BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — The brewing industry is often dominated by men. In Minnesota, there are around 21 brewers that identify as female and work at one of the 205 breweries across the state. Two of them, Shannon Stroh and Paige Hibers, work at Surly Brewing.
"When you’re a woman in the industry, you have to have drive and passion and be able to stand up for yourself, and kind of have to earn respect sometimes," Stroh said. "I think the people at Surly have been really respectful and I feel like I didn’t have to earn that respect. They kind of right out of the gate give it to you."
Stroh, who was the first woman brewer at Surly, was soon joined by Hibers, who considers it an honor to work alongside Stroh.
"Having another woman here is supportive, it’s comforting, and it does make it more fun," Hibers said.
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Their most recent endeavor includes creating a special brew in honors of the NCAA Women's Final Four tournament. Stroh, Hibers, and fellow brewer Julia MacLean developed "Dribble Drabble:" a limited-edition pale ale that's debuting this weekend for the big event.
"It’s got super low IBU’s so you’re not going to get a ton of bitterness from it," Stroh said of the beer. "Our goal was to come up with a beer that was super drinkable for those even if they don’t like to drink beer. And when it comes to bitterness...this is going to be perfect for people that don’t drink beer. It’s going to kind of have a citrusy flavor to it and just a touch of coconut from the hops that we used."
The beer will only be sold on tap and is offered at the following locations:
- Gardens of Salonica, Minneapolis
- The White Horse, St. Cloud
- Zorbaz, Gull Lake
- Local 218, Brainerd
- Boulder Tap House, Baxter
- Drafts, Crookston
- Union Pizza, Fergus Falls
- Up North Pizza, East Grand Forks
- 8th St Grill
- Marquette Hotel
- Malcolm Yards
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