SAN ANTONIO — There’s a similar pour you’ll find being served up at different craft breweries across the city in March.
The ale is bringing together the ladies of the industry, through the Pink Boots Society of San Antonio.
“The whole point of Pink Boots is creating community and being a support system for each other where we haven’t been able to find one,” said Claire Altree, co-chapter lead for Pink Boots SA.
The company was founded to inspire, assist and educate women in the craft beer industry.
The San Antonio chapter is driving home that mission.
"Our beer community here in San Antonio has always been very, very female-focused and very inclusive to begin with," added Jackie Romero, another co-chapter lead for the group. "As soon as we started doing these collaboration brews it was everybody was jumping in... to support the cause, because they understood how important it is to welcome women and non-binary people into these spaces."
Vera Deckard, owner and head brewer at Kuenstler, says the industry has come a long way.
One of only two female brewers in Texas when she got her start, Deckard attributes much of her education in the industry to a scholarship she received through the Pink Boots Society.
“To me, it was always (about) that leadership—showing women that it might be male-dominated right now, but it’s not anything we need to be afraid of," Deckard said. "We can all do this job."
Women are now becoming a mainstay in the industry, but their ideas and innovations are just as unique as their special HopTechnic blend.
“The whole point of Pink Boots is creating community and being a support system for each other where we haven’t been able to find one," Altree said.
“Just the idea to have conversations like this around beer, this happens all the time in taprooms around the world and all over the country as well," Romero added. "And making sure that women are able to be included in those conversations."
“It's inspiring and also incredibly helpful to have that network and that group of people that can catch you and give you guidance," Altree said. "It goes beyond just inspiring to also aiding in the manifestation of what we want to do with beer, what we want to do with alcohol and the fermented industry in general. It gives us that opportunity as women to finally step into that.”
This mashup of sorts came together to create this year’s hazy IPA, giving people a taste of what women in this industry can accomplish.
“We want to celebrate women and beer year-round… so you can go into a taproom and if you see Pink Boots Collaboration Beer... you know that was actually brewed from some of the members of the Pink Boots community," Romero said.
You can look for the Pink Boots Collaboration Beer at Free Roam, Kuenstler, Gather, Roadmap and Longtab breweries through the end of March. Organizers say when you order a glass, a portion of the proceeds go back to the PBS.
If you miss the ale during Women's History Month, Second Pitch Beer Co. plans to release their own version this fall.
If you are in the craft beer industry and would like more information on becoming a member of the Pink Boots Society, visit their website. If you are a beer enthusiast and would like to learn more visit, SA Girls Pint Out.