beer Northwest really struck a cord with me. It got me to really start thinking about the powerful women making their mark in the beer industry and it inspired a sense of pride in me as a woman who appreciates craft beer.
We have met Lisa on several occasions, but on our recent trip to Philadelphia, we spent several days together. On that trip, my interest in women’s brewing “herstory” and the influence of women in the industry was piqued even more. Partly because I met another amazing woman; Suzanne Woods.
Suzanne has an incredible knowledge of beer and brewing, and she’s a spitfire to boot! Her day job is sales and marketing for Sly Fox Brewing in Royersford, PA, but her hobby is the In Pursuit of Ale (IPA) beer club for women. Suzanne was our press group’s hostess for Saturday’s itinerary and all of a sudden, it hit me…I’ve got to interview these women!
Lucky for me, they agreed to an interview. We sat down at Iron Hill Brewing in Phoenixville, PA to chat about their personal beer “herstories” and their thoughts on the future of women’s influence in the modern beer culture.
So step aside boys, we’re kickin’ down the door of your clubhouse. Grab yourself a pint and enjoy “No Longer a Boys Club”.
We are joined in our press entourage by about 10 other people and the West Coast is well represented. Jay Brooks from the 
Our first stop was the famous Monk’s Cafe…phenomenal food and great beer pairing! Tom Peters was a very gracious host opening some Rochefort 8° Cuvee that he had brought back from Belgium.
It’s Sunday morning in Denver and we are getting ready to head home. Just a quick post to say that our good friend, Matt Venzke, won the ‘Beer Drinker of the Year’ contest yesterday. Matt’s performance was masterful and we are so happy for him and Michelle.
Yesterday was the barley wine festival at Toronado and we will be the first to admit that we didn’t really know what to expect. The only pre-festival information we received was that you needed to order the beer by number and size.
The three of us, who I would describe as being of more a sound mind, decided to get a few samples and take in the scene. So, we ordered the eight samples from the back bar which included the eventual third place entry from Firestone Walker. For those interested, it was 1. Lagunitas 2. Stone 3. Firestone Walker
At Magnolia, Chris had his third of the strong beer month brews Promised Land Imperial IPA. While not as good as 21st Amendment’s Hop Crisis, Promised Land was a hop bomb with strong marijuana flavors. I stuck with Kolsch. Although I appreciated that they served it in real kolsch glasses, I asked to get it in a pint glass. The request was denied.
We decided to brave going back to Toronado, primarily to see what carnage was left from the morning. Actually, there wasn’t too much because the first wave had left and the second wave, or maybe it was the third, I don’t know, was underway. We learned later that earlier a few people had been kicked out, one for puking before he quite made it to the bathroom. We were all glad to have missed that!
Our new friend and member of the Alaska contingency, Lisa Urban, had gushed about a place in North Beach called La Trappe, a Belgian bar with outstanding food. We finished our night there, and much to our surprise, the Alaska group was already camped out when we arrived! The decor gives you the feeling of hanging out in a cellar, the beer selection was world class and the food was very yummy. Plus, as we are learning, hanging out with Alaska people is always fun!
Just a quick update… Our local daily paper, the Monterey County Herald, asked us to write an article each month about our YiB experiences. My article about our Alaska trip appeared in today’s paper.