Hello and happy Friday!
This weekend we'll be sneaking in our last camping trip of the summer. Nothing puts us at ease quicker than a campfire, a four pack, and zero cell service. Hit reply and tell us how you're closing out your summer!
In this week's issue:
Ranch + beer, yep someone went there
Spooktember called, and Angry Orchard answered
Who run the (beer) world? Girls
[ 01 // THE FLIGHT ]
Our faves from this week
🥦 We'll be the first to admit that we're big ranch dressing fans, but Dual Citizen's ranch-dressing cream ale may be over the line.
🏹 Calling all tributes: Fiction Beer Denver is hosting a Hunger Games trivia night September 10. May the odds be in your favor.
🕵️ Get ready to show off your inner Holmes, Blanc, or Monk at Hogs Back Brewery's A Brew To A Kill 1950s murder mystery nights.
🌳 Zen and beer are two words you don't typically see together, but 3 Daughters Brewing made it work with a bonsai and brews night.
🔪 What's your favorite scary hard cider? Angry Orchard kicks off spooky season with a Scream collab and four new fall flavors.
[ 02 // THE PINT ]
Boss women running the beer world
Who said beer is a man’s world? This week we’re highlighting two stories about iconic boss-women in the beer world that happen to reside on opposite sides of the world. Rasagna Rao Dharmana opened Andhra Pradesh’s first microbrewery, and took it a step further and became the first female beer manufacturer in India. 9,000 miles away in Texas, Melissa Mendez is the head brewmaster at Project Halo Brewing.
One of the most interesting facts about Dharmana? She’s not all that passionate about beer. If you ask her, her passion lies in running a good business. She hit the nail on the head with that one. With a double MBA from Cornell and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, she used her knowledge to trail blaze into the craft beer scene in 2017. From advocating for herself to get her initial business loan and becoming the first woman to manufacture beer in India, there isn’t much that Dharmana can’t do.
You may have seen her in the news for becoming the first brewery to brew up a corn beer in India (and her beer label will remind you of that fact). She has to put her trust in her consumers and team on this one though, as she is a “teetotaller” and abstains from all alcohol. Now that is some true will power. Our hats are off to this boss-lady brewery owner, manufacturer, and head brewmaster.
Melissa and Steven Mendez are Project Halo’s husband and wife duo in Fulshear, Texas. They founded the brewery after years of traveling in the military while Steve was serving in the US Army Special Forces. Their goal from the start was to create a sense of community in their town. A traveling couple who likes and makes good beer, now those are people after our own hearts.
What makes this duo so special though, is that unlike in traditional roles, Melissa is the head brewmaster. Trained by Texas A&M’s brewing program, she brings her own personal touch to the craft. Something that makes Melissa and Project Halo so special is their emphasis on inclusivity. Melissa has done work with the Pink Boots Society which supports women and nonbinary professionals working in brewery industries. Inclusivity has been part of their roots from the very beginning, with female brewery features, and paying homage to the couple’s Salvadorian and Mexican roots.
If you needed any inspiration to break into a space that is typically taken up by someone who looks differently than you, look no further than these two powerful boss-ladies.