At a glance
- 19-81 Brewery created a new limited-edition beer called Goddess with an all-female brewing team as part of an International Women’s Day initiative celebrating women in the beer industry.
- Participants with no prior brewing experience collaborated on every stage of the project, from choosing the Juicy Hazy New England IPA style and naming the beer to brewing, branding and marketing it.
- The beer is now fermenting and is expected to go on sale in a few weeks at the brewery and at bars and retailers across Cayman.
Cayman’s newest beer, Goddess, is set to be sold across the island after a weekend of hard work by an all-female brewing team to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Independent craft beer company 19-81 Brewing Co. invited women who were interested in learning all about brewing to join them as part of a global annual initiative held for International Women’s Day to recognise the role of women in the beer industry and to raise money for women’s causes.
The plan was to create a limited-edition beer entirely from scratch, with the newly assembled team responsible for everything including marketing, packaging, distribution, labelling and of course, creating the beer itself.
Choice of beer styles
No experience was needed and right from the start the initiative was a fun and collaborative effort. First task was to decide upon a beer style from a choice of different styles: pale ale, coffee stout, sour beer or IPA. In a closely contested poll, Juicy Hazy New England IPA beat the Strawberry Kettle sour beer meaning the beer would certainly pack a punch, New England IPAs being renowned for their high alcohol content and fruitful flavours.
The next crucial task for the brewing team was to decide upon a name from a wide range of suggestions including Paradise Haze, Ninkasi (the ancient Sumerian goddess of beer and brewing), Booby Trap and Birds of Paradise. In the end, Goddess was a popular winner and graphic design student Eleanor Reed created a unique label for the cans.
It was now time for the hard work to begin. A small but dedicated team turned up early on Saturday morning to scrub, clean and disinfect the tanks and to learn all about the brewing process from 19-81 head brewer, John Mather.
Mather explained the whole brewing process, including the impact of different minerals in water used for brewing; the role of hops; the importance of timing throughout the process; and the complex recipe that would lead to the creation of Goddess.
After all the preparation, the brewing started in earnest on, appropriately, International Women’s Day. The effort that goes into a typical pint was eye-opening for many in the group as they set to work weighing and milling the malt and grains, mashing it into the tank, performing pH and gravity checks, transferring liquid to the brew kettle to boil and adding hops – Citra, Mosaic and Pacifica. The mixture was then cooled and transferred to the fermenter, where yeast and nutrients were added.
A few weeks until Goddess emerges
Goddess is now fermenting away in 19-81’s brewery in Industrial Park and should be ready to drink in a few weeks. There is still more work to be done though; once the beer is fermented and cold, it needs to be moved into a lagering tank to mature. Then the cans then have to be labelled, the beer canned and packaged. Then there is the chance to write a pitch about how to sell the beer to shops and bars across the island before delivery day.
The women who took part said they enjoyed the experience. Amba Lamb, who works in Cayman’s beverage industry but had never tried brewing before, said, “We were truly able to be hands-on for the whole process, which was awesome. Learning about how the recipe is written and the different characteristics of the grains and hops has been my favorite part so far.”
Kelly McGlashan said her favourite part of the weekend was learning the science behind beer-making and called Mather a great teacher. “I wasn’t really expecting how physically demanding it was – lifting crazy-heavy bags of ingredients and being on your hands and knees connecting lots of hoses with all the intricate pieces … Patience, precision and safety are key ingredients to making beer.”
Yuleidy Sánchez said: “Participating in the brewing day at the distillery was a rewarding experience, bringing together a group of women to collaborate, learn the brewing process and create something meaningful.
“It was inspiring to see how this initiative uses beer as a way to support and give back to the local community.”
Mary Tome came with her work colleague Cherriann Caliso. Her verdict: “From hops and grains to patience, precision and a surprising bit of muscle, it was a fascinating hands-on experience. Safe to say I’ll never waste a drop of beer again!”
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