Kerri Gatz | General Manager of Illinois’ Best Beer Bar 2018

Kerri Gatz, general manager of the 2018 Craftbeer.com Illinois’ Best Beer Bar, has cultivated a craft-beer environment that showcases small, local brewers with as much enthusiasm as it does well-known brands. Though operating under the umbrella of the Brass Tap franchise name, the independence offered to Gatz at her Orland Park (Chicago) location has allowed her to provide patrons with beer choices, events and an overall vibe that reflects her personality and love for beer. She’s more than a bar operator; she is a craft beer ambassador.

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San Francisco Beer Week 2018 | Favorite Brews & Discussing Women in Beer

Now that our northern California team has fully recovered from our cumulative San Francisco Beer Week (SFBW) hangovers, we would like to share some of our favorite beers and breweries from the Gala! If you are like us and received tickets to attend the Gala, you know it was a whirlwind of pours, great food and amazing talks. Here are some of our NorCal/Bay Area team members’ favorite things from SFBW 2018, and a recap of panel discussions on topics including women in beer.

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The PorchCast | Ep 49 Factotum Brewhouse & Lady Justice Brewing

In episode 49 of the PorchCast Tristan, Hunter and Sam met with the crew at Factotum Brewhouse to speak with both Chris and Laura of Factotum as well as Betsy, Jen, and Kate, the co-founders of Lady Justice Brewing.

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Listermann Brewing Company | Call To Farms

In the late 1930s, much of the world was at war. As time marched on, and the turmoil of afar reached over the ocean to impact American society, men volunteered to serve in the military. Great navies carried American men from both coasts to fight the ideologies of totalitarian regimes while patriarchal American society now found itself reliant on a female workforce to take up the slack. Call To Farms, by Listermann Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a triumphant expression of collaboration and hard work.

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The Weekly Buzz | March 2 – 8

Since I’m writing this on International Women’s Day, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all of my strong, creative female colleagues at PorchDrinking. Without them, this humble beer blog would be but a shadow of itself. Their hard work and dedication keeps this train on the tracks, and their fresh points of view help us keep our content fresh and relevant in an ever-changing world. I invite you all to raise a glass to them! Now, here’s some stuff I found on Twitter. This is The Weekly Buzz.
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Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day Celebrates International Women’s Day

Each year women from all over the world participate in Pink Boots Society’s annual Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day in celebration of International Women’s Day. I sat down with President Laura Ulrich to learn more about this year’s event.

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Brewery Showcase | Brewability Lab

Many breweries begin with a familiar story: a homebrewer who’s tired of a desk job and decides to make a go at scaling up.

Brewability Lab is not one of those stories. Founder Tiffany Fixter had neither brewing experience nor a business background. What the former special education teacher did have, however, was an ambitious—even radical—idea. Why not tap into Denver’s affinity for craft beer to create jobs for adults with special needs?
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Women in Beer | Fremont Brewing’s Sara Nelson Runs for Seattle City Council

Fremont Brewing’s Sara Nelson is accomplished, to say the least.

Want to talk culture? With a PhD in Anthropology, she’s your gal. Have some questions about policy? After over a decade serving as the Chief of Staff for Richard Conlin, former Seattle City Council member, she’s likely to have some answers. Are you a beer drinker? Well you’re in luck! Nelson is the co-owner of Seattle’s celebrated Fremont Brewing.

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Frezi Bouckaert | A Belgian Girl and Her Journey to Craft Beer

“I was his light in the darkness.”

Frezi Bouckaert smiled slyly as she made the comment. Frezi further noted, “It was dark and I was his shining light.” As Frezi started explaining this rather somber statement, I realized she was speaking both literally and figuratively. Let me give you a little bit of context. Frezi (pronounced frazy like crazy) met her husband Peter Bouckaert (yes, that Peter) spelunking in Belgium. When dating, some folks like to go to the movies, see live music or wine and dine; Frezi and Peter would go caving. A lot. Read More

Women in Brewing | Bess Dougherty

Despite her recent announcement that she’ll be leaving Wynkoop, rest assured, “Bess’s Barrel-Aged Beer Babies” will live on! Back in June, PorchDrinking spoke with brewer Bess Dougherty, recording a PorchCast episode in her “happy place,” Wynkoop Brewing Company’s barrel room. Little did we know a mere 12 hours later Bess and the rest of the Wynkoop family would learn that the brewery would begin scaling back operations to eliminate external distribution AND Bess would soon decide to leave her brewing position at Wynkoop for another opportunity. In light of the latest happenings, we sat down to talk women and beer with her and hear about the latest landmarks in her career path.

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