On March 8, Baxter Brewing proudly hosted a consortium of beer industry professionals to take part in the creation of a new product for our “Passion Project” beer series. This collaborative super team consisted of accomplished restaurant owners and managers as well as personnel from multiple breweries in Maine including brewers, owners, marketing associates, HR and sales reps, as well as our own President. Two corollary threads tied this group together: all love beer; all are female.
Every year on International Women’s Day, women from each state – and various countries spread across the globe – congregate to take part in annual Pink Boots Society Collaboration Brew Day events. The mission of the Pink Boots Society, a global non-profit organization, is to assist, inspire, and encourage women in the beer industry through education. In 2018 Yakima Chief Hops, a grower-owned supplier from the Pacific Northwest, began cultivating a specialty blend of hops to be used exclusively for Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day. This blend is selected in the Fall during the hops rub at the annual Great American Brew Fest. For every pound of Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day hops that are purchased, Yakima Chief Hops donates $3.00 to the National Pink Boots Society. Last year they raised $1,000,000. The intention of the Collaboration Brew Day is to bring women from across the industry together to showcase how one single hop blend can be used in a multitude of ways through craftsmanship, ingenuity, and years of brewing experience.
As Baxter brainstormed potential projects for this year’s blend, ultimate direction was aptly put in the hands of our brewery’s leader. Being a lover of browns and imperial stouts, our President chose the first beer she ever brewed at Baxter, a rich, dark ale that harkened her childhood growing up in Maine. Muddy Boots Trail Mix Brown Ale was inspired by a love of nature, the great outdoors and mud season. The artwork was motivated by a custom-made pair of infamous L.L.Bean boots which matches the Pink Boots Society’s hot pink brand color and represent New England’s reliable mud season – hence the name Muddy Boots.
For Baxter’s 2020 Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day we invited dozens of women from across the industry to join in our collaboration. The result is a lush brown ale with delectable notes of chocolate, raisin, and peanut butter. We hope you raise a glass to a gal you’re most inspired by and enjoy some Muddy Boots for what has proven to be another dependable – albeit unusual – mud season