JACKSON, Wyo. — Roadhouse, Melvin, StillWest and Snake River Brewing have teamed up this International Women’s Day. Each brewery crafted a special one-off beer that will raise money for the Pink Boots Society, an international organization that works to further the careers of women in the alcoholic beverage industry.
The breweries debut their special beers on Friday, March 8 with a town pub crawl, raffles and small bites pairings.
“At the end of the batch each brewery will donate a dollar from each pint sold back to the Pink Boots Society,” said Ally Perry, a brewer at Roadhouse and the President of the Wyoming Chapter of the Pink Boots Society.
Perry organized the collaboration and said the fundraising helps provide education scholarships for women in the industry. She got involved with Pink Boots after she started working at Roadhouse three years ago.
“I brewed for four years down in Pinedale at Wind River [Brewing Company] as an assistant brewer, and then moved up here, started on the canning line and now brew for this team,” Perry said.
She said she sees brewing as a long-term career and Pink Boots Society helped her make connections with other women in the industry who own and operate breweries in the area and surrounding states.
“There’s actually a surprising amount of female brewers and brewery staff in the state of Wyoming,” Perry said.
According to an article by Tara Nurin, the official historian of the Pink Boots Society, there is nothing new about women brewing beer. In her piece, “How Women Brewsters Saved the World,” Nurin writes, “Though they argue over the ancient origins, archeologists who study fermentation do agree on one thing: the vast majority of ancient brewers were women.”
Perry brewed the “Shoulda Been a Cowgirl,” a sea salt and key lime lager, which will be on tap at Roadhouse Pub & Eatery. Melvin made the “She Lime Pie,” a key lime pie extra pale ale, on tap at Code Red. StillWest has “These Boots Are Made for Brewing,” a Helles Style Lager with whole-leaf adeena and zumo hops. Snake River Brewing has “I Can Buy Myself Flowers,” a jasmine rice lager brewed with jasmine flowers.
The pub crawl has no formal route and participants are encouraged to start anywhere and finish anywhere. Each restaurant will also have a small bites special that pair with their beer and swag will be raffled off.
Perry said the idea is for people to get together, enjoy the unique beers and get a bite to eat for about $12 to $15
The beers will likely last for about a month to six weeks and will be available at the respective breweries until the batch runs out.
