Aiming to celebrate women in the beer industry, Good Robot Brewing Company has decided to host their first ever Brewster Festival. Breweries from all around Atlantic Canada have been invited to participate by gathering their female-identifying staff to come up with some new recipes for great tasting beer.
With the help of FemmeBot, an internal brand of Good Robot that includes beer and events coordinated by their female employees, the goal is to help address the gender gap in the brewing industry.
“Brewster Fest came about because it turns out co-owner Josh Counsil and I both had hosting a beer festival on our career wish lists,” says Good Robot employee and festival organizer Kelly Costello.
“When that came up, we looked at each other and said, ‘well, let’s do it!’ With FemmeBot we put together events that yes, are craft beer centric, but that specifically invite women and folks who wouldn’t otherwise see themselves at these events. That gave us an advantage in that this festival really has something to set it apart. Representation and opportunity are important and I currently have the ability to create both. Ultimately, I’d really love to look around the room and see more women and folks of other genders at beer events.”
It’s no secret that there are fewer women than men in the brewing industry. And on top of that, unfortunately, some people tend to think women have less knowledge of the industry. Brewster Fest is here to hopefully help break that stigma.
“I will say that I don’t really notice differential treatment for being a woman from my peers. It’s the general public that seems to need to join us in the 21st century. Other brewers and beer professionals are great, nine times out of ten. It’s ‘Johnny Hadtoomuch’ who thinks it’s a great idea to mansplain to me how beer is made, or the real history of IPA.”
Over 15 breweries (Port Rexton Brewery, Chainyard Urban Cidery, Boxing Rock, Sober Island, Propeller, Big Spruce, Tatamagouche, Big Tide, 2 Crows, Garrison, Alexander Keith’s, Tidehouse, Shipwright, Upstreet, Brightwood, Saltbox , Lunn’s Mill, New Scotland, and Good Robot Brewing) have signed up for Brewster Fest. But the brewing will not be limited to beer; you can also expect find kombucha and bubbly water, all brewed or created by women.
Brewster Fest will take place on April 27th in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Mayflower Curling Club. Tickets can be purchased here.