Jenn Merrick, formerly Head Brewer at Beavertown Brewery and founder of community based brewery Earth Station, is brewing a collaborative beer with a leading team of 24 female industry-leading brewers, Heriot-Watt students and lecturers that celebrates the craft and creativity of past, present and future female brewers.
Spearheaded by Jenn Merrick & hosted by Katie McCain, Brewer at Pressure Drop Brewing, the team comprising of 14 female brewers, seven undergraduates and three lecturers/former students from Heriot-Watt will work together to create a limited-edition kettle sour beer. Brewers will be in attendance from Pressure Drop, Truman’s Brewery, Cloudwater, Wiper & True, Fuller’s and Burnt Mill, to name but a few.
The team of industry leading brewers will work closely with the next generation of female brewers from Heriot-Watt University to combine the seasonal fruits, herbs and botanicals to produce this beer – and all those present on the day will be working in partnership to decide its flavour profile, final recipe, and name.
Greg Wells, founder of We Are Beer, the company behind the London, Edinburgh and Bristol Craft Beer Festivals, who commissioned the project, said:
“We identified that 35% of our festival attendees were female and this is growing year on year. We believe most people still perceive ‘beer’ as quite masculine, but in actuality, that is changing dramatically, which is good for this fast-growing sector and something we’re striving to push forward. We want to profile the incredible female talent and influence on modern brewing by creating a collaborative beer with past, present and future female brewers from across the industry.”
The kettle sour will be available at each of the craft beer festivals being hosted in Edinburgh (25th-28th May 2018), London (3rd-5th August 2018), and Bristol (14th-16th September 2018) and will be released in limited edition small pack.
Heriot-Watt University proudly offers the first and longest running degree on brewing and distilling and is staffed by 50% female lecturers. Speaking of the collaboration, Assistant Brewing Professor Rachel Sutherland said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for our female students to collaborate with some of the leading female figures within the craft beer industry. Beer has, throughout history, been crafted by women. Our students are proudly upholding this tradition, showing the next generation what they can look forward to. There’s a real community in craft beer and our kettle sour collaboration is testament to that – and definitely not one to be missed at any of the craft beer festivals happening across the UK.”
Tickets for the London, Edinburgh and Bristol Craft Beer Festivals are on sale now.
The Crafty Beeress 