Jenn Merrick, formerly of 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.”
ENDS – ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Brewing team:
- Jenn Merrick – Earth Station – Founder
- Katie McCain – Pressure Drop – Brewer
- Sophie de Ronde – Burnt Mill – Brewer
- Kath Stratford – Howling Hops – Brewer
- Alix Shaw – The Five Points – Lead Packaging Manager
- Charlotte Cook – Truman’s Brewery – Co-lead Brewer
- Jaega Wise – Wild Card Brewery – Head Brewer
- Robyn Bell – Cloudwater – Cellar Manager
- Hayley Marlor – Fuller’s – Brewer
- Riina Laats – Signature Brew – Head Brewer
- Flo Orford – Wiper & True – Brewer
- Cynthia Toulouse – Wiper & True – Assistant Brewer
- Sue Fisher – Ramsgate Brewers – Brewer
- Marta Van der Vyver – Husk Brewery – Founder
- Hester Boyce – Wild Beer Co. – Production
The Heriot-Watt team:
- Rachel Sutherland – Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt. (Formerly Sensory & Quality Manager of Innis & Gunn)
- Margaux Huismann – Heriot-Watt Alumni and current PHD student at the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling studying the role of dry hopping on the flavour, aroma, and haze characteristics on Scottish craft beers
- Dr Dawn Maskell – Head of International Centre for Brewing & Distilling (ICBD) at Heriot-Watt
- Seven Heriot-Watt students on the undergraduate and master’s degree courses
Link to high-res photography:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gdiom6yv9tf1ejx/AADtuSlEOmEP9BOX1wQl9gG1a?dl=0
Dates and locations for the Festivals are listed below:
- Edinburgh – 25th to 27th May 2018, Biscuit Factory, Leith
- London – 3rd to 5th August 2018, Tobacco Dock, Docklands
- Bristol – 14th to 16th September, The Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside
Tickets for the London, Edinburgh and Bristol Craft Beer Festivals are on sale now: londoncraftbeerfestival.co.uk, edinburghcraftbeerfestival.co.uk, and bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk.
For further information, interviews or photography, please contact LUX – The Food & Drink agency on 0131 555 6911 or email:
katy.stollery@getlux.co.uk / eloise.leeson@getlux.co.uk
ABOUT WE ARE BEER
We Are Beer was founded by two friends, Greg and Daniel, in a pub. A new found love of ‘craft beer’ led them to collaborate on something that was, back in 2013, greatly missing – a modern festival, celebrating modern beer.
Wanting to play their part, We Are Beer’s first endeavour was the London Craft Beer Festival in 2013. It broke the mould as the first tasting-led festival in the UK, combined with headline music acts and the best food producers out there.
That core mission of celebrating the creativity, diversity and dynamism of modern brewing culture, led them to found the Bristol Craft Beer Festival in 2016 and the Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival in 2017.
That mission is still at the heart of everything they do today and everything they’re planning for the future. Their aim is to be a platform that promotes modern beer – bringing breweries, drinkers, musicians, chefs and brands together to help grow this fantastic category be it through festivals, beer collaborations, partnerships or story-telling.
To find out more, please visit: www.wearebeer.com.