written by for Venus Rising Magazine
Virgo 08 Issue
In 1989, Teri Fahrendorf became the first woman Brewmaster at a craft/micro brewery west of the Rocky Mountains. Now, after 19 years of brewing, Teri has created the Pink Boots Society to help newer women brewers feel connected to their sister brewers and to promote women in brewing. The Society had its first meeting in San Diego last April. Sixteen women brewers and cellarwomen attended, as well as six women beer writers/media to document the occasion.
Born in New York, but raised in Wisconsin, Teri believes that her brewing career was a natural outgrowth of her childhood fascination with yeast.
"When I was nine years old, my family attended our church's rummage sale. I was so excited when I found a small blue booklet titled, 'How Beer Is Made,' that I gladly parted with my weekly allowance of one dime. I opened the booklet and held my breath, certain with sweet anticipation that I'd soon learn the secret of making beer. As I pored over my precious blue booklet, I deflated quickly. The diagrams showed enormous equipment. That was a huge disappointment."
So instead of brewing beer, at the age of ten, Teri made her first two loaves of homemade bread. "My parents were out at an antique show while I kneaded and raised the dough. I had to wait until they got home to bake the bread because I was too young to use the oven without their supervision. Nobody in my family had ever made bread (or beer), but I was a determined kid."
Teri fermented breads and sourdough cultures for the next 18 years. (And she says she is still messing with them.) She also made homemade wines for five years, and she homebrewed for three years. She took meticulous notes on her batches of wine and beer and later converted them into recipes that would become her first professional beers.
“During college, before I picked a business major, I took a year of chemistry, a semester of biology, calculus-level math, and statistics. These classes turned out to be necessary when I began formal brewer training in 1988.”
Teri brewed professionally from 1988 to 2007. Her brewing career included Sieben's River North Brewpub in Chicago, Illinois, Golden Gate Brewing Company in Berkeley, California, and Triple Rock Brewing Company in Berkeley, California.
Teri's longest brewing stint was as Brewmaster for Steelhead Brewing Company in Eugene, Oregon and California. From 1990-2007, Teri was instrumental in the outfitting, installation, and management of Steelhead's five brewpub breweries. Teri also oversaw Steelhead's contract-brewed root beer soda projects, which are sold in bottles under the Steelhead and Bulldog brand names.
In 2007, after 17 years, Teri said good-bye to Steelhead and departed on a five-month road trip across the U.S., visiting 70 breweries and three distilleries along the way. During this epic adventure, Teri participated in 38 brews and two distillations.
Photo from the first Pink Boots Society Meeting last AprilMany times during her journey Teri was asked, "How many women brewers are there?" Not knowing the answer, Teri decided to create the Pink Boots Society and began collecting names and contact information of all women brewers worldwide. This list of women brewers can be found at http://www.pinkbootssociety.com/.
“While planning my road trip, I thought about what my impact may or may not be as I visit brewers who don’t know me. It is really easy for me to blend in and become one of the boys, but I felt it was important for me to represent women in brewing, since there are so few of us. I pondered about how to bridge those two aspects and came up with rubber boots, the nearly universal piece of brewing uniform/safety equipment, and pink, a color associated with girls. Now the pink rubber boots have become my signature item. People may not recognize me, but they recognize this icon of women in brewing.”
Teri says the Pink Boots Society had a great meeting in San Diego, and she would love to see those continue. “Wouldn’t it be a hoot to have an annual Pink Boots Society Dinner, where a whole bunch of women brewers go out to dinner together and talk shop? I’d also like to institute an annual Pink Boots Award, given out at this dinner, where women brewers nominate the woman that they think has done the most during the previous year to advance the cause of women in brewing, who has mentored new women brewers, and who has encouraged young women to consider brewing as a career. That would be neat!”
And her advice for women working in a man’s world? "Rise above the fray and present your most professional self. You represent all women when you work alone among men. Strive to be respected, even at the cost of being liked, if necessary. Be kind yet firm; be fair without being a pushover. Never give away your power. When your professional peers (the men in your field) recognize your gentle strength and competence, they will be more likely to hire other women. This happened for me in brewing, so I know it can happen for you. It is fun to be unique and therefore often the only woman at the table (or in the room), but I know you will love having sister peers to discuss your field of expertise with. Go forth and be confident. If necessary, fake the confidence (without bravado) until you can claim it. And keep smiling because you are doing what you love." 
© 2008-2009 Venus Rising Magazine