Pink Boots Society is a “non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and advancing women and non-binary individuals in the fermented and alcoholic beverage industry through education. Their mission is to assist, inspire, and encourage these individuals to advance their careers by providing various opportunities and resources.” 
Yesterday I had the opportunity to be part of a Pink Boots collaboration with Establishment Brewing. Not only was I invited to be part of the brew day – but our Hops would be featured in the brew. I’m excited. What a day we had yesterday. We started at 9am with introductions of the ladies gathered. There was Chelsea from Polyrhythm Brewing in Edmonton, Jenn from Wild Winds Brewing in Calgary, Alex from Hogarth Malting, April another brewer, and the gals from Establishment Naomi, Jill and Chelsea the brewer.
The first step is to add the malts. So up and in went 50 lbs bag after 50 lbs bag of Wheat and Pils malts from Hogarth Malting in Olds.
This boiled away for a long while – so lucky for us, we ladies sat down for a coffee and conversation. To add to this conversation the Pink Boot Brew Crew got their first taste of the brew with a small pour, or “brewer’s breakfast” if you will. This sample is of the wort (the liquid extracted from the mashing process) or early-stage beer directly from the fermentation tank. 
The next labour intensive step was to pull all of the spent grain out of the mash tun. I’m happy that there were a few of us to share this task. Shoveling wet grain is as heavy as it sounds. 
With the grain portion of the brew being complete the wort has moved onto a new tank for the addition of the hops.
We gathered to smell and measure out the Hops for the brew, as well as the special ingredient for this particular brew – Chamomile. This very peppy batch of Chamomile was put into a large “tea bag” and ready to add. The hops were openend and we enjoyed sharing the scent. We did a hop rub – which is to say we crushed the hop cone in our hands to release the scent in the lupulin. It was really great to talk hops with people that are in the know.
The other base hop that was being use for this brew was Mosaic – but this was a slight change as the expected hop blend was supposed to be the Pink Boots Hop Blend created annually by Yakima Chief Hops. (they are the biggest provider of American Hops). Interestingly, their blend of Krush, Simcoe, and Mosaic (proprietary varieties of hops) were not permitted to be shipped into Canada. This is because the pesticides/fungicides they used on these hops are not permitted in Canada. We have very stringent standards for what we will allow to be used on our Agricultural products. As a farmer, I am not permitted to use them. So it is a relief to know that they can’t be used on any product sold within Canada.
The hops and chamomile floated about in the whirlpool for a while and we tasted again. The scent of canned peaches that came out of those tasting glasses was unreal. No peaches were added – just the combination of our Triumph Hops and the sweet malts.
While we waited for the next step we enjoyed a tasting of beers that Polyrhythm Brewing brought for us to try. One of the beers she brought had Cashmere hops and it delivered on the melon flavour. The description I give for Cashmere hops is Lemon, Sweet Lime and Melon – but this time the melon was the start. She also had a really great matcha beer. She splurged on the Ceremonial Matcha – and it really informed the flavour. Such a treat.
Finally the beer was moved into the last tank to chill with the yeast.
We grabbed another sample and sat back to finish our day with some new friends and conversation in the tap room. It was a great day. I am truly blessed to have been invited to join in this brew.
