Rhode Island’s Women Brewers

Female Craft Brewers Find a Port in the Storm Here in Li’l Rhody

Humans have been brewing and consuming beer for well over 7,000 years. For most of that time, the keepers of that time-honored tradition were women. In Europe during the late Middle Ages, female brewers wore tall, pointed hats in order to be more visible in crowded marketplaces. They used cauldrons for brewing, and retained cats to keep grain-eating mice at bay. To signal that beer was available to sell, they would hang a broom outside of their stalls. When the Reformation period arrived in the 1500s, these women were framed as witches by Protestant and Catholic churches vying to gain more followers. Despite being thusly vilified, women didn’t stop working as brewers.

In the post-Prohibition era in the United States, when beer production became increasingly corporatized, the traditional role of women as head brewers was largely forgotten as beer went from a small-production, locally consumed beverage to a big, fizzy and relatively bland nationally sold beverage.

“Ten years ago, I was in nursing school and didn’t really like beer,” says Lee Lord, head brewer at Narragansett Brewing Company in Providence. It was barley wine and a double date that led Lord to her career transformation. She started at the bottom, mopping floors at a local brewery. The quest for knowledge and experience became all-consuming as she worked her way up through the ranks.

In a male-dominated industry, women often work harder and for lower pay than their male counterparts. The Me Too movement more recently has exposed widespread sexism and wage inequalities that many female brewers confront in brewery jobs.

“I wear these with pride,” says Lord of her tall pink rubber boots. The pink boots are earned by way of the Pink Boots Society—an organization that is dedicated to assisting, inspiring and educating women in fermented/alcoholic beverage production. The society partners with the beer industry to provide educational scholarships for female brewers who then pay it forward by inspiring and assisting other woman brewers. Then, and only then, does a female brewer earn her pink boots.

“Never be afraid to discuss salaries with co-workers,” Lord says. “Women in this business need to be on guard for salary inequity.” It was this very issue that prompted her to start looking around for better opportunities when she discovered that men with less experience and doing less work were being paid more than she was. Narragansett CEO Mark Hellendrung recognized her talents and hired Lord as head brewer at the new India Point brewery in Providence, where she is in command of the state-of-the-art facility.

Nichole Pelletier of Crooked Current Brewing Company in Pawtucket has a different take on things. She had experienced income disparity in the corporate world, and that was one of the factors that propelled her to become her own boss.

“I don’t suffer income disparity in the brewing world, because I’m my own boss,” says Pelletier. “Also, I’ve been around long enough that I get respect for my hard work.”

Crooked Current is a comparatively small operation but the beers are not ordinary by any means. On offer are praiseworthy brews featuring flavors that are not found elsewhere in Rhode Island. The artful flavors and adroit brewing techniques make Crooked Current a craft beer lover’s must-visit destination.

Julia Roder-Hanna from Shaidzon Beer Company in West Kingston earned her federal brew and malt master’s certificate in Germany, where salaries for the certificate are determined by way of a tariff system and have no relation to gender. She earned her certificate after graduating from the International Engineering program at the University of Rhode Island with a degree in chemical engineering.

“I love it [at Shaidzon]. There is no pay inequality; we are highly collaborative, and everyone’s ideas have equal value,” says Roder-Hanna. Studying brewing in Germany has introduced new ideas and connections into the local brewing scene. Shaidzon recently did a collaborative beer with the Rhode Island-born CEO of Norway’s Oslo Brewing Company, Dimitri Yogaratnam. Rhode Island is now being considered as a test marketing venue for Oslo Brewing’s line of Norwegian beers.

At Proclamation Ale Company in Warwick, brewer and East Greenwich native Kate Goodson dragged a heavy hose across the floor during a busy day and paused to chat. “This is the best job ever!” she says. When asked about gender-based pay inequality, she says “not here.”

A graduate of the Animal Science and Technology program at the University of Rhode Island, Kate worked at several farms around the state before enrolling at Johnson & Wales University to gain her professional craft brewing certificate.

“We have a great team here,” she says. She went on to say that she loves the creative aspects of the job and that the whole ethos of “Proc” includes much more than making excellent beer.

In December 2020, founder Dave Whitham passed away from cancer, leaving his wife, Lori, to run the business. The company philosophy remains the same, including a priority to give back to the Rhode Island community, like the collaborative brew with local retailer Frog & Toad, called “Knock It Off,” (an homage to former Governor Raimondo’s Covid catchphrase) that raised more than $10,000 for the Rhode Island Foundation to support those hardest hit by the pandemic.

Head Brewer Michelle Clark at Grey Sail Brewing in Westerly is familiar with unequal pay in the brewing industry but says she has never experienced it personally. “Here at Grey Sail, we have lots of women on staff,’ says Clark. “It has been great since day one.” She quips, “We make a living—and great beer. But, if you’re looking to get rich … brewing might not be the best way to go.”

Sample the beers made by Rhode Island’s women brewers:

Crooked Current Brewing Company, Pawtucket; CrookedCurrentBrewery.com

Grey Sail Brewing, Westerly; GreySailBrewing.com

Narragansett Beer, Providence; NarragansettBeer.com

Proclamation Ale Company, Warwick; ProclamationAleCo.com

Shaidzon Beer Company, West Kingston; ShaidzonBeer.com