Three Springfield beer brewers are teaming up to promote women in the beer industry

The oldest known records of beer-brewing go back about 4,500 years. In ancient Egypt, women did almost all of the brewing and selling of beer.

That's what The Atlantic reported a few years ago, but it's not quite that way in today's America.

A female brewer in Springfield told the News-Leader last fall that there are probably fewer than 100 breweries nationwide that exclusively have women as their owners and head brewers.

But that doesn't mean women don't play a significant role in the industry, including right here in the Ozarks.

This year, some of Springfield's women brewers are celebrating that role by brewing a springtime beer and getting a professional group organized.

At Tie & Timber Beer Co. in central Springfield, co-founder and executive brewer Jennifer Leonard is teaming up with sisters Carol McLeod and Susan McLeod, owners and brewers at Hold Fast Brewing. Hold Fast is under construction right now in a former downtown Springfield fire station near the Shrine Mosque.

The week before International Women's Day, which falls on March 8, Leonard and the McLeod sisters are spending two days at Tie & Timber, where the three will brew a Berliner Weisse-style beer.

Berliner Weisse is a cloudy, sour beer with a low alcohol percentage. It goes back 400 years to traditions in northern Germany. The Springfield brewers said in a Wednesday news release that when they get to work on March 3 and 4, their version will have a kiss of lime zest to add a refreshing citrus zing.

"To keep things interesting," Leonard said in the release, "we will offer the option to add cherry syrup, creating a beer reminiscent of a cherry limeade."

Susan McLeod, with Hold Fast, added, "This style of beer says 'hello spring' with its light hops, golden color and tartness."

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They're doing it to promote an international group called Pink Boots Society, which encourages women beer industry professionals, often with educational efforts. The group also puts on a Collaboration Brew Day every year to mark International Women's Day.

Missouri has two Pink Boots Society chapters, in Kansas City and St. Louis. Leonard said she's working to start one in Springfield.

"I see International Women's Day as a day to celebrate not only the rise of women," she said in the release, "but also the industries and communities that foster their growth, respect their ideas and support the success in any number of roles that women choose to take on."

A portion of all sales of the Berliner Weisse — available at Tie & Timber in late March, followed by limited distribution to some Springfield restaurants and bars  — will be donated to Pink Boots Society, with half of the donations staying local to support Springfield members.

Leonard noted that Pink Boots Society offers scholarships for professional training, along with conferences, festivals and educational trips to places like Germany. The local chapter aims to offer as many educational opportunities as possible in Springfield.

One Pink Boots Society festival, Biere de Femme in Asheville, North Carolina, is currently up for a USA TODAY 10Best award as readers vote among 20 top American beer festivals to choose their favorite.

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Women currently working in the beer industry are eligible to join Pink Boots Society. That includes women who own breweries, package beer, design beers, serve beers, write about beer or "cover just about any aspect of beer," according to the news release. Women interested may reach out to Leonard at jen@ttbeerco.com.

“Collaborations celebrate brewers and the passion we have for our craft," McLeod, with Hold Fast, said in the release. "This industry is a community and we never try to set another brewery up to fail. We want to lift each other up and help the consumer find their gateway beer into craft brew."

To be clear, there are other women brewery owners in Springfield besides the three involved in this effort, though it's believed that Hold Fast Brewing will be the first among Springfield's 10 craft breweries to be exclusively owned by women. It's expected to open this summer.

For example, Show-Me Brewing at 1925 E. Bennett St. is co-owned by Julie Cogell. In the Galloway neighborhood, 4 By 4 Brewing Company has four female co-owners, among them Danielle Shimeall, one of the brewery's first full-time staff. Down the street, Great Escape Beer Works has a female co-owner in Jen Duensing. Springfield Brewing Company also counts a woman among its co-owners.

And Springfield women work as brewers, in beer-related corporate jobs, as bartenders and in other roles, Leonard said.

"I've had a lot of interest (in Pink Boots Society) from folks who've already contacted me from breweries in Springfield," Leonard told the News-Leader Thursday. "The women in the Springfield brewing community, it's more prevalent than I initially thought, and that's kind of one of the reasons to get Pink Boots going."

Leonard said at least one other Springfield craft brewer is likely to announce a Pink Boots Society Collaboration Brew Day project in the near future.

Wait, how many craft breweries does Springfield have now?

The number has grown quickly in the 21st century. After many decades with no local brewery, 10 craft breweries have opened in Springfield over a 22-year span. Nine are locally owned; Bricktown Brewery is based in Oklahoma. This lists each brewery with the year it opened. Breweries with an asterisk * are ones that are known to have women among the owners.

*Springfield Brewing Company: 1997

Mother's Brewing Co.: 2011

White River Brewing Company: 2013

*Show-Me Brewing: 2016

Lost Signal Brewing Company: 2017

*4 By 4 Brewing Company: 2017

*Tie & Timber Beer Co.: 2018

Bricktown Brewery: 2018

*Great Escape Beer Works: 2018

*Hold Fast Brewing: 2019