Pink Boots, Serious Beer

“It’s not a man’s job. It’s not a woman’s job. It’s a job, and someone needs to do it well,” says Nina Ritchie, president of Nashville’s chapter of the Pink Boots Society. Pink Boots, an international organization breaking glass ceilings in the beer industry, seeks to empower women beer professionals to advance their careers through education. Nashville’s group, as its members proudly report, is one of the more active chapters, and is currently celebrating its successful Barrel and Brunch fundraising event held this past November 22 at Acme Feed and Seed. At the event, guests were invited to learn more about the Pink Boots cause while tasting local brews, both high gravity and otherwise, from the eleven local breweries represented.

Here in Nashville, female brewers are near and dear to our hearts through their work with local brews including Jackalope, Corsair, Tennessee Brew Works, and Blackstone Brewery Company. Proud members of the local Pink Boots chapter, they work not only to push the boundaries of gender stereotypes but also the boundaries of the art form itself, crafting delicious and innovative brews while pulling more women into the process.

The Nashville chapter also strives toward a secondary goal to raise funds and awareness for Stephanie’s Fight, a lung cancer research foundation. This foundation began after Stephanie Weins, co-founder of Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery and the Blackstone Brewing Company, lost her battle to lung cancer in 2014. The story of her fight continues to inspire, as we learned last Sunday at the Barrel and Brunch. Despite being told she had only a few months to live, Stephanie pressed on through multiple rounds of treatments for two and a half years, continuing to run both businesses up until her death. 100% of funds raised through Stephanie’s Fight go toward research for a cure.

Learn more about Pink Boots and Stephanie’s Fight.