Good Chemistry Brewing (GCB) welcomed more than 40 local beer industry women to take part in an open brew day at its brewery in East Bristol.
Mashing in at the open brew day. Photographs: Good Chemistry Brewing
Nearly all the women who took part work in the hospitality industry, but have never professionally brewed beer before. Good Chemistry held this event to celebrate the first anniversary of its She Drinks Beer initiative.
She Drinks Beer was started in November 2021 by brewery co-owner Kelly Sidgwick as a regular evening at the pub for women who enjoy beer. Since then, it has taken place once a month at GCB’s award-winning north Bristol pub, The Good Measure. During the summer months ‘taproom editions’ were also held at the brewery’s onsite bar.
Openness, accessibility, and inclusiveness are core values of the business, which celebrated its seventh anniversary in August. One of the ways the brewery strives for this is by championing and celebrating women working in the beer industry, and women who enjoy drinking beer.
“She Drinks Beer isn’t an organisation, it’s not political or asking you to join anything,” said Kelly. “It’s about getting together with your women friends in the pub to drink beer. Because when was the last time you were in a pub and it was mostly other women? It doesn’t happen very often.
“Since starting She Drinks Beer last winter, it’s gone from strength to strength, so we wanted to celebrate that with an anniversary beer. And we wanted to use it to give women working in the wider beer and hospitality industries an opportunity to experience what happens in a brewery on a brew day, and get stuck in helping to make it!”
The limited-edition, one-off beer, All Welcome, is a light, hoppy 4.4% ABV pale ale, designed to be accessible and enjoyable, like the She Drinks Beer event itself. US and New Zealand hops combine lime, grapefruit, and tropical fruit flavours and aromas. Available in 30-litre keg and 440ml cans, All Welcome will be launched at November’s She Drinks Beer, at The Good Measure on Tuesday, 1st November.
The beer will then be available across Bristol and beyond, including at some of the city’s best women-led pubs, bars and shops.
• Good Chemistry Brewing has spent the last seven years establishing a strong customer base in Bristol and developing a reputation for great beer and popular events, including the East Bristol Brewery Trail (of which Kelly is the main organiser). For more information, you can follow GCB’s social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram (@GoodChemBrew) and facebook (@GoodChemistryBrewing), and goodchemistrybrewing.com
