Starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday April 28, the Delta Beer Lab taproom (167 E Badger Rd.) will be serving their new West Coast IPA brewed by an all-female team led by assistant brewer Brady St. Marie. The IPA is St. Marie’s first recipe formulation as a professional brewer, and is a collaboration with the Pink Boots Society which was created to assist, inspire and encourage women and/or non-binary individuals in the fermented and alcoholic beverage industry to advance their careers through education.
“This entire process has been the most fun I’ve ever had at work,” said St. Marie. “We had a group of eight women helping out on brew day. They jumped right in and helped mill the grain, add salts and acids to the mash, and sanitize the fermenter. My favorite part of the day, though, was when we added the Pink Boots blend of hops. Everyone took turns adding the hops one by one, and that felt very special—we’d all worked together to create something, and our hard work felt very tangible in that moment.”
Delta Beer Lab has many women to thank for their initial and continued success - one of their owners, many beertenders, an assistant brewer, and countless guests, fans, and supporters have all helped pave the way for more women to take part in the craft brewing industry.
“I am still relatively new to the industry, so this is the first time I got to create a recipe for a new beer and see it through all the various stages of development and production, so that felt monumental in and of itself,” said St. Marie. “The icing on the cake is that some of the proceeds from this beer will help support other women succeed in an industry that skews overwhelmingly male. I’m very proud to share this beer with the world, and so thankful to have had such an incredible group of women to share the whole experience with.”
Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® (CBD) is an international celebration of women in the alcoholic and fermentable beverage industry. Each year, teams brew beer in participation of Collaboration Brew Day to help raise funds for Pink Boots scholarships.