Worldwide Beer Sisterhood Arrives in Seattle

To encourage more women to crash the stag party, Morrison recently joined other members of the Pink Boots Society--a trade group for female beer brewers, writers and other industry professionals--to launch a counterpart organization for consumers. Since December, Barley's Angels has established chapters in Australia, Argentina, and eight North American cities.

"Our goal is to get more women interested in beer," Morrison explains. "It's not a drinking club, it's an educational group."

Morrison was at The Pike Brewing Company yesterday for the first meeting of Barley's Angels' Seattle chapter. At a lighthearted swearing-in ceremony, she asked new members to raise their hands and pledge to "love, honor, and cherish good beer, and help my sisters in suds find their own malty mojo."

While every chapter determines its own event schedule, Barley's Angels requires each chapter to hold four meetings a year at which members can learn more about beer. "Here in Seattle, we might do something as esoteric as how does glassware affect beer," Morrison says. "Somewhere else, it might be 'What's an I.P.A.?'"

While Barley's Angels hopes to reach women who still believe beer should only be swigged on fishing trips and at NASCAR races, The Pike Brewing Company's Abil Bradshaw acknowledges few members of the Seattle chapter are likely to struggle with reconciling ale and femininity. "I don't think we'll bring in people who've never had beer, wondering what this crazy group is all about," Bradshaw says.

With beer fundamentals out of the way, Bradshaw would like to use Pike Brewing Company's new home-brewing system to coach local Barley's Angels through the beer-making process. "It wouldn't just be informational, it would be hands-on," Bradshaw says. "It's something fun for women to do. It's a great thing."

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