This week’s Thirsty Thursday beer painting is a nod to International Women’s Day and the Pink Boots Society, so I invited my wife and Business Manager, Maria Benner, to write a guest blog post about her experience brewing a batch of Big Boots Brew at Midnight Sun Brewing Company last Saturday. For the painting I sampled the 1942 war effort sign made by J. Howard Miller of Westinghouse Production Company, designed to increase morale for the all-female workforce at home.
The Pink Boots Society is a membership organization for female brewers that has been empowering women beer professionals to advance their careers in the beer industry through education for 11 years. Every year, around March 8th, many breweries across the country host “no boys allowed” brew days. The last two years I have been invited to brew at one of my favorite breweries, Midnight Sun Brewing. I think the idea is for everyone to brew the same beer, and we brewed a citrus saison. Last year I also got to participate, and I distinctly remember adding about 10 pounds of Red Hots to the kettle. About a dozen women got together to brew this year, and our fearless leader was Chelsea Hendricks, a brewer at MSBC. She does a great job explaining the brewing process and putting us all to work. Sampling beer was part of the job 🙂 I could only stay for 2.5 hours, but it was long enough to appreciate all the hard work that goes into producing one batch of beer. The important lesson is that women “can brew it!”
Cheers to all the women pioneers in the brewing industry, and to the Pink Boots Society for making it possible!
The original oil painting sold, but you can purchase a limited-edition print, or order a custom beer painting at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.
Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #63 by Scott Clendaniel. March 10, 2016. “We Can Brew It!” 11″x14″, oil on panel.
Real Art Is Better! 