Pink Boots Society


The Pink Boots Society is a non-profit organization with international membership which supports women working in the brewing profession, especially in creating craft beer. The organization helps women brewers meet mentors, have the opportunity to network with other women in the profession and raises awareness of women in brewing. PBS also encourages women brewers to further their education and helps teach the skills needed to become beer judges. PBS raises money for scholarships for women to continue their education in brewing. There are around 1,800 members across the world. All members must be women and have some type of career in the brewing world or related to beer and beer-making.

History

In 2007, brewer Teri Fahrendorf met other brewers, Laura Ulrich and Whitney Thompson while on a road trip. Her trip, in which she went to 70 different breweries and participated in 38 brewings helped her realize that many of the women brewers she met didn't know there were other women in their profession. The first manifestation of PBS was merely a list of women brewers maintained on a blog. PBS had its first meeting at the Craft Brewers Conference and it drew 22 members. Later, Fahrendorf founded PBS as a non-profit organization and named it after the pink boots she wore when brewing which had been given to her by her mother-in-law.
In 2013, PBS was contacted by Sophie de Ronde to create the International Women's Collaboration Brew Day. The day helps raise awareness about women in the brewing industry and also helps raise money for PBS.
The Pink Boots Society's archival collections are housed in the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives at Oregon State University. This collection helps document the creation, growth, administration, and members of the Pink Boots Society.