Joshua FulmerDr. Jesus PerezHIST 150, Spring 2015TTHFinal PaperJune 16th, 2015

Diversity Within Pacific Northwest Brewing

As you open the door to many breweries, tap houses, and brewpubs you’ll find

yourself surrounded by a diverse crowd. There is a slight majority of hefty white men

somewhat resembling lumberjacks here in the Pacific Northwest but you still see people

from all backgrounds and ethnicities enjoy the artfully brewed beer. However, take your

search a little deeper into the depths of that brewery and you find there is not as much

diversity as you see in the tasting room there; in the belly of the beast.

Of course in any subculture there are the exceptions, just as there is in the craft

brewing industry, some in more prominent locations and some in everyday production

facilities. As Seattle grew so did its beer; the first brewery to open in Seattle was

Washington Brewery. They rode along with the growing logging town for eleven years

before they shut their doors, but there were many other breweries already filling in the

space. Some might consider breweries detrimental to our societies growth, but they don’t

think about how much community interaction happens in these little tasting rooms. Our

very own United States Marine Corps was formed in a bar; that is a testament to what can

be accomplished sitting around a table with good people and a pint.

Let’s take a look back to when brewing started; The Sumerians were believed to

have settled in Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, somewhere around 4,000 BCE. It is

believed that Sumerians were the first to truly intertwine beer into their culture. Although

they were not the first to brew beer, they show us the first recipes and images of people

around a large bowl with straws. Brewing continued throughout history; we see it

evolving towards something we know in the early 800’s when an abbot wrote the

importance of gathering enough hops to make their beer. Throughout the growth of beer,

up until recent history we’ve seen women in charge of the brewing process. It was most

likely that men saw the making of beer similar to cooking the food so the duties would

fall to the woman of the house. In today’s society we see brewing as an art form, one that

men love to be involved with, so much so they have taken control of the industry.

Women still have a place in the world of craft beer, anyone and everyone has a

place in the whirlwind of kettles, mash-tuns, and fermenters. If we take away sexist

advertising for beer, and continued to improve awareness for organizations like Pink

Boots Society it is likely that we will see more and more women in craft brewing.

Campaigns such as Anheuser-Busch’s “Up For Whatever” along with the majority of

advertising for Macro-Breweries show men as the brewers and women as an object to be

enjoyed with your beer. There is proof all around us that women are welcomed in the true

culture of craft beer, and can thrive. Women like Heather McClung, co-owner and brewer

at Schooner Exact Brewing, who is a leader in a industry where the masses come in all

shapes, sizes, and colors. Sara Luchi started as a server working for Silver City Brewing,

this year’s brewery for the official Seattle Beer Week beer, until she was afforded the

opportunity to brew for the company. Spinnaker Bay Brewing is renowned for being the

only brewery that is owned and operated by women in Washington State. Rose Ann

Finkel of Pike Brewing Company, is considered to be the matriarch of brewing in the

Seattle area and is respected by a multitude of leaders in the craft beer scene. Working

from a beautiful, rapidly growing, and important brewery Kim Jordan is another pillar of

craft brewing. Kim was instrumental in bringing New Belgium brewing from it’s humble

basement roots, with a capital of sixty thousand dollars, to a industry leader bringing in

over one hundred and fifty million dollars a year. These are all examples of role models;

strong people who are directing the growth of craft beer and every one mentioned is a

women.

Constantly we hear of “Microsoft babies” bidding ado to their computer and

finding their way to a small building, piling money and time into the space, and opening

up a brewery. In a world where people consider Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics (STEM) jobs dominated by nerds from all ethnicities, why do we see mostly

white couples? Is craft brewing a racist monster, or could it be other cultures brewing

roots have been suppressed in their years of struggling to be accepted into American

society. Chris Harris, a veteran of our armed forces, started up Black Frog Brewing just

last year. Chris, a resident and now small business owner of Toledo, is black. Black Frog

Brewing is already thriving, stores are demanding more product to sell and his beer, with

its touch of honey, is loved. Craft beer doesn’t care if Chris is black, white, brown, man,

or woman, the only thing that matters is the beer quality. It could be argued that minority

groups in the inner city aren’t exposed to craft beer simply because of affordability, but

we also must acknowledge the fact that there is no marketing, and extremely low

amounts of distribution, if any, of craft beer to inner city areas. Is there a way to fix the

“problem”, or is there a problem that needs to be fixed? If a company was to attempt

extreme marketing similar to Black Pride Beer 1969, local news channels and social

media would rip apart the campaign, tearing through layers looking for the fictional racist

that started the idea.

Have we found ourselves in a new era, where anyone can brew beer with no

discrimination? Bars, breweries, and the underground of craft brewing tells us we have,

but the problem is that not everyone knows. In 2013 Saint Archer Brewing, a true modern

day brewery, brought Yiga Miyashiro on board to work with them. Saint Archer is

comprised of a gnarly team; Paul Rodriguez, professional skateboarder, Josh Kerr, aerial

surfing specialist, and Yiga. Garrett Oliver, brew master at Brooklyn Brewing, works

hand in hand with Chef Andrew Gerson everyday, helping the brand grow. Garret is

black, and Andrew is white, so why does that matter to some people? We’ll stand away

from the social unjust that is the quagmire of racism and continue on our pursuit of

diversity in craft brewing. Fortunately because Seattle is oversaturated with breweries

and bars, it isn’t as rare as you’d think finding someone of a minority working in the

industry.

Women are currently spearheading the breakthrough, or rather re-emergence, of

their knowledge and skill into craft beer. Hopefully we will witness other minority groups

follow in suit in the near future. You can see hints of history and culture in some beers, so

it would be fantastic to see other cultures bring their history into the beer. With groups

like the Pink Boots Society and Washington Beer Lovers thriving and brining awareness

to craft beer, I believe time will bring us a minority based brewing group to foster growth

and education for anybody that shows interest in the field. As you take a look at the

Washington Liquor Control board’s permit requested site, you’ll see dozens of breweries

applying each month, showing that more and more people are interested in the concept of

craft brewing and the community it brings with it. As stated in the very beginning of this

paper, craft beer brings people together in a great way. Combining the community aspect

with the knowledge that beer helps get your creative mind working, we see more and

more business ideas and partnerships coming out of these venues. One great example of

brewing culture in the Pacific Northwest is the aforementioned Heather McClung and her

husband

In closing I would like to bring up the fact that beer is diverse, and we love every

facet of the spectrum. You can pick up a pilsner to start off your day and work right on

through to a stout, or stop your climb with an India Pale Ale. There is color everywhere

in beer, different complexions, body, weight, and alcohol by volume. If people could take

the time to realize those around them are similar to the very beer they are enjoying maybe

we’d all get along a little better. You know the story of your homebrew better than

anyone, so why wouldn’t you want to know the story of the woman sitting next to you at

the bar. There is diversity in the world of craft beer, but there is not enough, America

needs to turn our beer culture into the same melting pot we see in our major cities.

Women and minorities are welcomed into the culture, we hear it every time an

interviewer asks “Do you feel that it is harder as a woman in craft brewing?”, with

responses indicating that they love the challenge almost as much as the opposite loves the

diversity. Let’s turn our breweries into a reflection of the tasting room, people of all

backgrounds creating beer that anyone can enjoy.