Raise A Glass
By Tracey Moro
The Boots Went On For This Pink Brew Benefitting Girls
Urbanrest Brewing Company in Ferndale is not only raising a glass but they put their boots on and dug right into the idea of raising funds for an organization close to its heart and even added another charity into the mix to boot.
As a way to support the industry and their female employees, the folks at Urbanrest decided to create the Pink Boots Girl Squad Beer by partnering with the Pink Boots Society, Detroit Chapter. Pink Boots is an organization founded to inspire, assist and encourage women and non-binary individuals in the fermented beverage industry to advance their careers through education. The society works with Yakima Chief Hops and chooses a unique blend of hops each year. For four years now Urbanrest has purchased those hops to create its Pink Boots Girl Squad brew.
“We send out an open invitation to our mug club and our newsletter followers to come help brew, pour hops and grain, learn about the brewing process, the organization, and meet the owners,” said Zach Typinski, who co-owns the brewery with his wife Mary. “This year we had a great response with 12 people. We need to keep the group intimate, under 20, since there are lots of chemicals and the brewing takes about 14 hours.”
The crew met in February and created a double batch of Girl Squad. It took three to four weeks to complete. Aiming for a March debut since March is Women’s History Month, they fell short by one week. “We brewed in February and it was ready the second week of March so we did donate from a different beer that first week,” said Typinski.
Girl Squad, noted on the menu as an IPA, is described as a double dry hopped DIPA brewed with the Pink Boots blend of Ahtanum, El Dorado, HBC 638 and Idaho 7.
It exhibits a berry-forward aroma, with notes of fruit by the foot and gushers. The beer is pink in color due to the Dragon fruit included, giving a nod to the gals.
The proceeds from the beer sold in March were donated to another organization – Alternatives for Girls – which is an outreach organization in Detroit assisting women to avoid homelessness, early pregnancy and trafficking.
They aim to provide access to safe shelter, crisis support and more so girls can stay out of harm’s way, succeed and become leaders in the community.
Wanting their donation to be effective, Urbanrest aimed for a $1,000 minimum and they were able to donate $2,000 and will add to that after a fundraising event in May. The Pink Boots Girl Squad is just one way Urbanrest gives back to the community. “We also work with the local chapter of Affirmations in Ferndale and about 15 other organizations, including dog rescues, food banks and others. We use beer sales, host events and sometimes food vendors donate as well,” added Typinski.
For more on how Urbanrest contributes with their Girl
Squad beer visit urbanrest.com.